STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS

Richard Strauss by Louise Alder and Joseph Middleton

‘Recently, while perusing the shelves at Readings, I was thrilled to discover young British soprano Louise Alder’s debut Strauss recording. My excitement was twofold: I recognised her as an acquaintance from my year studying at the Royal College in London and could not wait to hear her beautiful voice once again; and I adore Richard Strauss’s lieder and could easily spend all day listening to it. Alder, accompanied by Joseph Middleton, has created a Schumann Frauenliebe und-leben-esque cycle by grouping Strauss’s songs under titles such as ‘Youth’, ‘Partnership’, and ‘Loss’.

Rather than enjoy Alder’s cycle from the beginning, I skipped straight to my favourites: Zueignung and Allerseelen, both bracketed under the final heading ‘Release’. At first, I was struck by Alder’s accuracy and control. On second listen, I was swept up in the beauty of Strauss’s music, and the fullness of Alder’s tone. She sings with considerable technical brilliance – particularly in her impressive top register – and with great sincerity. Finally I listened to the disc as intended – from start to finish as a cycle – along the way discovering such gems as SchlagendeHerzen. Strauss’s challenging songs roll effortlessly off Alder’s tongue, and glimmer under Middleton’s fingers.’

– Alexandra Mathew

Splendid Harmony by L'arpa festante

‘The concept behind this album is very interesting. It’s not an homage to a person as such, it’s a homage to his legacy through his teaching. It features five different composers, all of whom learned from the early Baroque composer Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672). As with many composers of this era whose music has survived, Schütz was German and spent 55 years working as a court composer in Dresden. He is widely considered the most important and influential composer of the period. He taught many students, both his own from Dresden and others from other principalities in the region. The pupils in turn were sought after as court composers in their own right, thanks to their illustrious teacher.

The delightful thing with this particular recording is that L’arpafestante’s musicality makes this very interesting story completely moot. It’s just such a lovely recording. It brings these oft-neglected composers back into performance history and I honestly have no idea why anyone would stop performing these works. They’re beautiful early Baroque pieces that capture your attention very quickly and seem to lack the denseness of the later Baroque style that can often be off-putting for listeners. For any lover of orchestral and chamber music, this recording is going to delight you. Don’t let these composers fall again into obscurity.’

– Kate Rockstrom

OUR FABULOUS BOX-SET SALE IS BACK

The Readings classical music sale is back!

With discounts of up to 50% on CDs and classical box-sets, this year’s sale includes recordings of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Einaudi, Philip Glass, Richard Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, Vivaldi and Wagner. These classics are all performed by greats of the classical world: John Williams, Yo-Yo Ma, Glenn Gould, Martha Argerich and Herbert von Karajan, among others.

The sale is available in all Readings shops (except Readings Kids) and online from now until 30 September, while stocks last. Browse our collection below to see what’s on offer.