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Recent Productions
The
Hallé Orchestra's Own Label |
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It's a particular
privilege to be asked by the Hallé Orchestra to produce the
sessions for its new in-house label.
The orchestra is
clearly in wonderful form under Mark Elder, its Music Director
since September 2000.
The sessions are of
remarkable concentration and passion, and the reviews (below)
speak for
themselves. |
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CD HLL 7500 |
CD HLL 7501 |
CD HLL 7502 |
ELGAR:
Symphony No 1 in A flat |
ELGAR:
Enigma Variations |
NIELSEN:
Symphony No 5 |
"This is superior in almost every regard to the recent
highly praised version by the LSO under Sir Colin Davis on the
LSO's own label; it is far better recorded and is better
conducted...The recordings, produced by Andrew Keener, are very
good..." (Robert Matthew-Walker, International Record Review,
June 2003)
"This is a magnificent beginning for the Hallé's
record label...I doubt if [the First Symphony] was ever better
played [under Harty and Barbirolli] than it is here...The
performance of In the South is equally resplendent." (David
Cairns, Sunday Times, 13 April 2003) |
"Terrific Cockaigne... production and engineering
(Andrew Keener and Simon Eadon) top-notch." (Andrew Achenbach,
Gramophone, July 2003)
"The producer is Andrew Keener, a guarantor of
sensitive recording...The Variations are given a magnificent
performance. If you want to sample what Elder is achieving
with the Hallé, listen to Troyte with its thunderous timpani
and cutting-edge strings." (Michael Kennedy, Sunday
Telegraph) |
"A stupendous performance...The astonishing side-drum
outburst is brilliantly recorded and played..." (Michael
Kennedy, Sunday Telegraph)
"...a performance of strong character and palpable
dedication." (Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone, July
2003) |
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CD HLL 7507 |
CD HLL 7505 |
ELGAR:
Symphony No 2 in E flat |
ELGAR:
Cello Concerto ( Heinrich Schiff); Romance for Bassoon;
Falstaff |
"The clear inner lines - beautifully recorded by
Andrew Keener - allow the dark complexities of the first
movement's development to unravel." (Stephen Pettit, London
Evening Standard)
"Mark Elder has emerged as an Elgar conductor of
the first rank ... the sound is superlative."
(Michael Kennedy, Sunday Telegraph)
"A gorgeous disc, beautifully recorded, and a must
for all Elgarians." (Hugh Canning, Sunday Times
Classical CD of the Week, 26 September 2004)
"If any more evidence
were needed that the Hallé Orchestra has attained a level of
excellence not heard since the Barbirolli era, this latest of
its own-label discs is it." (Matthew Rye, Daily
Telegraph Classics CD of the Week, 9 October 2004) |
"The account of Falstaff makes a powerful case for the
"symphonic study" as one of Elgar's most captivating and
brilliantly inventive scores." (David Cairns, Sunday
Times) |
Click
Here to be transported to a website dedicated to these discs
The Complete Beethoven String Quartets
played by the Takács Quartet |
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This Award-winning
set (2003 Grammy for Early Quartets; 2005 Gramophone Award for
the Late Quartets) has been greeted with universal acclaim.
Recorded in St George's Bristol with Simon Eadon engineering,
these sessions are among the most rewarding I have ever
produced.
"Just wanted to say thanks again
for the whole project - you have transformed the way we record.
It always used to be the least effective part of our game, and
your handling of sessions is masterly. You always create an
atmosphere which encourages one to do one's best".
Edward Dusinberre, Leader of the Takács
Quartet |
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Decca 470 848-2 |
Decca 470 847-2 |
Decca 470 849-2 |
Beethoven:
Early String Quartets |
Beethoven:
Middle String Quartets |
Beethoven:
Late String Quartets |
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"...readings which make one think anew about this
great music ... recording of the finest quality." (Penguin
Guide Yearbook 2002/3)
"The recorded quality is high ... this promises to
be among the very finest complete Beethoven quartet cycles."
(International Record Review, June 2002)
WINNER,
Chamber Music category, Gramophone Awards,
2002 WINNER, Chamber Music category, Japanese Recording
Academy |
"As in the previous issues, these CDs, recorded in
Bristol and produced under the unostentatious yet meticulous
direction of Andrew Keener, are models of sensitive yet full-blooded
chamber music-making." (International Record
Review, February 2005)
"This performance (Grosse Fuge) is the climax of a
superlative set that all lovers of this sublime music will want
to acquire." Hugh Canning, Sunday Times
Classical CD of the Week, 23 January 2005)
"Probably the finest
modern set of these great quartets." (Stephen Johnson,
BBC Music Magazine, March
2005) |
Click
Here for more about the Takács Quartet
Further Recent
Productions |
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TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto, etc. (Joshua Bell/Berlin
Philharmonic Orchestra/Michael Tilson Thomas) Sony
Classical Engineer: Arne Akselberg
"Makes me wish I'd
been there." (Andrew McGregor, CD Review, BBC Radio
3) |
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RACHMANINOV: Piano Concertos/Paganini Rhapsody
(Stephen Hough/Dallas Symphony Orchestra/Andrew
Litton Hyperion Engineer: Jeff Mee
"You always bring with you that air of the 'special' to your
work and your ease of demeanor is universally admired in my
orchestra." (Emanuel Borok, Concertmaster, Dallas Symphony
Orchestra)
"As fine as anything
Hough has done on disc to date." (Andrew Clements, The
Guardian) "... no recordings of the concertos have the
sonic allure of these, recorded live in concert at Dallas'
Meyerson Center by top producer Andrew Keener." (Bradley
Bambarger, NJ.com, December
2004) |
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BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral); Leonora
Overtures 1-3 (Swedish Chamber Orchestra/Thomas
Dausgaard) Simax Engineers: Geoff Miles
& Andrew Hallifax
"A large part of the
success of this release must go to the recording team led by
Andrew Keener." (Laurence Vittes, Audiophile
Audition) |
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MAHLER: (arr. Erwin Stein): Symphony No. 4 in G major
(Manchester Camerata/Douglas Boyd)
Avie Engineer: Simon Eadon
"Andrew Keener's
production is the crispest, most immediate the score has
received on disc." (David Gutman, The Gramophone, August
2005) |
THREE WINNERS at the 2002 GRAMOPHONE
AWARDS |
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SAINT-SAËNS: The Complete Works for Piano and
Orchestra (Stephen Hough/City of Birmingham Symphony
Orchestra/Sakari Oramo) Hyperion
Engineers: Tony Faulkner & Mike Clements
RECORD OF THE YEAR, Gramophone Awards,
2002
"...demonstration
sound quality." (Penguin Guide Yearbook
2002/3) |
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BEETHOVEN: String Quartets, "Razumovsky" Op 59, 1-3;
"Harp" Op 74 (Takács
Quartet) Decca Engineer:
Simon Eadon WINNER, Chamber Music category,
Gramophone Awards, 2002 WINNER, Chamber Music
category, Japanese Recording Academy "...readings which
make one think anew about this great music ... recording of the
finest quality." (Penguin Guide Yearbook 2002/3)
"The recorded quality is high ... this promises to be among the very
finest complete Beethoven quartet cycles." (International
Record Review, June 2002) |
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CHAMINADE: Songs and Music for Two Pianos
(Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano/Bengt Forsberg,
piano/Peter Jablonski, piano) Deutsche
Grammophon Engineer: Andrew Wedman
WINNER, Vocal Music category, Gramophone
Awards, 2002 "A totally entrancing CD from two of the
greatest explorers of repertory."
(Gramophone, February
2002) |
Other Recent
Productions |
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MOZART: Two Piano Quartets (Paul Lewis and the
Leopold String Trio) Hyperion
Engineer: Simon Eadon
"When these musicians
played these quartets at the 2000 Edinburgh Festival, I wrote
that 'every bar sounded fresh-minted in the hands of these
wonderful young artists...'. Almost four years on, their
performances retain the same youthful freshness." (Hugh
Canning, Sunday Times, 18 May
2003) |
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BEETHOVEN and MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concertos
(Joshua Bell/Camerata Salzburg/Sir Roger
Norrington) Sony
Classical Engineer: Arne Akselberg
"A strong, distinctive reading." (Penguin
Guide Yearbook, 2002) |
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MESSIAEN: Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant- Jésus
(Steven Osborne, piano) Hyperion
Engineer: Tony Faulkner Critics' Choice 2002,
Gramophone "Hyperion's presentation, like the recorded
sound, complements Osborne's magnificent grasp of the music."
(International Record Review, November, 2002)
"The recording is ideally responsive to the sheer range of sound
that [Osborne] draws from the instrument."
(Gramophone, October,
2002) |
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SCHUBERT: Piano Trio in E flat major, D929 (The
Florestan Trio) Hyperion
Engineer: Tony Faulkner
"Another superb performance ... as before, the
recording is completely lifelike and well balanced."
(Gramophone, November,
2002) |
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BEETHOVEN: Piano Concertos 1 and 2 (Boris
Berezovsky/Swedish Chamber Orchestra/Thomas Dausgaard)
Simax Classics Engineer: Erik Gard
Amundsen "The recordings are beautifully focussed and
refined and I can scarcely wait to hear this superlative young
pianist and his warmly sympathetic companions in music-making
in the three remaining concertos." (Gramophone, July
2001) "The recording is gorgeous: beautifully balanced,
wide in range and utterly natural in timbre."
(International Record Review, July/Aug 2001) |
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BRAHMS: The Four Symphonies (Chamber Orchestra of
Europe/Paavo Berglund) Ondine Engineer:
Eberhard Sengpiel I produced these recordings in
Baden-Baden, Germany, half way through the COE's spring 2000
tour. The size of orchestra is similar to that with which
Brahms would have been familiar in Meiningen. In Baden-Baden we
recorded 'live', with just a single day (scarily intense but
stimulating!) after the two concerts to 'patch' all four works.
A review by the Gramophone follows - |
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BRAHMS: The Four Symphonies (Chamber Orchestra of
Europe/Paavo Berglund) Ondine Review: "A
good example [of this set's care for balance] occurs at around
4'58" in the first movement of the First Symphony, where rising
cellos soar above descending staccato violins. When the
process is reversed a few bars later, you can actually hear the
change in perspective, which scotches any notion that it's all
been manipulated from the recording console (not that producer
Andrew Keener would ever countenance such a thing!)."
(Gramophone, August 2001) |
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HOLST: The Planets: Pluto (Colin Matthews/Women of the
Hallé Choir/Hallé Orchestra/Mark Elder) Hyperion
Engineer: Tony Faulkner This premier recording of Colin
Matthews' imaginative addition to Holst's suite was recorded in
Manchester's Bridgewater Hall by the orchestra which
commissioned the work. "...this has few rivals as a
performance, even fewer in terms of outstanding natural
sound." (International Record Review, June
2001) |
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BACH: Keyboard concertos, Goldberg Variations (Anthony
Molinaro/Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields/Andrew Litton)
AMD Engineer: Arne Akselberg These
sessions, at Abbey Road Studios late in 2000, were an ear-opener for
me. Equally at home in jazz, romantic and classical piano
music, Molinaro presents Bach as a vital force, abounding in
strongly projected counterpoint and rhythmic strength.
Refreshing. |
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ELEGY: Encores for violin & piano (Diana
Yukawa/Nigel Clayton) RCA Engineer: Arne
Akselberg This talented 14 year old Anglo-Japanese
violinist, whose father died in the terrible crash of Flight
JAL 123 a month before she was born, here makes her debut
recording. "Her intonation is remarkably fine ... gorgeous
sound." (International Record Review, July/Aug
2001) |
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GODOWSKY: Etudes after Chopin (Marc-André Hamelin,
piano) Hyperion Engineer: Tony Faulkner
Winner in the Instrumental category, 2000
Gramophone Awards "Enjoyable sound, too: Tony
Faulkner working with producer Andrew Keener" (International
Record Review, December 2000) - "The best of the
Year". (This recording was chosen by three other of the
magazine's critics in the same "Best of the Year"
section). |
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STANFORD: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 74; Suite for
violin & orchestra, Op 32 (Anthony Marwood/BBC Scottish Symphony
Orchestra/Martyn Brabbins) Hyperion
Engineer: Tony Faulkner "Hats off... to the production team
who balance warmth and clarity to perfection" (International Record Review,
January 2001) "...and a recording that is both clean and
spacious". (Gramophone, February2001) |
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BRUCKNER: Symphony no, 3 (BBC Scottish Symphony
Orchestra/Osmo Vänskä) Hyperion Engineer: Tony
Faulkner "The recording, too, is very fine, spacious yet
focused with the acoustic of St Mary's Church Haddington, East
Lothian, capable of accommodating both gauntness and warmth".
(Gramophone, February 2001) "Superbly recorded
with a wide, though realistic, dynamic range, this is an
account to recommend alongside Haitink..." (International
Record Review, December
2000) |
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