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WCPE's CD Pick of the Month

WCPE-Quail Ridge Books Pick of the Month

We're collaborating with our good friends at WCPE. Each month, a WCPE staff member or announcer will choose a new or treasured recording to highlight on-air. Quail Ridge Books & Music will donate the CD to WCPE's permanent CD library and, of course, will have copies available in the store for purchase. We think this is a wonderful way to work with WCPE to introduce new music to the Triangle.

You can find out more about WCPE and their music by clicking here. 

 

CD Alessio Bax Plays Mozart

CD Alessio Bax Plays Mozart

$20.99
Model: 635212032121
June Pick from William Woltz, music director of WCPE:“The last few months have been exciting ones for young Italian pianist Alessio Bax. He's earned the "Critics Choice" award from Gramophone Magazine for his recent Brahms CD, as well as Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Award for emerging artists, and the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award.

With his latest disc, Alessio Bax plays Mozart, he captures the playful spirit of an optimistic and creative young composer. Bax displays his effortless virtuosity on Mozart's piano concertos nos. 24 and 27, plus the Variations, K. 460. Simon Over conducts the Southbank Sinfonia in this recording.

CD Violin Lullabies

CD Violin Lullabies

$18.99
Model: 735131913928

May Pick from Tara Lynn, announcer of "As You Like It":“My first exposure to music was not at a concert. It was not on the radio. It was the sound of my mother’s voice as she sang a lullaby to me, just as her mother had sung to her, and her mother before her.” –Rachel Barton Pine

"While Pine has built a reputation on performing the more exciting, blood-pumping, foot-stomping parts of the classical repertoire, this new mother appears to have made a seamless transition from rocking a violin to cradling a newborn. Taking quiet moments to research the genre, Pine found no extant catalog of the many lullabies composers worldwide had written for her instrument. She collected more than one hundred and fifty works and chose the selections for the album on “musical merit” alone. Violin Lullabies, which is dedicated to Pine’s daughter, includes several world premieres along with many traditional favorites to soothe the spirit."

By Rachel Barton Pine, violin; Matthew Hagel, piano, Cedille (2013).

CD Dvorak: Cypresses for String Quartet, String Quartet No. 13 Op. 106

CD Dvorak: Cypresses for String Quartet, String Quartet No. 13 Op. 106

$16.99
Model: 822252227529
April Pick from Paul Jordan, host of WCPE's "Preview!": Founded in San Francisco in 1996, the Cypress String Quartet crafts a finely layered sound that allows each voice to sing clearly while combining in a complete and beautiful performance.This all-Dvorak CD features "Cypresses" (from which the ensemble takes its name), a delightful set of miniatures inspired by the theme of unrequited love, along with String Quartet No.13. With a discography ranging from the works of modern composers Elena Ruehr and Jennifer Higdon to the late Beethoven Quartets, the versatility and virtuosity of the Cypress String Quartet are seemingly boundless.
CD Pavane - Maxim Rysanov

CD Pavane - Maxim Rysanov

$19.99
Model: 675754042615
February Pick from William Woltz, WCPE Music Director: The viola, the alto member of the string choir, sings with a voice that is rich and charismatic.  No one demonstrates this expressive quality better than Ukrainian violist Maxim Rysanov.  In his latest disc, Pavane, he joins English pianist Ashley Wass for a program of French favorites from Debussy, Ravel and Faure.  It's simply beautiful. 
CD The Beethoven Journey

CD The Beethoven Journey

$14.99
Model: 887254205821
January Pick from Paul Jordan, host of Preview:  Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes brings to these new recordings of Beethoven’s 1st and 3rd piano concertos his stated belief that Beethoven’s music is the most human and deeply spiritual music there is. That conviction is clearly evident in these inspired performances.
CD Noel - Angele Dubeau & La Pieta

CD Noel - Angele Dubeau & La Pieta

$20.99
Model: 774204873028
December Pick from William Woltz, WCPE music director: In this collection of Christmas works for violin and string orchestra, Canadian violinist Angele Dubeau features a number of traditional favorites, such as the Christmas concertos of Vivaldi and Torelli and, of course, Silent Night. But you'll also hear lesser-known but equally delightful songs of the season by the likes of Sibelius, Glazunov and Dave Brubeck. Consistent throughout is Dubeau's devotion to beautiful sound. This is a program of holiday music you can listen to over and over again.
CD Khatia Buniatishvili: Chopin

CD Khatia Buniatishvili: Chopin

$13.99
Model: 886919712926
November Pick from William Woltz, WCPE music director:  Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili, 25, who earned praise last year for her debut solo recording of Liszt, has followed with a new disc of Chopin favorites that is sure to please. Honored for Best Chopin Interpretation in the 2008 Rubinstein Piano Competition, her playing demonstrates a tremendous technique driven by youthful passion but still highly nuanced. This set includes the Waltz in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2; the famous "Funeral March" Sonata, and the Concerto No. 2, with Paavo Jarvi leading the Paris Orchestra. There's a neat little video, too, that plays on your computer.
CD Symphonie Fantastique - Berlioz

CD Symphonie Fantastique - Berlioz

$25.99
Model: 691062040020
September Pick from William Woltz, WCPE music director: Does the world really need another recording of the Symphonie fantastique? Yes, when it's by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and its principal conductor, 29-year-old Robin Ticciati. He leads the ensemble in a performance that is fresh, detailed, and passionate. 
CD Cotswolds Symphony - Holst

CD Cotswolds Symphony - Holst

$9.99
Model: 747313291472
August Pick from Tara Lynn of WCPE: "JoAnn Falletta was recently appointed Principal Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra, making her the first American and first female to accept this role.  With three American orchestras under her direction as well, she continues to captivate audiences and motivate musicians through great repertoire.  Explore delightful, lesser-known works by Holst in one of several albums this in-demand conductor is slated to release in 2012."
CD 10 - tenThing Brass Ensemble, led by Tine Thing Helseth

CD 10 - tenThing Brass Ensemble, led by Tine Thing Helseth

$16.99
Model: 5099908832627
July pick from Will Woltz, WCPE Music Director: Young Norwegian trumpet sensation Tine Thing Helseth leads tenThing, an all-female brass ensemble in unique arrangements of favorites by Bizet, Grieg, Mozart, Piazzolla, and Weill, plus 20th-Century Dutch composer Jan Koetsier's Brass Symphony. All CDs should be this much fun to listen to! Enjoy a taste of tenThing at http://youtu.be/qkjMFq7NuF0 .
CD Six Pieces for Orchestra - Tony Banks

CD Six Pieces for Orchestra - Tony Banks

$9.99
Model: 747313298679
June pick from Will Woltz, WCPE Music Director:  Rock keyboardist and composer Tony Banks was a co-founder of Genesis, and his early love of classical music helped shape that band's unique sound. On his new release, Banks serves up music that ranges from introspective to heroic,comprising, as he describes it, "a story without words." Paul Englishby leads the City of Prague Philharmonic in this Naxos recording.
CD Bruch and Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos/Beethoven Romances by Philippe Quint

CD Bruch and Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos/Beethoven Romances by Philippe Quint

$22.99
Model: 5414706103623

May pick from Paul Jordan of WCPE: "Quint's rendering of the Bruch and Mendelssohn concertos is pure and vibrant. The addition of the two Beethoven Romances makes this CD irresistible."

CD Chopin, Liszt, Ravel - Benjamin Grosvenor, pianist

CD Chopin, Liszt, Ravel - Benjamin Grosvenor, pianist

$19.99
Model: 028947832065
April Pick from William Woltz, WCPE Musical Director:  Benjamin Grosvenor is a not-quite-20-year-old pianist from Great Britain who combines an effortless yet formidable technique with a musical sensibility suggesting maturity beyond his years.  His first major label recording is an intriguing musical journey from Chopin's scherzos and nocturnes through Ravel's "Gaspard de la nuit", linked by Liszt's "En Reve".  It's a thoroughly enjoyable program and a promise of great things to come from this young talent.
CD Air: The Bach Album by Anne Akiko Meyers

CD Air: The Bach Album by Anne Akiko Meyers

$19.99
Model: 028947780946
March Pick from Paul Jordan of WCPE: “Violinist Anne Akiko-Meyer’s latest offering, Air: The Bach Album, should not be dismissed as just another Bach CD. It’s fresh, original and full of firsts. Most notably, Meyer plays BOTH parts of the Bach double violin concerto using two different Stradivarius violins, one of which was owned by Napoleon. Also mentionable is the quality of the recording itself: sonically crisp, vibrant and surprisingly modern in character.”
CD Something Almost Being Said: Music of Bach & Schubert by Simone Dinnerstein

CD Something Almost Being Said: Music of Bach & Schubert by Simone Dinnerstein

$14.99
Model: 886979894327
February Pick from Paul Jordan of WCPE: "Simone Dinnerstein's approach to Bach and Schubert on this latest CD make these pieces come alive as if they were written yesterday. She has the potential to be a Glenn Gould for the 21st century."