John
McCABE (b. 1939) Visions Iain Farrington (organ)
BBC Singers/David Hill rec. 2009/10 NAXOS 8.573053 [71:49] [JF]
An
eye-opening exploration of a facet of McCabe’s music otherwise little
represented.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911)
Symphonies 1 & 2 
Nadine Conner (soprano) Mona Paulee (mezzo) Westminster Ch, PS-O New
York/Bruno Walter rec. 1942
MUSIC & ARTS CD-1264 [73:28 + 58:49] [JW]
Major
finds brought to fruition with great care and thought.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911)
Symphony 6
Hamburg PO/Simone Young rec. 2007
OEHMS CLASSICS OC413 [40:59 + 44:11] [JQ]
A
distinguished Mahler Sixth which can stand comparison with most recordings
in a crowded field.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911)
Symphony 9
Los Angeles PO/Gustavo Dudamel rec. 2012
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 479 0924 [45:57 + 40:05] [JQ]
A
Mahler Ninth that is worth hearing but which doesn’t challenge the best
in a field where competition is white hot.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen,
Kindertotenlieder, Des knaben Wunderhorn see
Gary Bertini
Frank
MARTIN (1890-1974) Violin Concerto see
STRAVINSKY
Michael
MAULDIN (b.1947)
The Last Musician of Ur
Moravian PO/Petr Vronský rec. 2012
NAVONA RECORDS NV5891 [6:58] [RB]
Very
approachable … delicately blends components of Hollywood epic
exotica, Hovhaness, Griffes, Ravel and Debussy.
Peter
MAXWELL DAVIES (b.1934) Symphony 6; Time and
the Raven; An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise
George McIlwham (bagpipes) RPO/Peter Maxwell Davies rec. 1991/96
NAXOS 8.572352 [76:16] [Byz]
A
generous helping of stirring, striking orchestral music from one of
Britain's greatest living composers.
Simon
MAYR (1763-1845)
Samuele
Andrea Lauren Brown (soprano) Susanne Bernhard (soprano) Rainer
Trost (tenor) Simon Mayr Ch, Ingolstadt Georgian CO/Franz Hauk rec.
2009
NAXOS 8.572721-22 [34:28 + 60:02] [GF]
A
valuable addition to the growing catalogue of Mayr’s works.
Jānis
MEDIŅŠ
(1890–1966)
24 Dainas (Preludes)
Jonathan Powell (piano) rec. 2006
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC0097 [72:27][RB]
Estimable,
dramatic, grandly poetic and touching pieces written across four decades.
Peter
MENNIN (1923-1983) Concertato Moby Dick,
Symphonies 3 & 7
Seattle SO/Gerard Schwarz rec. 1994/95
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559718 [57:37] [Byz]
Visceral
primal energy coupled with sophisticated lyricism.
Felix
MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)
Elijah
Helen Donath (soprano), Jard van Nes (contralto) Leipzig
MDR Ch, Israel PO/Kurt Masur rec. 1992
WARNER APEX 2564 659391 [54.27 + 55.18] [PCG]
If
you want a crisp modern Elijah in Mendelssohn’s original German
this may well be a satisfactory bargain.
Felix
MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) Overture A Midsummer
Night’s Dream see BRAHMS
Claudio
MONTEVERDI (1567-1643)
Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Vesselina Kasarova (mezzo) Dietrich Henschel (tenor) Malin Hartelius
(soprano) O La Scintilla of the Zurich Opera House/Nikolaus Harnoncourt
rec. 2002
ARTHAUS MUSIK 101660 
[155:00] [BW]
Worth considering but the Virgin DVD set with William Christie is
preferable.
Michael
MORPURGO
(1943-) The Mozart Question
Michael Morpurgo (narrator) Jack Liebeck (violin), London PO/Nicholas
Collon rec. 2012
LPO 0067 [75.32] [PCG]
I
thoroughly enjoyed listening to this, and so will many adults as well
as the children for whom the story was originally written. It will make
them think too.
Leopold
MOZART (1719-1787)
Keyboard sonatas and trios
Christine Schornsheim (fortepiano) Rüdiger Lotter (violin),
Sebastian Hess (cello) rec. 2011/12
OEHMS OC 860 [50:52 + 29:53] [JV]
Musical
entertainment of good quality.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Concertos for two and three pianos, Divertimenti 8 & 9
Duo Schnabel (pianos) Ilse von Alpenheim (piano) Vienna SO/Bernhard
Paumgartner rec. 1953/55
FORGOTTEN RECORDS FR 346 [71:40] [JW]
An
enjoyable restoration of interest to a rather specialised audience.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Don Giovanni
see Deutsche
Oper Berlin
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Symphony 35 see
BRUCKNER
Modest
MUSSORGSKY (1839-1881) Pictures at an Exhibition
Sergei PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
Symphony 1
London PO/Kurt Masur rec. 1990
WARNER APEX 2564 65938-9 [48.03] [PCG]
Nice
to hear an alternative Pictures once in a while.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Otto
NICOLAI (1810 - 1849) Psalms
Kammerchor Stuttgart/Frieder Bernius rec. 2009-11
CARUS 83.299 [50:30] [JV]
Adventurous
programming, superb singing: need I say more?
Michael
NYMAN (b.1944)
String Quartets 1-3
Balanescu Qt rec. 1990
MN RECORDS MNRCD 124 [63:15] [JW]
Readings
of structural and rhythmic lucidity and tonal breadth.
Alla
PAVLOVA (b.1952) Symphonies 7 & 8
Saule Rinkeviciute (violin) Lithuanian State Symphony/Gintaras Rinkevičius
rec. 2012
NAXOS 9.70183 
[54:19] [RB]
Have
you given up on modern symphonies as sources of melodic reward? Pavlova
will restore your faith.
Paul
PELLAY (b.1965)
Thesaurus of Violinistic Fiendishness, Books I – VII
Peter Sheppard Skærved (violin) rec. 2010
MÉTIER MSV 28527 [67:40 + 43:28] [JW]
Skærved
plays like a man possessed. Maybe he is.
Francis
POULENC (1899-1963) Flute sonata, Trio see
DEBUSSY
Francis
POULENC (1899-1963) Organ Concerto see
RÜTTI
Sergei
PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
Violin Concertos 1 & 2, Sonata for Solo Violin
Arabella Steinbacher (violin) Russian Ntl O/Vasily Petrenko rec. 2012
PENTATONE
CLASSICS 
PTC 5186 395 [64:27] [MC]
Steinbacher
is engaging and stylish as ever and is complemented by sensitive support
from Petrenko.
Sergei
PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Violin Concerto 2, Sonata
for Two Violins, Violin Sonata 1
Janine Jansen (violin) Itamar Golan (piano) London PO/Vladimir Jurowski
rec. 2012
DECCA 478 3546 [72:58] [MC]
This
fine Prokofiev release is gratifying played.
Sergei
PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Romeo and Juliet Excerpts
see FAURÉ
Sergei
PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Symphony 1 see
MUSSORGSKY
Daniel
PURCELL (c.1670-1717)
The Unknown Purcell - Sonatas
David Pollock (harpsichord) Hazel Brooks (violin) rec. 2011
CHANDOS CHAN 0795 [75:32] [JV]
This
project of putting Daniel Purcell into the spotlight has turned into
a rather tame affair.
Veli-Matti
PUUMALA (b. 1965) Chainsprings; Seeds
of Time
Roland Pöntinen (piano) Tampere PO/Hannu Lintu rec. 2009/10
ALBA ABCD319 [64:34] [HC]
Two
substantial works by an endearing Finnish composer.
Sergei
RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Symphony 2, Three Dances
from Aleko
Royal Liverpool PO/Vasily Petrenko rec. 2011
EMI CLASSICS 9 15473 2 [73:05] [JQ]
A
very fine reading of Rachmaninov’s great symphony, which stands
up pretty well against strong competition.
Günter
RAPHAEL (1903-60)
Smetana Suite, Jabonah, Sinfonia Breve, Zoologica
NDR SO/Leopold Stokowski, Stuttgart RSO/Carl Schuricht rec.
1952-65
QUERSTAND VKJK1221 [61:06] [JW]
Fine
works in excellent and authoritative readings, historically significant
too, and well transferred and annotated.
Maurice
RAVEL (1875-1937) Introduction and allegro
see DEBUSSY
Maurice
RAVEL (1875-1937) Daphnis et Chloé -
Suite 2, Piano Concerto, La Valse see Gary
Bertini
Johann
Georg von REUTTER (1708-1772) Arie et Sinfonie
Olivia
Vermeulen (mezzo) Nuovo Aspetto rec. 2011
ACCENT ACC24275 [65:15] [BW]
Attractive,
if unmemorable music, well worth trying.
Jean
RICHAFORT (c.1480-after
1547) Requiem
Huelgas Ensemble/Paul van Nevel
HARMONIA MUNDI HMA1951730 [60:53] [BW]
An attractive reissue at an attractive price.
Max
RICHTER (b.1966)/Antonio VIVALDI
(1678-1741) Recomposed: The Four Seasons
Daniel Hope (violin) Konzerthaus Kammerorchester Berlin/André
de Ridder rec. 2012
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 481 0044 [43:58] [DC]
Great
fun, but then, so is the original.
Kurt
ROHDE Chamber Music
Axel Strauss (violin) Genevieve Feiwen Lee (piano) Ellen Ruth Rose,
Kurt Rohde (violas) Left Coast Chamber Ens/Matilda Hofman, Empyrean
Ens/Mary Chun
INNOVA 839 [76:28] [DC]
Comes
up with the goods.
Carl
RÜTTI (b.1949)
Organ Concerton, Tongues of Fire Anton ARENSKY
(1861-1906) Variations on a theme of Tchaikovsky Francis
POULENC (1899-1963) Organ Concerto
Martin Heini (organ) Mario Schubiger (percussion and timpani) State
Phil CO Novosibirsk/Rainer Held rec 2012
GUILD GMCD 7386 [74:08] [JW]
An
outstandingly exciting new organ concerto joins the contemporary repertoire.
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]
Error processing SSI file