Telarc's knack for recording emerging artists who go on to receive international acclaim has so far brought to the fore, to list but a few, Lang Lang, Simone Dinnerstein, Zuill Bailey and Caroline Goulding. To the label's list of stellar pianists must now be added Vanessa Perez, thanks to Chopin: The Complete Preludes.

While the Venezuelan-American keyboard artist, trained in the same El Systéma that has brought us Gustavo Dudamel and Gabriela Montero, has recorded before, making notable contributions to Jan Vogler's disc of Astor Piazzolla and Joshua Bell's recital, At Home With Friends, this is the first all-Chopin disc from a pianist who has also performed with Dudamel and Montero, accompanied Spanish soprano Isabel Rey and performed all over the world to great acclaim.

Perez possesses the technical and emotional command necessary to bring to the fore the poetry in Chopin's remarkably expansive writing. With a sensitivity that led conductor Zubin Mehta to declare, "Her level of musical perception and artistic awareness impressed me as much a her total command of the keyboard," she traverses all of Chopin's beautiful preludes, adding to the 24 of Op. 28 the C-sharp minor, Op. 45 and No. 26 in A-flat major.

The generous recital also includes the Barcarolle, Op.60, F minor and Fantasie in F minor, Op. 49. Taken as a whole, its lyric and dramatic mastery suggests you'll be hearing lots more about Perez in the years ahead.

PERMALINK • • RSS

Expectations that cellist Zuill Bailey’s timbre will prove as inviting as his tall, dark, and handsome countenance are amply rewarded in his Telarc recording, Russian Masterpieces for Cello and Orchestra. Ably supported by the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, conducted by Martin West, the sound of his closely miked 1693 Matteo Gofriller cello (formerly owned by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet) is especially large and luscious.

In the hands of Bailey and West, Tchaikovsky’s ever-popular Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 33 gets the full balletic treatment. Rather than dwelling on the Variations’ emotional undercurrents, the men treat the piece as a grand opportunity to dance and sing with joyful abandon. After all, given that the composer is Tchaikovsky, they need only turn to his shorter Nocturne In D minor for Cello and Small Orchestra, Op. 19, No. 4 and the Pezza capriccioso in B minor for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 62 for opportunities to dwell in the melancholic wistfulness of the Russian soul.

Of soul, there is plenty in Shostakovich’s famed Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 107. Written in 1959 for his friend, supporter, and sometime performance partner, Mstislav Rostropovich, the work swings from wild, sardonic irony to the deepest melancholy. Rather than wallowing in despair, Shostakovich acknowledges his sadness before turning to biting, coruscating humor to turn in the screws on the Stalinist regime. Bailey and West ably confirm the Concerto’s bite and heartfelt emotional reach.

PERMALINK • • RSS

How much better can it get than Telarc's special four-CD box set, The Essential Richard Strauss? Here is some of the greatest music Strauss ever wrote, performed by the glorious Vienna Philharmonic under André Previn. Recorded in the fabled acoustic of the Musikvereinsall, and released between 1988 and 1991, the recordings are classic examples of Telarc's early accomplishments in the digital domain.

The repertoire extends over an astounding 59 years, from the early tone poem, Don Juan, Op. 20 (1889) through the glorious farewell, the Four Last Songs (1948). In between came the other great tone poems, of which the set includes Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 (1896); Don Quixote, Op. 35 (Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character, 1898); and Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 (1899).

Equally thematic, albeit longer in duration, is the last tone poem, The Alpine Symphony, Op. 64 (1915). With a score that calls for a huge orchestra complete with cowbells and a wind machine, Ein Alpensinfonie has met with skepticism on the part of those who have refused to succumb to its glorious, truly climactic climaxes. It may be overly literal, even a bit schmaltzy, but how often does literal also qualify as transcendent?

Composing came slower to Strauss toward the end of his life, but inspiration remained undimmed. Proof lies in the Four Last Songs, which he did not live to hear premiered. Arleen Auger, one of America's finest sopranos of the late 20th century, sings them beautifully, with rare emotional chasteness.

PERMALINK • • RSS

Rudolf Werthen, founder and music director of I Fiammiinghi, the Chamber Orchestra of Flanders, has so carefully programmed the music on Renaissance Of The Spirit, his CD of Franco-Flemish Renaissance masterworks, that it always sounds fresh.

As the Telarc recording proceeds from one contrasting delight to another, instrumental colors and textures change constantly, with airy recorders on one track soon replaced by soaring violins and prominent trumpets and trombones. Shapes shift, voices come and go, but the beauty of this extremely consonant, oft-elevated Renaissance music only grows as the music blissfully resounds.

Nine of the 21 tracks are graced by the vocal gifts of Currende. Conducted by Erik van Nevel, the release includes music by 10 composers whose music culminates in the artistry of Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594). The first of the line, a true harbinger of the Renaissance style, was Johannes Ciconia (c. 1335 - 1411). Then came the great Guillaume Dufay (c.1400-1474), followed by such well-known composers as Nicolas Gombert, (c.1495-1560) Clemens non Papa (c. 1510-1555 or 1556), and Philippe Rogier (1561-1596).

You can certainly follow along, and note the differences in compositional style between 150 years of Franco-Flemish Renaissance composers. Or close your eyes, and let yourself be transported to bliss.

PERMALINK • • RSS