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Elliott
Miles McKINLEY (b. 1969) String Quartets 4-6 
Martinů Qt rec. 2001-10
NAVONA RECORDS NV5855 [63:39] [MS]
Competent
playing of music that will appeal to those who like slightly unsettled
wine from the eye-level shelves of the supermarket, and well watered
down.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Symphonies 1-7, Rückert Lieder
Sergei PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Piano
Concerto 3
Eteri Gvazava (soprano) Anna Larsson (contralto) Magdalena Kozena (mezzo)
Yuja Wang (piano) Lucerne Festival O/Claudio Abbado rec. 2003-9
EUROARTS 
2058574 [4 discs: 610:00] [DBi]
A
superb box for those who have resisted the separate issues. Unmissable!
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Symphony 2
Christine Oelze (soprano) Michaela Schuster (mezzo) Gürzenich O Köln/Markus
Stenz rec. 2010
OEHMS CLASSICS 
OC647 [21:42 + 60:35] [DM]
Sense
of routine blights this whole enterprise.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Symphony 3 Claude
DEBUSSY (1862-1918) La Mer
Lucretia West (mezzo) Kölner Domchor, Cologne RSO/Dimitri Mitropoulos
rec. 1960
ICA CLASSICS ICAC 5021 [73:45 + 44:30]
[JQ]
The
first official release of Mitropoulos’s mighty vision of Mahler’s Third.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Symphonies 4 & 5
Camilla Tilling (soprano)World Orch for Peace/Valery Gergiev rec. 2010
C
MAJOR 702608 
[153:51]
[TP]
This
is not everyone’s ideal Mahler, but it is thoroughly enjoyable if you
favour ensemble clarity and thrilling execution over deep emotion.
René
MAILLARD (b.1931) Surviving after Hiroshima, Concerto
Grosso, Concerto da Camera 2
Sarah Jouffroy (mezzo) Royal PO/Dionysios Dervis-Bournias rec. 2009
NAXOS
8.572623 [71:00] [Byz]
Music
with a neo-Classical feel to it, recalling Stravinsky in spirit if not
in style.
Czesław
MAREK (1891-1985)
Violin Sonata, Suite de 4 Morceaux, Petite Suite, Canzone Solenelle
& Gavotte, Annemarie
Marie-Catherine Girod, Jitka Čechová, Ludmila Janowska (piano)
Ingolf Turban (violin) Richard Jenkinson (cello) Gabriella dall'Ollio
(harp) rec. 1998
GUILD GMCD 7362/3 [48:30 + 47:21]
[Byz]
Marek's
post-war descent into relative oblivion is very puzzling.
Bohuslav
MARTINÜ
(1890-1959) The Six Symphonies
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Jiri Belohlávek rec. 2009 – 2010,
ONYX 4061 [3 CDs: 61.47 + 64.14 + 56.06]
[DBi][RB]
Authentic
performances decently recorded. [DBi] This set shows that his music
has all the necessary stamina and allure.[RB]
William
MATHIAS (1934-1992) Piano Concertos 1 & 2 Ralph
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1972-1958) Fantasy for piano and orchestra
Mark
Bebbington (piano) Ulster O/George Vass rec. 2011
SOMM SOMMCD 246 [70:46]
[RB]
Discoveries
but more to the point rewarding revelations that beckon the listener
to return.
Teizo
MATSUMURA (1929-2007) Symphonies 1 & 2, To the
Night of Gethsemane
Ikuyo Kamiya (piano) RTÉ Nat SO/Takuo Yuasa rec. 2006
NAXOS 8.570337 [60:50]
[Byz]
Enormous,
almost overwhelming power.
Dariusz
MAZUROWSKI (b.1966)
Electronic
music Pseudaria, Divertimento
Music composed, performed and engineered by Mazurowski rec. 2011
ACTE PREALABLE AP0241 [63:02]
[RB]
Atmospheric
and richly varied sound assemblages.
Etienne
MÉHUL (1763-1817) La Legende de Joseph en Egypte
Laurence Dale (tenor) Frédéric Vassar (baritone) Natalie Dessay (soprano)
Le Conseil Régional de Picardie et L’Orchestre “Le Sinfonietta”/Claude
Bardon
DISQUES DOM
DOM11012 [96:00] [JS]
Fills
an important gap.
Darius
MILHAUD (1892-1974) Le boeuf sur le toit,
La création du monde
Orch de théâtre des Champs Elysées/Darius Milhaud rec. 1956
EDITIONS ANDRÉ CHARLIN SLC17 [31:38]
[DC]
The
genuine article, but at a price.
Ludwig
MINKUS (1826-1917)
La Bayadère
Altynai Asylmuratova, Irek Mukhamedov, Royal Opera House O/John Lanchbery
rec. 1991
ARTHAUS MUSIK 107 257
[123:00]
[RMay]
Derek
Bailey’s direction is utterly sympathetic to this attractively
exotic production.
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Frederic
MOMPOU (1893-1987) Piano Music - Volume 6
Jordi Masó (piano) rec. 2009
NAXOS 8.572142 [64:12]
[DM]
Bargain of the Month - nothing else will do.
Frederic
MOMPOU (1893-1987) Cançons and Danses
Marisa Martins (mezzo) Mac McClure (piano) rec. 2009
COLUMNA MÚSICA 1CM0241 [65:49]
[JW]
A
most idiomatic pairing in this repertoire and fortunately well recorded.
Columna Música is a good label, producing fine recordings that are apt
to be overlooked.
Robert
MORAN (b. 1937) Trinity Requiem; Seven Sounds Unseen;
Notturno in Weiss; Requiem for a Requiem
Trinity Choir, Trinity Wall Street/Robert Ridgell, Musica Sacra/Richard
Westenburg, The Esoterics/Eric Banks rec. 2010
INNOVA 244 [68:08]
[DC]
Hauntingly
beautiful.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Piano Concerti 6, 8 &
9 Angela
Hewitt (piano) Orchestra da Camera di Mantova/Carlo Fabiano rec. 2010
HYPERION
CDA67840 [75:23]
[DC]
A
very exciting prospect indeed.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART
(1756-91) Piano Concertos 20 & 27
Mitsuko Uchida (piano and director) Cleveland O rec. 2010
DECCA 4782596 [65:46]
[PBW]
An
outstanding CD by one of the greatest Mozart players of our time, beautifully
recorded.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Violin Concerti 2, 3 &
5 Vadim
Repin (violin) Wiener Kammerorch/Yehudi Menuhin rec. 1997
WARNER APEX 2564 67301-7 [75:41]
[LW]
Fine
accounts of these concertos at budget price.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Symphonies 35 & 36; Piano
Concerto 22; Horn Concerto 1
Radek Baborak (horn) Berlin PO/Daniel Barenboim (piano, conductor) rec.
2006
EUROARTS 2020208 [116:08]
[TP]
This
is a very enjoyable release and well worth snapping up at its discounted
price.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Oboe Concerto (arr. clarinet) Carl Maria von
WEBER (1786-1826) Clarinet Concerto 1 Bernhard
Henrik CRUSELL (1775-1836)
Clarinet Concerto 1
Stephan Siegenthaler (clarinet) Cappella Istropolitana/Kaspar Zehnder
rec. 2010
SHEVA COLLECTION SH040 [63:06]
[BR]
Siegenthaler,
once a medical entrepreneur, is still an accomplished clarinetist, and
has created his own “new” Mozart concerto.
The
Great Mass - A ballet by Uwe Scholz Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Great Mass in C minor,
Adagio and Fugue in C minor, Ave verum corpus György
KURTÁG (b. 1926) Játékok, Bach Transcriptions Thomas
JAHN (b. 1940) Orte und Zeiten, Tempi e Luoghi Arvo
PäRT (b. 1935) Credo
Leipzig Ballet Ch of Leipzig Op/Stefan Bilz Gewandhausorch Leipzig/Balázs
Kocsár rec. 2005
EUROARTS
2054604 [130:00] [MMB]
I
was captivated by this, totally absorbed by the congenial combination
of music and movement.
Yoshinao
NAKADA
(1923-2000) Songs
Waleria Przelaskowska-Rokita (mezzo) Witold Woloszynski (piano) rec.
2010. DDD
ACTE PREALABLE AP0214 [62:08]
[Byz]
A
combination of good intonation and worldly-wise expressiveness amounts
to an attractive recital.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Pehr
Henrik NORDGREN (1944-2008) Concerto for Saxophone Quartet
Arvo PÄRT (b. 1935) Fratres
Áskell MÁSSON (b. 1953) Quatrain
Kalevi AHO (b. 1949) In Memoriam
Pehr Henrik Nordgren
John Storgårds (violin) Raschčr Saxophone Qt, Lapland CO/John Storgårds
rec. 2010
ALBA ABCD 322
[64:06] [DM]
Sheer,
unalloyed pleasure.
Jacques
OFFENBACH (1819-1880) The Tales of Hoffmann
Roberto Alagna (tenor) Natalie Dessay (soprano) Sumi Jo (soprano) Ch
& O Opéra National de Lyon/Kent Nagano rec. 1994-6
ERATO OPERA COLLECTION 2564 67266-5 [3 CDs: 172:13]
[ST]
Not
perfect but still immensely enjoyable.
Georges
ONSLOW (1784-1853)
String Quintet, String Quartet
Gérard Jarry, Yvon Caracilly (violins) Serge Collot, Bruno Pasquier
(violas) Michel Tournus (cello) rec. 1972
EDITIONS ANDRÉ CHARLIN CCV1002 [46:00]
[JW]
A
splendid restoration and well worth your time.
Krzysztof
PENDERECKI (b.1933) Symphony 4
Polish Sinfonia Iuventus O/Krzysztof Penderecki rec. 2010
DUX 0822 [30:48]
[MS]
A
convincing and broad yet focused account of Penderecki's descriptive
and emotionally rich fourth symphony appears to compete successfully
with that from the Naxos cycle.
Francisco
de PEŃALOSA (c.1470 – 1528) Missa Ave Maria peregrina,
Sacris solemniis, Missa Nunca fue pena mayor
Choir of Westminster Cath/James O’Donnell rec. 1992
HYPERION HELIOS CDH55326 [66.30]
[RH]
Vibrant
and involving performances. This disc is intensely seductive.
Ildebrando
PIZZETTI (1880-1968) String Quartets 1 & 2
Lajtha Qt rec. 1995
NAXOS 8.570876 [65:25] [NB]
One
is grateful of the opportunity to hear such rare but interesting repertoire
whilst at the same time realizing that it has more to offer than the
current performance might suggest.
Ildebrando
PIZZETTI (1880-1968) String Quartets 1 & 2
Lajtha Quartet rec. 1995
NAXOS 8.570876 [65:25]
[RB]
Two
grown-up and opulently complex melodic string quartets.
Serge
PROKOFIEV
(1891-1953) Romeo
and Juliet suite Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY
(1840-1893) Romeo and Juliet ]
BBC Welsh SO/Tadaki Otaka rec. 1991
NIMBUS NI 5306 [61:00]
[RB]
A
good intelligent pairing, steady of pulse, grippingly recorded and totally
committed.
Sergei
PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Piano Concerto 3 see
MAHLER
Giacomo
PUCCINI (1858-1924) Madama Butterfly
Renata Tebaldi (soprano); Fiorenza Cossotto (mezzo); Lidia Nerozzi (mezzo);
Carol Bergonzi (tenor); Enzo Sordello (baritone); Ch & OAccademia
di Santa Cecilia Roma/Tullio Serafin
ALTO ALC2015 [2CDs: 143:57]
[JS]
For
anyone whose preference is for the main part to be sung with a warm,
mature, voice this would be very much worth considering.
Roger
QUILTER
(1877-1953) The Complete Piano Music
David Owen Norris (piano) rec. 2004 complete track-list at end of reviews
EM
RECORDS EMR CD002 [47:00]
[NB][RB]
Simply
charming. [NB] Suave, lovingly polished and weighted, surefooted and
not short on sentiment. [RB]
Serge
RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943)
Caprice
bohémien, Op. 12 (1892-94) [17:55] Prince Rostislav (1891)
[14:41] Symphony No 3 in A minor, Op. 44 (1935-36) [40:50]
BBC Philharmonic/Gianandrea Noseda rec. 2010 DDD
CHANDOS CHAN 10677 [73:49]
[JQ]
A
splendid disc.
Sergei
RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Preludes and Melodies
Alessio
Bax (piano) rec. 2010
SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD264 [77.06]
[RBe]
A
glorious recital.
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH David RAKSIN
(1912-2004)
Laura, Forever Amber & The Bad and the Beautiful
Suites
New PO/David Raksin rec. 1975
SONY RCA RED SEAL 88967 812682 [46:58]
[IL]
Glorious
film music. Not to be missed.
Alan
RAWSTHORNE (1905-1971) Piano Concerto 2
Edmund RUBBRA (1901-1986) Piano Concerto
Denis Matthews (piano) BBC SO/Sir Malcolm Sargent rec. 1958 FORGOTTEN
RECORDS FR403 [55:27] [WH]
Two
fascinating English piano concertos from the 1950s in highly accomplished
performances and more than acceptable sound for the period.
Ottorino
RESPIGHI (1879-1936) Aria for strings, Violin Concerto,
Suite for Strings, Rossiniana: Suite for orchestra
Laura Marzadori (violin) Ch O of New York “Ottorini Respighi”/Salvatore
Di Vittorio rec. 2010
NAXOS 8.572332 [77:32]
[CH]
Mainly
for Respighi completists.
Ottorino
RESPIGHI (1879-1936)
Trittico Botticelliano, Three Chorales of J.S. Bach, The Pines
of Rome
Beethoven O Bonn/Stefan Blunier rec. live, 2010
MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM 93716776
[56:00]
[WK]
Variable
performances of three Respighi works, two well-known and one a rarity.
Ottorino
RESPIGHI (1879-1936) Poema autunnale Josef
SUK (1874-1935) Fantasy Ernest
CHAUSSON (1855-1899) Počme
Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958) The Lark Ascending
Julia
Fischer (violin) Monte-Carlo PO/Yakov Kreizberg rec. 2010
DECCA 478 2684 [69:59] [OL]
The
entire disc radiates purity.
Josef
Gabriel RHEINBERGER (1839–1901) Klavierwerke
Jürg
Hanselmann (piano) Sandra Hanselman-Kästli (piano) rec. 1990-2004
CARUS
83.365 [10 CDs: 11:10:00]
[DC]
A
feast for piano buffs.
Giaochino
ROSSINI (1792-1868) Guillaume Tell
Gerald Finley, John Osborn, Malin Byström, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Ch
& O Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia/Antonio Pappano rec. 2010
EMI
CLASSICS 0288262 [3 CDs: 208:15]
[GD]
Pappano
gives us a warts-and-all concert performance.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Ludomir ROZYCKI (1883-1953)
Ballade,
Piano Concerto 1
Krystyna Makowska-Lawrynowicz, Polish Radio and TV SO in Cracow/Szymon
Kawalla; Andrzej Straszynski rec. 1984/90 ACTE PREALABLE AP0217 [42:11]
[RB]
I
liked this music a great deal and hope that there will be much more
Rozycki.
Edmund
RUBBRA (1901-1986) Piano Concerto see RAWSTHORNE
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