March
28 March – 4 April
GERSHWIN – RHAPSODY IN BLUE
Stefano Bollani, piano
Riccardo Chailly, conductor
Gewandhausorchester
Decca 478 2739
Classical meets jazz as celebrated pianist Stefano Bollani and maestro Riccardo Chailly bring fresh spirit and flair to Gershwin’s timeless Rhapsody in Blue.
21 – 25 March
LISA BATIASHVILI – ECHOES OF TIME
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Hélène Grimaud, piano
Deutsche Grammophon 477 9299
Violinist Lisa Batiashvili’s Deutsche Grammophon debut recording, Echoes of Time, is her selection of works by composers whose artistic lives – like her own – were impacted by Soviet life and politics. Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto is complemented by the music of Rachmaninov, Arvo Pärt and Giya Kancheli. Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and pianist Hélène Grimaud lend support and inspiration.
14 – 18 March
BONJOUR PARIS – ALBRECHT MAYER
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Mathias Mönius, conductor
Decca 478 2564
Virtuoso oboe-player Albrecht Mayer celebrates a lifelong passion for France with this album of popular melodies, including favourites by Debussy, Fauré and Ravel – plus the world premiere recording of the impressionistic Été op 18 by Odermatt.