Marc Minkowski

Marc Minkowski – Nouvelle Symphonie (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:03:16 minutes | 1,13 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Château de Versailles Spectacles

Marc Minkowski makes a delighted return to Rameau: the rich colours of the orchestra, the irrepressible energy and a remarkable sense of melody showcase extracts from his greatest lyrical tragedy in all their glory, like different points in an anthology. The renowned overtures and exquisite symphonies paint a scintillating portrait of Rameau as a master of orchestration: this is a festival of oboes, flutes, clarinets, horns and bassoons. Pyrotechnics, tempests and rockets spring forth, and cloaked in the splendours of the night or bathed in dazzling light, Rameau’s work once again leaves us awestruck. Florian Sempey unleashes his masterful voice, by turns truly regal as he appeals to the Sun or monstruous as the ogre, but always with an unparalleled finesse in both sorrow and love. Dynamic yet mysterious, Minkowski’s revival of Rameau orchestra is sumptuous, lively and exhilarating!
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Marc Minkowski – Mozart : Mass K.427 “Great” (Recons. H. Eder) [Live] (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 48:24 minutes | 891 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © PentaTone

Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre present a new recording of Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, the iconic opening Kyrie of which is among the most cherished religious music ever written. Mozart performed parts of the Mass in 1783, but the score remained unfinished, making the use of a scholarly edition necessary for a complete performance. Despite its unfinished state, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor has gained popularity and now enjoys a place in the choral core repertory. For this recording, made in connection to live performances, Minkowski has chosen Helmut Eder’s 1985 edition for the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe. He performs it in a chamber-like setting with his regular ensemble Les Musiciens du Louvre, a small ripieno choir and four outstanding soloists: Ana Maria Labin, Ambroisine Bré, Stanislas de Barbeyrac and Norman Patzke. Since its foundation in 1982, and under the baton of its founder and musical director Marc Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre have developed into one of the world’s best period-instrument ensembles, with a vast discography. This recording marks their PENTATONE debut.

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Marc Minkowski – J.S. Bach: Johannes-Passion (St John Passion) (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:50:37 minutes | 1,86 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Erato – Warner Classics

The foundations of Marc Minkowski’s career lie in Baroque music, and he has enjoyed a long relationship with Warner Classics, but this Johannes-Passion (St John Passion) is his first Bach for the label. The work’s terse drama – here presented through just nine singers – is ideally suited to both his scrupulous musicianship and his keen sense of theatre. The French conductor describes Bach’s great masterpieces as “a journey you have to prepare for meticulously, over a long period of time … You come back from it like an explorer comes back from Everest or the Moon – transformed.”
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