Superbudget £5.99 or less 
Budget £6-7.99 
Medium £8-10.99 
Full price £11+ 
Download
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911)
The
Symphonies 
Russian State Symphony Orchestra/Evgeny Svetlanov rec. 1992-1996, full
listing at end of review
WARNER CLASSICS AND JAZZ 2564 68886-2 [14 CDs: 733:07]
[DC]
Some
redeeming features, but by no means a first choice.
Gustav
MAHLER
(1860-1911) Symphony 3
Dagmar Peckova (mezzo) Deutsches SO Berlin/Kent
Nagano rec. 1999
WARNER CLASSICS APEX 2564 68161-7
[MSJ]
Fresh
but rather lightweight.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gustav MAHLER
(1860
- 1911) Songs with Orchestra - Lieder eines fahrenden
Gesellen, Rückert-Lieder, Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Susan Graham (mezzo) Thomas Hampson (baritone) San Francisco Symphony/Michael
Tilson Thomas rec. live, 2007/9
SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY 
821936-0036-2 [64:57] 
[GF]
A
disc that would have been a candidate for inclusion among my Recordings
of the Year, had it arrived a little earlier.
Maciej
MALECKI
(b.1940)
Polish Suite for String Quartet see Kilar
Johann
MATTHESON
(1681-1764)
Christmas Oratorio and Magnificat
Die Kölner Akademie/Michael Alexander Willens rec. 2009
CPO 777 274-2 [55:20]
[JV]
This
disc convincingly shows Johann Mattheson's qualities as a composer of
sacred music.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Alessandro MELANI
(1639-1703)
Motetti
Concerto Italiani/Rinaldo Alessandrini rec. 2006
NAÏVE OP30431 [67:07]
[JV]
Brilliant
performances of sacred music by a great composer.
Felix
MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)
Lieder ohne Worte (Songs Without Words)
Roberte Mamou (piano)
MERIDIAN CDE 84576/7 [66:53 + 54:38]
[KS]
An
ample helping of beautiful music played beautifully. Ms. Mamou has the
goods and delivers them with style and ease.
Felix
MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)
Elias
Ruth Ziesak (soprano) Claudia Mahnke (mezzo) Christoph Genz (tenor)
Ralf Lukas (bass-baritone) MDR Radio Ch & SO/Jun Märkl rec.
2008/9
NAXOS 8.572228-9 [66:45 + 65:53]
[JS]
“Elias”
is every bit as dramatic as most of the operas of his contemporaries
and this set brings out that drama to the full.
Ludwig
MINKUS (1826-1917) La Bayadère
Isabelle Guérin, Laurent Hilaire, Élisabeth Platel, O
Colonne/Michel Quéval rec. 1994
WARNER CLASSICS 50-51865-5572-2-7 [130:00] 
[DB]
Elegantly
done despite the tediousness of Minkus' score.
Pierre-Alexandre
MONSIGNY (1729–1817)
Le Déserteur
William Sharp (baritone) Dominique Labelle (baritone) Opera Lafayette
O/Ryan Brown rec. 2009
NAXOS 8.660263-64 [59.49 + 37:00]
[RH]
This
isn’t a master-work, but it is a fascinating and charming.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Complete
Edition
rec. 1968-2005
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 94051 [ca 170:00:00]
[RB]
Mozart
is one of the greats so if you are tempted by the low price don't feel
you have to hold back – there’s a wealth of discovery and delight here.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Don Giovanni
Christopher Maltman, Erwin Schrott, Annette Dasch, Dorothea Röschmann,
Vienna State Opera Ch, Vienna PO/Bertrand de Billy rec. 2008
UNITEL CLASSICA/EUROARTS 2072548 
[2 DVDs: 177:00] 
[BW]
Controversial
– sample first if you can – but overall a successful supplement to existing
recommendations.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART
(1756
- 1791) Clarinet Quintet Bedrich SMETANA
(1824 - 1884) String Quartet 1
Simon Löffelmann (clarinet) Hölderlin Qt rec. 1990
EDITION HERA 02122 [62:56]
[BBr]
I
cannot recommend this recording.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756–1791) Idomeneo
Kurt Streit, Angeles Blancas Gulin, Ch & SO Carlo Theatre Naples/Marco
Guidarini, rec. 2004
NAXOS 8.660250-52 [3 CDs: 55:12 + 39:44 + 64:55]
[GF]
As
a total experience this Idomeneo is not competitive
but readers wanting a cheap set can still find much to enjoy.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Piano Concertos 20, 21, 23 & 27, Rondo
Daniel Barenboim (piano and director)/English CO rec. 1967-71
EMI CLASSICS MASTERS 6317962 [63:16 + 66:25]
[BBr]
This
set can be warmly welcomed.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Piano Concertos 20
& 27
Evgeny Kissin (piano/dir.) Kremerata Baltica, rec. 2008
EMI CLASSICS 6266452 [63:16]
[CC]
I
enjoyed these performances more than I did the Kissin/LSO/Davis reading
… A most successful release.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Violin Concerto 5 Max
BRUCH (1838-1920) Violin Concerto 1
Louis SPOHR (1784-1859) Violin Concerto 8
Georg Kulenkampff (violin) Berlin PO/Joseph Keilberth, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt,
rec. 1935-42
DUTTON CDBP 9804 [72:31] 
[JW]
Attractive
and worthy of note.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Requiem, Exsultate Jubilate
Helen
Donath, Barbara Hendricks, Christa Ludwig, Robert Tear, Robert Lloyd,
Philharmonia Ch & O/Carlo Maria Giulini, ASMF/Sir Neville Marriner
rec. 1978/87
EMI CLASSICS 6318012 [70:39]
[JQ]
A
good, reliable Mozart collection, well worth investigation by collectors
who may have missed these recordings first time round.
Nico
MUHLY (b.1981) I Drink the Air Before Me
DECCA 478 2570 [53.20]
A Good Understanding rec. 2010
DECCA 478 2506 [58.41]
[KM]
Classical
music for those who don’t listen to classical music.
Carl
ORFF (1895-1982) Carmina Burana Ludwig
van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Leonore Overture 3 George
Frideric HANDEL (1685-1750) ‘Hallelujah’ Chorus
Sally Matthews (soprano) Lawrence Brownlee (tenor) Christian Gerhaher
(baritone) Berlin Radio, State & Cathedral Boys Choirs, Berlin PO/Simon
Rattle, rec. 2004
EUROARTS 2053678 [89:00]
[MC]
An
abundance of commitment and exuberance here to seal a marvellous concert.
Ignacy
Jan PADEREWSKI (1860-1941)
Symphony
BBC Scottish SO/Jerzy Maksymiuk. rec. 1998
HYPERION HELIOS CDH55351 [74:21]
[CC]
Paderewski’s
canvas is vast, and one can only hold Hyperion in the highest esteem
for this recording – and for reissuing it on the lower price Helios
label.
Lorenzo
PALOMO (b.1938) Dulcinea
Ainhoa Arteta, Ch & O Deutsche Oper Berlin/Miguel Angel Gómez Martínez
rec. 2006
NAXOS 8.572577 [58:15]
[MM-B]
I
thoroughly enjoyed this. Palomo’s "Dulcinea" is a rare and beautiful
work. An exquisite merger of text and music.
RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Gabriel PIERNÉ (1863-1937)
Sonata da Camera see LOEFFLER
Walter PISTON (1894-1976)
String Quartets 1, 3 & 5
Harlem Qt rec. 2009
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559630
[GH]
The
music, the recording and the performances are of a very high quality.
Thomas
PITFIELD
(1903-1999)
Piano Concertos 1 & 2
Anthony Goldstone (piano) Royal Northern College of Music O/Andrew Penny
rec. 2003
NAXOS 8.557291 [54:41]
[SS]
This
recording gives much pleasure and is well worth exploring especially
at superbudget price.
Elizabeth
POSTON
(1905-1987)
An English Day-Book see BRITTEN
Francis
POULENC (1899-1963) Stabat Mater Johannes
BRAHMS (1833-1897) Fünf Gesänge
Claudia Barainsky (soprano) EuropaChorAkademie, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie/Joshard
Daus rec. 2007/8
GLOR CLASSICS GC08091 [1 CD: 40:06 + 1 DVD]
[JQ]
With
a poor soprano soloist and unacceptably short playing time this disc
is simply not recommendable.
Sergei
PROKOFIEV
(1891-1953) Romeo
and Juliet
Manuel Legris, Moniques Loudičres, Paris Opera & Ballet O/Vello
Pähn rec. 1995
WARNER CLASSICS
50-51865-5575-2-4 [149:00]
[DB]
An
essential purchase for all lovers of ballet, music and fine theatre.
Sergei
PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Sonata 8, Four Pieces, Visions
Fugitives
Jerry Wong (piano) rec. 2007/8
MSR CLASSICS MS 1357 [64:25]
[KS]
A
satisfying program of works spanning the whole of Prokofiev’s
career. Jerry Wong is an expressive pianist with a good ear for color
and contrast, even if he has a lead foot on the sostenuto pedal from
time to time.
Giacomo
PUCCINI (1858-1924) La bohčme
Melody Moore, Alfie Boe, ENO Ch & O/Miguel Harth-Bedoya, rec. live,
2009
WARNER/NVC ARTS 50-51865-9489-2-6 [120:00]
[CC]
Worth
preserving, to be sure, but should by no means be anyone’s single version
in their collection.
Roger
QUILTER (1877 - 1953) Four Songs of Mirza Schaffy
see Departures
Niels
Otto RAASTED
(1888-1966) Sonatas
for solo violin
Johannes Sře Hansen (violin) rec. 2010
DACAPO 6.220563
[BR]
Intelligent
sonatas to be respected, but not necessarily enjoyed.
Sergey
RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943) Symphony 3, Isle of the Dead,
Vocalise
Philadelphia O/Sergey Rachmaninov, rec. 1929, 1939
NAXOS 8.111357 [59:17]
[IL]
Gorgeous
string tone, scintillating percussive colour, all vividly caught.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Sergei
RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Piano Concertos 3 & 4
Leif Ove Andsnes (piano) London SO/Antonio Pappano rec. 2009
EMI CLASSICS 6405162 [67:14]
[IL]
Another
winning Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3.
Sergei
RACHMANINOV (1873-1943)
The Bells, Vocalise Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH
(1906-1975)
Festive Overture
Lyubov Petrova (soprano) Andrei Popov (tenor) Sergei Leiferkus (baritone)
Wen-Sinn Yang (cello) Russian Ntl O/José Serebrier rec. 2010
WARNER
CLASSICS 2564 68025-5 [59:39]
[JW]
A
success from beginning to end - interpretatively, sonically and programmatically.
Sergei
RACHMANINOV (1873-1943)
Complete symphonies and orchestral works
Sydney SO/Vladimir Ashkenazy rec. 2007
EXTON EXCL-00018 [5 CDs: 304:13]
[JQ]
A
most attractive collection of Rachmaninov’s orchestral music.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Maurice RAVEL
(1875-1937)
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, Piano Concerto, Miroirs
Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano) Cleveland O/Pierre Boulez rec. 2010
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 477 8770 [70:32]
[IL]
An
excellent recording of a terrific partnership between soloist and orchestra
and of beautifully sculpted solo performances.
Max
REGER (1873-1916)
Choral Works
Consortium/Andrew-John Smith rec. 2009
HYPERION CDA67762 [66:22]
[GD]
A
surprisingly varied programme and an impressively performed disc.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
(1844-1908) Scheherazade, Russian Easter Festival Overture
Royal
PO/Charles Dutoit rec. 2010
ONYX 4064 [61:15]
[BBr]
This
Scheherazade is too good to miss.
George
ROCHBERG
(1918-2005)
Caprice Variations
Eliot Fisk (guitar) rec. 1993
NIMBUS RECORDS NI2566 [75:04]
[ZT]
To
date, one of Fisk’s best recordings, if not the best.
Miquel
ROGER (b.1954) Divertimento per a Cordes see
Girona XXI
Vol. 3
Gioacchino
ROSSINI (1792
– 1868) William Tell Overture see A
Romantic Evening
Edmund
RUBBRA (1901-1986)
Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 45 (1937) [34:28] Festival Overture, Op. 62
(1947) [7:19] Symphony No. 7 in C, Op. 88 (1957) [35:59]*
New Philharmonia Orchestra/Vernon Handley; *London Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir
Adrian Boult ADD
LYRITA SRCD.235 [77:47]
[SV]
Handley’s
Rubbra: beautiful and more immediately pleasing; Boult: atmospheric
with a gratifying attention to the expressive potential of color and
texture.
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]
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