Sony Masterworks Announces New US Classical Releases

The Last Symphonies: Mozart's Instrumental Oratorium
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
2-CD Set Now Available
Preview: https://soundcloud.com/nikolaus-harnoncourt/sets/nikolaus-harnoncourt-mozart

On The Last Symphonies, Nikolaus Harnoncourt explores his fascinating new interpretation of the composer's last three symphonies; that they are one whole work which he calls Mozart's "Instrumental Oratorium." Harnoncourt argues that, in terms of structure, the first movement of Symphony No. 39 is the Prelude of the "Instrumental Oratorium," while the last movement of Symphony No. 41 is the Finale.

He points out that Symphony No. 39 has no real ending, while Symphony No. 40 has no real beginning, and only Symphony No. 41 has a finale. Harnoncourt points to a number of factors as further proof of his new interpretation - musical themes that are evident throughout all three symphonies, the fact that Mozart wrote these works without commission all in one summer, and that he didn't write any more symphonies In the last year of his life, this was his last statement.

The Last Symphonies: Mozart's Instrumental Oratorium was recorded for the first time with Harnoncourt's own ensemble Concentus Musicus Wien, which he founded in 1953.

Beethoven Journey - Piano Concerto No. 5 Emperor & Choral Fantasy
Leif Ove Andsnes
The Mahler Chamber Orchestra
Now Available
Preview: https://soundcloud.com/leif-ove-andsnes/sets/leif-ove-andsnes-the-beethoven-journey-piano-concerto-no-5-choral-fantasy

Four years in the making, the celebrated Beethoven Journey has now reached its crowning season. An intense collaborative project between Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the heart of the journey has been the recording of all five of Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerti and his Choral Fantasy, with the final album now available from Sony Classical.

Over the four years Leif Ove Andsnes has also made Beethoven's concerti the focus of his attention on stage with over 150 performances in 55 cities and 22 countries. With the start of the 2014-15 season Andsnes and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra embark on a year of high-profile residencies that will see them perform the complete cycle of concerti in Hamburg, Bonn, Lucerne, Vienna, Paris, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and London (full performance listings below). A third and integral part of the Beethoven Journey is an ambitious education project series entitled Feel the Music that gives children with hearing impairment the chance to experience music both in personal workshops and on the concert platform together with Andsnes and the orchestra.

The third and final recording of the Beethoven Journey, featuring Piano Concerto No. 5 Emperor and the Choral Fantasy, recorded live in concert at the Prague Spring Festival in May with Andsnes performing and directing the orchestra from the keyboard, is now available. The complete Beethoven Journey will be released as a box set, available digitally and physically, on October 28, 2014.

You Mean the World to Me
Jonas Kaufmann
Now Available
Preview: https://soundcloud.com/kaufmannjonas/sets/jonas-kaufmann-you-mean-the-world-to-me-1

"I love the tenor hits from the age of the talkies," says Jonas Kaufmann. "My grandfather was studying in Berlin at that time, and he used to whistle these songs in the street. Besides that, I've always been fascinated by this 'legendary era' in Germany's cultural history. It was a time of incredible productivity. True, a great many of its hits have survived, but what we know of it today is only the tip of the iceberg. There are lots of wonderful pieces waiting to be rediscovered."

Jonas Kaufmann has often sung standards such as "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz," "Freunde, das Leben ist lebenswert," or "Du bist die Welt für mich" as encores at engagements, including his Berlin Waldbühne concert with Anna Netrebko and Erwin Schrott in August 2011. That is when the idea arose for his new album titled You Mean the World to Me, which is now available from Sony Classical. It needed a solid concept: no bland arrangements, just the original sound. The huge field of light music between Offenbach and Abraham was narrowed down to the period between 1925 and 1935 - from the hits of Franz Lehár and Richard Tauber to the heyday of the movie song, from the Roaring Twenties to the expulsion and blacklisting of all the songwriters, lyricists and singers who effectively defined the genre.

Awakening
Jackie Evancho
Release date: September 23, 2014

Platinum-selling, 14-year-old vocal sensation Jackie Evancho will release her third studio album, Awakening, on September 23 coinciding with an international tour. Produced by Nick Patrick, Awakening is Evancho's first album under her recent worldwide recording agreement with Sony Music Masterworks imprint Portrait. The release will be supported by an International tour, a new PBS Special (set to air in December) and appearances on America's Got Talent (9/10), Today Show (9/22) andQueen Latifah (10/2).

Awakening signals some new directions for Evancho. Without foregoing the beautiful and lush classical-crossover compositions for which Evancho has become famous, she also extends her stylistic reach with contemporary material on songs such as the haunting folk song "The Rains of Castamere" from HBO's hit series Game of Thrones. She takes a bigger step forward on her version of U2's "With or Without You."

Moreover, Evancho sings several original songs including the anthem "Take Me There" and "Open Fields of Grace," and she tackles the ethereal ballad "Memories" by the Dutch band, Within Temptation, in addition to the popular classic "Think of Me" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. Awakening's classical standards include Caccini/Vavilov's "Ave Maria" and Rachmaninoff's "Vocalise."

Bach
Joshua Bell
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Release date: September 30, 2014

Violinist Joshua Bell is one of the most acclaimed classical musicians of today - renowned for his expressive, elegant, intelligent playing and his deep commitment to bringing the classical tradition to wider audiences. Over the past three decades he has recorded more than 40 albums including most of the great violin repertoire.

Now, Sony Classical is excited to announce that Bell has for the first time recorded the masterpieces of J.S. Bach with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. In his third season now as their music director, Bell performs Bach's sublime Violin Concertos No. 1 and No. 2, along with a never-done-before 'violin and orchestra' arrangement of the famous Chaconne from the Partita No. 2 (adapted from Mendelssohn's piano accompaniment), the Gavotte en Rondeau from Partita No. 3 for solo violin (using Schumann's accompaniment), and the universally beloved "Air on the G string." Thenew album, Bach, is available September 30.

While Bell has said he will still wait many years before recording the six solo Sonatas and Partitas, he offers on this album a provocative interpretation of the 'crown jewel' of the second partita - the Chaconne. "There will be those who say that the Chaconne should only be performed in the way it was intended, for solo violin, but I'm a firm believer in celebrating great music in different ways," says Bell. With this new arrangement, we have a new way to listen this masterpiece, and with it we also get a glimpse into the mind of another genius - Felix Mendelssohn." Mendelssohn was instrumental in reviving Bach's reputation in the 19th century, and his accompaniment first appeared as a piano improvisation in 1852. His friend and peer Robert Schumann heard this, and was inspired to write his own accompaniments to all six of the solo Sonatas and Partitas. The Gavotte from the third Partita is included on the album, using Schumann's piano accompaniment as a basis for the orchestration by Julian Milone.

The Mozart Album
Lang Lang
Release date: September 30, 2014

Sony Classical is delighted to announce Lang Lang's first album entirely devoted to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart available September 30. World renowned pianist, Lang Lang, will be joined by the legendary Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Harnoncourt is famous for his ability to match deep knowledge of 17th and 18th century musical language with an interpretative mind of outstanding originality.

The first part of this two-album set was recorded in spring 2014 in the Goldener Saal of Vienna's Musikverein and sees Lang Lang and Nikolaus Harnoncourt perform Mozart's two famous piano concerti - K 453 in G major and K491 in C minor - together with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

The second part of the album showcases Lang Lang as soloist in Mozart's three early piano sonatas together with theRondo alla turca, the Allegro in F major K 1c and the Konzertstück in F major, K 33b. The three early Mozart sonatas form part of his latest recital program which Lang Lang is touring around the world. These performances were captured in November 2013 at the pianist's sold-out Royal Albert Hall concerts, which earned him the following praise in theGuardian: "exhilarating flair and brilliance ... melodic lines were gracefully yet firmly profiled ... Above all there was a measured yet flexible approach to tempo that gave individual ideas space to breathe and placed them within their wider contexts with seemingly effortless deliberation."

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