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RECORDINGS
OF THE MONTH
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Johann Sebastian
BACH (1685-1750) Goldberg
Variations, Chaconne (arr. Busoni) 
DongHyek
Lim (piano)
rec. 2008 EMI CLASSICS 2159782 [65:35]
[DC]
A
must for piano collectors ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Johann Sebastian
BACH (1685-1750) Jauchzet
Gott in allen Landen BWV51, Ich habe genug BWV82a, Mein
Herze schwimmt im Blut BWV199 Natalie
Dessay (soprano) Le Concert d’Astrée/Emmanuelle
Haïm rec. 2008 (includes bonus DVD from recording sessions) VIRGIN
CLASSICS 5193142 [63.55; DVD: 52:00] [MM-B]
A
mature artist who patently comprehends the beauty and purity of
the music ... see Full Review
HISTORICAL
RECORDING OF THE MONTH Ludwig
van BEETHOVEN
(1770-1827) Symphony
3, Leonore Overtures 1 & 3
Philharmonia O/Otto Klemperer rec. 1954/5
NAXOS HISTORICAL 8.111303 [71:33]
[CC]
An
interpretation of giant stature and nobility ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Vincenzo BELLINI
(1801-1835) La
Sonnambula Melodramma in two acts (2004 Critical Edition by
Alessandro Roccataglia and Luca Zappelli) (1831) Cecilia Bartoli (mezzo);
Juan Diego Florez (tenor); Ildebrando D’Arcangelo (bass); Liliana Nikitenau
(mezzo); Gemma Bertagnolli (soprano); Peter Kálman (bass)
Chorus of Zurich Opera House; Orchestra La Scintilla/Alessandro De Marchi
rec. June-July 2007, September 2008, Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirchemeinde
Zurich-Oberstrass. DDD
DECCA 478 1087 DH02 Limited Edition [59:10 + 75:01]
[RJF]
Bellini’s
lovely melodies into a new perspective. ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Johannes
BRAHMS (1833-1897) Sonatas
and trios for viola Maxim
Rysanov (viola); Katya Apekisheva (piano) Boris Brovtsyn (violin)
Jacob Katsnelson (piano); Kristine Blaumane (cello) rec. 2007/8 ONYX
4033 [77:35 + 47:09] [PB-W]
Completely
inspired music-making ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Johannes BRAHMS (1833–1897) Eight
Songs Robert SCHUMANN (1810–1856) Four
Lieder from Goethe’s Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, Frauenliebe
und –leben, Claude
DEBUSSY (1862–1918) Fantoches George
Frideric HANDEL (1685– 1759) Angels, ever bright
and fair Lorraine
Hunt Lieberson (mezzo) Julius Drake (piano) rec. live, 1999 WIGMORE
HALL LIVE WHLIVE0024 [69:31] [JQ]
Demands
to be heard by all who prize great singing ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Johannes
BRAHMS (1833-1897) Alto
Rhapsody,
Symphony 2 Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Gesang
der Geister über den Wassern, Gruppe aus dem Tartarus,
An Schwager Kronos Nathalie
Stutzmann (contralto) Monteverdi Ch,
O Révolutionnaire et Romantique/Sir John Eliot Gardiner
rec. live, 2007 SOLI DEO GLORIA
SDG703 [73:59]
[JQ]
As
provocative, perceptive and exciting as its predecessor ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH William Byrd (1539/40-1623) The
Cardinall’s Musick Byrd Edition: Vols 10 & 11
- Laudibus in sanctis & Hodie Simon Petrus The
Cardinall’s Musick/Andrew Carwood
rec. 2006/7 HYPERION CDA67568 [68:20] CDA67653 [67:47]
[BW]
If
you already have Byrd’s Masses, these are the next priority purchases
... see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Josef HAYDN
(1732-1809) Complete Piano Trios
Haydn Trio Eisenstadt
PHOENIX EDITION 161 [8 CDs: 9:40:00][ST]
Endless
pleasure ... see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901) La
Forza del Destino (1869 version) Violetta
Urmana, Marcello Giordani, Carlo Guelfi, Ch & O Maggio Musicale
Fiorentino/Zubin Mehta rec. live, 2007 TDK
DVWW-OPFORZA 
[189:00]
[ST]
Now
leads the field … one of the great Verdi DVDs ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Cello
Diverse Igor
STRAVINSKY (1882–1972) Suite
Italienne Claude DEBUSSY (1862–1918) Cello
Sonata Johannes BRAHMS (1833–1897) Cello
Sonata 2 Ennio MORRICONE (b.
1928) Gabriel’s Oboe Suzanne
Beer (cello); Garth Hancock (piano) DIVINE
ART DDV25068 [61:09]
[BBr]
Some
of the finest, most purposeful, cello playing I’ve heard in a long
time ... see Full Review
BARGAINS
OF THE MONTH
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Felix
MENDELSSOHN
(1809-1847)
Complete Symphonies New Philharmonia Chorus, Helen Donath
(soprano), Rotraud Hansmann (soprano), Waldemar Kmentt (tenor) New
Philharmonia
Orchestra and Chorus,Wolfgang Sawallisch rec. 1967 Licensed from Decca
Complete String Symphonies
Amsterdam Sinfonietta/Lev Markiz rec. 1994-1996, Licensed from BIS
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 93777 [7:32:00]
[ST]
Unmissable.
Invest with confidence. ... see
Full Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Henry
Purcell (1659-1695) Complete
Sacred Music – Anthems, Services and Devotional Songs Full
contents at the end of the review Booklet with notes and texts. HYPERION
CDS44141-51 [11 CDs: 738:56] [BW]
An
essential purchase for Purcell year and well beyond ... 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]
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