Hyperion would like to congratulate pianist Angela Hewitt made Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to Music in the Queen's 80th Birthday Honours and to Nash Ensemble founder Amelia Freedman awarded Commander of the British Empire.

16, 17, 23, 24 November at 7pm; Guildhall School Music Hall

Aus meinem grossen Schmerzen mach'ich die kleinen Lieder From my great sorrows I make my little songs

A celebration of Heinrich Heine and Robert Schumann, devised and presented by Graham Johnson with students from the Guildhall School in the 150th anniversary year of the death of both poet and composer in 1856. The series of four recitals, performed by senior musicians from the Guildhall School, will encompass all the Heine settings of Robert Schumann as well as songs by twenty other composers. There are 114 settings in all, including contributors from all the major Lieder composers, as well as numerous songs by unjustly forgotten figures.

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Angela Hewitt has been named Artist of the Year at the Gramophone Awards 2006, capping a year of unparalleled success and recognition.

Angela has recorded with Hyperion since 1994 building a discography of dazzling breadth and quality. She recently completed her decade long project to record Bach's keyboard works, an endeavour that was acknowledged some 10 times with Gramophone Editor's and Critics' Choice accolades and that saw her feted as 'the pre-eminent Bach pianist of our time' (The Guardian) and 'the pianist who will define Bach performance on the piano for years to come' (Stereophile); having been made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2000 she was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours this year.

Others of her recent recordings include piano works by Chabrier which has garnered consistent praise: 'Angela Hewitt, in one of her best recordings to date, has captured Chabrier's musical spirit perfectly' (International Record Review).

Her 2006-2007 season includes appearances with the Cleveland Orchestra, the symphonies of Detroit and Toronto, the BBC Scottish Symphony, the Hallé Orchestra, and the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra. Her recitals will take her to London, New York, Atlanta, Tokyo, Seoul, Warsaw, Moscow, Florence, Venice (La Fenice), Dublin and Stuttgart. Future plans include a World Tour in 2007-2008 with performances of the complete Well-Tempered Clavier, and the release of a disc of Rameau Keyboard Suites early in 2007 and Beethoven and Schumann projects as well as a DVD lecture-recital devoted to her interpretation of the music of J.S. Bach.

Speaking at the Awards ceremony, Angela noted, 'I would not be standing here today without the support of my public. It is they, after all, who have voted for me. I have always said that artists need to respect and even love their audience. Without them we would all be out of a job. ... I remember telling Ted Perry once about a particularly moving fan letter from a man who had been alienated from music for years after being made redundant at the CBC, but who had rediscovered it through my recording of the Well-Tempered Clavier. Ted answered simply: “Well, that’s why I make records.” His philosophy was the right one, and I know that when I say this award today means the world to me, that it would have meant the same to him. Thank you!'

Our summer sale is now on with dozens of titles available at half price. Click here for an up-to-the-minute listing.

In August 2007 Angela Hewitt will be embarking on a worldwide concert tour devoted to the music of Bach. Click Bach World Tour for concert details.

The winners of the Classic FM Gramophone Awards – the world’s most influential classical music prizes – were announced on October 3rd at London’s Dorchester Hotel. Two awards were given to Hyperion recordings.

The Instrumental category award was always going to be a Hyperion victory. All three shortlisted discs were from our 2007 release list – Hamish Milne’s recording of Medtner Skazki; Marc-André Hamelin’s Haydn Piano Sonatas and Steven Isserlis’s seminal recording of the the Complete Bach Cello Suites

The award was given to Steven Isserlis, and collected in his absence by the delightful Barry Humphries who brought the house down with a hilarious acceptance speech.

Two out of the three nominations in the Early Music category were also Hyperion recordings. The Brabant Ensemble recording of Crecquillon and The Cardinall's Musick recording of Byrd Sacred Music. The award was won by the Cardinall’s Musick for their disc of Byrd’s sacred music. It was accepted by the group’s director, Andrew Carwood. This is their third Gramophone award.

At the inaugural 2006 BBC Music Magazine Awards, Robert King and his Consort were honoured with the Best Choral Category Award for their superb recording of Michael Haydn’s Requiem , with soloists Carolyn Sampson, Hilary Summers, James Gilchrist and Peter Harvey.

Although unable to attend the event due to performing commitments in Denmark, Robert was thrilled to receive the award, which was collected by Simon Perry at the ceremony on the River Thames.

Since the appellate court's decision on copyright we have received many messages of support. Click this link to view the messages.... Message Board

The demand for Hyperion's celebrated Schubert Songs' series requires constant repressing many of the original volumes to keep up with demand. Much of the prestige associated with this series derives from the voluminous commentaries by Graham Johnson, some of which are so vast they warrant special jewel cases to house the larger than usual booklets (for example Winterreise which runs to 112 pages). We have received many emails in praise of the commentaries but we have also received many requests to replace the special jewel box. Many break or fall apart during shipping and it has become quite an industry in itself to keep up the replacement programme.

In light of this we are redesigning and editing some of the original larger-scale booklets to accommodate a standard jewel cases. The super jewel boxes are expensive to manufacture and to replace to the extent that the repressing costs of some of the later larger scale volumes are three times the selling price.

Most of the Schubert commentaries will remain unchanged.

The good news is that Graham Johnson's notes on Schubert are to be published separately. We can't do it ourselves because it would be a massive undertaking, relevant more to the book business than the record one. But at least two publishers have baulked at the prospect, having realised the magnitude of it. Not only would it be over a million words but GJ wants to re-write many of the earlier commentaries which were less exhaustive than the later ones. It seems likely now that Yale University Press will eventually publish the work, though the number of volumes is at present unknown. Possibly two or four. One decision which needs to be made is the 'structure' of the work -- chronological? by subject? by poets? -- these are matters with which GJ is at present concerning himself (when he can take time off from writing his notes to our Schumann and French Song editions!).

Please visit the 'Bronzing' section at the bottom of the menu on the left of your screen for an important update about the problem of corroding CDs.

Steven Isserlis's recording of Bach's complete cello suites is voted CD Review's discs of the year on BBC Radio 3.

A 2007 printed colour catalogue of Hyperion and Helios recordings is available upon request. To receive a free copy click the catalogue request link in the index on the left of your screen.

HOUGH WINS CLASSICAL BRITS CRITICS’ AWARD

Stephen Hough has won this year’s Classical Brits Critics’ Award for his best-selling Hyperion recording of Rachmaninov’s four Piano Concertos and the Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Andrew Litton.

This double-disc set was released in October 2004 and quickly became Hyperion’s fastest-selling new release ever. Stephen has been recording with Hyperion for 10 years and during the course of this relationship has championed a great deal of esoteric repertoire, including York Bowen (Diapason d’Or), Mompou (Gramophone Award), Scharwenka and Sauer (Gramophone Award Winner – Concerto Category and Record of the Year 1996), Saint-Säens (Gramophone Award Winner – Concerto Category and Record of the Year 2002).

In a well-deserved move towards more mainstream repertoire, Stephen’s recording of the complete works for piano and orchestra by Rachmaninov is the first live set of the music available on CD, and demonstrates a novel approach to interpreting these well-known works. Stephen’s aim was to perform the concertos as close as possible in style to Rachmaninov’s own interpretations, by referring both to Rachmaninov’s own recordings and through detailed study of the original scores.

Stephen’s fascination with this repertoire began when as a young child Stephen heard the composer’s own recordings of the concertos - "I was genuinely puzzled when I did eventually hear some modern performances: Where was the characteristic rubato of (Rachmaninoff's) playing? Where were the flexible, fluent tempos, always pushing forward with ardour? Where were the teasing, shaded inner voices forming chromatically shifting harmonic counterpoint to the melody — And what about the portamento slides in the strings — It was like eating a traditional dish far from home and missing the correct ingredients: What is a pesto sauce without garlic?"

Stephen says of his collaboration with long-time friend and colleague Andrew Litton: "It was a wonderful experience! He has been trying to do certain things with the orchestra that I have on the piano, so we were both aiming at the same target. For example I don't think you will hear more portamento string slides on any recording made since the 1940s. It's wonderful to hear these melodies inflected in what I am convinced is an 'authentic' way".

The awards ceremony, which took place in London’s Royal Albert Hall, will be televised at 11:15pm on ITV on Sunday 29th May. Steven Isserlis accepted the award on behalf of Stephen Hough.

REVIEWS

'This is the best set of Rachmaninov Piano Concertos ever recorded. You have no idea how hard I worked not to come to this conclusion, knowing full well just how skeptically such a claim is likely to be received. I compared Stephen Hough to multiple Ashkenazy renditions, to Earl Wild, to Zoltan Kocsis, to Argerich, Rubinstein, Richter, Rodriguez, and Horowitz. I ploughed through several obscure Russian recordings, two cycles on Naxos, and a slew of EMIs. I re-auditioned Pletnev and sampled two separate remasterings of Rachmaninov's own performances. I listened with scores, then waited a few days, and then tried again without them. I played these discs to colleagues, to friends, and to people whose musical judgment I trust as much if not more than my own. But the conclusion was inescapable: there never has been a complete cycle at this level of consistent excellence. There's no doubt about it' (Classicstoday.com)

'Hough and Litton are more than scholars: they make living, flaming music from the ebbing and flowing speeds, the soloist's improvisatory airs, or the strings' willingness to revive the old portamento slide. The waves of energy at the finale's end are very exciting: no wonder the Dallas audience break out in cheers' (The Times)

'the freshness and joy in rediscovering well-worn masterpieces are everywhere in evidence in Hough's playing … If you think you have heard these pieces once too often, this is the recording to help you rediscover their intimacies and their emotional sweep' (The Daily Telegraph)

Liszt Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, Steven Osborne Liszt Harmonies poétiques et religieuses "outstanding, inspirational playing"

Handel Ode for St Cecilia's Day; Cecilia, volgi un sguardo, The King's Consort, Robert King Handel Ode for St Cecilia's Day "Robert King and his expert Handelian forces relish the music's colour and sensuousness, and both soloists are ideal"

Victoria Ave Regina Caelorum, Westminster Cathedral Choir, Martin Baker Victoria Ave Regina Caelorum "Westminster Cathedral Choir's robustly brilliant sound, crisp antiphonal exchanges, rhythmic vigour and electrifying climaxes give the Ave Regina Caelorum Mass and assorted psalm-settings an impact that is nothing short of breathtaking"

Monteverdi Sacred Music Vol 3, The King's Consort, Robert King Monteverdi Sacred Music Vol 3 "No Monteverdi enthusiast will want to be without this magnificent selection of some of his best and most popular sacred works"

Complete artwork for our booklets is now being made available in PDF format; please follow the "Sleeve Notes" link from the page giving full details of each recording.

Files are currently available for all 2007 releases, and will be added retrospectively over the coming months.

Leslie Howard, indefatigable Lisztian, pleads guilty to failing to send us a paragraph about 'La lugubre gondola' in his notes for his new supplementary volume 'New Liszt discoveries' (CDA67346, issued this month). So here it is:

Thanks to the splendid detective work of Professoressa Rossana Dalmonte (Istituto Liszt, Bologna), Liszt scholars have had to take another look at the provenance and history of the most famous of Liszt’s late compositions: 'La lugubre gondola'. We can now establish a clear chronology of the piece, and the present version transpires to be the original conception, composed whilst Liszt was staying with Wagner at the Palazzo Vendramin on the Grand Canal in Venice in December 1882, a piece which Liszt later described as having been written as if under a premonition of Wagner’s death and funeral (Wagner died at the Vendramin in March 1883). The only version of the work published during Liszt’s lifetime is a revision of this manuscript issued by Fritzsch in 1885, known since 1927 as La lugubre gondola II, because in that year Breitkopf & Härtel published it alongside another work with the same title, known as La lugubre gondola I - an erroneous order of chronology. In August 1998, at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatorium in Venice, Rossana Dalmonte found two autograph manuscripts of 'La lugubre gondola' which permit the establishment with reasonable precision of the following chronology:

a) 1882, December: Die Trauer-Gondel - La Lugubre Gondola, for pianoforte, in 4/4 (first version), the piece in the present recording (S199a)

b) 1883, January: La Lugubre Gondola, for pianoforte, in 4/4 (second version), the text which, with minimal alteration, constituted the basis of the 1885 edition (S200/2)

c) circa 1883: La lugubre gondola, transcription for violin or cello and piano from the version b) above (S134), with twenty bars added in place of the last three at a later moment (but probably before the publication of b), since it lacks the final changes to the original text)

d) circa 1884/5: La lugubre gondola, for pianoforte in 6/8, the so-called 'La lugubre gondola I'. This is really a new composition, but clearly derived from the material of b) (S200/1).

The Venice manuscripts were published for the first time in 2002 by Rugginenti in Milan, under the editorship of Mario Angiolelli. The well-known versions of the piece appeared in Volume 11 of the Hyperion Liszt Series.

The following recordings have been made and will be issued over the coming months.

• ...A recital of songs by Rossini with Roger Vignoles, Miah Persson, Stella Doufexis and Bruce Ford

• ...Gerry Finley has recorded songs by Barber with Julius Drake, including Dover Beach with the Aronowitz Ensemble and a second volume of songs by Charles Ives.

• ...Polyphony, Britten Sinfonia and Stephen Layton have made a superb new recording of Poulenc's Gloria with Susan Gritton to be issued in Autumn 07

• ...Lionel Monckton 'Songs from the Shows' - New London Orchestra and Chorus, Catherine Bott and Richard Suart conducted by Ronald Corp. Coming April 2008.

• ...Marc-André Hamelin 'In a State of Jazz'. Works include Kapustin 2nd Sonata, Gulda exercises from Play Piano Play, Weissenberg Sonata in a State of Jazz and the Antheil Jazz Sonata. Release date April 2008.

• ...World Premiere recordings of choral works by Kenneth Leighton, with Wells Cathedral Choir under Matthew Owen.

• ..The Complete Chamber Music for Viola by York Bowen with Lawrence Power and Simon Crawford-Phillips to be issued in the Autumn of 2008.

• ...The Britten Piano Concerto performed by Steven Osborne and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ilan Volkov. To be released in the autumn of 2008.

• ...Handel's Serenata 'Il Parnasso in Festa' performed by Carolyn Sampson, Diane Moore and soloists with The King's Consort conducted by Matthew Halls. To be released in October 2008

• ...Schubert's Schwanengesang with Robert Holl and Roger Vignoles. Autumn 2008.

• ..Roslavets Violin Concertos performed by Alina Ibragimova, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Ilan Volkov.

• ...Honegger 'Cantata de Noél' and Cello Concerto. BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales. Alban Gerhardt and Thierry Fischer.

Mezzo soprano Ann Murray, who has appeared on innumerable Hyperion recordings, has been made an honorary DBE in Her Majesty the Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Soprano Dame Felicity Lott has been appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur, a very rare honour indeed for a non-French person. (Dame Felicity appears in the 2-CD set of Chabrier's complete songs recently issued.)

And pianist Graham Johnson was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres at a ceremony in the French Embassy in London on June 20th. The Award was presented to him by the French Cultural Attache in London.

At a recital in Beirut on 17th March 2004, attended by both the presidents of Lebanon and Hungary, the Hungarian President Ferenc Madl presented Leslie Howard with the Medal of Saint Stephen (struck in honour of 1100th anniversary of the State of Hungary in honour of its first King and Benefactor) in recognition of his outstanding service to Hungary and Hungarian culture.

In 1959 Robert Simpson wrote 'Variations and Fugue for Recorder and String Quartet' for Carl Dolmetsch. Long thought lost, even by 'Bob' Simpson himself, the score has now turned up in the Dolmetsch archives, and Simpson admirers will no doubt like to know that it has been recorded by John Turner and the Camerata Ensemble on an Olympia CD, OCD710. Copies are available from Olympia dealers and/or from The Robert Simpson Society, 20 Warren Road, Reigate, Surrey RH2 0BS (£10).

Produced by Jim Pattison of The Robert Simpson Society on his Dunelm label, a new CD, recorded by Malcolm MacDonald, is now available -- 'An introduction to the string quartets of Robert Simpson'. Mr MacDonald's talk is generously illustrated with excerpts from the Hyperion recordings of the quartets as well as historical ones by the Element Quartet, issued on the Pearl label.

The recording is also available on a cassette.

CD: DRD0110 -- GBP10.95
Cassette: DRC0110 -- GBP8.70

The prices include packing and postage.

To order either or both of these, please e-mail sales@dunelm-records.co.uk, or use the order form in the Purchasing section of Dunelm's web site www.dunelm-records.co.uk.

You may also telephone or fax Dunelm Records at +44 [0]1457 855313, giving your name, address, telephone and fax number, or write to Dunelm Records, 2 Park Close, Glossop, Derbyshire SK13 7RQ, England.

Dunelm say 'send no money with your order. Pay promptly on receipt of invoice. Credit card sales are subject to a small surcharge'.

The Rutland Boughton Music Trust has announced that performing material -- a full printed score and orchestral parts -- for Boughton's Third Symphony (recorded on Helios CDH55019) is now available. For further information please email: boughtonmusictrust@talk21.com

It is becoming increasingly common to find CDs with faulty booklets packed inside them. It seems to be a problem with all printers. The most common fault is completely wrong inside pages, so that, for instance (a recent case), Volume 20 of the Schubert Edition (CDJ33020), whilst it had the right cover, had the inside pages for Book I of Bach's Wohltemperirte Clavier. Several of these have gone out into the world recently.

Other faults are blank or missing pages (caused by the machine picking up two sheets of paper together and therefore not printing the inside surfaces).

If you find yourself with a faulty booklet please DO NOT return it to your dealer. All you need do is email us with details, giving your name and address, and we'll send you a replacement.

Hyperion has published a special illustrated brochure celebrating a hundred years of Westminster Cathedral and its famous choir. It includes a history of the building itself and describes the founding of the choir and its subsequent history. It also lists the many recordings which the choir has made for Hyperion, with full details of contents.

We encourage you to look for the brochure at your music retailer, but if you'd like to request one by e-mail, send a message to info@hyperion-records.co.ukor to our distributor in your country (see Distributors)

The Songs of Robert Schumann volume 7 with performances by Dorothea Röschmann, Ian Bostridge and Graham Johnson has received the prestigious German ECHO Klassik Award 2003.

1982
Early Music Award
HILDEGARD A feather on the breath of God CDA66039
EMMA KIRKBY soprano, DOREEN MUSKETT symphony, ROBERT WHITE bagpipes
GOTHIC VOICES / CHRISTOPHER PAGE

1985
Early Music Award
VICTORIA O quam gloriosum CDA66114
CHOIR OF WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL / DAVID HILL

1986
Chamber Award
FAURÉ Piano Quartets CDA66166
DOMUS

1988
Early Music Award
Service of Venus & Mars CDA66238
ANDREW LAWRENCE-KING medieval harp
GOTHIC VOICES / CHRISTOPHER PAGE,

1989
Early Music Award
Song for Francesca CDA66286
ANDREW LAWRENCE-KING medieval harp
GOTHIC VOICES / CHRISTOPHER PAGE

Contemporary Award
SIMPSON Symphony 9 CDA66299
BOURNEMOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / VERNON HANDLEY

Solo Vocal Award
SCHUBERT Songs Volume 1 CDJ33001
DAME JANET BAKER mezzo soprano, GRAHAM JOHNSON piano

1991
Instrumental Award
SHOSTAKOVICH Preludes & Fugues CDA66441/3
TATIANA NIKOLAYEVA piano

1992
Instrumental Award
MEDTNER Piano Concertos 2 & 3 CDA66580
NIKOLAI DEMIDENKO piano
BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / JERZY MAKSYMIUK

1995
Chamber Award
FAURÉ Piano Quintets CDA66766
DOMUS

1996
Solo Vocal Award
SCHUBERT Songs Volume 25 CDJ33025
IAN BOSTRIDGE tenor, GRAHAM JOHNSON piano, DIETRICH FISCHER-DIESKAU reader

Concerto Award and
Record of the Year
SAUER/SCHARWENKA Piano Concertos CDA66790
STEPHEN HOUGH piano
CITY OF BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / LAWRENCE FOSTER

1997
Solo Vocal Award
SCHUMANN Songs Volume 1 CDJ33101
CHRISTINE SCHÄFER soprano, GRAHAM JOHNSON piano

1998
Instrumental Award
MOMPOU Piano music CDA66963
STEPHEN HOUGH piano

Choral Award and
Record of the Year
MARTIN/PIZZETTI Mass/Messa di Requiem CDA67017
WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL CHOIR / JAMES O'DONNELL

1999
Solo Vocal Award
BEETHOVEN Songs CDA67055
STEPHAN GENZ baritone, ROGER VIGNOLES piano

Chamber Award
SCHUMANN Piano Trios CDA67063
THE FLORESTAN TRIO

Early Music Award
DUFAY Music for St James the Greater CDA66997
THE BINCHOIS CONSORT / ANDREW KIRKMAN

2000
Instrumental Award
GODOWSKY Studies on Chopin's Etudes CDA67411/2
MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN piano

Early Music Award
BYRD Complete Keyboard Music CDA66551/7
DAVITT MORONEY harpsichords, muselar virginal, clavichord, chamber organ, organ

2001
Choral Award
BRITTEN Sacred & Profane CDA67140
POLYPHONY / STEPHEN LAYTON

2002
Concerto Award and
Record of the Year
SAINT-SAËNS COMPLETE Works for Piano and Orchestra CDA67331/2
STEPHEN HOUGH piano
CITY OF BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / SAKARI ORAMO

2005
Editor's Choice Award
RACHMANINOV Piano Concertos; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini CDA67501/2
STEPHEN HOUGH piano
DALLAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / ANDREW LITTON