By Pēteris Vasks I enjoy his 1996 violin concerto Tala Gaisma (Distant Light), and have hearted the following two albums in my library. First, the 2018 release by the Swedish chamber orchestra O/Modernt, and second, the 2020 release by Vadim Gluzman and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra…
For canto ostinato I do favourite Jeroen van Veen & Friends: Canto Ostinato XXL and Assia Cunego playing Canto Ostinato at harp (for Assia Cunego thanks to @anon29757629). Also I would like to mention 2 more: the Erick Hall version (plus his album Music for 18 Musicians composed by Reich) and Cello8ctet Amsterdam version (plus the Tr8cks album that gathers Piazzola, Glass, Pärt, Einaudi, Richter and Meijering)
As composition I favour Solo Devil’s Dance II played by Kees Wieringa
I love your 14 albums drop. It draws my attention to Silvestrov that I neglected.
This! Love it too!
What would the HIP faction make of Lautten Compagney? The majority of their discography is baroque and early music performed on period instruments, but they have also recorded music of Astor Piazzolla, Steve Reich and The Beatles on baroque instruments. Does “historically informed performance” extend to modern instruments for modern music? ![]()
The saxophonist in the video is Asya Fateyeva, who has a nice album of lesser known works for classical saxophone.
Well, you have to have some imagination to confront Biber’s Mystery Sonatas with Piazzolla pieces, arranged mostly for violin solo and some sort of continuo ensemble, with a cello taking over the solo part from time to time. The surprising fact is, it works, and very well so. This album is a beautiful and rewarding listen.
Asya Fateyeva (Ukraine) is a stunning artist… I love her 2020 release ‘Jonny’…
By Lautten Compagney I always remember the album with Handel arias and Simone Kermes showing off… As you mention, their musical repertoire is very broad…
Some Hyperion recordings are now streaming and available for purchase in Qobuz. Thought it would be relevant to post here since it is an almost exclusively classical music recording producer. I first learned about this from @Poseidon77, who informed me that Hyperion Records recordings have just appeared on Apple Music Classical. Thought I’d check availability on Qobuz et voilà! A nice example below that I also own and recently listened to. Please be forewarned, Hyperion Records are not making it into Roon at this time after
ing them. It also appears that Qobuz does not have most recent releases available for streaming (for example Marc-Andre Hamelin’s new Fauré recording). Folks using other streaming services please let us know the state of affairs on the ground for you.
I’ve contacted both Roon and Qobuz about this. Maybe waiting for an announcement? Neither Apple Music Classical nor Qobuz have announced this new development yet.

and here’s a more recent release by two jazz-inflected pianists that was recently discussed in the New York Times.
Prefer the Hamelin/Andsnes version, but much to enjoy/admire in the Courvoisier/Smythe version. Let the good times roll!
Later: Found this announcement online.
This is a really great development @bill_perkins, though I wouldn’t draw too many conclusions as to what will eventually be available…more may emerge.
For those that use Tidal, the catalogue is appearing there too, and for those that like it, at least HiRes albums are in MQA, such as the wonderful and award winning Chopin album, below. (Also in HiRes on Qobuz).

No mysteries. The Billboard announcement explains all. 200 item rollout today and every 2 weeks until entire ~ 2000 recording catalog is integrated into streaming services. Anticipated rollout completion, Spring 2024. Very happy about this and for option to purchase using Qobuz Sublime.
The Marc-Andre Hamelin/Leif Ove Andsnes Stravinsky Rite of Spring for 2 pianos is straight up 192kHz/24bit. I now find it playable from Roon. Same with Pavel Kolesnikov’s Chopin Mazurkas recording, only at 96kHz/24bit, which is, next to Rubinstein’s, my favorite.
Apologies for not properly reading your Billboard link…it was all there, in plain sight.
Qobuz Sublime is one amazing subscription that pays for itself. And in the volatile world of streaming, a good idea to continue with downloads.
My own hope is for the Corydon Singers albums to come through soon, plus the Leslie Howard LIszt project. Good stuff from Stephen Hough already there (his Rachmaninov Concertos are a great introduction to them). But in the end, this will be 2,000 albums of the highest quality?
Indeed. They are hoping to tell the Hyperion Records story with their releases. I’ve never needed to know more than that they’ve done splendid recording artist and repertoire selection. May it continue. Another reason to purchase recordings.
Listening to the Hamelin/Andsnes Stravinsky recording and absolutely stunned by their performance once again. Initially did this as a test listen…, well, you know how that goes. Hopelessly hooked again. Astonishing performances, microphoning, sound engineering.
Hamelin’s ‘Live at Wigmore Hall’ album, though almost 30 years old will be one to look out for. He is technically astonishing…no wonder the Stravinsky recording is so good.
I find him much more than technically astonishing, but I’ve listened to him live multiple times and own almost everything he’s recorded with the exception of his recent Fauré. For a sense of how exquisite his playing can be, I highly recommend his Debussy: Images; Preludes II and his Scriabin Complete Sonatas. He is Primus inter pares, but that’s just me. I admittedly have a thing for as close to perfection in articulation, intonation, judicious rubato and pedal use and lack of “expressive” glosses/slurring. The latter is used by numerous great performers and can be very enjoyable…, until you hear the piece performed as written.
Arthur Rubinstein is another example of such a performer and I know there are some (Jed Distler, for example), quite dismissive of his playing. Different synaptic networks/connectivity in the auditory cortex and limbic system for all of us.
Vive la differénce.
Or different styles for different days? A bit off topic, but I recently heard Benjamin Grosvenor at the Proms, whose musical values in Ravel and Debussy were exquisite, quite perfect, and yet, in the Liszt ‘Norma’ ‘reminiscence’ I longed for a Trifonov-style bravura. Now Trifonov in Stravinsky…
Mr. Grosvenor’s RAH Proms performance had superb choices (with an interesting challenge…, to perform orchestral works in piano transcriptions) and sounds like a concert for the ages. What a treat to hear his performance of Borwick’s arrangement of Debussy’s Prélude de l’après-midi d’une faune and of Ravel’s La valse and Le tombeau de Couperin. Color me green with…,
You mention Trifonov. He’s indeed superb with Liszt and a delight to listen to in his Rachmaninov performances. A rare technically superb colorist.
TBH, for such a programme, the Albert Hall is too big, and how good it would have been to have heard him in a smaller venue.
But all of this has reminded me of the many great Hyperion piano albums I have bought over the years, and how adventurous Hyperion was in choice of programme, as well as in the excellence of the recordings. Great to see this award winner available for streaming:

the whole Romantic Piano Concertos series is rewarding.
Hyperion streaming release announcement in Gramophone with a bit more detail
Nikolai Demidenko/Jerzy Maksymiuk/BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is excellent! For Nikolai Medtner Piano Cto 2, I’m also, as you might expect, partial to
which I own, but is not yet available for streaming. Will be soon, though.
Are you aware of a good recording of Borwick’s arrangement for piano of Debussy’s Prélude de l’après-midi d’une faune?
Well, in trying to broaden your horizons @bill_perkins, there’s more excellent Russian fare from Steven Osborne ![]()


That’s what I come here for. An embarrassment of riches or is it a richness of embarrassments? I forget.
I own and have enjoyed these Steven Osborne performances. They are superb. I also love his Alkan & Chopin Cello Sonatas recording with Alban Gerhardt. Not yet released for streaming in the first tranche from Hyperion.
Found a Debussy Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, Arr Leonard Borwick (a fascinating pianist composer) for Piano recording performed by Sandro Russo. Pleasant enough.









