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Alphabetical Listing

Recommendations

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]
[last 5 days] [Recommended recordings]

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RECORDINGS OF THE MONTH

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Brandenburg Concertos 1-6 Kati Debretzeni (violin, director) English Baroque Soloists/Sir John Eliot Gardiner rec. live 2009 SOLI DEO GLORIA SDG707 [41:32 + 50:32] [JQ]

Marvel afresh at the musical skill, imagination and invention ... see Full Review 

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Charles GOUNOD (1818 - 1893) Roméo et Juliette Bidú Sayão, Jussi Björling, Metropolitan Opera Ch & O/Emil Cooper rec. live, 1947 IMMORTAL PERFORMANCES IPCD1003-2 [74:06 + 79:30] [GF]

One of the truly great moments at the Met … indispensable ... see Full Review 

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Simon HOLT (b. 1958) Tauromaquia, a book of colours, Black Lanterns, Klop’s Last Bite, Nigredo Rolf Hind (piano) rec. 2008 NMC D128 [69:17] [HC]

One of the most endearing composers of his generation ... see Full Review 

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Carlo Ignazio MONZA (c.1696 - 1739) Harpsichord Music Terence Charlston (harpsichord) rec. 2005 DEUX-ELLES DXL1117 [67:14] [JV]

An ideal combination of first-rate music and performance ... see Full Review 

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958) Heroic Elegy & Triumphal Epilogue Roderick Elms (organ) William ALWYN (1905-1985) Overture in the Form of a Serenade Micaela Haslam (soprano) and the London Chorus Prelude; Blackdown – A Tone Poem from the Surrey Hills; Peter Pan Suite (Peter Pan; Tinker Bell; The Lost Boys in Never-Never Land; Captain Hook); Ad Infinitum – A Satire for Orchestra Sir Hubert PARRY (1848-1918) Hypatia – Incidental Music (Hypatia and Philammon; Ruth and Orestes; Orestes’ March) York BOWEN (1884-1961) Orchestral Poem: Eventide Roderick Elms (organ) BBC Concert Orchestra/John Wilson rec. The Colosseum, Town Hall, Watford, England, 12-14 July 2009 World premiere recordings DUTTON EPOCH CDLX 7237 [72:52] [IL]

One of the best compilations of British music I have heard for a very long time. ... see Full Review

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Richard WAGNER (1813–1883)
Das Rheingold
(1869) [194:00] Wotan - Juha Uusitalo, Fricka - Anna Larsson, Alberich - Franz-Josef Kapelmann, Loge - John Daszak, Fasolt - Matti Salminen, Fafner - Stephen Milling Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana/Zubin Mehta rec. live, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia, April/May 2007 Bonus Track - The Making of Rheingold [27:00] UNITEL CLASSICA 700604 [221:00] [BK]

A must have disc for any serious Wagnerian, I’d say. Easily on a par with The Copenhagen Ring ... see Full Review

RECORDING OF THE MONTH John WARD (c.1589-1638) Consort Music for five and six viols Phantasm rec. 2009 LINN CKD339 [77:57] [JW]

Something of a revelatory disc … first class ... see Full Review 

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Greatest Hits of All Time Contemporary Music for Oboe and Ensemble Roger REDGATE (b.1958) Oboe quintet, Eperons Michael FINNISSY (b.1946) Greatest Hits of All Time, Ceci n’est pas une forme Christopher FOX (b. 1955) Oboe Quintet Howard SKEMPTON (b. 1947) Garland Michael FINNISSY [5:34] James CLARKE (b. 1957) Oboe Quintet Christopher Redgate (oboe, cor anglais) Kreutzer Qt, Ensemble Exposé rec. 2002-6 METIER MSV28513 [56:15] [CR]

An excellent disc of well written and imaginative repertoire … see Full Review 

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Jonas KaufmannSehnsucht
Richard WAGNER, MOZART, SCHUBERT, BEETHOVEN, WAGNER Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma
Mahler Chamber Orchestra/Claudio Abbado rec. Auditorium Nicolo Paganini, Parma, December 2008 DECCA 478 1463 [69:25] [ST]

One of the finest vocal recitals to have come my way this year ... see Full Review

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Stille Nacht (Silent Night) Bettina Pahn (soprano); Joachim Held (lute) rec. 29-31 January 2009, Erlöserkirche in Vahrendorf, Germany. DDD
HÄNSSLER CLASSIC CD 98.525 [59:30] [JV]

A splendid Christmas disc with a number of little-known songs, performed with great refinement and subtlety ... see Full Review

 

BARGAINS OF THE MONTH

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Béla BARTÓK (1881-1945) Boulez conducts Bartók Chicago SO, Berlin PO/Pierre Boulez rec. 1991-2008 DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 477 8125 [8 CDs: 9:05:10]  [GH]

A good addition to your Bartók collection … some performances will be difficult to improve on ... see Full Review

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Complete String Quartets Borodin Qt rec. 2003-6 CHANDOS CHAN10553(8) [8 CDs: 551:10] [DC]

Excellence and depth: real transcendent Beethoven, almost all of the time ... see Full Review 

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Frederick DELIUS (1862-1934) The Complete Violin Sonatas Tasmin Little (violin) Piers Lane (piano) rec. 1997 SONY CLASSICAL 88697 532142 [76:40] [RB]

Magical Delius performances ... see Full Review

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Franz Joseph HAYDN (1732-1810) Great Piano Sonatas Sonatas 20, 23, 28 & 48 Ronan O'Hora (piano) rec. 1997 REGIS RRC1311 [71:37] [OL]

Life and love in every note ... see Full Review 

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Bohuslav MARTINU (1890-1959) Complete Piano Music - Vol. 6 & 7 Giorgio Koukl (piano) Chiara Solari (piano, third hand) rec. 2008 NAXOS 8.572024/5 [53:45 + 54:52] [JW]

The overarching reach of Koukl proves dominant and permanent ... see Full Review

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Einojuhani RAUTAVAARA (b. 1928) Twelve Concertos rec. 1991-2005 ONDINE ODE 1156-2Q [4 CDs: 268:27] [RB]

Powerful, often directly accessible, nuanced and patently sincere ... see Full Review 

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings Lieder by Schubert, Schumann & Brahms Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone); Günther Weissenborn, Gerald Moore, Jörg Demus (piano) rec. 1951-58 REGIS RRC1313 [73:22] [GF]

There is no better Lieder singing to be found anywhere on records ... see Full Review

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Carol Ann DUFFY and Sasha JOHNSON MANNING The Manchester Carols (2007) The Manchester Carollers Northern Chamber Orchestra/Richard Tanner rec. St. Thomas’ Church, Stockport, England, 22 October 2007. DDD NAXOS 8.572469 [63:43] [JQ]

Hugely successful and atmospherically beautiful [ST] Fresh, lively and enjoyable [JQ]... 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]
[last 5 days] [Recommended recordings]


 



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