Nicola Benedetti

This version of The Lark Ascending reminds me of the 1972 version by Iona Brown and Nevllle Mariner. It's a little longer and the violin flourishes have are slightly more held back making it seem a little more intense. The brass can also be heard more clearly giving it a bigger feel. If you are looking for a new version you could not go wrong with this one. The sound quality is also superb.
The Tavener pieces are as always mystically inclined. The new pieces Lalishri is fairly accessible and I think there are traces of a Mahler violin ( his 5th symphony?) piece in it. The new pieces are very sensual and Indian flavored and definitely have a simple intensity even in the faster sections. I've not always been a fan of John Tavener, but this is really good. If you haven't heard Song for Athene (an old one) it's a must have.

These works couple very interesting works by Tavener with the ever popular "Lark Asending" by Vaughan Williams. These pieces are perfectly matched and the coupling was a great idea. The violinist is wonderful and has great expression. She is an amazing talent and I hope to hear more from her. Don't be afraid to get this CD if Tavener is not familiar to you. His music is very accessible. I just wish this CD (as an import currently) was not so expensive.

The Szymanowski is an interesting piece. Like Korngold's violin concerto but not as korny. And a little weird too. My advice to the violinist at the end of the concerto is: Play the violin. As it was meant to be played. Not like triangles. Her approach here is way too soft. The littleness is too pronounced and it has to be more mysterious

To find such skill in someone so young is wonderful. These are some difficult pieces, beautifully played.

This is one of the best albums I've listened to in some time. Fantastic! It's just great. At last, a new young violinist who has higher aspirations than to add one more recording of the Tchaikovsky and Sibelius concerti to the pile. Benedetti has chosen a stunning program here; each piece is quite different from the next, and she traverses an impressive range of expression with them. Her playing is poignant and assured, and she is possessed of a sophisticated artistry well beyond her years.

The Szymanowski is one part Debussy, one part Bartók, combining kaleidoscopic, non-functional harmonies with Eastern, modal flavor. It's a sprawling, fascinating piece, distinctive and unique -- one you'll return to, and want to hear other recordings of, as well. The Brahms Contemplation (an transcription of one of his lieder by Fritz Kriesler), the Massanet Meditation, the Saint-Saëns Havanaise, and the Taverner Fragment are all gorgeous, and played beautifully; and the Chausson Poème, perhaps my favorite piece on the disc, drew a tear... it's so beautiful as read here.

You're in for a real treat with this one. Still a teenager, Benedetti of course doesn't present this music with the sage wisdom of years; but that fact really only adds to her achievement here. If she's capable of this caliber of playing already, it excites me just to think of where she'll be in a decade, or in two. I'm eagerly awaiting her subsequent releases.

Five BLAZING Stars!! Award-winning Scottish violin prodigy Nicola Benedetti continues her rise in musical maturity and expansiveness with these dazzling performances. In her debut CD, the teen phenom displays awesome talent, patience, and determination in presenting one of her favorite award-winning programs, among other sterling performances. And she is BRILLIANT. Daniel Harding and the London Symphony Orchestra are no less brilliant in providing stunning support to this rising star. This is truly awe-inspiring, highly introspective music.

The 'Pieces De Resistance' begin with a sensational 10 minute "Havanaise in E for Violin and Orchestra" by Saint-Saens, which allows her to both show off her brilliant technique and produce bowed fireworks. This is followed by a blazing performance of the work which she performed when she won the BBC Young Musician of the Year award, a truly wonderful and complex Szymanowski "Violin Concerto No 1" with breathtaking support from the LSO. Also check out her spectacular 'soliloquies' during Chausson's "Poeme for Violin and Orchestra, Op 25", so exposed and so brilliant. The world premier of "Fragment for the Virgin", written by Sir John Tavener for Nicola is performed so poignantly as she shows her awesome control using the portamento technique. "It Ain't Necessarily So" is pure convoluted gratuitous enjoyment for her and us. Look up prodigy in the dictionary and you'll see "Nicky" pictured there. She's something to behold both visually and musically. Universal/Deutsche Grammophon, we await the DVDs! Five BLAZING Stars!!!

(Notes:
*Track 9. Meditation from Thais - Massenet is the LSO background track without Nicola's violin.
*Track 10. The sizzling "It Ain't Necessarily So" from "Porgy & Bess" (Recorded Live At Angel Studios) is a Bonus Track, only available from ITunes.
*Trivia: Nicola plays a 1751 Petrus Guarnerius of Venice violin.
*This review is based on a 10 track ITunes Music Store download with 3 page digital booklet.)

Five HUGE Stars. Nicola Benedetti, the brilliant fiery Scottish violin prodigy, continues her ascent up the classical music hierachy with stunning and beautiful performances of Mozart, Mendelssohn, and James MacMillan on her second CD. The 'Piece De Resistance' is the tenacious 27 minute 'Tour De Force' performance of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 that has many moments of pure euphoric musical delight rippling from her bow, especially the Allegro non troppo movement, as she superbly negotiates the tricky currents. Her soliloquy during the Allegro molto appassionato is spellbinding. Not announced on the cover are two wonderful performances of Schubert: a deeply reverential Ave Maria D839 (violin and harp), notable for the declarative multi-string second pass thru, and the elegant Serenade ("Standchen" No 4 from Schwanengesand D957) with orchestra. The Academy of St Martin in the Fields orchestra with James MacMillan at the baton is absolutely stupendous. The Mozart pieces are delivered with great empathy and panache with Nicola, I'm told, doing double duty as performer and conductor. Quite a feat.

When composers begin writing music specifically for an artist, you know the artist has arrived. As in her debut CD, there is music composed especially for her herein. This time countryman James MacMillan has composed two movements entitled "From 'Ayrshire' " for his fellow Scot to tantalize us with in a world premier: the Largo is florid beauty with Nicky spinning out yearning 5 note and 6 note motifs; and the second movement, which is instructed to be played "like a very fast reel", is bombastic wonder with Nicola's sizzling violin work producing multi-string incandescent notes. One day she'll have to give us a full CD of these specially composed works, to include the complete expansion of the "Fragment for the Virgin" from her debut CD.

This CD is totally enjoyable and at times even overpowering. Ms Benedetti seems to have the natural capability of producing emotional, powerful performances, far beyond her teenage years, that directly impact the listener's emotions. Her debut CD with Daniel Harding and the London Symphony Orchestra was a shot across the bow of the classical world, announcing her arrival as a member of the leading edge of the 'next wave' of young virtuosi, in the wake of the marvelous Hilary Hahn and company. And the excitement continues with this CD. I can't say enough about Nicky's musicianship. My Highest Recommendation. Five BLAZING Stars.

(*Trivia: Nicola plays a 1751 Petrus Guarnerius of Venice violin.
*This review is based on a 9 track ITunes download.)

It was a wonderful experience to hear many of the songs in this series for the first time, and be introduced to composers one had never heard of before. It's time to retire the warhorses of opera for a while, and bring out some new (old) music. Mr. Parry gets full marks for this series, and I hope they release some more of them soon-- does anyone know why none have appeared since the 1820-30 CD? A slight grainy quality to some of the works and an occasional variation in recorded volume was a bit annoying, but on the whole these discs offer a variety of emotions, some memorable melodies (bel canto isn't all Bellini and Donizetti), and some real finds, such as Paer and Mayer.

The "100 Years of Italian Opera" series released by Opera Rara is unique in the annals of opera recordings. However, this installment is especially exciting as it documents the evolution of Italian opera during the 1820's, the decade when romanticism truly began to come into its own on the operatic stage. Opera Rara has lovingly compiled a variety of arcana written by composers famous and forgotten. Included is everything from overtures to arias, duets, ensembles, and entire scenes. Every vocal range is represented, and the dramatic material varies from old school subjects such as figures from mythology and antiquity to English monarchs.

This recording merits the highest praise for both its scholarly interest and entertainment value. Opera Rara has outdone itself with a beautifully produced booklet, though with its generous size and content, "tome" might be a more apt moniker. Each selection on the CD has a corresponding article in the booklet which gives the original cast of the opera, the singers interpreting the piece, a detailed history of the composer and the opera in question, an analysis of the music, and an Italian-English translation. Each article is thorough, fascinating, and well-written and substantially increases one's enjoyment and understanding of the selections. As if all this weren't enough, 19th-century drawings of composers, singers, librettists, and costumes are liberally strewn throughout and further serve to make these artists, and the operas they helped to create, come alive.

The singers are competent at worst, and at their best are excellent. Most of them are unknown, but some of Opera Rara's mainstays are featured here: Della Jones, Bruce Ford, Marilyn Hill-Smith, Yvonne Kenny, Diana Montague and Alistair Miles are all featured, and are all as wonderful as ever. Among the singers that may be less familiar, contralto Patricia Spence and mezzo Penelope Walker merit particular mention for their wonderful contributions to this recording. David Parry is competent and tasteful in his conducting as we would expect, and the Philharmonia Orchestra is in fine form. The Geoffrey Mitchell Choir provides the choral backup when necessary and also does a fine job.

With thirteen composers and twenty-four operas represented, it is only possible to discuss a few high points in the set. Those interested in Donizetti's oeuvre will not be disappointed, as five of his early works, all of which have yet to be revived in modern times, are represented here. Bruce Ford easily tosses off a difficult aria from the 1822 comedy "La Zingara", and Della Jones executes Byzantine coloratura pyrotechnics with confidence and panache in the rondo-finale from the obscure "Alfredo il Grande". A lovely all-female trio from his "Chiara e Serafina", and a grand and impressive bass aria from the tragedy "Il Paria" are other numbers that the Donizetti-phile will treasure. Bellini and Rossini are not forgotten, either. A recently discovered alternative aria from the former's "Adelson e Salvini" shows that even in his earliest works, Bellini was true to the lyrical, melancholy style we associate with his masterpieces. And the first of the Rossini pieces offered, a duet from "Zelmira", sounds for all the world like Bellini, despite predating the latter's first opera by 3 years.

Among the other composers featured are the prolific and underrated Pacini and Mercadante, both of whose careers eventually spanned Verdi's middle period. Pacini's "Il Contestabile di Chester", an 1829 work based on a Walter Scott novel, provides us with an exquisite love duet for soprano and en travesti mezzo-soprano. The woebegone farewell of the star-crossed lovers is interpreted with beauty and artistry by Yvonne Kenny and Susan McCullough. Della Jones again rises to the occasion in a ferociously difficult aria from Mercadante's "Nitocri", yet she is confidently in control of the death-defying leaps, scales, and trills that pepper the aria and which would so easily confound a singer of lesser abilities. A highly dramatic act finale from Mercadante's "Amleto" is also included, this selection featuring choral and ensemble writing that is so dramatic we have difficulty believing it is from an opera of 1822. Carlo Conti, a composer with whom almost no one this side of paradise is familiar, contributes a wilting and sad Bellinian lament from "Giovanna Shore" of 1829. This piece resembles a traditional heroine's aria di sortita, but it contains enough participation from the two basses that it becomes a trio. The best surprise of all comes from the selections by Carlo Coccia, a composer whose masterpiece "Caterina di Guisa" was recently successfully revived in Italy. This album features a remarkably beautiful duet from his "Rosmonda", a setting of the same libretto used for Donizetti's "Rosmonda d'Inghilterra." Again featuring Yvonne Kenny, this time with Diana Montague, the scene parallels Rosmonda's introductory scene in Donizetti's opera, but allows the pageboy Arturo to participate fully. The highlight of the entire set, however, is the final scene of Coccia's "Maria Stuart", an opera based on the same Schiller play that inspired Donizetti's "Maria Stuarda". Coccia's handling of the scene in which Mary of Scots confronts Elizabeth I is not as shocking as Donizetti's, but nevertheless brilliantly builds the tension in the Queens' encounter until they turn on each other. Coccia's librettist preserves more of Schiller's characters and this allows nine voices in the ensembles, making them unusually rich and varied in both their harmonies and counterpoint. The fact that these were two of Coccia's LEAST successful works had me salivating to hear more of his operas performed. Some of the other numbers, while not representing the best composers or operas of the day, nevertheless give us a more complete picture of the artistic climate in which some of the masterpieces were produced. This set is indispensible to anyone interested in early 19th century Italian opera, and may generate such an interest in those who lack it!

This installment in Opera Rara's "Hundred Years of Italian Opera" project again reveals a treasure trove of lovely melody and high operatic drama. The examples are well-chosen and really lovely, making one wonder at their neglect. One can almost hear history in the making, as these composers push the boundaries of musico-dramatic conventions. Listen, for example, to the excerpt from Mercadante's "Amleto," a Italian version of "Hamlet" which plays fast and loose with Shakespeare but is marvelous on a musical level. Mercadante includes whistling piccolos in the orchestration, which sound eerily like human screams, a truly bone-chilling effect. I was reminded of the "Dies Irae" of Verdi's Requiem. There is also a lovely aria a due from "Rosmonda" by Coccia, sung deliciously by Yvonne Kenny and Diana Montague. Kenny, who is featured prominently in this set, has lost some of the ease of her highest notes but sings with a beautiful line and an alertness to the dramatic situation. Other singers include Nuccia Focile, Della Jones, Bruce Ford, and Alistair Miles. An essential set for the lover of bel canto and for those who enjoy discovering (unjustly) forgotten works.