Gramophone – September 2019

Williams’son-the-jobtrainingasacomposer,whichbegan

bywritingmusicfortelevisionshowsmoreorlessondemand,

inavarietyofdifferentstyles.‘He’soneofthelastfilm

composers–ifnotthelast–whousesahugeorchestraand

reallyknowshowtoorchestrate,andisproperlydoingthat

himself,andnotthroughacomputerorotherpeople;unlike

otherswhoapparentlyplayatuneonthepianowithonefinger

andthengetthecredit.’

Mutterappreciatescraft.Topreparefor‘AcrosstheStars’

shedidnotspenddaysonendbinge-watchingthefilmsfrom

whichthesethemesoriginate–temptingasitsurelymighthave

beentospenddaysonthesofaandcallithomework;instead,

sheenjoyedtheactof‘dressingup’,ofmakingherviolin‘act’

liketheinstrumentsoriginallyspotlitbyWilliams.InStarWars,

forexample,playingtheclassic‘PrincessLeia’sTheme’meant

‘findingtherighthorn-liketimbre,asifsuspendedinthe

air–findingthattimelessheroicscopethatthehornjusthas.

It’snothingtodowithplayingloudly,justfindingatimbre

thattheviolindoesn’tnormallyhave.’

SomuchaboutMutter’scareerappearstobeconstantthat

itcansometimesbemistakenforroutine,albeitroutineatthe

highestpossiblelevel.Sheisinherfifthdecadeofrecording

forDG(shestartedin1978,attheageof14,withHerbertvon

Karajan,theBerlinPhilharmonicandMozart’sThirdand

FifthViolinConcertos).Thismastertechnician’scallingcard

isabig,vibrantsound–well,thatand,inliveperformances,

hertrademarkstraplessdressesinblockcolour(theyareall

designedbyBritishcouturierNicholasOakwell,sinceyouask).

Perhapsthereissomethingtimelessaboutthesumeffect,but

sheisnotstandingstill.Thisnewalbumissurelyproofofthat.

So,too,istherosterofcomposersshe’sjustbeenworkingwith.

‘SotherewasPenderecki’sbig85thbirthday,andabig

celebrationforhim,thegreatcomposerinmylife,who’sgiven

mefouramazingpieces,’shesays,quietlytriumphant.‘Andat

thesametimetherewasJohn,whoIwasworkingwithonthis,

totallydifferent,project,andatthesametimeJörgWidmann

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONESEPTEMBER 201919

ANNE-SOPHIE MUTTER

Giovanni Stefano Carbonelli:

Sonate da Camera, Vol 2

Bojan Čičić violin, The Illyria Consort

With their debut recording on Delphian, Bojan Čičić

and his Illyria Consort propelled the name of Carbonelli

from obscurity into the classical charts, recapturing

the excitement which the violinist-composer stirred

up in eighteenth-century London. Now they bring

to Carbonelli’s other six surviving sonatas the same

intelligence, sensitivity and sheer, exhilarating

virtuosic brilliance with which they proved him to

be so much more than just a ‘follower of Corelli’ or

‘contemporary of Vivaldi’. For good measure they add

in a fine concerto by the latter that bears Carbonelli’s

name, demonstrating the respect in which he was

held in his native Italy before setting off to find his

fame and fortune in England.

‘superb and passionate ...

The future of the Illyria Consort is bright’

— BBC Music Magazine, September 2017 [on Vol 1]

17th-Century Playlist

Ed Lyon, Theatre of the Ayre

Tenor Ed Lyon has been one of the UK’s most versatile

and sought-after soloists for over a decade. Now,

for Delphian, comes his first solo recording project,

inspired by the immediacy, joy and freedom found

in seventeenth-century music. Joined by Theatre

of the Ayre – a flexible and innovative ensemble led

by the lutenist Elizabeth Kenny – he has conceived

his very own ‘playlist’: a live mixtape of the songs,

simultaneously catchy and sophisticated, which

became the earworms of their day.

‘Ed Lyon reaffirms his claim to be one of the

pre-eminent Baroque tenors of our time’

— The Independent, March 2011

[on Handel: Ode for St Cecilia’s Day, DCD34094]

I and Silence: Women’s Voices in American Song

Lieberson – Argento – Barber – Copland – Crumb

Marta Fontanals-Simmons mezzo-soprano,

Lana Bode piano

‘Did I sing too loud?’ asked Emily Dickinson in 1861,

in a poem set a century later by Aaron Copland.

The expectations of silence often placed on women,

historically and politically, and music’s power to break

through them, are the themes of this deeply personal

recital by mezzo-soprano Marta Fontanals-Simmons

and pianist Lana Bode. Their programme reflects and

channels the voices of female writers and musicians:

Dickinson herself, Sara Teasdale and Virginia Woolf

are among those whose words are set in the works

brought together here, two of which – Dominick

Argento’s From the Diary of Virginia Woolf and Peter

Lieberson’s Rilke Songs – were written for great

mezzo-sopranos of the recent past, Dame Janet

Baker and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. They stand here

as powerful meditations on loss, vulnerability, tenacity

and mindfulness.

DCD34214

DCD34220

DCD34229

Delphian Records Ltd, 34 Wallace Avenue,

Wallyford, East Lothian, EH21 8BZ

http://www.delphianrecords.co.uk

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram,

or find out more by joining the Delphian mailing

list: http://www.delphianrecords.co.uk/join

INNOVATIVE RECORDING PROJECTS ON

@delphianrecords

@delphianrecords

@delphian_records

Previn, here with Mutter in 2005, did much to bring the ilm music project together

PHOTOGRAPHY:

PRASHANT GUPTA/DG, HARALD HOFFMANN/DG

‘In classical music things need to evolve

slowly ... musicians need the chance to grow.

None of us became who we are overnight’