Claudia Huckle, Nicky Spence & Justin Brown – Das Lied von der Erde: Mahler’s Autograph Piano Version (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Claudia Huckle, Nicky Spence & Justin Brown – Das Lied von der Erde: Mahler’s Autograph Piano Version (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:02:54 minutes | 1,94 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Champs Hill Records

Anglo-German contralto Claudia Huckle, tenor Nicky Spence and pianist Justin Brown present Mahler’s autograph piano version of Das Lied von der Erde in this stunning new recording. The recording was a lockdown project, which provided Huckle with a focus for over a year during the pandemic. ‘During the spring of 2020, I realised that if I never performed again, my greatest regret would be never having sung Das Lied von der Erde. I have loved this piece since I was a teenager, and have always felt that for a German-speaking contralto like me it would be the biggest and most exciting musical challenge of all. I took Das Lied von der Erde off the shelf, and decided: it’s time. That’s how this recording was born. I am so pleased to have found the ideal partners for the project in tenor Nicky Spence and conductor/pianist Justin Brown, and to have brought it to fruition.’ [Claudia Huckle, contralto] Like many of Mahler’s song collections and cycles, Das Lied von der Erde was conceived in both a piano and orchestral version. Both were intended for the concert hall, but the piano version has remained overlooked and is virtually unknown. Yet there are persuasive advantages: ‘There is an intimacy in the writing which is intensified in the interplay of two musicians equally foregrounded; the poetry becomes more immediate, and the delicacy of much of the writing achieves a natural transparency.’ [Justin Brown, pianist/conductor] The recording is generously supported by the Gustav Mahler Society UK in partnership with Champs Hill Records.

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Frank Woeste feat. Ben Monder & Justin Brown – Pocket Rhapsody (2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Frank Woeste feat. Ben Monder & Justin Brown – Pocket Rhapsody (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 54:50 minutes | 573 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ACT Music

Frank Woeste is not just an exceptionally fine pianist and a gifted exponent of the Fender Rhodes, he also has a thorough understanding of his own creative process. If all art is about leaving an impression, then Woeste’s mission is to etch a deep mark both as a player and as a composer. His debut as an artist on ACT, then, not only reveals a musician brimming with ideas, but also a fully-fledged composer and an extremely adept arranger. His trio with guitarist Ben Monder and drummer Justin Brown creates a sound which is orchestral in its scale and its impact. The intimacy of chamber music goes hand in hand here with the forward propulsion of a jazz trio, and with the power of a big band. In other words, the title “Pocket Rhapsody” gets it right.

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