170
reviews completed so far this month
Tuesday
25th October
Christopher
BALL (b.1936) Horn Concerto, Oboe Concerto, Celtic
Moods, Invocations of Pan, A Summer Day 
Tim Thorpe (horn) Paul Arden-Taylor (oboe/cor anglais) Roger Armstrong
(flute) Jonathan Burgess (flute) Leslie Craven (clarinet) Emerald Concert
Orch/Adderbury Ens/composer rec. 2002-2010
MUSICAL CONCEPTS MC143 [77:48] 
[RB]
An
attractive gift for music that charms and dreams.
Béla
BARTÓK (1881-1945) Violin Concerti 1 & 2 Viola Concerto
James
Ehnes (violin/viola) BBC PO/Gianandrea Noseda rec. 2010/2011
CHANDOS CHAN 10690 [77:45] 
[NB]
A
disc of superb value in playing time terms as well as anything else.
Heinrich
Ignaz Franz BIBER (1644-1704) The Rosary Sonatas for
violin and continuo
Leah Gale Nelson (violin) Daniel Swedberg (theorbo) Dongsok Shin (organ)
rec. 2010
LYRICHORD LEMS 8079 [72:57 + 52:41]
[GA]
Leah
Gale Nelson brings fire and fervour to this very fine, historically-informed
recording of the Biber Rosary sonatas.
Georges
BIZET
(1838-1875) Les Pecheurs de Perles Leila – Pierrette
Alarie, Nadir – Leopold Simoneau Zurga, – Rene Bianco, Nourbad– Xavier
Depraz Orch des Concerts Lamoureux/Jean Fournet
GUILD
GHCD 2382/83 [138:45] 
[DBe]
Focused
singing, clean with a tight and bright youthful sounding vibration.
Mikolajus
ČIURLIONIS
(1875-1911) Piano Music, vol. 2
Muza Rubackyte (piano) rec. 1993
NAXOS 8.572660 [69:35]
[Byz]
Rubackyte
pays this music great respect and her lovely lyrical tone, discipline
and expressiveness ensure persuasive performances.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Symphonies 4 & 5
Camilla Tilling (soprano)World Orch for Peace/Valery Gergiev rec. 2010
C
MAJOR 702608 
[153:51]
[TP]
This
is not everyone’s ideal Mahler, but it is thoroughly enjoyable if you
favour ensemble clarity and thrilling execution over deep emotion.
Teizo
MATSUMURA (1929-2007) Symphonies 1 & 2, To the
Night of Gethsemane
Ikuyo Kamiya (piano) RTÉ Nat SO/Takuo Yuasa rec. 2006
NAXOS 8.570337 [60:50]
[Byz]
Enormous,
almost overwhelming power.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Piano Concerti 6, 8 &
9 Angela
Hewitt (piano) Orchestra da Camera di Mantova/Carlo Fabiano rec. 2010
HYPERION
CDA67840 [75:23]
[DC]
A
very exciting prospect indeed.
Josef
Gabriel RHEINBERGER (1839–1901) Klavierwerke
Jürg
Hanselmann (piano) Sandra Hanselman-Kästli (piano) rec. 1990-2004
CARUS
83.365 [10 CDs: 11:10:00]
[DC]
A
feast for piano buffs.
Entertaining
Miss Austen - Newly discovered music from Jane Austen’s family
collection
Amanda Pitt (soprano) John Lofthouse (baritone) David Owen Norris (piano)
rec. 2009
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX7271 [73:55]
[RB]
Austen
and music with sprightly and committed performances.
Monday
October 24th
Howard
BLAKE (b.
1938) Spieltrieb, A Month in the Country, Leda
and the Swan, String Trio, Walking in the Air
Edinburgh Qt rec. 2010
NAXOS 8.572688 [55:44]
[JF]
Blake’s
accessible music never fails to impress with its invention and generous
melody.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH York BOWEN
(1884-1961)
Rhapsody Alan BUSH (1900-1995)
Concert Suite Havergal BRIAN (1876-1972)
Cello Concerto
Raphael Wallfisch (cello) BBC Concert O/Martin Yates rec. 2010
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX 7263
[2CDs: 82:25]
[RB]
A
fine anthology of rare English cello treasures.
Benjamin
BROENING
Recombinant Nocturnes
duo runedako rec. 2010
INNOVA 784 [62:37]
[DC]
Very
fine indeed.
Franz
Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809)
Symphonies 88-92, Sinfonia concertante
Berlin PO/Sir Simon Rattle rec. 2007
EMI CLASSICS 3942372 [75:47 + 68:31]
[SV]
Rattle
and his players simply haven't yet lived with some of this music quite
long enough.
Heinrich
SCHÜTZ (1585
- 1672) Italian Madrigals
Dresdner Kammerchor/Hans-Christoph Rademann rec. 2010
CARUS 83.237 [57:21]
[JV]
These
performances are dull.
Kurt
SCHWERTSIK (b.1935)
Nachtmusiken, Herr Kentdeckt Amerika, Baumgesänge
BBC
Philharmonic/HK Gruber rec. 2010
CHANDOS CHAN10687 [59:52]
[NB]
A
fascinating disc for the inveterately curious.
Ann
SOUTHAM (1937-2010)
Glass Houses Revisited
Christina Petrowska Quilico (piano) rec. 2010
CENTREDISCS CMCCD 16511 [58:06]
[KM]
A
fine recording of minimalist-inspired piano pieces that combine motion
and speed in a unique musical language.
Antonio
VIVALDI
(1678 - 1741) Motezuma
Vito Priante, Mary-Ellen Nesi, Il Complesso Barocco/Alan Curtis rec.
2008
DYNAMIC 33586
[75:14 + 74:46]
[JLZ]
Fine
efforts in this production … visually compelling and aesthetically
satisfying.
Richard
WAGNER (1813-1883)
Parsifal
Klaus Florian Vogt, Robert Holl, Katharina Dalayman, Netherlands Radio
PO & Ch/Jaap van Zweden rec. live, 2010
CHALLENGE CLASSICS CC72519 
[4 CDs: 246:04 & bonus DVD]
[GD]
Very
fine indeed … a great performance … well cast, well paced
… a real sense of theatrical drama.
Winter
Sketches
Bjarke
Mogensen (accordion) rec. 2009/10
ORCHID CLASSICS ORC100015 [63:19]
[RB]
Fantasy
and nostalgia.
Friday
October 21st
Johann
Sebastian BACH
(1685-1750) The
Art of Fugue, French Suites
Joanna MacGregor (piano) rec. 1993/5
WARNERCLASSICS/SOUNDCIRCUS 2564 672352 [3 CDs: 161:03] [DC]
Highly
recommended.
Franz
Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809) Piano Trios Vol. 1
Kungsbacka Piano Trio rec. 2008
NAXOS 8.572040 [52:35] [MG]
Always
good and sometimes very good performances.
Hans
HUBER (1852-1921) Phantasie, Violin Sonatas 5
& 6
Gilles Colliard (violin) Timothy Altweg (piano) rec. 2010
GUILD GMCD 7371 [74:40] [RB]
Colliard
and Altwegg know the outward appearance and the musculature of this
late-romantic material.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Symphonies 1-7, Rückert Lieder
Sergei PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Piano
Concerto 3
Eteri Gvazava (soprano) Anna Larsson (contralto) Magdalena Kozena (mezzo)
Yuja Wang (piano) Lucerne Festival O/Claudio Abbado rec. 2003-9
EUROARTS 
2058574 [4 discs: 610:00] [DBi]
A
superb box for those who have resisted the separate issues. Unmissable!
Alan
RAWSTHORNE (1905-1971) Piano Concerto 2
Edmund RUBBRA (1901-1986) Piano Concerto
Denis Matthews (piano) BBC SO/Sir Malcolm Sargent rec. 1958 FORGOTTEN
RECORDS FR403 [55:27] [WH]
Two
fascinating English piano concertos from the 1950s in highly accomplished
performances and more than acceptable sound for the period.
Franz
SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Winterreise
Peter Harvey (baritone) Gary Cooper (fortepiano) rec. 2009
LINN RECORDS
CKD 371 [74:38] [JQ]
An
outstanding account of Winterreise.
Richard
STRAUSS (1864-1949) Don Juan, Metamorphosen, Lieder
Joan Rodgers (soprano) Strasbourg PO/Jan Latham-Koenig (conductor, piano)
rec. 2001/8
AVIE AV2172 [63:24] [WH]
An
unusual programme and a very fine Strauss collection.
Wilhelm
Furtwängler: The Great EMI Recordings
EMI CLASSICS 9 07878 2 [21 CDs; over 24 hours] [JW]
An
impressive chance to add a cornerstone collection to the shelves.
The
Organs of the Balearic Islands -
Vols 1 & 2
Michal Novenko and Arnau Reynés (organs) rec. 2006
PRIORY PRCD 879 & 1014 [78:37 & 79:46]
[JF]
A
stimulating memento of these superb instruments.
The
Virtuoso Quartet Vol. 2 Works by Debussy, Mendelssohn, Dittersdorf
& Beethoven
Virtuoso Qt rec. 1925/6
HISTORIC RECORDINGS HRCD00087 [65:16] [JW] 
Thoughtful
listening will tell you that these performances are of genuine distinction.
Thursday
October 20th
Joseph
HAYDN (1732
– 1809) Missa Brevis, Harmoniemesse
Rebel Baroque O/J. Owen Burdick, Jane Glover rec. 2001/8
NAXOS 8.572126 [52.28]
[RH]
A
fine disc particularly the wonderfully joyous account of the HarmonieMesse.
Gordon
JACOB (1895-1984) Viola Concertos 1 & 2, Concert
Piece, Three Pieces, Passacaglia Stereophonica
Helen Callus (viola) BBC Concert O/Stephen Bell rec. 2010
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX7258 [73:36]
[RB]
While
the gem is the romantic first Concerto, there is much here to discover
and in which to take delight.
Margaret
Ruthven LANG (1867-1972) Songs of Love Gained and
Lost, Songs for Lovers of Children, Nonsense Rhymes and
Pictures, Parting Words and Songs
Donald George (tenor) Lucy Mauro (piano) rec. 2009
DELOS DE 3407 [48.26]
[MMB]
An
immensely enjoyable journey of discovery.
Giaochino
ROSSINI (1792-1868) Guillaume Tell
Gerald Finley, John Osborn, Malin Byström, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Ch
& O Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia/Antonio Pappano rec. 2010
EMI
CLASSICS 0288262 [3 CDs: 208:15]
[GD]
Pappano
gives us a warts-and-all concert performance.
Florent
SCHMITT (1870-1958) Music for two pianos
Leslie
De’Ath, Anya Alexeyev (piano) Kimberly Barber (mezzo) James Mason (oboe)
rec. 2010/11
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX7273 [67:16 + 59:09]
[RB]
Refreshing
stuff adding with real éclat to the diversely populated world of Florent
Schmitt.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Charles
Villiers STANFORD (1852-1924) Piano Trio 1, Legend, Jig,
Hush Song, Piano Quartet 2
Gould Piano Trio with David Adams (viola) rec. 2009
NAXOS 8.572452 [79:48]
[CH]
Major
works, finely performed. Deserves to be a bestseller.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Max
STEINER (1888-1971) The Classic Film Scores
National PO/Charles Gerhardt rec. 1973
SONY/RCA RED SEAL 88697 812702 [53:12]
[IL]
A
fine tribute to one of the leading film music pioneers of Hollywood’s
Golden Age.
Pa-Mun
(Ripples on Water) - Piano music from Korea
Klara Min (piano) rec. 2009
NAXOS 8.572406 [54:48]
[Byz]
Nothing
must-have or even must-hear about this CD but the music is absorbing
in its way.
Songs
and Cycles Works by contemporary American women composers
Linda McNeil (soprano) Carolyn True (piano) rec. 2008
LEONARDA LE357 [51:20]
[Byz]
Not
a bad CD: The poetry is generally of good quality and imaginatively
set, and there is plenty of variety.
Viennese
Nights at the BBC Proms The music of Johann Strauss I,
Johann Strauss II, Franz Lehár and Franz von Suppé
Performances conducted by James Loughran, Walter Süsskind and János
Fürst rec. 1974-79
ICA CLASSICS ICAD5026
[88:35] [JW]
It’s
unruly, it’s uncouth, and it’s decidedly de trop. I quite liked
it.
Wednesday
October 19th
Gabriel
FAURÉ (1845-1924)
Complete
Barcarolles: Trois Romances sans paroles, Op.17:
Charles Owen (piano) rec. 2010 DDD
AVIE AV2240 [63:19]
[GA]
Charles
Owen is a wonderful interpreter of Fauré, and takes us behind the veil
of these Barcarolles with great sensitivity and sureness.
Ernesto
HALFFTER
(1905-1989) The
Piano Music
Martin Jones (piano) rec. 2006/7, DDD
NIMBUS NI5894 [79:23]
[OL]
Martin
Jones is a perfect advocate for this beautiful music.
Joseph
HOLBROOKE
(1878-1958)
Sonata in F major for Violin and Piano The Grasshopper (1917
version — Authorised Original Version) [26:20] Granville
BANTOCK (1868-1946) Sonata in F major for Viola and Piano
Colleen (1919) [40:02]
Rupert Marshall-Luck (violin and viola); Matthew Rickard (piano) rec.
2011
EM RECORDS EMR CD003 [67:01]
[RB]
Superbly
confident and generous both as to the music and the execution.
Witold
LUTOSLAWSKI
(1913-1994) Preludes and Fugue for 13 solo strings (1972) [35:41]
Double Concerto for Oboe, Harp and Chamber Orchestra (1980) [20:15]
Nicholas
Daniel (oboe), Lucy Wakeford (harp) NFM Wroclaw Chamber Orchestra Leopoldinum/Nicholas
Daniel NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic Orchestra/Ernst Kovacic
rec. 2008/9
CD ACCORD Digipack ACD 166-2 [56:09]
[DC]
Gold
standard.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Oboe Concerto in C, K314, arr. Siegenthaler for clarinet [19:11]
Carl Maria von WEBER (1786-1826)
Clarinet Concerto No 1 in F minor, Op 73 [20:48] Bernhard
Henrik CRUSELL (1775-1836)
Clarinet Concerto No 3 in B flat, Op 11 [23:07]
Stephan Siegenthaler (clarinet) Cappella Istropolitana/Kaspar Zehnder
rec. 2010,
SHEVA COLLECTION SH040 [63:06]
[BR]
Siegenthaler,
once a medical entrepreneur, is still an accomplished clarinetist, and
has created his own “new” Mozart concerto.
Giacomo
PUCCINI (1858-1924) Madama Butterfly [143:57]
Renata Tebaldi (soprano); Fiorenza Cossotto (mezzo); Lidia Nerozzi (mezzo);
Carol Bergonzi (tenor); Enzo Sordello (baritone);
Chorus and Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia Roma/Tullio Serafin
rec. no details of venue or dates supplied synopsis included but no
text or translation
ALTO ALC2015 [2CDs: 143:57]
[JS]
For
anyone whose preference is for the main part to be sung with a warm,
mature, voice this would be very much worth considering.
Roger
QUILTER
(1877-1953) The Complete Piano Music
David Owen Norris (piano) rec. 2004 complete track-list at end of reviews
EM
RECORDS EMR CD002 [47:00]
[NB][RB]
Simply
charming. [NB] Suave, lovingly polished and weighted, surefooted and
not short on sentiment. [RB]
Alfred
Deller
- Three Ravens —
Folksongs
Alfred Deller (counter-tenor) Desmond Dupré (lute and guitar) rec. 1956
Texts included
ALTO ALC 1148 [74:13]
[JW]
This
is simply great artistry.
The
Golden Age of Light Music —
Light Music While You Work 3
rec. 1943-46 for Decca Music While You Work
GUILD
LIGHT MUSIC GLCD 5186 [78:41]
[JW]
When
backs were to the wall, Decca got the toes tapping.
Naxi
Music from Lijiang
Wang Chaoxin (leizi bili) Dayan Ancient Music Association rec. 1995.
DDD
NIMBUS NI 5510 [71:36]
[Byz]
Naxi
music may prove a little too exotic for some but this is the disc to
have.
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for alphabetical listings by composer:
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