Anni Laukkanen - Le Pays de nos Desirs - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

MM Recordings presents a seductive and captivating of Russian art songs, an intriguing juxtaposition of Russian Romances for voice and piano by Anton Arensky (1861-1906) and his student Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943). The recital, Inchperformed with great charm and sympathyInch (Opera Today), features two artists making their debut for SOMM lyric coloratura soprano Anastasia Prokofieva-a rising young star in the opera world, described as InchstrikingInch by Opera Magazine-and London-based conductor, pianist, and vocal coach Sergey Rybin, an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied under SOMM recording artist Malcolm Martineau.Sergey Rybin's excellent notes, together with full texts and translations, help bring these neglected gems to light and highlight the inner connection between Arensky and Rachmaninoff. While there is no doubt that Rachmaninoff was possessed of a unique and innate musical gift, he acknowledged the profound influence of his teacher and mentor Arensky, who was his professor of harmony, counterpoint, and free composition at the Moscow Conservatory between 1885 and 1888, when Rachmaninoff was still a teenager.Arensky's writing-and Rachmaninoff's, too-is full of eminently singable melodies that are deeply connected both to bel canto and to a Russian folk aesthetic. Sergey Rybin also makes the point that a certain virtuosic flair in the piano parts of these románsy, by both the professor and the pupil, Inchare unmistakably the branches of the same stylistic tree.InchAnton Arensky studied composition with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and he was just twenty-one when he began teaching harmony and counterpoint-and later, instrumentation and free composition-at the Moscow Conservatory. While his role as a teacher may well be his most lasting contribution, he remained active as a composer of operas, symphoni

If You Wanna Laugh, You Gotta Cry Sometimes Archives Vol. 3, 1972-1975 is yet another magical discovery from Georgia-born singer-songwriter and guitarist Robert Lester Folsom's oeuvre of soft psychedelia and rural Southern rock n' roll, written and recorded over fifty years ago yet prophetically relevant today. Born of lost summers, new love (and the breaks that follow), and hippie bluegrass shakes, these spirited takes to 4-track tape capture Folsom's earliest wizardry. A prismatic window into a young artist finding their artistic footing, and a testament to why Folsom's legacy burns bright to this day. This edition arrives on Purple Reverie vinyl.

His ninth solo album on Signum Records, Alessio Bax combines exceptional lyricism and insight with consummate technique and is without a doubt Inchamong the most remarkable young pianists now before the publicInch (Gramophone). Here he presents an album of works for dancing, including tangos and waltzes spanning three centuries. Featuring composers such as J S Bach, Manuel de Falla and Franz Liszt a variety of cultures are showcased in this album for solo piano, and features contributions to an arrangement by Bax himself.