CD of the week April

Nicola Benedetti – Italia23 – 27 April
Nicola Benedetti – Italia
Nicola Benedetti on violin with the Scottish Chamber
Orchestra. Conductor – Christian Curnyn
DECCA 476 4342

Recorded in Edinburgh, the album celebrates Nicola Benedetti’s Scottish-Italian heritage as she plays virtuoso Italian masterpieces, accompanied by the leading chamber orchestra of her native Scotland. Highlights include baroque favourites Summer from Vivaldi’s ever-popular Four Seasons and Tartini’s famous Devil’s Trill sonata.

Yuja Wang – Fantasia16 – 20 April
Yuja Wang – Fantasia
Deutsche Grammophon 479 0052

Pianist Yuja Wang’s new DG album features musical miniatures that are short, sweet, and huge in impact. These encore pieces by Scriabin, Gluck, Rachmaninov, Chopin and others will enthral her fans with challenging technical demands and the bravura precision of her execution. The variety of styles – which includes neo-classical, impressionist, romantic, jazz – in addition to the quality of the arrangements of pieces that are adaptations, provides a welcome and yet unique listening experience.

Jorge Luis Prats – Live In Zaragoza9 – 13 April
Jorge Luis Prats – Live In Zaragoza
Granados, Villa-Lobos, Fariñas, Lecuona
Decca 478 2732

Cuban piano virtuoso Jorge Luis Prats marks his Decca debut and return to the world stage with a live recital focussing on his beloved Spanish and Latin musical heritage. The CD includes masterpieces by Villa-Lobos and the stunningGoyescas by Granados, as well as captivating encores by his compatriots Fariñas, Cervantes and Lecuona.

Grieg – Music For String Orchestra2 – 6 April
Grieg – Music For String Orchestra
Australian Chamber Orchestra
Richard Tognetti, artistic director and lead violin
BIS-SACD-1877

Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra present a glorious new release featuring the popular Holberg Suite, two of Grieg's own arrangements of his best-loved songs (Elegiac Melodies), and Richard Tognetti's exciting arrangements of Grieg's String Quartet no 1 and the ravishing Erotikk. The ACO has been acclaimed by Gramophone as ‘an outstanding band’, while The Observer praised their ‘gloriously exciting, tangy edged, alert and playful sound’.