RECORDINGS
OF THE MONTH
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Sir
Arnold BAX (1883-1953)
Symphony
No. 2 (1924-6) [37:39] Symphony No. 5 in C
sharp minor (1931-2)* [40:46] 
London Philharmonic Orchestra/Myer Fredman
(2); Raymond Leppard* (5) rec. 1970,1971
LYRITA SRCD.233 [78.28] [RB]
Bax
whirls the listener into the action and the
call is irresistible. ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Arnold
BAX (1883–1953)
String Quartet 1 Edward
ELGAR (1857-1934) String Quartet
Pavão Quartet rec. 2007
DISCRETE RECORDINGS DISC0701 [BBr]
An
unqualified success. A truly fabulous disk ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH John DOWLAND (1563-1626)
Lute Songs Benjamin BRITTEN (1913-1976) Nocturnal
after John Dowland Mark
Padmore (tenor), Elizabeth Kenny (lute), Craig Ogden (guitar) rec. 2007 HYPERION
CDA67648 [MG]
A
terrific disc which demonstrates how flexibly Dowland’s line can
be treated in expressing the nuances of the texts … see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH John
Herbert FOULDS (1880-1939) A
World Requiem BBC
Symphony Chorus & Orchestra/Leon Botstein rec. 2007
CHANDOS CHSA5058 
[45:08
+ 44:50][PCW]
Ventures
like this give one hope for the future of recorded music … see Full
Review
HISTORICAL
RECORDING OF THE MONTH Ruggiero LEONCAVALLO
(1858-1919) Chatterton
Chorus and orchestra of Teatro alla Scala/Ruggiero Leoncavallo rec.
1908 Pagliacci Giuseppe Rosci Chorus and orchestra of
Teatro alla Scala/Ruggiero Leoncavallo (as stated on labels; possibly
Carlo Sabajno) rec. 1907
MARSTON 52016-2 [79.04 + 78:14][JW]
An
amazing rarity transferred with care, presented with authority, and
made universally available ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gustav
MAHLER
(1865-1911)
Symphony No.9 in D (1909-10)
Berliner Philharmoniker/Sir Simon Rattle rec.
October 2007 Philharmonie, Berlin.
EMI CLASSICS 501228-2 [84.00] [TD]
Contemplating
buying a Mahler 9 for the very first time:
this is the one to have ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Philippus (Philippe) de MONTE
(1521-1603) Motets, Madrigals and Chansons
Ensemble Orlando Fribourg; In Echo/Laurent Gendre rec. 2007
CLAVES 502712 [51:17][BW]
An
unjustly neglected composer brought to life in very good performances,
well recorded ... see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Marc NEIKRUG (b.
1946) Through Roses
Will Quadflieg (speaker); Pinchas Zukerman (violin); Michel Rouilly
(viola – alto); Wolfgang Bogner (cello); Gunter Rumpel (flute); Eduard
Brunner (clarinet); Anne Leek (oboe); Pierre Beboux (percussion); Marc
Neikrug (piano)/Christoph Eschenbach rec. 1985
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4159832 [OP]
One
of the most moving pieces that I’ve ever experienced and one
of my most cherished discs ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Dmitri
SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975) Symphony
15 Boris TCHAIKOVSKY (1925-1996) Theme
and Eight Variations for Orchestra Dresden
Staatskapelle/Kyrill Kondrashin
rec. live 1974 HÄNSSLER PROFIL
PH06065 [JFL]
This
Shostakovich 15 goes to the very top ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Richard
STRAUSS (1864–1949)
Vier
letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs), Op.
posth., TrV 296 (1948)[22:54] Brentano-Lieder,
Op. 68, TrV 235 (1918, orch. 1933
(10) and 1940)[28:40] Ariadne auf Naxos,
Op. 60, TrV 228a (excerpts) (1912) [8:47]
Ricarda Merbeth (soprano) Weimar Staatskapelle/Michael
Halász rec. 2006
NAXOS 8.570283 [60:21] [GF]
Undoubtedly
thrilling and the complete Brentano with a
tremendous reading of Lied der Frauen lends
further importance to this disc. ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Ralph
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
Symphony No. 5; Dona Nobis Pacem
London Philharmonic Orchestra & BBC Symphony
Orchestra and Chorus/Ralph Vaughan Williams
rec. 1936-52
SOMM CELESTE SERIES SOMMCD071 [72:04][JQ]
A
priceless document ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Antonio
VIVALDI (1678-1741) L’Olimpiade Sara
Mingardo, Roberta Invernizzi, Concerto Italiano/Rinaldo Alessandrini
rec. 2002 NAÏVE
OP30451 [GPu]
A
marvellous selection of some of the very best music from one of
Vivaldi’s best operas, in an already classic modern performance … see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Arie
di bravura - Diana
Damrau Arias by Salieri, Mozart
and Righini Diana
Damrau (soprano) Le Cercle de l’Harmonie/Jérémie Rhorer rec.
2006 VIRGIN
CLASSICS 3952502 [GF]
This
disc is superb in all respects and the repertoire is un-hackneyed!
... see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Fire
Burning in Snow Baroque music from Latin
America – 3
Ex Cathedra Consort and Baroque Ensemble/Jeffrey
Skidmore rec. 2007,Texts and English translations
included
HYPERION CDA67600 [75:35] [JQ]
This
is a CD that commands attention ... see Full
Review
BARGAINS
OF THE MONTH
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Kenneth
FUCHS (b. 1956)
United Artists; Quiet in the Land; Fire,
Ice, and Summer Bronze; Autumn Rhythm; Canticle
to the Sun
Timothy Jones (French horn); London
Symphony Orchestra/JoAnn Falletta rec. 2006
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559335 [64:00][DM]
Fuchs’s
distinctive voice, flair for orchestral colours
and sheer lyricism shine through ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH John TAVERNER (c.1490-1545) O
splendor gloriæ, Te Deum, Alleluia, Mass ‘The Western Wynde’ The
Sixteen/Harry Christophers rec. 1991 HYPERION
HELIOS CDH55056 [BW]
The
only reason not to buy this excellent CD is that it will make you
want the five other recordings in the series ... see Full
Review
[Click
here for the most recent reviews (last
five days)]
Click for alphabetical listings by composer:
[Part
1 New] [Part
2 A-B] [Part
3 C-L]
[Part
4 M-R] [Part
5 S-Z]
[Part
6 Misc A-L] [Part
7 Misc M-Z]
[Recommended
recordings]
