RECORDING OF THE MONTH RECORDING OF THE MONTH BARGAIN OF THE MONTH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS A London Symphony Oboe Concerto £11 post free World-wide RACHMANINOV Elegy, Preludes, Piano concerto 3 £12 post free World-wide CHAUSSON, DEBUSSY RACHMANINOV TRios 2CDs £16 post free World-wide

	Manet: Music of His Time. Frédéric CHOPIN (1810-1849) Grand Valse brillante in A flat, Op. 34 No. 1. Waltzes – C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2; G flat, Op. 70 No. 1. Gioachino ROSSINI (1792-1868) Stabat Mater (1832) – Stabat Mater dolorosa. Jacques OFFENBACH (1819-1880) La Vie parisienne – Overture (1866). Georges BIZET (1838-1875) Jeux d’enfants (1871) – Trompette et tambour; La Poupée; La Toupie; Petit Mari, Petite Femme; Le Bal. Edouard LALO (1823-1892) Symphonie espagnole (1873) – Allegro non troppo. Emmanuel CHABRIER (1841-1894) Pièces pittoresques (1881) – Paysage; Idylle; Scherzo-valse. Alfred BRUNEAU (1857-1934) Suite from ‘L’Attaque du Moulin’ – Les Fiançailles au moulin (1893). Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918) String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10 (1893) – Animé et très décidé. various artists DDD NAXOS ART AND MUSIC 8.558117 [75’44]
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Naxos is to be applauded for the concept of this series. Art and music are intimately bound together (exactly how, though, provides much academic fodder). The combination of carefully chosen repertoire, an extended and insightful accompanying booklet essay (by Hugh Griffith) and a chronology is indicative of the care which has gone into this issue. The booklet firstly considers Paris at the time of Manet, then the man himself, then the music on the disc. All this makes for fascinating reading and the text is interspersed with several Manets: Olympia (1863); Madame Manet au piano (1868); Emile Zola (1868); Argenteuil (1874); Nana (1877). Choice of repertoire mixes the familiar with excursions down some byways. Inevitably, this is an uneven hotch-potch of performances and an ingenious way to regurgitate back-catalogue material. Perhaps understandably, the programmers opt to begin and end with two of the jewels in Naxos’s exclusive artists roster: Idil Beret (in Chopin) and the Kodály String Quartet (in Debussy). Beret plays the Chopin Waltzes with a sensitive rubato and a keen awareness of voice-leading, with subsidiary voices subtly highlighted rather than forced on the listener. The nostalgic world of Op. 64 No. 2 is well shaded, and a light and flighty Op. 70 No. 1 rounds off her offering. Naxos’s ‘house’ quartet close the disc with a stylish performance of the first movement of Debussy’s G minor String Quartet. An excerpt from Rossini’s Stabat Mater brings with it a nicely balanced line-up of soloists (Patrizia Pace, Gloria Scalchi, Antonio Siragusa and Carlo Colombara) and a good choir and orchestra (Hungarian State Opera Chorus and Orchestra, all under Pier Giorgio Morandi). This is slow and delicate, and full of feeling, but is marred by an over-zealous tenor and a recording that needs more depth. Offenbach’s Overture to La Vie parisienne, played by the Polish NRSO under Richard Hayman, is fizzy and fun. The truly interesting curio on the menu, though, is Les Fiançailles au moulin from Alfred Bruneau’s :L’Attaque du moulin. Bruneau was a student of Massenet, and his music is accordingly well crafted and well behaved but also fun. The performance is more than adequately committed (the Rhenish Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by James Lockhart). Pianist Georges Rabol, playing three of Chabrier’s Pièces pittoresques, realises these pieces well, especially the sweet and lovely ‘Idylle’. The excerpt from Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole, played by Marat Bisengaliev with the Polish NRSO under Johannes Wildner, is dramatic if not life-changing. An interesting idea, then, and worth the fiver to spend a couple of hours investigating Manet’s world. Colin Clarke see also review by Paul Shoemaker Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage There will be NO VAT Rises [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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