NEW & RECENT ARTICLES

Forgotten Artists: Vladimir Golschmann by Christopher Howell

An Interview with Augusta Read Thomas by Robert Hugill

Maurice Johnstone pages updated: Newspaper articles - Scores

Download News 2015/6 by Brian Wilson and Dan Morgan

MWI's 20th anniversary: A reviewer looks back by John Quinn

Malcolm Arnold's Divertimento No. 2 by John France

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

Our page listing other useful music-related websites has been updated and all links checked.

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

Friday July 31st

Leo FALL (1873-1925) Paroli - Anke Krabbe (soprano) Andrea Bönig (alto) Jörg Dürmüller (tenor) WDR Rundfunk Ch & O Köln/Axel Kober rec. 2012 CPO 777 899-2 [51:54] [RW] Strong melodic work well performed.

Leonardo LEO (1694-1744) L’ambizione delusa - Giampiero Cicino (baritone) Candida Guida (alto) O ICO Magna Grecia di Taranto/Antonio Greco rec. 2013 DYNAMIC CDS7677/1-3 [3 CDs: 171:55] [DCh] Unlikely that there will ever be a better recording. I congratulate everyone involved for the sheer enterprise of the project.

Felix MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY (1809-1847) String Quartets 1 & 4, Quartet in E flat - Escher Qt rec. 2014 BIS BIS-1960 SACD [80:10] [DC] At or near the top in this repertoire.

Viktor ULLMANN (1898-1944) Complete Piano Sonatas - Michael Tsalka (piano) rec. 2013/14 PALADINO MUSIC PMR0035 [70:33 + 61:22] [SA] Will help in continuing the recent interest in the works of this member of a group of tragic composers whose music promised so much only to be cut off so brutally.

Cantigas de Santa Maria IV: Pillars of Wisdom & V: Gabriel's Message - The Renaissance Players/Winsome Evans TALL POPPIES TP231/232 [62:44 & 53:52] [JV] The performers have taken too many liberties.

Bronisław Gimpel (violin) Concertos by Glazunov, Goldmark & Mendelssohn - South-West German Radio O/Hans Müller-Kray, Georg Solti; O Henri Pensis/Henri Pensis (Goldmark) rec. 1951-57 MELOCLASSIC MC2020 [79:35] [SG] A violinist whose recordings definitely merit more exposure.

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Xavier de Maistre (harp) Moldau - rec. 2014 SONY CLASSICS 88875 049042 [62:01] [BR] Unexpectedly a delight: a crowd-pleaser with artistry.

Thursday July 30th

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Violin Sonatas 5, 6 & 10 - Sayaka Shoji (violin) Gianluca Cascioli (piano) rec. 2011/14 DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON UCCG-1700 [79:18] [SG] Well-considered performances in state-of-the art sound.

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Carl NIELSEN (1865-1931) Clarinet, Flute & Violin Concertos - Nikolaj Znaider (violin) Robert Langevin (flute) Anthony McGill (clarinet) New York Philharmonic/Alan Gilbert rec. 2012/15 DACAPO 6.220556 SACD [77:16] [LW] Alan Gilbert concludes his Nielsen cycle with winning accounts of the concertos.

Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 - Vladimir Feltsman (piano) rec. 2013 NIMBUS ALLIANCE NI6298 [77:22] [RMo] A splendid disc, beautifully balanced and elegantly played; I look forward to more in the series.

Patric STANDFORD (1939-2014) Symphony 1, Cello Concerto, Prelude to a Fantasy - Raphael Wallfisch (cello) Royal Scottish Ntl O/David Lloyd-Jones rec. 2011 NAXOS 8.571356 [69.56] [PCG] Not essential but certainly enjoyable.

Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Symphony 5, Nutcracker Suite - Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia O/Herbert von Karajan rec. 1952/53 OPUS KURA OPK7029 [72.53] [IL] All this I listened to again in great exhilaration.

Richard WAGNER (1813-1883) The Potted Ring Vol. 3 and Appendices: Götterdämmerung - rec. 1926-31 PRISTINE AUDIO PACO118 [3 CDs: 202.39] [PCG] Vocal history in the making ... these transfers are unlikely ever to be bettered.

Twisted Skyscape Philip SPARKE (b. 1951) Overture for Woodwinds Gary CARPENTER (b. 1951) Pantomime Christopher HUSSEY (b. 1974) Dreamtide, Twisted Skyscape Adam GORB (b. 1958) Battle Symphony - Czech Philharmonic Wind Ens/Shea Lolin rec. 2014 4 LEGNI CLASSICS no number [63:24] [DC] Excellent all the way through.

Wednesday July 29th

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Roger Sacheverell COKE (1912-1972) Preludes, Variations - Simon Callaghan (piano) rec. 2014 SOMM CÉLESTE SOMMCD0147 [77:12] [SG] An exciting discovery. Simon Callaghan proves a persuasive advocate for these rarely heard piano pieces.

Jehan de LESCUREL (b. late 13^th Century) Chansons and Dit - Ensemble Syntagma rec. 2013 EDITION FACSIMILE FME1401 [BW] Mainly for specialists but the general listener should find much to enjoy.

Henryk WIENIAWSKI (1835-1880) Fantaisie brillante sur “Faust” Gounod, Violin Concerto 2 - Anna Maria Staskiewicz (violin) Henryk Wieniawski Lublin PO/Piotr Wijatkowski rec. 2010 DUX 0797 [47:39] [BR] A very good romantic violin album played marvelously, and also a tourism brochure for Lublin.

Frank MARTIN (1890-1974) Mass Alonso LOBO (1555-1617) Lamentationes Ieremiae Prophetae Herbert HOWELLS (1892-1983) Requiem -Cambridge Chorale/Julian Wilkins rec. Église St-Laurent, Roujan, France, 2010 CAMBRIDGE CHORALE no number [54:21] [DCh] Beautiful, deeply-felt devotional music in a rather unusual combination of compositions.

Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Symphonies, Masses 5 & 6, Alfonso und Estrella - Christian Elsner (tenor) Bernarda Fink (mezzo) Berliner PO/Nikolaus Harnoncourt rec. 2003-06 BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER RECORDINGS BPHR150061 [8 CDs + 1 BD-A: 613:30] [MC] Harnoncourt carries the listener along on an enthralling journey.

Cynthia's Revels Flautadors Recorder Qt, Leo Chadburn (recorder) rec. 2014 FIRST HAND RECORDS FHR36 [65:10] [JV] A beautiful and varied programme including some less familiar pieces and all in splendid performances.

Power of Life Christopher Herrick (organ) rec. 2014 HYPERION CDA68129 [67:08] [DC] Meaty and richly entertaining.

Tuesday July 28th

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Bob CHILCOTT (b.1955) The Angry Planet - BBC Singers, The Bach Ch/David Hill rec. 2015 SIGNUM SIGCD422 [33:39 + 46:48] [GPJ] An inspiring disc with three of Bob Chilcott’s finest and most entertaining recent works.

Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) Symphony 5, Ruy Blas, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage - London SO/Sir John Eliot Gardiner rec. 2014 LSO LIVE LSO0775 BD-A/SACD [47:09] [LW] Gardiner’s Mendelssohn in variable accounts, but this release offers poor value.

Olivier MESSIAEN (1908-1992) Quatuor pour la fin du temps Alban BERG (1885-1935) Four Pieces - Oleg Kagan (violin) Eduard Brunner (clarinet) Natalia Gutman (cello) Vassily Lobanov (piano) rec. 1988 MELODIYA MELCD1002310 [55:34] [SG] Captivating ... One cannot fail to be moved by such committed playing.

Cyril ROOTHAM (1875-1938) Symphony No. 2, Ode on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity - Teresa Cahill (soprano); Philip Langridge (tenor) BBC Singers, BBC Scottish SO, BBC Concert Orchestra/Vernon Handley 18 December 1973/84 LYRITA REAM2118 [37:44 + 42:39] [JQ] English music devotees should grasp the opportunity to hear these significant scores by Cyril Rootham.

Martial SOLAL (b.1927) Works for Piano & 2 Pianos - Eric Ferrand-N’Kaoua, Martial Solal (pianos) rec. 2011 GRAND PIANO GP697 [53:47] [GPu] Likely to be of interest chiefly to admirers of Solal’s work as a jazz pianist.

Jan Dismas ZELENKA (1679-1745) Trio Sonatas - Paul Dombrecht, Marcel Ponseele, Ku Ebbinge (oboes) Danny Bond (bassoon) Chiara Banchini (violin) Richte van der Meer (cello) Robert Kohnen (harpsichord) rec. 1982/88 GLOSSA GCDC80014 [55:10 + 53:25] [JW] A winner.

Yinjia Gong (tenor) Ténor Tenore! - Lahti SO/Markus Lehtinen rec. 2013/14 BIS SACD BIS-2066 [77:49] [RMo] Much of the time I feel as if I am listening to a creditable facsimile of a tenor of the first rank.

Monday July 27th

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Romances, Violin Sonatas 9 & 10 - Albert Spalding (violin) André Benoist, Jules Wolffers, Ernö Dohnányi (piano) rec. 1935-53 PRISTINE AUDIO PACM096 [70:58] [SG] Bewitched by Spalding’s charming and elegant playing.

Jean-Philippe RAMEAU (1683-1764) Cantatas, Pièces de clavecin en concerts - Mathias Vidal (tenor) Amarillis NAÏVE V5377 [62:05] [JV] The Concerts are largely disappointing but Mathias Vidal delivers theatrical interpretations of the cantatas.

Pierre RODE (1774-1830) Violin Concertos Vol. 3 - Friedemann Eichhorn (violin) Jena PO/Nicolás Pasquet rec. 2011 NAXOS 8.572755 [76:27] [SV] You might not remember much about this music after it's over, but you'll enjoy it immensely while you're hearing it.

Josef SUK (1874-1935) Asrael Symphony, A Summer’s Tale, The Ripening, Tale of a Winter’s Evening Anatoly LIADOV (1855-1914) The Enchanted Lake - O Komischen Oper Berlin/Kirill Petrenko rec. live, 2002-06 6 CPO 555009-2 [3 CDs: 171.54] [MC] Engaging freshness and passionate intensity.

Silvius Leopold WEISS (1686-1750) Suites for lute - Konrad Junghänel (baroque lute) rec. 1978/79 GLOSSA GCDC80013 [75:53] [JW] Junghänel is a measured, powerfully intense ... playing that remains frequently startling in its ability to move.

Raúl Giménez (tenor) Operatic arias by Bellini, Donizetti, Mozart & Rossini - Scottish CO/Michelangelo Veltri, O Royal Opera House, Covent Garden/Barry Wordsworth rec. 1987-91 NIMBUS NI5106/5224/5300 [61:30 & 69.44 & 55:12] [RMo] Singing of the utmost refinement and sensibility.

Mostly Transcriptions 2 Tien Hsieh (piano) rec. 2013 MSR CLASSICS MS 1531 [71:39] [BR] Very good Bach, without being essential.