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PART 5
S-Z

[Click here for the most recent reviews (last five days)]
Click for alphabetical listings by composer:
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[Recommended recordings]

 

Price symbols (used in reviews from Friday 14th onwards)
Superbudget £5.99 or less Budget £6-7.99 Medium £8-10.99 Full price £11+


Camille SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921) Suite Algérienne Op 60 (1879) see Paysages

Ahmed Adnan SAYGUN (1907-1991) Cello Concerto; Viola Concerto Tim Hugh (cello); Mirjam Tschopp (viola); Bilkent SO/Howard Griffiths rec. 2006 CPO 7772902 [55:29][RB]

Inventive and exotic writing ... soulful substance and intensely varied colour ... see Full Review

Domenico SCARLATTI (1685–1757) Sacred Vocal Music Te Deum, Missa breve 'La stella', Magnificat, Stabat mater Lars Baunkilde (violone); Michael Dücker (theorbo); Leif Meyer (organ) Immortal Bach Ensemble/Morten Schuldt-Jensen rec. 2006 NAXOS 8.570382 [JV]

Despite a somewhat disappointing performance of the Stabat Mater this is valuable as it presents neglected sacred works by Domenico Scarlatti ... see Full Review

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Domenico SCARLATTI (1685-1757) Keyboard Sonatas Mikhail Pletnev (piano) rec. 1994 VIRGIN CLASSICS 5181862 [71:81 + 68:45] [JFL]

The kind of performance that makes me sing its praises to anyone who will listen ... see Full Review

Domenico SCARLATTI (1685-1757) Volumes 10-12, Sonatas K428–555  Pieter-Jan Belder (harpsichord) rec. 2007 BRILLIANT CLASSICS 93575-77 [9 CDs as 3 sets][JFL]

Enjoyable and energetic playing … became even more enjoyable as it went on ... see Full Review

Hans SCHAEUBLE (1906–1988) Hymnus für orchester; Ombra adorata; Aspects and Perspectives; Piano Concerto Carl Seeman (piano), Radio-Orchester, Beromünster, Paul Burkhard and Hans Rosbaud rec. 1952-8 GUILD GMCD2332 [73:44][BBr]

An unusual disk, but one from which I derived a lot of pleasure ... see Full Review

Philipp Ludwig SCHARWENKA (1847-1917) Frühlingswogen; Arkadische Suite; Liebesnacht Gävle Symphony Orchestra/Christopher Fifield rec. 2007 STERLING CDS10712 [73:54][JW]

An enjoyable sampling of the less well-known Scharwenka ... see Full Review

Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Piano Sonatas 1, 8 & 15 & fragments D655 & D769a Gottlieb Wallisch (piano) rec. 2005 NAXOS 8.570118 [TP]

If you love Schubert's piano sonatas, you really should invest in this disc and its companions ... see Full Review

Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Lieder Siegfried Lorenz (baritone), Norman Shetler (piano) rec. 1974-87 BERLIN CLASSICS 0184142BC [8CDs: 68:00 + 78:40 + 54:07 + 61:48 + 60:12 + 54:56 + 78:00 + 77:55][GF]

Lorenz is an honest and trustworthy guide through these riches which will provide pleasures for years to come ... see Full Review

Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Fierrabras Chor des Opernhauses Zürich Orchester der Oper Zürich/Franz Welser-Möst rec. 2005-6 EMI CLASSICS 5009699 [2 DVDs: 171:00][BW]

The performances are more than adequate but the production is too gimmicky for me to recommend ... see Full Review

Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906–1975) String Quartet No. 3 Benjamin BRITTEN (1913–1976) String Quartet No. 2 Jupiter Quartet rec. 2006 MARQUIS 77471813712 [65:55][BBr]

Passion, devotion and respect for these works is conveyed to the listener ... see Full Review

Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906–1975) Piano Trios Nos. 1 & 2; Seven Poems by Alexander Blok Young-Hee Kim (soprano); L.O.M. Trio rec. 2007 COLUMNA MÚSICA 1CM0180 [64:24][BBr]

Accurate but oh so polite, almost apologetic. Where’s the urgency? ... see Full Review

Jean SIBELIUS (1865-1957) Scènes historiques I & II; King Christian II Suite New Zealand Symphony Orchestra/Pietari Inkinen rec. 2006 NAXOS 8.570068 [63:28][BW]

This CD joins a growing list of recommendable Naxos recordings of Sibelius ... see Full Review

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Jean SIBELIUS (1865-1957)
Symphony 7, Tapiola, The Oceanides, Pelleas and Melisande Suite Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Thomas Beecham rec. 1955, EMI CLASSICS GREAT RECORDINGS OF THE CENTURY 5096922 [EM]

A Great Recording of the Century, beyond a doubt ... see Full Review

Valentin SILVESTROV (b. 1935) Symphony 6 SWR Stuttgart RSO/Andrey Boreyko rec. 2006 ECM NEW SERIES 1935 [DB]

For those interested in what Silvestrov is about, this is the disc to get … see Full Review

Bedrich SMETANA (1824-1884) Piano Works Jitka Čechová (piano) rec. 2007 SUPRAPHON SU38432 [65:33][CC]

This is a tremendous introduction to the piano music of Smetana ... see Full Review

Karlheinz STOCKHAUSEN (1928-2007) Stimmung Theatre of Voices/ Paul Hillier rec. 2006 HARMONIA MUNDI HMU807408 [78:02][TH]

If you are the more adventurous type, you may find yourself as transfixed as I was ... see Full Review

Alessandro STRADELLA (1639-1682) San Giovanni Battista Anke Herrmann, Martin Oro, Antonio Abete, Academia Montis Regalis/Alessandro De Marchi rec. 2007 HYPERION CDA67617 [77:34] [TH]

Will not disappoint anyone who wants to investigate the worthy successor to Monteverdi ... see Full Review

Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949) Elektra (1908) Eva Marton, Cheryl Studer, Marjana Lipovsek, Hermann Winkler, Bernd Weikl /Wolfgang Sawallisch rec. 1990, EMI CLASSICS 5091902 [53:35 + 48:32] [EMc]

Marton’s generally unimaginative Elektra lets the set down badly ... see Full Review

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Igor STRAVINSKY (1882-1971) Later Ballets: Jeu de cartes;Danses concertantes; Scènes de Ballet; Variations; Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra Philharmonia Orchestra/Robert Craft rec. 1991-9 NAXOS 8.557506 [79:07][LW]

Excellent versions relishing both the lyricism and rhythmic verve ... see Full Review

Franz von SUPPÉ (1819-1895) Overtures Leichte Kavallerie; Tantalusqualen; Die Irrfahrt ums Glück; Die Frau Meisterin; Ein Morgen, ein Mittag und ein Abend in Wien; Pique Dame; Wiener Jübel-Ouverture; Dichter und Bauer ASMF/Sir Neville Marriner rec. 1989 EMI CLASSICS ENCORE 5090292 [60:53] [DM]

Not just outclassed but effectively out-priced as well ... see Full Review

Sergei TANEYEV (1856-1915) String Quartets Nos. 1 & 3 Carpe Diem String Quartet rec. 2006 NAXOS 8.570437 [61:39][CC]

A fascinating disc. The music of Sergei Taneyev is fully worthy of investigation ... see Full Review

Aleksander TANSMAN (1897-1986) Recueil de mazurkas pour piano (1918-1928) [18:33] Quatrième recueil de mazurkas pour piano (1941) [15:45] Hommage à Artur Rubinstein – deux pièces pour piano (1973) [5:15] Elżbieta Tyszecka (piano) rec. studios of Polish Radio, Łódź, July 2005 ACTE PRÉALABLE APO 153 [39:43] [JW]

Rather clattery, the piano doesn’t always sound the finest in a disc lasting less than forty minutes ... see Full Review

Pyotr Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Piano Concerto No.1 see BRAHMS

Piotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Dumka; The Seasons Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Nine Variations on a Minuet by Duport Geoffrey Saba (piano) rec. 2007 CARNEGIE CONCERTS CC009 [71:00][CH]

A very good performance of Mozart’s “Duport” Variations rubs shoulders oddly with a quite unacceptable performance of “The Seasons”  ... see Full Review

Pyotr Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Ballet Suites (Transcriptions for Four Hands) Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake Suite, The Nutcracker Aurora Duo rec. 2007 NAXOS 8.570418 [63:12] [DM]

Normally I try to find some redeeming features in a review disc but this time there are absolutely none ... see Full Review

Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872–1958) Mass in G minor (1922) [24:00] Te Deum in G (1928) [7:15] Herbert HOWELLS (1892–1983) Requiem (1936) [20.03] Take him, earth, for cherishing (1964) [8:55] Corydon Singers/Matthew Best rec. 7, 9, 14 and 15 February 1983, Church of St Alban, Holborn, London. DDD Re-issue of CDA 66076 HYPERION HELIOS CDH 55220 [60:26] [BBr]

Sheer excellence of music-making and stature of music. Superb recording ... see Full Review

Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901) Otello NBC Symphony Orchestra and Choruses/Arturo Toscanini rec. 1947 NAXOS HISTORICAL 8.111320-21 [75:17 + 75:04][EMc]

Toscanini’s sensitivity and his overwhelming sense of forward momentum ... see Full Review

Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901) Il Trovatore (1853) Giuseppe Di Stefano, Maria Callas /Herbert von Karajan rec. 1956 NAXOS 8.111280-81[68:02 + 61:59]

Imaginative, pointed conducting and Callas’s noble Leonora ... see Full Review

Antonio VIVALDI  (1678-1741) Concerti per viola d’amore Gianiacomo Pinardi (lute) Europa Galante/Fabio Biondi (viola d’amore) rec. 2004/6 VIRGIN CLASSICS 3951462 [JW]

Biondi adherents will relish the brilliance of the performances, their razory, brittle, emphatic versatility ... see Full Review

Antonio VIVALDI (1678-1741) Griselda Giles Tomkins, Marion Newman, Opera in Concert; Aradia Ensemble/Kevin Mallon rec. 2006 NAXOS 8.660211-3 [3 CDs] [BW]

A worthwhile enterprise but outshone by the recent Spinosi recording ... see Full Review

Richard WAGNER (1813-1883) Tristan und Isolde – Prelude to Act I; Siegfried Idyll see BRAHMS

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Richard WAGNER (1813–1883) Tristan und Isolde The Glyndebourne Chorus and London Philharmonic Orchestra/Jiří Bĕlohlávek rec. 2007 OPUS ARTE OA0988D (3 DVDs) [86:29 + 71:24 + 80:38][GF]

This is no doubt the most beautiful Tristan und Isolde I have seen ... see Full Review

Carl Maria von WEBER (1786-1826) Clarinet concerto No.1 in F minor, Op.73 (1811) [21:27]^ Bassoon concerto in F major, Op.75 (1811) [17:35]* Clarinet concerto No.2 in E flat major, Op.74 (1811) [22:37]^# Andante and Hungarian Rondo, Op.35 (1809) [9:46]*# Michel Arrignon (clarinet)^, Jean-Claude Montac (bassoon)*, Sinfonietta de Chambord/Amaury du Closel rec. 1988, 1990#. DDD QUANTUM EDITION REPRISE QM 7038 [71:23] [TP]

These performances are unlikely to oust your favourites, but if the coupling appeals this disc is worth investigating. ... see Full Review

 


[Click here for the most recent reviews (last five days)]
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]
[Recommended recordings]


 



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