NEW & RECENT ARTICLES

A to Z of the Piano Trio Repertoire by David Barker: "D" Composers

 A survey of some recent releases of Dvořák’s New World Symphony by Brian Reinhart

Download News 2015/7 by Brian Wilson and Dan Morgan

Listening Studio Report by John Quinn

National Discographies Update by Mike Herman

MWI Recommends is taking a summer break and will return in September.

2015 marks the 20th anniversary of Musicweb International! We have received a number of tributes - read what they are saying about us.

NOTICES

[New] Crowdfunding campaign for the recording of the complete works for violin and piano by Sir Hubert Parry - see here for details

[New] US Premiere of Sibelius violin concerto by Maud Powell in New York, 1906 - there is a substantial article here.

Kickstarter campaign for Bax scores - see here for details

The 10th Malcolm Arnold Festival, October 17 & 18, Northampton, UK - see here for details

Musicweb International is in need of a reviewer specialising in the guitar repertoire.  Please contact Rob Barnett if you are interested.

OCCUPY THE PIANOS An immersive exploration of classic and contemporary piano music at St John's Smith Square, London, curated by Rolf Hind, 10-13 September 2015 - more details here

In order to persuade more of you to make a donation to MusicWeb International we are giving away CDs - click the Donate button top right for more details.

Publishing schedule
Monday: Other reviews (nostalgia, books, other music); Wednesday: MWI Recommends; Friday: Articles.
Live performance reviews posted daily at Seen and Heard
Jazz reviews posted weekly

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LATEST REVIEWS

Monday August 31st

Charlie CHAPLIN (1889-1977) Modern times - NDR Radiophilharmonie/Timothy Brock rec. 2006/7 CPO 777 286-2 [79:49] [RMay] Unless you're very familiar with the film, much of this score will quite possibly be lost on you but the performance is very fine.

Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841-1904) Symphony 9 Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Serenade for Strings - Philharmonia Hungarica; Royal PO/Antal Doráti rec. 1958/77 DORÁTI EDITION ADE048 [74:49] [BW] My first encounter with The Doráti Edition – I hope it won’t be my last.

Leopold KOŽELUCH (1747-1818) Complete keyboard sonatas Vol. 4 - Kemp English (fortepiano) rec. 2011 GRAND PIANO GP645 [74:20] Jan Hugo VOŘÍŠEK (1791-1825) Complete works for piano Vol. 2 - Biljana Urban (piano) rec. 2014 GRAND PIANO GP671 [57:37] [SA] It is salutary at times to be reminded that at some periods in history others have been considered greater composers than Mozart.

Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856) Symphonies 1-4 - O Champs-Élysées/Philippe Herreweghe rec. 1996/2006 HARMONIA MUNDI HMG508190.91 [69:42 + 62:24] [RB] A good unfamiliar place to go ... excitement is never rationed.

Boris TISHCHENKO (1939-2010) Piano sonatas 7 & 8 - Nicolas Stavy (piano) Jean-Claude Gengembre (large bells, tubular bells, glockenspiel) rec. 2014 BIS BIS-2189 SACD [70:50] [DC] Stunning.

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Christopher TYE (c. 1505-c. 1573) Consort Music - Claron McFadden (soprano) The Spirit of Gambo rec. 2014 MUSICA FICTA MF8022 [68:05] [JV] A most interesting and musically rewarding production.

Jorge Bolet (piano) Vol. 2 Ambassador from the Golden Age: A Connoisseur’s Selection for the Bolet Centennial rec. 1937-89 MARSTON 56003-2 [6 CDs: 475:14] [JW] A remarkable box, lovingly compiled, transferred and annotated.

British Violin Concertos Works by Bax, Bliss, Dyson & Veale - Lydia Mordkovitch (violin) rec. 1991-2000 CHANDOS CHAN241-53 [78:39 + 77:36] [SG] For those willing to veer off the beaten track and explore, there are many rewards to be had here.

Thomas Hampson (baritone) Autograph rec. 1989-2013 WARNER CLASSICS 2564 619045 [12 CDs: 902:08] [GF] No admirer of this versatile artist can afford to be without this box.

The Music of the Habsburg Empire Ars Antiqua Austria/Gunar Letzbor rec. 2001/07 PAN CLASSICS PC10311 [10 CDs: 609:02] [JW] Splendid music, restored, sifted and refined ... in lively and often adroit performances.

Friday August 28th

Kurt ATTERBERG (1887-1974) Symphonies 1 & 5 - Gothenburg SO/Neeme Järvi rec. 2014/15 CHANDOS SACD CHSA5154 [63:20] Another splendid contribution to this evolving series [IL] This is music that is neither rainy nor dark [PCG].

Niels GADE (1817-1890) String Sextet; Allegro vivace; Piano Trio - Ensemble MidtVest rec. 2013 CPO 7771642 [62:23] [JW] Excellent performances all-round, finely recorded and well annotated.

Sergei PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Violin sonata 1 Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975) Violin sonata - Igor Malinovsky (violin), Itamar Golan (piano) rec. 2014 GENUIN CLASSICS GEN15547 [60:34] [DC] No caveats to report.

Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Preludes, Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Morceaux de Fantaisie - Artur Pizarro (piano) rec. 2014 ODRADEK RECORDS ODRCD316 [72:19 + 73:07] [RWe] Pizarro’s series continues with a fine issue which, if low on extrovert display, is high on musical insight.

Jean SIBELIUS (1865-1957) Pelléas et Mélisande, Musik zu einer Szene, Autrefois - Pia Pajala (soprano), Sari Nordqvist (mezzo) Turku PO/Leif Segerstam rec. 2014 NAXOS 8.573301 [57:49] [GPJ] An enticing selection for Sibelians, despite some sluggish tempi from Segerstam.

Charles Villiers STANFORD (1852-1924) Complete Music for Solo Piano Vol. 1 - Christopher Howell (piano) rec. 2014 SHEVA SH115 [71:42 + 74:24] An immense project: ultimately important, worthy and a major contribution to recorded British music [JF] A nicely balanced mix of the occasionally mundane, the didactic and music of great reach and emotional ambit [RB].

Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958) A Sea Symphony - Katherine Broderick (soprano), Roderick Williams (baritone), Hallé Ch & O/Sir Mark Elder rec. 2014 HALLÉ CDHLL7542 [70.16] [MC] A key work in British Music in a magnificent live recording.

The Art of the Bassoon Robert Thompson (bassoon) rec. 1980-95 HERITAGE HTGCD402 [4 CDs: 216:09] [GPJ] An interesting collection. Worthy but in the end largely disappointing.

Leopold Stokowski: CD and Digital Premieres Works by Prokofiev, Purcell, Tchaikovsky & Wagner - His Symphony Orchestra, New York City SO, NBC SO rec. 1941-50 PRISTINE AUDIO PASC442 [65:02] [JW] Extremely successful transfers ... this ‘mopping up’ operation will prove very attractive to Stokowski admirers.

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Yo Te Quiere Matare Ministriles en Granada en el siglo XVI - Ensemble La Danserye rec. 2012 LINDORO NL3019 [66:14] [JV] More than an hour of brilliant and engaging music-making.

Thursday August 27th

Konstantin EIGES (1875–1950) Piano Music - Jonathan Powell (piano) rec. 2012 TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC0215 [71:04] [RB] Toccata and Powell do these things so well.

Alexander GLAZUNOV (1865-1936) The Seasons Aaron COPLAND (1900-1990) Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes - Dallas SO/Antal Doráti rec. 1946/47 ANTAL DORÁTI EDITION ADE008 [48:29] [JW] Doráti was a consummate ballet conductor.

Franz LISZT (1811-1886) Piano concertos 1 & 2, Concerto in E minor - Alexandre Kantorow (piano) Tapiola Sinfonietta/Jean-Jacques Kantorow rec. 2014 BIS BIS-2100 SACD [58:02] [RMay] Reveals aspects of these works that many older and more experienced artists ignore entirely. Do try to listen to this disc.

Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) Piano Trio 1 Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856) Piano Trio 1 - Alfred Cortot (piano), Jacques Thibaud (violin), Pablo Casals (cello) rec. 1927-28 PRISTINE AUDIO PACM097 [59:30] [JW] Broad but well sustained, quiveringly vital, grandly rhetorical.

Claudio MONTEVERDI (1567-1643) Vespro della beata Vergine 1610 - Concerto Vocale/René Jacobs rec. 1995 HARMONIA MUNDI HMG501566.67 [62:04 + 42:09] [DC] A leading 1610 Vespers and now a real bargain.

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Francis POULENC (1899-1963) Chamber Music - Henrik Wiese (flute) Kolja Lessing (violin) Alexander Wienand, Eva-Maria May (piano) rec. 2014/15 PALADINO MUSIC PMR0049 [68:35] [MC] Lovers of French music will relish this beautifully produced release.

Camille SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921) Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, La muse et le poète, Symphony 3 - Jan Kraybill (organ) Kansas City SO/Michael Stern rec. 2013 REFERENCE RECORDINGS RR-136 [61:29] [BR] Hard to imagine an Organ Symphony performance in better sound and the playing deserves that luxury treatment.

Alexander SCRIABIN (1871-1915) Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 - Matthew Bengtson (piano) ROMÉO RECORDS 7308 [75:37] [JW] Conscientious but there’s little real excitement or colour here.

Auckland Town Hall Organ Inaugural Concert Works by Bairstow, Brahms, Guilmant, Parry & Wells - Indra Hughes, John Wells, Paul Tarling (organ) Musica Sacra, Auckland Youth SO/Antun Poljanich rec. 2010 ATOLL RECORDS ACD117 [79:07] [JF] Interesting and satisfying.

Harriet Krijgh (cello) Elegy - Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz/Gustavo Gimeno rec. 2014 CAPRICCIO C5222 [50:29] [LB] Greater maturity and experience will undoubtedly refine this musician's substantial musical resources.

Wednesday August 26th

Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841-1904) Piano Trio 3 Bedřich SMETANA (1824-1884) Piano Trio Josef SUK (1874-1935) Elegy - Sitkovetsky Trio rec. 2013 BIS BIS-2059 SACD [73:11] [DJB] Not quite as successful as their Mendelssohn follow-up, but it certainly shows the promise of this fine young trio.

Christian Ernst GRAF (1723-1804) String Quartets - Via Nova Qt rec. 2012 CPO 777 865-2 [61:13] [JW] Graf’s sweetly melodious ways played with spirit.

Reynaldo HAHN (1874-1947) Le Bal de Béatrice d’Este, Concerto provençal, Sérénade, Divertissement - Ens Initium, O Pays de Savoie/Nicolas Chalvin rec. 2014 TIMPANI 1C1231 [70:29] [MC] Lovers of French music will relish this mainly unfamiliar repertoire that deserves to be better known.

Georg Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759) Wind Sonatas - Barthold Kuijken (transverse flute) Peter van Heyghen (recorder) Marcel Ponseele (oboe) Wieland Kuijken (viola da gamba) Robert Kohen, Kris Verhelst, Ewald Demeyere (harpsichord) Richte Van Der Meer (violoncello) rec. 1991-99 ACCENT ACC24308 [72:55 + 74:08] [DC] Excellent one-stop place for Handel’s wind sonatas.

Franz LISZT (1811-1886) Transcriptions from Operas by Meyerbeer - Sergio Gallio (piano) rec. 2014 NAXOS 8.573235 [82:57] [SB] If you want most of Liszt’s Meyerbeer this is one to get.

Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Lieder Vol. 2 - Ian Bostridge (tenor) Julius Drake (piano) rec. 2014 WIGMORE HALL LIVE WHLIVE0077 [79:47] [JQ] A compelling Schubert recital featuring singing and playing that is full of artistry and insight.

Igor STRAVINSKY (1882-1971) Les Noces, Mass, Cantata - RIAS Kammerchor, musikFabrik/Daniel Reuss rec. 2005 HARMONIA MUNDI HMG501913 [66:27] [SB] A really valuable reissue.

Eugen SUCHOŇ (1908-1993) Metamorfózy, Baladiká suita, Symfonietta rustica - Estonian Ntil SO/Neeme Järvi rec. 2013 CHANDOS CHAN10849 [62:36] A very fine Chandos disc indeed and if it brings Suchoň's music to a wider and appreciative audience then all the better [JW] The playing is athletic and powerful in all departments [NB].

Avanti l'opera An A-Z of Italian baroque overtures - Charivari Agréable/Kah-Ming Ng rec. 2013 SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD383 [63:15] [JV] Charivari Agréable has added another gem to its already impressive discography.

A Festival of English Organ Music Vol. 2 - Ben van Oosten (organ) rec. 2014 MDG 3161907-2 [73:48] [JF] Van Oosten has excelled himself with this present recording.

Tuesday August 25th

Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) Fantasias, Intermezzi, Piano Pieces - Ariel Halevy (piano) ROMÉO RECORDS 7312 [68:23] [JW] A lot of uneven playing here.

Anton BRUCKNER (1824-1896) Symphony 1 - Netherlands Radio PO/Jaap van Zweden rec. 2012/13 CHALLENGE CLASSICS CC72556 SACD [51:23] [RMo] Tight, swiftly modulating, rhythmic music ideally served by this impassioned and impeccable playing.

Luigi CHERUBINI (1760-1842) Cantatas - Clytemnestre, La Mort de Mirabeau, Circé, Amphion - Kölner Akademie/Michael Alexander Willens rec. 2012 CPO 777776-2 [65:50] [JV] This disc is of major importance.

George GERSHWIN (1898-1937) The Gershwin Collection - Simon Tedeschi (piano) James Morrison (trumpet) Sarah McKenzie (vocals) Queensland SO/Benjamin Northey rec. 2007/13 ABC CLASSICS 481 1872 [62:09 + 69:07] [DM] Simon Tedeschi romps home in this repertoire; disc one is my favourite, though.

Jacques IBERT (1890-1962) La Ballade de la Geôle de Reading, 3 Pièces de Ballet, Suite Élisabéthaine - Slovak RSO/Adriano rec. 1993 NAXOS 8.555568 [66:13] [GPJ] This collection of little-known music is emphatically worth hearing.

Alexander SCRIABIN (1872-1915) The Complete Works DECCA 478 8168 [18 CDs] [NB] Scriabin was a unique musical voice and this set reinforces that impression beyond doubt.

Michael TIPPETT (1905-1998) A Child of Our Time - Cynthia Haymon (soprano) Cynthia Clarey (contralto) Damon Evans (tenor) Willard White (bass) London SO & Ch/Richard Hickox rec. 1992 CHANDOS CHAN10869X [73:17] [DC] Top-notch Tippett – atmospheric and cumulatively overwhelming.

Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901) La traviata - Diana Damrau, Francesco Demuro, Ludovic Tézier, Ch & O l’Opéra Ntl de Paris/Francesco Ivan Ciampa rec. June 2014 ERATO Blu-ray 2564 616647 [145.00] [MC] Excellent performances make this Erato release so desirable.

British Works for Cello and Piano Vol. 4 Paul Watkins (cello) Huw Watkins (piano) rec. 2014 CHANDOS CHAN10862 [67:35] [JW] Wonders performed with these works, bringing a different character and colour to each.

Perfect Polyphony The Tallis Scholars/Peter Phillips GIMELL CDGIM213 [77:47 + 78:44] [JQ] An excellent compilation, issued to celebrate The Tallis Scholars’ 2000^th concert.