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Carlos
SALZEDO (1885 – 1961) Ballade,
op.28 (1910) [8:39] Scintillation (1936) [9:43] Five Poetical Studies
(1919) [19:43] Suite of Eight Dances (1943) [15:18] Variations
sur un thčme dans le style ancien, op.30 (1911) [13:35] 
Alice
Giles (harp) rec. 6 – 8 May 1992, Studio 3, Bavarian Radio. DDD TALL
POPPIES TP 137 [67:36] 
[BBr]
His
music demands our attention … see Full Review
Alessandro
SCARLATTI
(1660 - 1725)
La Giuditta
Sophie Landy (soprano) Ensemble Baroque de Nice/Gilbert Bezzina rec.
2008
DYNAMIC CDS596 [74:20] 
[JV]
A
fine piece which deserves a really good and dramatic performance. This
recording fails to deliver that ... see Full
Review
Franz
SCHMIDT (1874-1939) Symphony 2, Fuga Solemnis Malmö SO/Vassily
Sinaisky rec. 2007 NAXOS
8.570589 [63:09] 
[JW]
Admirably
bracing and sympathetic, excellently recorded ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) String
Quintet,
String Quartets 14 & 15 Belcea
Qt, Valentin Erben (cello)
rec. 2009 EMI
CLASSICS
9670252 [75:28 + 74:20] 
[MC]
An
impressive release that firmly establishes the Belceas at the vanguard
of chamber music ensembles. … see Full
Review
Franz
SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Part-Songs,
Vols 2 & 3 Sibylla
Rubens, Silke Schwarz (sopranos); Regina Jakobi, Ingeborg Danz,
Hildegard Wiedemann (altos); Markus Schäfer, Marcus Ullmann
(tenors); Thomas E. Bauer, Markus Flaig, Marcus Schmidl (basses)
Ulrich Eisenlohr (piano)
rec. 2008 NAXOS
8.570962 & 8.572110 [67:17+64:29] [BW]
Attractive
performances, especially on Volume 3 ... see Full
Review
Franz
SCHUBERT (1797–1828) Masses
2 & 4, Deutsche Messe Immortal
Bach Ensemble; Leipzig CO/Morten Schuldt-Jensen rec. 2007 NAXOS
8.570764 [61:38] [BW]
No
serious criticisms, but Sawallisch still has the edge ... see Full
Review
William
SCHUMAN (1910-1992) Symphony
6, Prayer in a Time of War, New England Triptych Seattle
Symphony/Gerard Schwarz
rec. 1990-2008 NAXOS
8.559625 [60:51] [NB]
Hugely
rewarding music performed with missionary zeal in demonstration
quality sound ... see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Robert
SCHUMANN (1810-1856) String Quartet 3, Piano
Quintet Marc-André Hamelin
(piano)
Takács Qt
rec. 2009 HYPERION
CDA67631 [56:35] [DC]
Seek
it out, lend it not ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Robert
SCHUMANN (1810-1856) Carnaval, Kreisleriana, Arabeske, Vassily
Primakov (piano)
rec. 2009 BRIDGE
9300 [71:41] [OL]
Excellent,
fresh, dramatic, thoughtful ... see Full
Review
Giovanni
SGAMBATI (1841-1914) The
Complete Piano Works - Vol.5 Francesco
Caramiello (piano) TACTUS
TC841905 [67:14] [GPu]
Essentially
for those with a particular interest in the Italian keyboard
tradition … see Full Review
Rodion
SHCHEDRIN (b.1932) Piano
Sonata & other piano works Marina
Lomazov (piano) rec. 2005/7 CENTAUR
CRC 2991 [54:34] [OL]
A
great introduction to Shchedrin's piano music ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975) Symphonies
5 & 9 Royal
Liverpool PO/Vasily Petrenko
rec. 2008 NAXOS
8.572167 [78:07] [LW]
Terrific
performances of these symphonies at bargain price … see Full
Review
Dmitri
SHOSTAKOVICH (1906
- 1975) Lady
Macbeth of Mtsensk Jeanne-Michèle
Charbonnet (soprano) Vladimir Vaneev (bass) Vsevolod Grivnov
(tenor)
Ch & O Maggio Musicale Fiorentino/James Conlon ARTHAUS
MUSIC
101387 
[2 DVDs:
170:00] [GF]
Fascinating
for its theatrical qualities but only intermittently vocally alluring … see Full
Review
Jean
SIBELIUS
(1865-1957) Complete
Organ Works
Kalevi Kiviniemi (organ) rec. 24-26 May 2004, Stadtkirche, Winterthur,
Switzerland
FUGA-9182
[75:55]
[DM]
A
pleasing balance between exemplary musicianship and superb sound ...
see Full Review
Jean SIBELIUS (1865-1957) Symphony 2 NWD RSO, Hamburg/Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt
rec. 1956 PRISTINE
AUDIO PASC186 [44:07] 
[JW]
Others offer rather more in the way of Nordic fire and incremental drive ...
see Full Review
Bedrich
SMETANA (1824 – 1884) Libuše Nadežda
Kniplová, Prague National Theatre Opera Ch & O/Jaroslav Krombholc
rec. 1965 SUPRAPHON
SU3982-2 [76:31 + 80:31] 
[GF]
Monumental
music of great beauty. Unevenly cast but Kniplová in the title
role is magnificent … see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Kile SMITH
(b. 1956)
Vespers
The Crossing/Donald Nally; Piffarro, The Renaissance Band rec. 2008
NAVONA
RECORDS NV5809 [65.00]
[RH]
A
brilliant new work in the spirit of the Lutheran Vespers service ...
see Full Review
Kaikhosru
SORABJI (1892-1988)
100 Transcendental Studies for piano: Nos. 26-43 (1940-44)
Fredrik Ullén (piano) rec. December 2005, July 2006, Nybrokajen 11,
Stockholm.
BIS BIS-CD-1533 [76:18]
[RB]
Imaginatively
masterly Transcendental Studies remarkable for their range and depth
of character. ... see Full Review
William
STERNDALE BENNETT
(1816-1875) The
May Queen, Overture (1842-4) [6:27] The Wood Nymphs, Overture
(1838) [13:42] Symphony in G minor, Op. 43 (1864) [23:41] The Naiades,
Overture* (1836) [12:32] Parisina, Overture (1835) [8:05]
London Philharmonic Orchestra, *Philharmonia Orchestra/Nicholas Braithwaite
rec. no information given
LYRITA SRCD 206 [64:35]
[SV]
Assured
craftsmanship and melodic inspiration, dynamic, driving energy, lyrical
passages and plenty of drama … see Full
Review
William
Grant STILL (1895-1978) Symphonies
4 & 5, Poem for Orchestra Fort
Smith Symphony/John Jeter rec 2009 NAXOS
8.559603 [56:24] [NB]
I
will be returning to the works of Still in the future just not
as presented here ... see Full Review
Richard
STRAUSS (1864
- 1949) Symphonia
domestica, Metamorphosen Staatskapelle
Weimar/Antoni Wit
rec. 2005/7 NAXOS
8.570895 [75:11] [NB]
An
excellent Metamorphosen and a disc well worth the purchasing ...
see Full Review
Richard
STRAUSS (1864-1949) Suites
and Fantasies from Operas & Ballet Buffalo
Philharmonic Orchestra/JoAnn Falletta rec. 2008 NAXOS
8.572041 [68:17] [NB]
A
serviceable disc that does little to further the reputation of
the artists involved see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949) Also
Sprach Zarathustra, Don Juan, Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche,
Tod und Verklärung, Metamorphosen Staatskapelle
Dresden/Herbert Blomstedt
rec. 1987/9 DAL
SEGNO
DSPRCD050 [51:09 + 68:10] [BR]
Classic
recordings widely available at last … see Full
Review
Richard
STRAUSS (1864
- 1949) Arabella Lisa
Della Casa, Hilde Güden, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener
Philharmoniker/Sir Georg Solti rec. 1957 DECCA
HERITAGE MASTERS 478 1400 [74:17 + 70:13] [GF]
In
spite of some reservations well worth the modest outlay for the
ravishing singing of Della Casa and Güden … see Full
Review
Richard
STRAUSS (1864-1949) Ein Heldenleben, Der
Rosenkavalier Minneapolis
SO, Philadelphia O/Antal Doráti rec. 1950/2 PRISTINE
AUDIO XR PASC 179 [67:24] [JW]
Vital
and sweeping ... see Full Review
Richard
STRAUSS
(1864-1949)
Violin Concerto in D minor, op.8 (1882) [31:40] Erich
Wolfgang KORNGOLD (1897-1957) Violin Concerto in D major,
op.35 (1945) [25:25]
Pavel Šporcl (violin) Prague Symphony Orchestra/Jiri Kout rec. live,
24 June 2008 (Strauss) and 8-9 October 2008 (Korngold); Smetana Hall,
Municipal House, Prague
SUPRAPHON SU 3962-2 [58:24]
Most
enjoyable … see Full Review
Richard
STRAUSS
(1864 – 1949) Deutsche Motette Op.62 (1913) [19:03] Traumlicht
Op.123 No.2 (1935) [5:12] Zwei Gesänge Op.34 (1897) [23:13]
Jane Archibald (soprano); Dagmar Pecková (alto); Eric Soklossa (tenor);
Robert Gleadow (bass-baritone); Latvian Radio Choir; Accentus/Laurence
Equilbey rec. Église Notre-Dame du Liban, Paris, France, June 2009
NAĎVE V 5194 [47:30]
[NB]
Superbly
drilled and polished but lacking that last iota of flair and fantasy.
… see Full Review
Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949) Don
Juan see Toscanini
Josef SUK (1874-1935)
Asrael
Symphony
Helsinki PO/Vladimir Ashkenazy rec. live, 2008
ONDINE ODE1132-5
[61:32] [JFL]
The
most pristinely played, and it packs as much of a punch as the best
... see Full Review
Johan
SVENDSEN (1840-1911) Norwegian
Rhapsodies 1-4, Romeo and Juliet, Zorahayda South
Jutland SO/Bjarte Engeset
rec. 2007 NAXOS
8.570322 [64:55] [WK]
Thoughtful
but evocative renditions of some old Svendsen favorites. … see Full
Review
Karol
SZYMANOWSKI (1882-1937) Violin
Concerto 1 Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841
- 1904) Romance,
Violin Concerto Arabella
Steinbacher (violin) Berlin RSO/Marek Janowski rec. 2009 PENTATONE
CLASSICS PTC5186353 [71:44] [DC]
Not
particularly inspired ... see Full
Review
Alexandre
TANSMAN (1897-1986)
Symphonies vol. 2 - On the Symphonic Edge
Symphonies 7-9
Melbourne SO/Oleg Caetani rec. 2006
CHANDOS CHSA 5054 [64:37]
Symphonies vol. 3 - On the Symphonic Edge; Symphonies
2 & 3, Quatre
Mouvements pour orchestre Melbourne SO/Oleg
Caetani rec. 2007/08
CHANDOS CHSA 5065 [70:30]
Symphonies vol. 4 – Chamber Symphonies; Symphonie de
chambre, Sinfoniettas 1 & 2, Sinfonia piccola
O della Svizzera Italiana/Oleg Caetani rec. 2009.
CHANDOS CHAN 10574 [61:06] [RB]
Superbly
rich in rising emotional sap ... see Full
Review
Deems
TAYLOR (1885-1966) Peter Ibbetson Anthony
Dean Griffey, Lauren Flanigan, Seattle Symphony & Chorale/Gerard
Schwarz rec. live, 1999 NAXOS
8.669016-7 [72:10 + 62:08] [WK]
First
recording of a once famous opera that has been forgotten for too long
and will thrill many contemporary listeners … See Full
Review
Peter
Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY
(1804 – 1893) The
Seasons, op.37b (1876) (orch. Morton GOULD) [36:33] Morton
GOULD (1913 – 1996) Family Album (1951) [14:14] Concerto
for Tap Dancer (1952) [16:40]
Morton Gould (piano) and his Orchestra (Tchaikovsky) Danny Daniels (dancer),
The Rochester “Pops”/Morton Gould rec. 5–7 December 1951, 30th
Street Studio, NY. NYC (Tchaikovsky) and 19 January 1953, Rochester,
New York, ADD Re–issues of Columbia ML 4487 (Tchaikovsky) and Columbia
ML 2215 (Gould)
PRISTINE AUDIO PASC 191 [69:27]
[BBr]
This
is worth the time you’ll give it … see Full
Review
Pyotr
Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840 – 1893) The
Sleeping Beauty London
SO/André Previn rec. 1974 EMI
CLASSICS 9676892 [77:50 + 78:35] [NB]
Previn
adopts the symphonic approach ... see Full
Review
Pyotr
Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Two
films by Christopher Nupen: Tchaikovsky’s Women,
Fate Swedish
RSO/Vladimir Ashkenazy
rec. 1988/9 ALLEGRO
FILMS
A10CND [2 DVDs:
70:15 + 85:35] [IL]
A
frank and harrowing portrait of a misunderstood and, still, a too
little appreciated genius … see Full
Review
Michael
TIPPETT (1905-1998) String
Quartets - Volume 2 Tippett
Qt rec. 2009 NAXOS
8.570497 [60:05] [GD]
Performances
that do justice to Tippett’s imaginative and diverse soundworld
... see Full Review
Enrico
TOSELLI (1883
- 1926) Le
romanze ritrovate Daniela
Dessi (soprano) Fabio Armiliato (tenor) Leonardo Previero (piano)
rec. 2003 REAL
SOUND
RS 051-0105 [47:53] [GF]
Century-old
songs, aged in beauty, well worth getting to know, especially when so
sensitively sung ... see Full Review
Romuald
TWARDOWSKI
(b.
1930)
Exegi monumentum (2009)
[25.49] (1) Three Frescoes for Orchestra (1986) [14.40] (2) Ioannes
Rex (1983) [20.32] (3)
Anna Mikoljczyk-Niewiedzial (soprano) (1); Jarosslaw Brek (bass) (1);
Andrzeu Hiolski (baritone) (3); International University Choir, International
Symphony Orchestra/Marcin Nalecz-Niesiolowski (1); Festival Symphony
Orchestra, Odessa/Boris Rosenfeld (2); Zielona Gora Philharmonic Orchestra/Szymon
Kawalla rec. Poznan, 20 June 2009 (1); Odessa, 18 May 2001 (2); Zielona
Gora, 25-26 June 1982 (3)
ACTE PREALABLE AP0231 [61.05]
[RH]
For
anyone interested in exploring dramatically interesting late 20th
century tonal music ... see Full Review
Johann
Baptist VANHAL (1739
- 1813) Three Piano Quintets Miklós
Spányi (fortepiano) Authentic Qt rec. 2008 HUNGAROTON
HCD 32588 [67:11] [JV]
These
quintets are actually sonatas for keyboard with a string quartet
ad libitum - good to listen to, although the performances are
not always captivating ... see Full
Review
Ralph
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958) [5:56] Romance see BATE
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901) Otello Ramon
Vinay, Herva Nelli, NBC SO/Arturo Toscanini
rec. 1947 PRISTINE
AUDIO
PACO033 [69:21 + 66:31] [ST]
Pick
this one with confidence ... see Full
Review
Giuseppe
VERDI (1813 - 1901) Nabucco Tito
Gobbi, Vienna Opera Ch & O/Lamberto Gardelli
rec. 1965 DECCA
THE
ORIGINALS 478 1717 [53:10 + 67:21] [GF]
Should
be in every Verdi-lover’s collection … see Full
Review
Antonio VIVALDI
(1678 - 1741)
Concerti
Concerto Köln/Werner Ehrhardt rec. 1988
PHOENIX 434 [60:02 + 58:15]
[JV]
These
recordings from the late 1980s have easily survived the passage of time
and their reissue is most welcome ... see Full
Review
Antonio
VIVALDI
(1678-1741) Il
Cimento dell’Armonia e dell’inventione op 8:
Alice Harnoncourt (violin); Jürg Shaeftlein (oboe) Concentus Musicus
Wien/Nikolaus Harnoncourt
rec. October 1976 and March 1977, Casino Zögernitz, Vienna. ADD
WARNER CLASSICS AND JAZZ 2564 69054-8 [53:42 + 52:26]
[CR]
Interpretations
that allow us to explore some of the subtleties of the music in a captivating
way ... see Full Review
Antonio
VIVALDI
(1678-1741)
Argippo
Veronika Mrackova Fucikova (mezzo) Hofmusici/Ondrej Macek rec. 2008
DYNAMIC
CDS626/1-2 [74.23 + 46.58]
[RH]
A
lively and personable, if imperfect, account ... see Full
Review
Antonio
VIVALDI (1678-1741) Sonata ‘al
Santo Sepolcro’,
Stabat Mater Giovanni Battista PERGOLESI (1710-1736) Salve
Regina Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Tilge,
Höchster, Meine Sünden Daniel
Taylor (counter-tenor) Emma Kirkby (soprano) Theatre of Early Music
rec. 2005/6 BIS
BIS-SACD-1546 [74:50] [JW]
A
disc as lovely as this should not be overlooked ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Richard WAGNER
(1813–1883) Das Rheingold (1869) [194:00]Wotan
- Juha Uusitalo (bass–baritone) Fricka - Anna Larsson (mezzo) Alberich
- Franz-Josef Kapelmann (bass) Loge - John Daszak (tenor)
Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana/Zubin Mehta Bonus Film - The Making
of Rheingold [27:00]
UNITEL CLASSICA 700508
[221:00]
[ST]
Remarkably
compelling, wonderfully entertaining … a sense of the powerful, supernatural
and indeed god-like … see Full
Review
Richard WAGNER
(1813-1883) Tristan und Isolde (1865)
Tristan: Robert Dean Smith Marke: Robert Holl Isolde: Iréne Theorin
Kurwenal: Jukka Rasilainen
Bayreuther Festspiele Chorus/Eberhard Friedrich Bayreuther Festspiele
Orchestra/Peter Schneider rec. live, Bayreuth Festival, 9 August 2009.
Special Features: include ‘Kinder, macht was Neues!’ The making
of Tristan und Isolde.
OPUS ARTE OA 1033 D
[3DVDs: 292:00]
[JP]
Historical
importance certainly but recommended for so much more ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH William WALTON (1902-1983) Symphony
1, Belshazzar’s Feast, Violin Concerto, Viola Concerto,
Partita Yehudi
Menuhin (violin/viola); Philharmonia Ch & O, New PO, London
SO/Sir William Walton rec. 1951-69 EMI
CLASSICS 9689442 [78:52 + 73:41] [WH]
An
indispensable composer-conducted Walton collection … see Full
Review
Peter
WARLOCK (1894-1930) Collected
78rpm recordings - from the John Bishop collection rec. 1934-51 DIVINE
ART DDH27811 [65.52 + 78.15] [JW]
Will
enlighten, stimulate and encourage for a good long time ... see Full
Review
Debbie
WISEMAN (b.1963) The
Fairy Tale of The Nightingale and the Rose, The Fairy Tale
of The Selfish Giant [21:57] Vanessa
Redgrave, Stephen Fry (storytellers) ASMF/Sir Neville Marriner
rec. 2000 WARNER
CLASSICS AND JAZZ 2564 687658 [62:40] [BBr]
Doesn’t
do it for me … see Full Review
Agata
ZUBEL (b.1978)
String Quartet No. 1 for four cellos and computer* (2006) [12:27] Cascando
for voice, flute, clarinet, violin and cello (2007) [14:44] Unisono
I for voice, percussion and computer (2003) [6:12] Unisono II for voice,
accordion and computer (2003) [9:20] Maximum Load for percussion and
computer (2006) [14:05]
Agata Zubel (voice, computer) (Cascando) Seattle Chamber Players
*Cellonet - Andrzej Bauer, Bartosz Koziak, Marcin Zdunik, Mikolaj Palosz,
Jan Pilch, Michal Moc, Cezary Duchnowski (computer Unisono I &
II). rec. Studio S4 Polish Radio, Warsaw, February, September 2008
and Studio NOVA Cezary Duchnowski, November 2007 (Unisono II).
CD
ACCORD ACD 123-2 [57:27]
[DC]
Give
it a try ... see Full Review
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for alphabetical listings by composer:
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1 New] [Part
2 A-B] [Part 3 C-L]
[Part 4 M-R] [Part
5 S-Z]
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