> Listing of New Classical CD Reviews - October 2002 latest reviews- (last two days): MusicWeb: Len Mullenger

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[Detailed listing (last two days)]
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Monday September 30th


DAILY CD REVIEWS - No other web-site offers as many new reviews as MusicWeb


STOP PRESS: The Gerard Hoffnung Oxford Union (Bricklayer) speech is at last available on CD
                     "Standing among savage scenery, the hotel offers stupendous revelations.
                     "There is a French widow in every bedroom, affording delightful prospects."

NEW and RECENT ARTICLES

Details of the latest releases from EMI Great Recordings of the Century and
Great Conductors of the 20th Century
(reviews to follow)

MOZART By David C F Wright

OLD LAMPS FOR NEW? Arthur Butterworth

Luigi Boccherini by David Wright

Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf by Dr David C F Wright

A visit to Flamborough Head with William Baines

Arthur Meulemans by Hubert Culot

JEAN-MARIE LECLAIR by Dr David C F Wright

Muzio Clementi by Dr David C F Wright

Joseph Rheinberger by Dr David C F Wright

MARIN MARAIS Dr David C F Wright

SAMUEL BARBER Personal thoughts by "Dr. David Wright" (1982)

ROBIN MILFORD CENTENARY: Cause for Celebration

THE DISTAFF SIDE: SOME BRITISH WOMEN COMPOSERS by Philip Scowcroft

MAYTIME IN ISCHIA: British Music Society TRIP TO LA MORTELLA

Simon Rattle's inaugural concert with the Berlin Philharmonic reviewed by Marc Bridle

CRAIG SHEPPARD An Interview by Rob Barnett

Gavin Sutherland An Interview by Rob Barnett

Richard Stoker Composer, Artist, Writer & Poet by John France

 

 

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RECORDINGS OF THE MONTH

 

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Trio Sonatas London Baroque Ingrid Seifert, violin; Richard Gwilt, violin / viola; Charles Medlam, violoncello; Terence Charlston, harpsichord / organ. Rec: October - November 2001, St. Martin’s, East Woodhay, Hampshire, England. BIS CD-1345 [74.38] [KM]

New worlds of feeling in music that is certainly familiar … see Full Review

Hilary Hahn: Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto - Leonard BERNSTEIN Serenade for violin, strings, harp and percussion. Hilary Hahn (violin) Baltimore SO/David Zinman - Rec. DDD SONY CLASSICS SK60584 [74 36] [DW]

This is the best Beethoven Violin Concerto recording. Of that I cannot be gainsaid. … see Full Review

Anton BRUCKNER (1824-1896) Symphony No 4 in E flat major "Romantic" (Haas edition)* [68’40"] Symphony No 5 in B flat major (Nowak edition)** [77’16"] Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink Recorded in the Grosser Saal, Musikverein, Vienna in *February 1985 and ** December 1988 PHILIPS DUO 470 537-2 [145’ 56"] [JQ]

A peerless Fifth with a superb Fourth … surely irresistible. … see Full Review

Anton BRUCKNER (1824-1896) Symphony No. 8 in C minor (Nowak Edition) (1887) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Ricardo Chailly - Recorded 10th-12th May 1999, Grote Zaal, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam DECCA 466 653-2 [79:04] [GPJ]

A highly impressive reading, with gloriously confident and stylish orchestral playing. … see Full Review

Chiara Margarita COZZOLANI (1602 - c. 1677) Messa Paschale, Magnificat Ruth Escher and Catherine Webster, soprano Margaret Bragle and Suzanne Elder Wallace, alto Jennifer Ellis and Andrea Fullington, soprano Linda Liebschutz and Deborah Rentz-Moore, alto Hugh Davies, celebrant John Dornenburg, violone David Tayler, theorbo Hanneke van Proosdij, organ Warren Stewart, conductor Rec: April 1995, April 1998, March-May 1999, August 2000, June 2001, various locations. MUSICA OMNIA MO0209 [69.38] [KM]

Confirms the beauty and emotionality of this unknown composer … see Full Review

Antal DORÁTI (1906-1988) Sette Pezzi per orchestra (1961) [29.10] Night Music for flute and small orchestra (1968) [22.36] American Serenade for string orchestra (c.1941) [13.09] Sharon Bezaly (flute) Aalborg SO/Moshe Atzmon rec: Dec 1999, May 2000, Aalborghallen, Aalborg, Sweden BIS BIS-CD-1099 [66.12] [RB]

Two harmonically astringent potently imaginative works coupled with a bright and light-on-the-toes serenade. ... see Full Review

Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD (1897-1957) Lieder Dietrich Henschel (baritone) with Helmut Deutsch (piano) Recorded November 2001, Teldec Studio, Berlin HARMONIA MUNDI HMC 901780 [75:45] [IL]

Sensitively colouring according to mood and atmosphere … striking beauty … see Full Review

Love Letters Martin Scott KOSINS (b.1947) Love Letters, A dialogue for flute and piano; Winter Moods, for unaccompanied flute, Francois BORNE (1840-1920), Fantasie Brilliante (on themes from Bizet’s Carmen, Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918) La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin, Theobold BOEHM (1794-1881), Variations Brillantes sur un Air Allemand, Grigoras DINICU (1889-1949), Hora Staccato. David Shostac, flute Anita Swearengin, piano Recorded 1984 and 2001. [ADD and DDD] CRYSTAL RECORDS CD314 [48:55] [KS]

My rule is to listen to a disc twice before writing about it. I have now listened to this program six times in two weeks. … see Full Review

Tarantella Music for double-bass and piano Giovanni BOTTESINI (1821-1889) Fantasie on ‘La Sonnambula’ [8:59] Gioacchino ROSSINI (1792-1868) Une Larme pour Basse [3:01] Fritz KREISLER (1875-1972) Liebeslied Gabriel FAURÉ (1845-1924) Après un Rêve [3:29] Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937) Pièce en Forme de Habañera [3:23] Giovanni BOTTESINI Rêverie [3:41] Frank BRIDGE (1879-1941) Spring Song [2:25] Giovanni BOTTESINI Romanza Patetica 7:31] Serge KOUSSEVITSKY (1874-1951) Valse Miniature [2:50] Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Vocalise [6:25] Reinhold GLIÈRE (1875-1956) Präludium op.32, no.1 [3:26] Scherzo op.32, no.2 [4:44] Intermezzo op.9, no.1 [3:18] Tarantella op.9, no.2 [4:42] Duncan McTier, double bass, Kathron Sturrock, piano Recorded on 7th and 8th March 1989 at University of Surrey Music Dept. BLACK BOX BBM 1004 [61:30]
CapriccioMusic for double-bass and piano Giovanni BOTTESINI (1821-1889) Capriccio di Bravura [9:05] Gabriel FAURÉ (1845-1924) Elegy in A minor op.24 [7:41] Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Variations on ‘Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen’ op.66 [11:27] Felix MENDELSSOH-BARTHOLDY Lied ohne Worte op.109 [5:01] Camille SAINT-SAENS (1835-1921) ‘Mon coeur s’ouvre’ [3:52] HANDEL (1685-1759) ‘Ombra mai fu’ [3:35] Zoltán KODÁLY (1882-1967) Epigrams [9:16] Giovanni BOTTESINI Elegy in D [5:59] Gaspar CASSADÓ Requiebros [5:55] Duncan McTier, double bass, Kathron Sturrock, piano Recorded on 4th – 6th April 1996 at Conway Hall, London. BLACK BOX BBM 1005 [61:51]

If you’re not sure about the bass as a soloist, you must listen to this. If you do love the bass – well then, you probably already have done! … see Full Review
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BARGAIN OF THE MONTH

 

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841-1904) Rusalka, op. 114 Milada Šubrtová (Rusalka, soprano), Ivo Žídek (Prince, tenor), Eduard Haken (Watersprite, bass), Maie Ovčačíková (Ježibaba, contralto), Alena Míková (Foreign Princess, mezzo-soprano), Jiří Joran (Gamekeeper, baritone), Ivana Mixová (Turnspit, soprano), Prague National Theatre Chorus and Orchestra/Zdeněk Chalabala Recorded from 15.11 to 2.12.1961 at the Domovina Studio, Prague SUPRAPHON SU 0013-2 612 [2 CDs: 76’54"+71’57"] [CH]

A wonderful bargain. This is a recording which instilled in me a love of the opera which has so far not died; it will surely do the same for many new listeners. … see Full Review

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Wind Serenades Divertimento in B flat major, K.196f [c.1775] Divertimento in E flat major, K.252 [1775-7] Divertimento in F major, K.253 [1775-7] Serenade in C minor, K.338 [1782] Oslo Philharmonic Wind Soloists Recorded at Lommedalen Church, Baerun, Norway, June 19-20, 1997 NAXOS 8.555943 [58.27] [TH]

Playing that can happily live with the world’s best in terms of intonation, tonal blend and individuality of timbre and phrasing. … see Full Review

Vaughan Williams Symphonies Symphony No.1 'Sea Symphony'. Symphony No.2 'London Symphony'. Symphony No.8 in D minor. Symphony No.3 'Pastoral Symphony'. Symphony No.4 in F minor. Symphony No.5. Symphony No.6. Symphony No.9. Job - A Masque for Dancing. English Folksong Suite. Flos Campi. Oboe Concerto in A minor. Fantasia on Greensleeves. Serenade to Music (choral version). Partita for Double String Orchestra. Fantasis on a Theme of Thomas Tallis. Five Variants od Dives and Lazarus. Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Vernon Handley
Crotchet £25.99  AmazonUK   £23.99

Carl Maria Von WEBER (1786-1826) Symphony No. 1 (1812) [24.51] Symphony No. 2 (1813) [18.16] Piano Concerto No. 1 (1810) [20.26] Piano Concerto No. 2 (1812) [23.04] Konzertstück (1821) [17.04] Euryanthe Overture (1823) [8.34] Abu Hassan Overture (1811) [3.32] Preziosa Overture (1820) [8.13] Beherrscher der Geister Overture (1804?) [5.39] Oberon Overture (1826) [8.48] Jubel-Ouvertüre (1818) [7.46] Der Freischütz Overture (1821) [10.04] Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields/Neville Marriner (symphonies) rec. Abbey Road Studios, London, 1982, DDD Peter Rösel (piano) Staatskapelle Dresden/Herbert Blomstedt (piano concertos) Lukaskirche, resden, Germany, 1984, DDD Staatskapelle Dresden/Gustav Kuhn Lukaskirche, Dresden, Germany, 1985, DDD BRILLIANT CLASSICS 99935 [43.43+60.59+53.22] [RB]

A pretty decent representation of this accomplished early romantic composer. Excellent performances. ... see Full Review

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Kurt WEILL (1900-1950) Songs, Abridgements and Extracts Die Dreigroschenoper (1928) Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (1930) Rudolf NELSON (1878-1960) Das Nachtgespenst Peter Friedrich HOLLAENDER (1896-1976) Guck doch nicht immer nach dem Tangogeiger hin, Jonny Wilhelm GROSZ (1894-1939) Vom Seemann Kuttel Daddeldu Lotte Lenya, TELDEC TELEFUNKEN LEGACY 927 42663 2 [78.09] [JW]

A momentous collection and an indispensable one for the shelves. … see Full Review

GIELEN EDITION: 75TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Symphony no.8 in F op.93 Recorded 21 and 22 January 2000, Konzerthaus, Freiburg Piano Concerto no.3 in C minor op.37 Stefan Litwin (piano) Recorded 20 April 1994, Hans-Rosbaud Studio, Baden-Baden Grosse Fuge in B flat op.133 (arr. Gielen) Recorded September and October 1993, Hans-Rosbaud Studio, Baden-Baden HÄNSSLER FASZINATION MUZIK 93.056 [74’30"] Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
Symphony no.9 in C D944, ‘Great’ Recorded live, 27 April 1996, Royal Festival Hall, London Johann STRAUSS the younger (1825-1899) Voices of Spring, waltz op.410 Recorded 4 September 1998, Konzerthaus, Freiburg HÄNSSLER FASZINATION MUZIK 93.057 [59’07"] Anton BRUCKNER (1894-1896) Symphony no.6 in A Recorded 29 March, 2001, Konzerthaus, Freiburg Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) orch Arnold SCHOENBERG (1874-1951) Prelude and Fugue in E flat BWV552, ‘St Anne’ Recorded 22 August 1996, Konzerthaus, Freiburg HÄNSSLER FASZINATION MUZIK 93.058 [71’33"] Alexander SCRIABIN (1872-1915) Symphony no.3 op.43, ‘Le divin Poéme’ Recorded 22 and 23 May 1975, Hans Rosbaud Studio, Baden-Baden Ferruccio BUSONI (1866-1924) Berceuse Elégiaque op.42 Recorded 3 February 1995, Hans Rosbaud Studio, Baden-Baden Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937) Une Barque sur l’océan Recorded 9 January 1997, Konzerthaus, Freiburg Igor STRAVINSKY (1882-1971) Scherzo à la Russe Recorded 17 April 1998, Konzerthaus, Freiburg HÄNSSLER FASZINATION MUZIK 93.059 [65’39"] Arnold SCHOENBERG (1874-1951) Die Gluckliche Hand op.18 John Brocheler (baritone) Rundfunkchor Berlin Alban BERG (1885-1935) Der Wein Melanie Diener (soprano) Anton WEBERN (1883-1945) Five pieces for Orchestra op.10 Cantata no.1 op.29 Christiane Oelze (soprano) Anton Webern-Choir, Freiburg Eduard STEUERMANN (1892-1964) Variations for orchestra Michael GIELEN (born 1927) Pflicht und Neigung HÄNSSLER FASZINATION MUZIK 93.060 [78’08"] SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden und Freiburg/Michael Gielen Recorded 1990-2001 in Freiburg and Baden-Baden HÄNSSLER FASZINATION MUZIK - FIVE DISCS 93.080[PQ]

A joy to listen to from beginning to end … see Full Review

Organ Masters Before BACH 1. BUXTEHUDE Prelude and fugue in D minor, BuxWV 140 - 2. PACHELBEL Chorale prelude O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig - 3. Vincent LÜBECK Prelude and fugue in E major - 4. Samuel SCHEIDT Chorale variation Jesus Christus, unser Heiland - 5. Nicolaus BRUHNS Prelude and fugue in E minor - 6. BUXTEHUDE Chaconne in C minor, BuxWV 159 - 7. Jan Pieterzoon SWEELINCK Fantasia cromatica - 8. Franz TUNDER Chorale prelude Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott - 9 BÖHM P relude and fugue in C major 10. PACHELBEL Chaconne in F minor - 11. BUXTEHUDE Passacaglia in D minor, BuxWV 161 - Helmut Walcha, organ Arp-Schnitger Organ, Cappel Rec: no recording date - originally released in 1978. DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON DG 469 764-2 [71.51] [M]

A fine selection of baroque organ music … a must-have recording. … see Full Review

 

 

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[Detailed listing (last two days)]
[Part 1 New]  [Part 2 A-B] [Part 3 C-L]
[Part 4 M-R]  [Part 5 S-Y]
[Part 6 Misc] 
[Part 7 Misc]

 

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