Louis
CAHUZAC (1880-1960)
The Complete Works 
Philippe Cuper (clarinet) Christine Lagniel (piano) Philippe Olivier
Deveaux (second clarinet) Les virtuoses de l’Opéra rec.
2012
CLARINET CLASSICS CC0065 [74:37] [JW]
Cuper
and Lagniel pay fine homage to one of the masters of the instrument.
Gaspar
CASSADÓ (1897-1966) Piano Trio see GERHARD
Bellerofonte
CASTALDI (c.1581-1649) Ferita d'Amore
Evangelina
Mascardi (theorbo) Mónica Pustilnik (theorbino) Marco Beasley (tenor)
rec. 2010
ARCANA A368 [58:01] [Byz]
Fragrant,
intimate, life-affirming, poetical, utterly lyrical.
Evencio
CASTELLANOS (1915-1984)
Santa Cruz de Pacairigua, El Río de las Siete Estrellas, Suite Avileña
Venezuela
SO/Jan Wagner rec. 2010
NAXOS 8.572681 [56.23] [BR]
Not
just good ‘nationalist’ music but darn good music, full stop. A relief
to see Castellanos’ orchestral exuberance finally getting a major CD
release.
Erik
CHISHOLM (1904
– 1965) Piano Concerto No.1 Pìobaireachd (1932, rev. 1937)
[33:35] Piano Concerto No.2 Hindustani (1949, rev. 1953) [35:06]
Danny
Driver (piano) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Rory Macdonald rec. 2011
HYPERION
CDA67880 [68:43] [HC]
Two
substantial works by a most distinguished composer whose music is well
worth more than the occasional hearing.
Frédéric
CHOPIN (1801-1849)
Piano Works Volume 2
Louis Lortie (piano) rec. 2011
CHANDOS CHAN 10714 [75:13] [BR]
Lortie
may not bring much to Chopin that is new or engaging.
Fryderyk
CHOPIN (1810-1849) Piano Concerto 2 see
Berlin
Philharmonic Orchestra
Fryderyk
CHOPIN (1810-1849) Scherzi 1-4, Fantasie, Piano Sonata
3 see SCHUMANN
Fryderyk
CHOPIN (1810-1849) Polonaise-Fantasie, Piano
Sonata 3, Waltzes, Nocturnes, Fantasie, Andante Spianato and Grande
Polonaise Brillante see Peter
Katin
Julian
COCHRAN (b.1974)
Romanian Dances, Animation Suite & Mazurkas
Julian Cochran (piano)
Private production [30:13] [Byz]
Impressive
for the jaunty, folkish rhythms, eastern or southern European harmonies
and memorable lyricism.
Michael
COLGRASS (b. 1932) Variations for four drums and viola
see Vardi
Ernesto
CORDERO (b.1946) Concierto Festivo, for guitar
and string orchestra, Ínsula, Suite Concertante, for violin
and string orchestra, Concertino Tropical, for violin and string
orchestra Pepe Romero
(guitar) Guillermo Figueroa (violin) I Solisti di Zagreb rec. 2009-2010
NAXOS 8.572707
[51:26] [BR]
If
you want to hear what music is being made in Puerto Rico, you’ll find
this a delightful surprise, especially a brilliant new guitar concerto
for Pepe Romero.
Matthew
CURTIS (b.1959)
Orchestral Works - Volume III
Jennifer Stinton (flute), Verity Butler (clarinet) Royal Ballet Sinfonia/Gavin
Sutherland rec. 2004/5 DDD
CAMPION CAMEO 2055 [72:27] [OL]
A
great way to start a day.
Félicien
DAVID (1810-1876)
String Quartets 1, 2 & 4 Cambini-Paris Qt rec. 2010
AMBROISIE AM 206 [56:18] [Byz]
Really
the only negative is the shortness of this CD.
Claude
DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Clair de Lune
Natalie Dessay (soprano) Philippe Cassard (piano) rec. 2011
VIRGIN CLASSICS 7307682 [72:58][ST]
A
partial success at best.
Claude
DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Fêtes see
Europa Konzert
Claude
DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Suite Bergamasque see
Peter
Katin
Claude
DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Violin Sonata see
French Violin Sonatas
Josquin
DESPREZ (c.1440-1521) Missa Ave maris
stella
Weser-Renaissance/Manfred Cordes rec. 2010
CPO 777 590-2 [68:13] [RMo]
Simplicity,
purity and clarity.
Ernó
DOHNÁNYI (1877-1960) String Quartets 1 & 3
Aviv
Qt rec. 2010
NAXOS 8.572569 [57.29] [GH]
Well
worth the required modest investment even if only for the Third Quartet.
Ernö
DOHNÁNYI (1877-1960)
Konzertstück
see DVOŘÁK
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gaetano
DONIZETTI (1797-1848) L’Elisir d’Amore Roberta
Peters (soprano) Carlo Bergonzi (tenor) Metropolitan Op Ch/O/Thomas
Schippers rec. 1966 SONY CLASSICAL 88691 90991 2 [64:28 + 49:26]
[JS]
Well
worth hearing – a splendid cast caught at their best … captures the
spirit of this most delightful of operas.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gaetano
DONIZETTI (1797-1848) Anna Bolena
Anna Netrebko, Elina Garanca, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Francesco Meli,
Wiener Staatsoper/Evelino Pidò rec. 2011
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 073 4725 
[193:00 + 4:00 bonus] [RJF]
No
lover of Donizetti’s operas should do without this outstanding performance.
John
DOWLAND (1563-1626) Dowland in Dublin
Michael
Slattery (tenor, shruti box) La Nef rec. 2010
ATMA ACD2 2650 [49:19] [JV]
This
disc will mainly appeal to lovers of (Irish) folk music.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Antonín
DVOŘÁK (1840-1904) Cello Concerto,
The Water Goblin, In Nature’s Realm
Zuill Bailey (cello) Indianapolis SO/Jun Märkl rec. 2011
TELARC TEL-32927-02 [75:30] [LW]
Bailey’s
new account of the Dvořák concerto is among the best in
recent years.
Antonín
DVORÁK
(1841-1904) Violin Concerto, Romance in F minor, Four Romantic
Pieces Hrachya Avanesyan
(violin) Sinf Varsovia/Augustin Dumay, Marianna Shirinyan (piano) rec.
2010-2011 FUGA LIBERA
FUG588 [62:15] [CH]
If
you fancy this trio of works in warmly romantic performances, or if
you wish to follow the career of a gifted violinist, you should be well
satisfied.
Antonín
DVOŘÁK
(1841-1904) Cello Concerto Ernö
DOHNÁNYI (1877-1960)
Konzertstück
Raphael Wallfisch (cello) London SO/Charles Mackerras rec. 1988
CHANDOS CHAN 10715 X [64:17] [GD]
Expectations
run high and this doesn't disappoint.
Anton
EBERL (1765-1807)
Piano Concertos
Paolo Giacometti, Riko Fukuda (fortepiano) Kölner Akademie/Michael
Alexander Willens rec. 2008
CPO 777 354-2 [62:03] [Byz]
There
is no doubting the high quality of Eberl's music.
Johannes
ECCARD (1553-1611)
Sacred and Secular Works
Opella Musica; Ensemble NOEMA/Gregor Meyer rec. 2011, DDD
CPO 777 700-2 [59:18] [MS]
A
sprightly collection of Eccard's vocal music deftly performed
without fuss. An excellent introduction to the composer.
Sir
Edward ELGAR (1857-1934) Cello Concerto, Introduction
and Allegro, Military Marches ‘Pomp and Circumstance’
Paul Watkins (cello) Daniel Bell (violin) Steven Bingham (violin) Steven
Barnard (viola) Peter Dixon (cello) BBC Phil/Sir Andrew Davis rec. 2011
CHANDOS
CHAN10709 [74:44] [JQ]
A
distinguished release, including a fine account of the Cello Concerto.
Edward
ELGAR (1857-1934) Cello Concerto, The Dream
of Gerontius
Jian Wang (cello) Mark Tucker (tenor) Lilli Paasikivi (mezzo) Sydney
Philh Choirs/Tasmania SO Ch/Sydney SO/Vladimir Ashkenazy rec. 2008
ABC CLASSICS 476 4297 [63:39 + 58:35] [JQ]
A
good account of the Cello Concerto but a very disappointing Gerontius
which simply can’t match the best on the market.
Edward
ELGAR (1857-1934)
Cello Concerto see GAL
Francis
E. FAIRMAN III (b.1923)
Clarinet Concerto (1995) [28:39] The Fox, for orchestra (1996)
[5:56] Diurnal Thoughts, for orchestra (1991) [18:37] New
York Taxi, for orchestra (1991) [4:55]
Richard Stoltzman (clarinet); Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra/Gil Rose
(Concerto); Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra/Kirk Trevor (Fox);
Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra/Vit Micka (Diurnal Thoughts;
New York Taxi) rec. 1997, 2000, 2005 DDD
NAVONA RECORDS NV 5863 [58:07] [Byz]
Very
accessible, attractive music, but far from unsophisticated or 'light'.
Leo
FALL (1873-1925)
Die Dollarprinzessin
Tatjana Iwanow, Horst Niendorf, Kurt Graunke SO, Munich/Bert Grund rec.
1971
ARTHAUS MUSIK/UNITEL 101 624
[87:00] [JS]
Frankly
terrible but I enjoyed it from beginning to end.
Manuel
de FALLA (1876-1946)
El sombrero de tres picos (The Three-cornered Hat) (1917-19)
[38:19] Noches en los jardines de España (Nights in the Gardens
of Spain) (1909-1916) [22:14] Homenajes (Tributes) (1938-39)
[15:46] 
Raquel Lojendio (soprano); Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano) BBC Philharmonic/Juanjo
Mena rec. 2011. DDD
CHANDOS CHAN 10694 [76:40] [LW]
Chandos,
Mena and the BBC Philharmonic have scored a success in the music of
Falla.
Gabriel
FAURÉ (1845-1924) Violin Sonata no. 1see
French Violin Sonatas
Morton
FELDMAN (1926-1987) Piano and String
Quartet
Vicki Ray (piano) Eclipse Qt rec. 2011
BRIDGE 9369 [79:00] [KM]
A
wonderful recording of a magical work of late 20th-century music.
Christopher
FOX Natural Science
Trio Scordatura; Scott McLaughlin (electric guitar) rec. 2011
MÉTIER MSV 28526 [58.42] [PCG]
Often
very beautiful to listen to.
Jean
FRANÇAIX (1912-1997)
The music for solo piano, duo and duet
Martin Jones with *Richard McMahon, +Adrian Farmer (pianos) rec. 2011
NIMBUS NI 5880 [3 CDs: 59:23 + 64:48 + 66:54] [SA]
Martin
Jones and his accompanying colleagues also obviously have a high regard
for his music and that comes out in sparklingly brilliant performances.
César
FRANCK (1822-1890) Piano Quintet, Violin Sonata Quatuor
Pascal and Jeanne-Marie Darré (piano) Louis Kaufman (violin) Hélène
Pignari (piano) rec. 1952 FORGOTTEN RECORDS FR 447 [61:50] [JW]
This
is a valuable restoration, returning performances easily, and wrongly,
forgotten.
RECORDING OF THE MONTH
César FRANCK (1822-1890) Violin Sonata see
French Impressions
César
FRANCK (1822-1890) Violin Sonata see
French Violin Sonatas
James
FRISKIN (1886-1967)
Piano Quintet; Phantasie; Elegy; Phantasy for piano quintet
The Rasumovsky Quartet (Catherine Dubois (piano) rec. 2009
NIMBUS ALLIANCE NI 6182 [76:45] [MC]
Sadly
I have reservations about this disc although I admire the appeal of
the Friskin scores
Antonio
GADES (1936-2004)
Fuenteovejuna
Antonio Gades (choreography) Cristina Carnero, Ángel Gil, Flamenco
Singers, Antonio Solera; Camerón de Pitita (guitar) rec. 2008
TEATRO
REAL MADRID TR97007
[106:00] [IL]
An
involving story line with tremendously vigorous dancing.
Hans
GÁL (1890-1987)
Cello Concerto (in E minor), op.67 (c.1944) [33:21] Edward
ELGAR (1857-1934) Cello Concerto in E minor, op.85
(1919) [28:04]
Antonio Meneses (cello) Northern Sinfonia/Claudio Cruz rec. 2012. DDD.
AVIE
AV 2237 [61:48] [Byz]
Unfailingly
mellifluous, ideationally and dynamically varied, and rewarding.
Baldassare
GALUPPI (1706-1785) Complete Harpsichord Concertos
Flute Concerto, Concerto in G, for flute, harpsichord & strings
Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809) Keyboard
Concerto in D, Hob.XVIII/2
Roberto Loreggian (harpsichord) Mario Folena (flute) Ens ConSerto Musico
rec. 2011 BRILLIANT
CLASSICS 94161 [55:04 + 65:15] [Byz]
Much
more than a minor master – music brimming with invention, dancy rhythms
and cantabile melody.
Roberto
GERHARD (1896-1970) Piano Trio 1
Xavier MONTSALVATGE (1912-2002) Piano Trio
Gaspar CASSADÓ (1897-1966) Piano Trio
Trio Arriaga rec. 2010
NAXOS 8.572647 [53:32] [BR]
This
doesn’t all sound “Spanish” in the Rodrigo sense, instead serving as
a cross-section of the diversity of Catalan composers.
George
GERSHWIN (1898-1937)
Piano Concerto, Rhapsody No. 2, Variations on ‘I Got Rhythm’
Orion
Weiss (piano) Buffalo PO/JoAnn Falletta rec. 2010
NAXOS 8.559705 [58:35] [BR]
A
real treat of a performance, even for those who have their Previn and
their Wild.
Philip
GLASS (b.1937) Dracula see
Nightbreak
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Alexander GLAZUNOV
(1865-1936)
Complete Symphonies and Concertos
Rachel Barton-Pine (violin), Alexander Romanovsky (piano), Wen-Sinn
Yang (cello), Marc Chisson (saxophone), Alexey Serov (horn) Russian
National Orchestra/Jose Serebrier rec. 2004-2010 DDD Full
contents list at end of review
WARNER CLASSICS 2564 66467 4 [8 CDs: c. 520:00] [RB]
This
set goes straight to the top of the recommended versions of the symphonies
and concertos.
Sir
Eugene GOOSSENS (1893-1962)
Complete Music for Violin and Piano
Robert Gibbs (violin) Gusztáv Fenyő (piano) rec. 2011
NAXOS 8.572860 [71:34] [JF]
Brings
its own added value for the price of one budget disc.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Henryk
GÓRECKI (1933-2010) Totus Tuus - Choral Music
Euntes ibant et flebant, Lobgesang, Totus Tuus, Salve, Sidus Polonorum,
Amen Natl Youth Ch of GB/Mike Brewer rec. 2010-2011 DELPHIAN DCD34054
[61:47] [JQ]
Another
formidable achievement by the National Youth Choir of Great Britain
and Mike Brewer.
George
Friederic HANDEL (1685-1759) Alcina
Anja Harteros (soprano), Vesselina Kasarova (mezzo) Vienna St. Op. Ballet/Les
Musiciens du Louvre/Marc Minkowski rec. 2010
ARTHAUS MUSIK 
108028 [226:00] [KM]
A
fine staging of one of Handel’s most attractive operas.
George
Frideric HANDEL (1685 – 1759) Opera Arias
Nathalie
Stutzmann (contralto) The Hanover Band/Roy Goodman; Raul Diaz (horn)
rec. 1991
NEWTON CLASSICS 8802094 [68:42] [GF]
Handel
lovers should place their orders at once.
George
Frideric HANDEL (1685-1789)
Water Music Suite see MOZART
Howard
HANSON (1896-1981) Symphony 3, Merry Mount
Suite Seattle SO/Gerard
Schwarz rec. 1990 NAXOS
AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559702 [52.01] [PCG]
One
cannot imagine that Schwarz’s reading will be bettered any time soon.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Howard
HANSON (1896-1981) Symphonies 4 & 5, Elegy
in Memory of Serge Koussevitzky, Dies Natalis
Seattle SO/Gerard Schwarz rec. 1990/92
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559703 [69:45] [DM]
Works
of strength and subtlety, supremely well played.
Howard
HANSON (1896-1981) Symphonies 6 & 7; Lumen
in Christo
Seattle Symphony and Chorale/Gerard Schwarz rec. 1989/92
NAXOS 8.559704 [60:20] [SA]
For
anyone new to Hanson’s works this CD is a brilliant introduction to
a really inspirational composer.
Hamilton
HARTY (1879-1941) Piano Quintet, String Quartets 1 &
2 Goldner
Qt, Piers Lane (piano) rec. 2011
HYPERION CDA67927 [59:10 + 23:45] [NB]
A
disc guaranteed to please admirers of chamber music and of Harty in
particular.
Richard
HARVEY (b.1953) Concerto Incantato Malcolm
ARNOLD (1921-2006) Recorder concerto Gordon
JACOB (1895-1984) Suite
Michala Petri (recorder) Hong Kong City CO/Jean Thorel rec. 2011
OUR
RECORDINGS 6.220606 [59:06] [JF]
This
is one of the best CDs of recorder music that I have ever heard. Full
stop.
Joseph
HAYDN (1732-1809) Symphony 88 see
BEETHOVEN
Heinrich
von HERZOGENBERG (1843-1900)
An Mutter Natur - Works for mixed choir
a cappella
Rheinische Kantorei/Hermann Max rec. 2010
CPO 777 728-2 [65:15] [JV]
Nice
music thanks to the performances.
Paul
HINDEMITH (1895-1963) Viola Sonata see
Sprezzatura
Paul
HINDEMITH (1895-1963) Trauermusik see
Vardi
Joseph
HOLBROOKE (1878-1958)
Sonata in F major for Violin and Piano The Grasshopper (1917
version — Authorised Original Version) [26:20] Granville
BANTOCK (1868-1946) Sonata in F major for Viola and
Piano Colleen (1919) [40:02]
Rupert Marshall-Luck (violin and viola); Matthew Rickard (piano) rec.
2011
EM RECORDS EMR CD003 [67:01] [JW]
Fine
news that these two pretty much ignored works have been given some careful
attention.
Gustav
HOLST (1874-2934)
The Planets, see STRAUSS
Simon
HOLT (b.1958) Maiastra for solo flute* see
Sounds from Within
Herbert
HOWELLS (1892-1983) Choral works Nicholas Entwisle, Anthony
Mansfield, Rory Turnbull (trebles), Stephen Challenger (tenor) Ch of
Hereford Cath/Geraint Bowen Peter Dyke (organ) rec. 2009 REGENT REGCD316
[74.12] [EM-L]
Good,
confident and atmospheric performances of some truly wonderful choral
works.
Alan
HOVHANESS (1911-2000)
Symphony No.1 Exile, Armenian Rhapsodies 1-3,
Song of the Sea * Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Strings
John
McDonald (piano); Kenneth Radnofsky (soprano saxophone) Boston Modern
Orchestra Project/Gil Rose rec. 2007
BMOP/SOUND 1020 [67:39] [DM]
A
pleasing trawl through unfamiliar waters; a rewarding catch, too.
Gordon
JACOB (1895-1984) Suite see HARVEY
Scott
JOPLIN (1868?-1917) Treemonisha
Anita Johnson, Frank Ward Jr, The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and Singers/Rick
Benjamin rec. 2011
NEW WORLD RECORDS 80720-2 [53:19 + 45:47] [NB]
Oozes dedication, love and profound knowledge of the genre.
Mihkel
KEREM (b.1981) Sonatas for violin and piano
Mikk Murdvee (violin) Sten Lassmann (piano) rec. 2007(solo Sonata).
DDD.
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC 0140 [76:28] [Byz]
Kerem's
debut as a composer. The first of many discs, surely.
Erich
Wolfgang KORNGOLD (1897-1957) Piano Quintet, String
Sextet
Doric String Quartet; Kathryn Stott (piano) Jennifer Stumm (viola) Bartholomew
LaFollette (cello) rec. 2011
CHANDOS CHAN 10707 [66:58] [GD]
Tonal
warmth and a finely structured approach.
Erich
Wolfgang KORNGOLD (1897 – 1957) Die tote Stadt
Klaus
Florian Vogt, Tatiana Pavlovskaya, Michael Nagy, Hedwig Fassbender,
Opera Frankfurt O/Sebastian Weigle rec. 2009
OEHMS CLASSICS OC 948 [77:28 + 53:42] [GF]
All
in all this is a recording of Die tote Stadt that should attract
a wide audience.
Margaret
Ruthven LANG (1867-1972) Love is Everywhere
- Selected Songs Vol 1
Donald George (tenor) Lucy Mauro (piano) rec. 2009
DELOS DE 3407 [48.26] [Byz]
Highly
attractive songs: tuneful, harmonically delicate, nearly all gently
contemplative.
Paul
LE FLEM (1881-1984) Aucassin et Nicolette
Delphine
Haidan, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, Mélanie Boisvert, O des Pays de Savoie/Nicolas
Chalvin rec. 2011
TIMPANI 1C1188 [41:40] [Byz]
Le
Flem’s puppet show music in a fine performance.
Franz
LEHÁR (1870-1948)
Paganini
Antonio Theba, Teresa Stratas, Peter Kraus, Kurt Graunke SO/Wolfgang
Ebert rec. 1973
ARTHAUS/UNITEL CLASSICA
101592 [107:00] [IL]
Lovely
melodies, lovely production.
Andreas
LIDL (c.1740-c.1789)
Divertimenti for baryton trio
Esterházy Trio rec. 2011
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 94162 [61:07] [JV]
If
you like Haydn's music for the baryton you certainly will enjoy these
pieces too.
György
LIGETI (1923-2006) Sonata see BRITTEN
Franz
LISZT (1811-1886)
On nature's beauty
Mordecai Shehori (piano)
CEMBAL D’AMOUR CD162 [76:37] [JW]
There’s
no arguing with this calibre of musicianship.
Franz
LISZT (1811-1886) Vallée d’Obermann; Les Cloches
de Genève; Les jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este see
Nightbreak
Franz
LISZT (1811-1886) Années de Pélerinage
- Deuxième Année (Italie), Piano Sonata see
SCHUMANN
Franz
LISZT (1811-1886) Fantasia on Hungarian Folk Themes
see SAINT-SAËNS
Anne
LOVETT Beyond
(and Below)
Anne Lovett (piano)
ANNELOVETT.NET no catalogue number [56:36]
Expressive,
fluent and persuasive.
Anatoly
LYADOV (1855-1914) Complete Piano Works
Marco
Rapetti (piano) Akane Makita (piano II) Giampoalo Nuti & Daniela
de Santis (pianos III & IV) rec. 2010
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 94155 [5 CDs: 284:41 + CD-ROM] [Byz]
Variety,
colour, elegance, humour and plain old bravura ... a serious bargain.
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