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
Domenico
SCARLATTI (1685-1757) Stabat
Mater; Missa quatuor vocum
Concerto Italiano/Rinaldo Alessandrini rec. 1999
NAÏVE OPUS 111 OP30446 [54.38][GH]
Instantly
hooked by beauty, pain and intensity immediately conveyed... 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
Xaver
SCHARWENKA (1850-1924) Piano
Concerto 1,
Polish Dance see PADEREWSKI
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
Franz
SCHUBERT (1797–1828) Lieder
Barbara Hendricks (soprano)
Radu Lupu (piano) rec. 1985/92
EMI CLASSICS 5046702 [58:34 + 63:13]
[GF]
Good
songs, beautiful singing but too monochrome for extended listening
... see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Piano Sonata D960 see BEETHOVEN
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) Vier letzte Lieder;
Brentano-Lieder; Ariadne auf Naxos, (excerpts)
Ricarda Merbeth (soprano); Weimar Staatskapelle/Michael Halász rec.
2006 NAXOS 8.570283
[60:21][MC]
Enjoyable
but nothing outstanding to get too excited about ... 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
Karol
SZYMANOWSKI (1882-1937) Songs Richard
WAGNER (1913-1883) Wesendonk-Lieder Matgorzata
Walewska (mezzo) Oskar Jezior (piano)
rec. 2007 DUX 0573 [59:34] [EM]
A
poor selection and the total effect is rather numbing. Little variety
of emotion other than depression and grief ... 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
Pyotr
Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840–1893)
Complete Songs - Volume 4 Ljuba Kazarnovskaya (soprano),
Ljuba Orfenova (piano) rec. 2005
NAXOS 8.570409 [69:15]
[GF]
Good
readings but the singing per se gives very little pleasure ...
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
Giuseppe
VERDI (1813–1901) Un ballo
in maschera
Giuseppe Di Stefano (tenor); Tito Gobbi (baritone);
Maria Callas (soprano); Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Milano/Antonino
Votto rec. 1956
NAXOS HISTORICAL 8.111278-79 [70:01 + 62:01][GF]
Callas’s
and Gobbi’s contributions here will probably never be surpassed and Di
Stefano is up there among the best, too ... 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
Richard
WAGNER (1913-1883) Wesendonk-Lieder see SZYMANOWSKI
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
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