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Alphabetical Listing

PART 7
Misc M-Z

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]

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Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (piano) Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756–1791) Piano Concerto No. 25 Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873–1943) Piano Concerto No. 4 Frederic CHOPIN (1810–1849) Waltz No. 17 Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (piano); Orchestra Filarmonica della RAI di Roma /Franco Caracciolo rec. 1956-7 ALTARA ALT1023 [57:14][BBr] 

The absolute peak of piano playing ... see Full Review

Misterioso Music by Valentin SILVESTROV (b. 1937), Arvo PÄRT (b. 1935) and Galina USTVOLSKAYA (b. 1919) Alexei Lubimov (piano); Alexander Trostiansky (violin); Kyrill Rybakov (clarinet, piano) rec. 2005 ECM NEW SERIES ECM1959 [79:56][DB]

A beautifully recorded and performed programme  … see Full Review

RECORDING OF THE MONTH David Nadien (violin): Volume 4 – the celebrated live concerto performances; Music by Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937), Alexander GLAZUNOV (1865-1936), Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) and Camille SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921) David Nadien (violin); Various accompaniments rec. 1965-7 Bonus DVD – David Nadien – Life and Music, a film by Mordecai Shehori CEMBAL D’AMOUR CD130 [72:28 + DVD: 68:00][JW]

Bewitching colour, tonal variety, tremendous vitality and generosity ... see Full Review

Pasión Española Plácido Domingo, José Maria Gallardo del Rey (solo guitar) Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid/Miguel Roa rec. 2007 DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 477 6590 [53:49] [GF]

Another feather in Plácido Domingo’s by now well-stocked cap ... see Full Review

Ruth Posselt: American Violinist Includes Ernest BLOCH (1880-1959) Baal Shem Edward Burlingame HILL (1872-1960) Violin Concerto Aram KHACHATURIAN (1903-1978) Violin Concerto Paul HINDEMITH (1895-1963) Violin Concerto Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Violin Concerto Samuel BARBER (1910-1981) Violin Concerto Ruth Posselt (violin) various orchestra & conductors rec.1938-69 WEST HILL RADIO ARCHIVES WHRA6016 [3 CDs: 78:42 + 72:56 + 60:28] [JW]

Posselt: a splendid, proselytising musician ... see Full Review

Romantic Trios Joan Sutherland (soprano); Barry Tuckwell (horn); Richard Bonynge (piano) rec. 1987 DECCA ELOQUENCE 4429098 [56:44][ST] 

All the appeal of a cup of hot chocolate on a winter’s night ... see Full Review

O Sacrum Convivium The Choir of Royal Holloway University of London/Rupert Gough rec. 2006 SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD127 [47:00][JF]

The singing is great, the sound quality perfect, alas a very short CD ... see Full Review

Salve Regina Yves CASTAGNET (b.1964) Messe: Salve Regina pour chœur, soli et deux orgues [34:30] Francis POULENC ( 1899-1963) Litanies à la Vierge Noire [8:33] Olivier LATRY (b.1962) Salve Regina pour orgue et voix [22:48] Choeurs de la Maîtrise de Notre-Dame de Paris/Lionel Sow; Sylvain Dieudonné (Gregorian chant) Yves Castagnet (orgue de chœur); Olivier Latry (grand orgue) rec. Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, 8-12, 28-31 October 2007 HORTUS 056 [65:51] [CB]

Essential listening; beautifully presented and thrilling performances. ... see Full Review

Saxophone Concertos Takashi YOSHIMATSU (b.1953) Saxophone Concerto ‘Albireo Mode’ (2004-5) [22:53] Toshiyuki HONDA (b.1957) Concerto du vent (2005) [19:07] Jacques IBERT (1890-1962) Concertino de camera (1935) [12:52] Lars-Erik LARSSON (1908-1986) Concerto for Saxophone and String Orchestra, Op.14 (1934) [21:42] Nobuya Sugawa (saxophone) BBC Philharmonic/Yutaka Sado rec. Studio 7, New Broadcasting House, Manchester, 23-24 October 2007 CHANDOS CHAN 10466 [77:02] [TH]

An interesting survey for those with a liking for this sort of repertoire. ... see Full Review

Hermann ScherchenLe Concert Imaginaire Bedrich SMETANA (1824-1884) Ma Vlast – Vltava Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937) Piano Concerto Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Symphony 4 Robert Casadesus (piano) Cologne RSO, Vienna State Opera O/Hermann Scherchen rec. July 1951-57 TAHRA TAH651 [75:00] [JW]

The concert Scherchen didn’t conduct. Now, on disc, in a sense, he does ... see Full Review

Mordecai Shehori Learning By Example Volumes 1-3 Mordecai Shehori (piano) rec. 1999-2008 CEMBAL D’AMOUR CD108/119/131 [73:59 + 77:00 + 79:36] [JW]

These educational and captivating volumes ... see Full Review

Mordecai Shehori: The Celebrated New York Concerts Vol. 3 Includes Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1828) Piano Sonata 22 Fryderyk CHOPIN (1810-1849) Berceuse, Polonaise, Scherzo Franz LISZT (1811-1886) Mephisto Waltz 1 Moriz ROSENTHAL (1862-1946) Carnaval de Vienne Mordecai Shehori (piano) rec. live 1979-87 CEMBAL D’AMOUR CD133 [76:21] [JW]

One of the unsung giants of our time ... see Full Review

Songs and Dances of Life Diana Ketler (piano); Razvan Popovici, Christian Naş (viola) rec. 2007 SOLO MUSICA LC15316 [69:04] [MSJ]

A fantastic idea. A very listenable and evocative disc ... see Full Review

String Quartets by Opera Composers Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) Crisantemi Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) Il Tramonto Richard Wagner (1813-1883) Albumblatt Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921) String Quartet Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) String Quartet Ruth Ziesack (soprano); Leipziger Streichquartett rec. 2007 MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM MDG Gold 3071495-2 [61:12] [BW]

Sympathetic performances of attractive but little-known music ... see Full Review

Sydney Symphony – 75th Anniversary Collection – Recording Heritage rec. 1950-2005 ABC CLASSICS 476 5957 [5 CDs] [JW]

A valuable historical conspectus which contains excellent performances ... see Full Review

Yuri Temirkanov – Historical Russian Archives see review for details rec. 1966-83 BRILLIANT CLASSICS 8818 [10 CDs: 670:03] [JW]

Performances that veer between the splendid and the rather shoddy ... see Full Review

Time of the Templars CD 1 – Music for a Knight; CD 2 – Music of the Church (All anonymous Gregorian Chant) CD 3 – Music of the Mediterranean Full track-listing at end of review NAXOS 8.503192 [3 CDs: 65:34 + 75:25 + 67:24]

Highly enjoyable and thoroughly recommendable – but you may prefer the parent CDs ... see Full Review

Arturo Toscanini Conducts Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) Serenades No.1 and No.2 [32:33] Academic Festival Overture [10:30] Piano Concerto No.2 [42:55] ¹ Four Part Songs; Gesang aus Final; Wein’ an dem Felsen der brausenden Winde Op.17 No. 4; Der Gartner; Wohin ich ger’ Op.17 No.3; Lied von Shakespeare; Come away, come away, Death Op.17 No.2; Schubert arranged by Brahms; Jäger, ruhe von der Jagd D838 – sung in English [14:50] ² Robert Casadesus (piano) ¹ New York Ladies’ Choir ² New York Philharmonic Orchestra/Arturo Toscanini rec. New York 1935-36. ADD GUILD GHCD 2337/38 [76:48 + 69:26] [JW]

Formidable performances interpretatively cut from the finest cloth. ... see Full Review

The Viennese School - Teachers and Followers: Alban Berg Includes Alban BERG (1885-1935) Sonata Hans Erich APOSTEL (1901-1972) Kubiniana - Ten Pieces after Drawings by Alfred Kubin Fritz Heinrich KLEIN (1892-1972) Die Maschine, Zehn extonale Klavierstücke Theodor ADORNO (1903-1969) Piano Pieces Steffen Schleiermacher (piano) rec. 2006 MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM MDG6131475-2 [73:14] [PB-W]

Will appeal to avid collectors of the Second Viennese School and its offshoots ... see Full Review

Earl Wild in Concert (1973-1987) Earl Wild (piano) IVORY CLASSICS 77001 [74:00][JW]

The main constituency for this disc will be Wild’s legion of admirers ... see Full Review

 

BOOK REVIEWS

Discover music of the Baroque Era by Clive Unger-Hamilton paperback 160 pp Naxos books. ISBN 978-1-84379-234-5 £5.99

A first class concept and a handy book ... see Full Review


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]



T

Over a period of three years from December 2003, I have spent a lot of time in the company of Harry Partch – not literally, of course, as he died in 1974, but working my way though an article and some eight reviews that can all be found on MusicWeb. Then, at the MusicWeb annual lunch (January 2007), the name of John Cage caught my ear. For reasons that my subconscious was not prepared to divulge, my curiosity was tickled. Partch and Cage have on occasion been paired off, as a sort of American "Debussy and Ravel" – was there any real connection between them?

This may come as a bit of an anticlimax but, other than them both being American originals with "far-out" ideas, I can’t really think of one. In fact, they are more on the lines of diametric opposites: with my tongue ever-so-slightly in my cheek, I could say that Partch was a seminal genius who got branded as a crackpot, and Cage was a crackpot who got branded as a seminal genius.

John Cage (1912-92) was nothing if not controversial. With his rise to prominence, an obliging World split into two opposing camps. His supporters saw him as a prime mover in the fields of experimental and electronic music, with abiding interests in "chance music", new ways of using traditional instruments, and practical application of his Zen Buddhist beliefs.

His detractors, the more radical of whom would have preferred the "nothing" option,



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