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Alphabetical Listing

PART 2
A-B

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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RECORDING OF THE MONTH Adolphe ADAM (1803-1856) Giselle Laëtitia Pujol, Nicolas Le Riche, Marie-Agnès Gillot, Wilfried Romoli, Corps de Ballet de L'Opéra National de Paris L'Opéra National de Paris O/Paul Connelly rec. 2006 TDK DVWW-BLGISP [111:00] [RW]

Treats everything with traditional elegance and is imaginatively recorded ... see Full Review

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Isaac ALBÉNIZ (1860-1909) Ibéria; Navarra; Suite Española Alicia de Larrocha (piano) rec. 1986 DECCA 4780388 [64:12 + 61:11][TB] 

A notable addition to the catalogue ... see Full Review

Charles AVISON (1709-1770) 18 Concerti Grossi, Opus 9 (1766-7) and Opus 10 (1769) The Avison Ensemble/Pavlo Beznosiuk rec. The Jubilee Theatre, St Nicholas’s Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 8-11 October 2006. DDD. DIVINE ART DDA21211 [66:56 + 64:45] [BW]

Excellent music, well performed and recorded and inexpensively priced ... see Full Review

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Harpsichord Concertos Accademia Bizantina/Ottavio Dantone (harpsichord) rec. 2007 DECCA L’OISEAU LYRE 4759355 [65:11][BW]

Good but not as exciting as Dantone’s Vivaldi ... see Full Review

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Concertos for Violin BWV 1041 & 1042 Sofia GUBAIDULINA (b.1931) Violin Concerto In tempus praesens Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin); Trondheim Soloists & London Symphony Orchestra/Valery Gergiev rec. 2007-8 DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4777450 [63:38][AVW]

Mutter vigorously meets the challenges unfailingly catching the drama ... see Full Review

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Partitas Nos. 2-4 Murray Perahia (piano) rec. 2007 SONY CLASSICAL 88697226952 [71:49][JQ]

In this immaculately executed recital Murray Perahia delights our spirits ... see Full Review

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, Sergey Schepkin (piano) rec.1998/99 ONGAKU RECORDS 024-115 [70:51 + 73:01] [DC]

Richter’s Russian directness and Schiff’s refinement and warmth of expression ... see Full Review

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Goldberg Variations Beth Levin (piano) rec. 2007 CENTAUR CRC2927 [62:28][DC]

A brave release ... see Full Review

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Secular Cantatas BWV203, 211 & 212 Amsterdam Baroque O & Ch/Ton Koopman rec. 1995/1996 CHALLENGE CLASSICS CC72280 [65:30]
Wedding Cantatas
BWV195-197 & 202 Amsterdam Baroque O & Ch/Ton Koopman rec. 1994-2003 CHALLENGE CLASSICS CC72284 [74:21]
Cantatas for the Marian Feast
BWV 1, 125 & 161 Amsterdam Baroque O & Ch/Ton Koopman rec. 1995-2002 CHALLENGE CLASSICS CC72281 [66:04] [JFL]

Altogether satisfying ... see Full Review

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Magnificat Georg Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759) Dixit Dominus Natalie Dessay, Philippe Jaroussky, Toby Spence, Le Concert d’Astrée/Emmanuelle Haïm rec. 2006  VIRGIN CLASSICS 3952412 [56:06] [JW]

Vital, often invigorating performances ... see Full Review

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Cantatas, Vol. 38 Bach Collegium Japan/Masaaki Suzuki rec. 2006 BIS BISSACD1631 [66:00] 

Generally excellent performances of popular and less well known cantatas ... see Full Review

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) The Cello Suites Sebastian Klinger (cello) rec. 2007 OEHMS OC718 [66:56 + 67:41] [JFL]

Bach’s Cello Suites excite and enthuse ... see Full Review

Oboe d’Amore Concertos Johann Sebastian BACH (1685–1750) Concertos in A & D see TELEMANN

Mili Alexeyevich BALAKIREV (1837-1910) Tamara see MUSSORGSKY

Samuel BARBER (1910-1981) Adagio for Strings; Violin Concerto; Essay no.1; Cello Concerto; Agnus Dei Various artists CLASSICS FOR PLEASURE 2282752 [79:31][GPJ] 

Is Samuel Barber the most inexplicably underrated composer of the 20th century? ... see Full Review

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) The Symphonies Berliner Philharmoniker/Claudio Abbado rec. 2000-1 DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4775864 [5 CDs: 75.42 + 67.36 + 74.54 + 65.06 + 62.15][DC]

Exciting, stimulating and satisfying – guaranteed ... see Full Review

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Symphonies Nos. 4-7 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Wolfgang Sawallisch rec. 1991 EMI CLASSICS 5176592 [71:41 + 75:09][BBr] 

Fine, classical, performances, well thought out, well played and very enjoyable ... see Full Review

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 3 Ronald Brautigam (piano); Norrköping Symphony Orchestra/Andrew Parrott rec. 2007 BIS BISSACD1692 [67:16][TH]

Very hard to fault this disc … sheer vitality and magnetism work their spell ... see Full Review

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Guido Cantelli - The Great Beethoven Recordings Piano Concertos 1, 3-5; Symphonies 5 & 7 Rudolf Serkin, Rudolf Firkušný, Wilhelm Backhaus, Robert Casadesus (piano) New York PO/Guido Cantelli rec. 1953-56 ANDROMEDA ANDRCD5092 [3 CDs: 70:27 + 65:55 + 66:41] [JQ]

Bracing and stimulating Beethoven from a great Italian maestro ... see Full Review

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Late String Quartets and Op.95 Busch String Quartet rec. 1932-37 EMI CLASSICS GREAT RECORDINGS OF THE CENTURY 5096552 [3 CDs: 78:59 + 70:44 + 73:07][JW]

Imbued with the greatest sense of elevation ... see Full Review

Berkeley and Benjamin piano music played Colin Horsley and Lamar Crowson CD 1 Lennox BERKELEY (1903-1989) Piano Sonata in A Major Op.20 (1945) [23:35] Six Preludes Op.23 (1944) [11:36] Scherzo in D Major Op. 32 No. 2 (1949) [2:11] Impromptu in G Minor Op. 7 No. 1 [1:50] Concert Study in E-flat Op.48 No. 2 (1955) [2:33] Concert Studies Nos. 2, 3, 4 Op. 14 (1940) [7:38] Colin Horsley (piano) CD 2 Arthur BENJAMIN (1893-1960) Pastorale, Arioso and Finale (1943) [15:05] Scherzino (1936) [2:44] Etudes Improvisées [14:11] Siciliana (1936) [3:53] Lamar Crowson (piano) rec. mono. December 1958 (Berkeley); February 1960 (Benjamin). ADD Originally from LPs: Berkeley RCS9; Benjamin RCS20 Mid Price Double LYRITA REAM.2109 [49:24 + 35:58] [RB]

Special insights in pioneering recordings from the 1960s... see Full Review

Hector BERLIOZ (1803-1869) La Damnation de Faust, La Mort de Cléopatre Nicolai Gedda, Janet Baker, Orchestre de Paris/Georges Prêtre London SO/Alexander Gibson rec. 1969 EMI CLASSICS 3814932 [76.55 + 61.14] [RH]

Made doubly tempting by Baker's wonderful Cléopatre ... see Full Review

Leonard BERNSTEIN (1918–1990) Serenade see SCHUMAN

Georges BIZET (1838-1875) L’Arlésienne suite 2 (arr. Ernest Guiraud) see MUSSORGSKY

Ernest BLOCH (1880-1959) Violin Concerto Benjamin LEES (b. 1924) Violin Concerto Elmar Oliveira (violin); National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine/John McLaughlin Williams rec. 2007 ARTEK AR00422 [65:36][JW]

A well contrasted pair of concertos, excellently recorded and finely played ... see Full Review

Composers at the Piano - Bowen and Reizenstein

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) Begräbnisgesang; Schicksalslied; Symphony No. 1 Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) Mitten wir im Leben sind The Monteverdi Choir; Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique/Sir John Eliot Gardiner rec. 2007 SOLI DEO GLORIA SDG702 [75:11][JQ]

This new Brahms symphony cycle has been launched auspiciously ... see Full Review

Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) Symphony No. 2 Anton BRUCKNER (1824-1896) Symphony No. 7 London Philharmonic Orchestra & Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Wilhelm Furtwängler rec. 1942-8 NAXOS HISTORICAL 8.111000 [64:17][RM]

Notable for unpredictability and volatility and of genuine significance ... see Full Review

Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) Brahms Rediscovered Amati Chamber Players rec. 1997  BIDDULPH 802272 [79:27][JW]

Febrile and violin-centred tonally with a less homogenised corporate sound ... see Full Review

Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) Cello Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2 Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856) Five Pieces in Folk Style Clive Greensmith (cello); Boris Berman (piano) rec. 2005  BIDDULPH 802262 [68:35][JW]

Subtle and variegated performances tending toward the interior ... see Full Review

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Benjamin BRITTEN (1913-1976) Piano Concerto in D Major Op.13 (1938) [32:27] (CD includes original version of the third movement) [09:10] Young Apollo Op.16 for piano, string quartet and string orchestra (1939) [6:56] Diversions for piano (left hand) and orchestra Op.21 (1940) [22:26] Steven Osborne (piano) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Ilan Volkov rec. Henry Wood Hall, Glasgow, 21-23 September 2007 HYPERION CDA67625 [71:16] [JF]

A fine introduction to some of the composer’s earlier scores ... see Full Review

Benjamin BRITTEN (1913-1976)Peter Grimes, op.33 (1945) [142:17]Peter Pears (tenor) – Peter Grimes; Heather Harper (soprano) – Ellen Orford; London Symphony Orchestra/Benjamin Britten. Stage Director: Joan Cross Video Director: Brian Large rec Snape Maltings, 24-28 February 1969 Colour DECCA 074 3261 [142:17] [MG]

A valuable benchmark and eloquent performance in its own right. … see Full Review

Max BRUCH (1838-1920) Der romantische Sinfoniker Neue Philharmonie Westfalen/Johannes Wildner rec. 2004-5 EBS EBS6141 [3 CDs: 54.59 + 52.03 + 56.26] Max BRUCH (1838-1920) Der romantische Sinfoniker II Neue Philharmonie Westfalen/Theo Wolters rec. 2006 EBS EBS6142 [64.04][CF]

Highly enjoyable discs and very much worth the having ... see Full Review

Anton BRUCKNER (1824-1896) Symphony No. 7 see BRAHMS

Dietrich BUXTEHUDE (c.1637-1707) Harpsichord Music - Volume 2 Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord) rec. 1998 NAXOS 8.570580 [52:46][GPu]

Lively, tonally varied performances … a very attractive sound … see Full Review

William Byrd (1543-1623) Music for a Hidden Chapel Mass for 5 voices In Tempore Paschali, Motet for 3 voices, Mass for 5 voices In Assumptione Beatæ Mariæ Virginis, Antiphons for 4 voices Chanticleer/Joseph Jennings rec. 1998 Harmonia Mundi Classical Express HCX395 5182 [51:58] [BW]

An inexpensive source of considerable musical pleasure ... see Full Review

 


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]


Il that anyone who brackets me with Cage is bracketing actual music with metaphysical



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