FEBRUARY 00 CLASSICAL CD REVIEWS INDEX disclaimer Classical Editor: Rob Barnett Music Webmaster Len Mullenger: Len@musicweb.uk.net

Classical Editor: Rob Barnett,  Reviewers: Rob Barnett, Ian Lace, Len Mullenger, and:  Richard Adams, Colin Anderson, Terry Barfoot,  Marc Bridle, Arthur Butterworth, Colin Clarke, Paul Conway, Gary Dalkin, Andy Daly, Tony Duggan, Harry Downey,  Gerald Fenech,  Lewis Foreman, David Frieze, Malcolm Galloway,  Ian Marchant, John Phillips, Ailís Ní Ríain, Humphrey Smith, Philip Scowcroft, Colin Scott Sutherland, Andrew Seivewright, Richard Whitehouse, Reg Williamson, Peter Grahame Woolf, David Wright. A complete list of contributors can be seen here

2000 Reviews   [Dec]  [Nov]  [Oct]  [Sep]  [Aug]  [Jul]  [Jun]  [May]  [Apr]  [Mar]  [Feb]  [Jan]

Click here for 1999 reviews  1998 reviews

February 2000 Click here to see the reviews     

Tony Duggan continues his  series of comparative reviews of recordings of the Mahler symphonies: Symphony No. 7
Ian Lace starts his survey of the Puccini operas with a comparison of 5 versions of La Boheme

ALAN HOVHANESS conducts his own music on CRYSTAL RECORDS
Hugo ALFVÉN (1972-1960) Symphony No. 3 (1905) [35.11] Legend of the Skerries (1904) [18.11] Dalecarlian Rhapsody (1931) [24.48]   Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Niklas Willén rec Glasgow 1/2 Feb 1996 NAXOS 8.553729  [78.46] [RB]
J S BACH: Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Toccata and Fugue in F Major, 'Doric' Toccata and Fugue, Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major .Hans Helmut Tillmanns  Various Organs   Danacord DACOCD 528 55m DDD [GF].
J S BACH: Chorale Preludes/Choral Settings   Arnstadt Weimar Leipzig. Hans Helmut Tillmanns: Organ. Danacord DACOCD 527 70m DDD.[GF]
J. S. BACH St John Passion The Scholars Baroque Ensemble: artistic coordinator David van Asch, Organ: Bernhardt Junghänel   Naxos 8.550664-5 [HS]
ORGAN MUSIC FROM THE BAROQUE AND ROMANTIC ERA. Works by: Bach, Mendelssohn, Reger, Grieg and Krebs.     Hans Helmut Tillmanns: Organ. Danacord DACOCD 61m DDD. [GF]
Jacobus BARBIREAU Missa Virgo with shorter works by Obrecht and Pipelare   The Clerks' Group, Edward Wickham ASV Gaudeamus CD GAU188 [68'57"] [PGW]
BÉLA BARTÓK (1881-1945) Piano Concerto No. 1 (1926) * Piano Concerto No. 2 (1931) ** Piano Concerto No. 3 (1945) ***   Theo Bruins (1881-1993) (piano) * Residentie Orkest/Ernest Bour rec 1981 ** Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest/Pierre Boulez rec 1965 ***Radio Filharmonisch Orkest/David Atherton rec 1987   ARSIS CLASSICS 95005 [73.10] [RB]
Arnold BAX Symphony No. 2; November Woods Royal Scottish National Orchestra/David Lloyd-Jones. Naxos 8.554093 [RB] 
Arnold BAX: Symphony No.3. The Happy Forest   Royal Scottish National Orchestra   David Lloyd-Jones Naxos 8.553608 [CW]
Lennox BERKELEY  Chamber Music Concertino; Introduction & Allegro; Duo; Elegy & Toccata: Petite Suite; Sextet.   Endymion Ensemble Dutton CSDLX 7100 72'44" [DW]
BRAHMS Lieder Op. 3, 6, 7 & 14 (Complete Edition, Vol. 1)   Juliane Banse (soprano) Andreas Schmidt (baritone) Helmut Deutsch (piano) CPO 999 441-2 [54'41"] [PW]
BYRD vol 3 Early Latin Church Music. The Propers for Epiphany   The Cardinall’s Music/Carwood/Skinner ASV CD GAU179 71’17" [DR]
Ernö DOHNÁNYI (1877-1960) Konzertstück for Cello and Orchestra, Sonata for Cello and Piano, Ruralia Hungarica for Cello and Piano   Maria Kliegel (cello); Jeno Jandó (piano) Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia conducted by Michael Halász. NAXOS 8.554468 [62:29] [IL]
JOHN FIELD (1782-1837) Piano Concertos Nos 2 (1815) and 3 (1815)   Andreas Staier (fortepiano) Concerto Köln/David Stern TELDEC 3984 21475 2 [61.77] [RB]
CÉSAR FRANCK. Piano Trio in F sharp minor Op 1 no 1; Violin Sonata  The Bekova Sisters Chandos CHAN 9680 [DDD] [64' 40"] [DW]
JOHN CAGE (1912-1992) ONE ⁶ (13:40+15:35+17:35) ONE¹⁰ (24:30)   Christina Fong (violin) world premiere recordings OGRESS PRODUCTIONS The Orchard/Valley Media 66991-2746 [RB]
GEORGY CATOIRE: Piano Music   Marc André Hamelin: Piano Hyperion CDA67090 78m DDD [GF]
Paul CHIHARA The Tempest - ballet in two acts.    The Performing Arts Orchestra/Jean-Louis LeRoux   rec 7 April 1981 U.C. Berkeley REFERENCE RECORDINGS RR-10CD ADD [74.30] [RB]
DVORAK Symphonies 8 & 9   LSO cond. Sir Colin Davis LSO 0001 LSO 0002 CD. [39'08"] & [44'20"] [PW]
JOHN FIELD (1782-1837) Piano Concertos Nos 2 (1815) and 3 (1815)   Andreas Staier (fortepiano) Concerto Köln/David Stern TELDEC 3984 21475 2 [61.77] [RB]
GERMAN, Edward. Piano Music    Alan Cuckston (piano)    FEW 114 CD. [DW]
ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV (1865-1936) Orchestral Works  A Naxos Series. The first 10 discs [RB]
Georg Friedrich HAAS: Einklang Freier Wesen; '...'; Nacht-Schatten; 1 Streichquartett.   Georg Schulz - accordion; Dmitrios Polisolidis - viola; Klangforum Wien, conducted by Sylvain Cambreling. Edition Zeitton ORF 194 [JW]
Asger HAMERIK: Jewish Trilogy, Concert romance for Cello and Orchestra. Ebbe HAMERIK: Cantus firmus V, Concerto molto breve for oboe and orchestra.   Henrik Steensgard: Cello, Jorgen Frederiksen: Oboe, The Danish Philharmonic Orchestra, South Jutland Moshe Atzmon. Danacord DACOCD 526 63m DDD. [GF]
Jean HASSE KINKH   played by Jean Hasse (composer, piano and flutes) with four percussionists and David Matthews (voice) Visible Music VM-CD 101 [74'49"] [PW]
F. J. HAYDN: Missa Sancta Bernardi von Offida': 'Heiligmesse'. Missa Sancti Nicolai.   Lorna Anderson, Pamela Helen Stephen, Marc Padmore, Stephen Varcoe. Collegium Musicum 90, Richard Hickox. Chandos Chaconne CHAN0645 63m DDD. [GF]
Niccolò JOMMELLI  Veni Creator Spiritus Roberta Invernizzi (sop) Coro Mysterium Vocis (director: Rosario Totaro) Capella de'Turchini (director: Antonio Florio) Opus111 OPS 30-254 [HS]
Jean-Baptiste LULLY (b.1632 Florence - d.1687 Paris) L'ORCHESTRE DU ROI SOLEIL - Symphonies, Overtures, and Airs à jouer   Le Concert des Nations directed by Jordi Savall. Alia Vox AV 9807 [64:19] [IL]
MAHLER: Symphony No. 5   Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Rafael Kubelik Audite 95.465 72m DDD. [GF]
MARTINU. Piano Trio no 2; Piano Trio no 3; Nocturnes for cello and piano; Czech Rhapsody for violin and piano   The Bekova Sisters Chandos CHAN9632 [DDD] [70' 19"] [DW]
MOZART AND SALIERI: Castrato arias and motets   Arno Raunig: sopranist. Wien Landstrasse Chamber Choir and Amadeus Ensemble, Vienna Walter Kobera Campion Cameo 2003 57m DDD [GF]
Francis POULENC (1899-1963)  Libertè - Francis Poulenc a cappella   Grex Vocalis Directed by Carl Høgset SIMAX PSC 1151 [61:22] [IL]
PUCCINI Comparative review of La Bohème [IL]
Unknown Public Naked (Music stripped down; solo improvisations and compositions).   up10 70'06" [PGW]
MAX REGER (1873-1916) The complete string quartets   Berner String Quartet   rec 1992-94 co-production with Swiss Radio - Schweizer Radio DRS 3CDs nas CPO 999 069-2
JOSEPH RYELANDT (1870-1965) Symphony No. 4 (for chorus and orchestra) (1912-13) [47 mins] Idylle Mystique (for soprano and orchestra) (1901) [16 mins]    Mireille Capelle (sop) Koor Novecento-Gent Musica Flandrorum-Harelbeke Het Symfoniorkest van Vlaanderen/Fabrice Bollon   rec 26-27 December 1995 World premiere recording CYPRES CYP1616 [63.11] [RB]
FRANZ SCHMIDT Symphony No. 4 (1933) 45.10
ANTON BRUCKNER Three Orchestral Movements (1862); March in D minor (1862) 14.00   Bruckner Orchestra Linz / Martin Sieghart recorded Bruckner Hall, Linz, Austria, Feb 1996 CHESKY CD143 [58.51] [RB]
JEAN SIBELIUS (1865-1957) The Seven Symphonies   Kurt Sanderling conducts the Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester recorded 1970-77  all recordings made in the Christuskirche, Berlin ADD stereo recordings digitally remastered BERLIN CLASSICS 0020592BC (EDEL) set first issued in 1996 4 CDs [280.10] [RB] 
JOSEF SUK 1874-1935 A Summer's Tale (1907) [50.41] A Winter's Tale (1894 rev 1926) [14.49]    Slovak RSO/Andrew Mogrelia rec Slovak Radio Concert Hall, Bratislava, 12-17 Jan 1996 NAXOS 8.553703 [65.30] [RB]
STRAVINSKY: Ballad; Chanson Russe (from Mavra); Dance Russe (from Petroushka); Divertimento; Duo Concertant; Pastorale; Suite Italienne (Pulcinella)   Lydia Mordkovitch, violin; Julian Milford, piano Chandos CHAN 9756 [70:44] [LF]
TOVEY Piano Concerto Op 15; MACKENZIE Scottish Concerto Op 55   Steven Osborne; BBC Scottish S O, cond Martyn Brabbins HYPERION CDA67023 [61'40"] [PGW]
Alexander MACKENZIE (1847-1935) Violin Concerto, Pibroch Suite for violin and orchestra.   Malcolm Stewart (violin) Royal Scottish National Orchestra conductor: Vernon Handley (Concerto); David Davies (Pibroch). HYPERION CDA66975 [VB]
William WALLACE (1860 - 1940) Sir William Wallace, Villon, The Passing of Beatrice, Sister Helen   BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Martyn Brabbins. HYPERION CDA66848 [72.16] [IL & VB] 
William WALLACE (1860 - 1940) Creation Symphony, Pelléas and Mélisande, Prelude to The Eumenides   BBC Scottish SO/Martyn Brabbins. HYPERION CDA66987 [73.60] [IL]
Collection: The Land of Mountain and Flood - Scottish Orchestral Music Royal Ballet Sinfonia conducted by John Wilson  ASV CDE WHL 2123 [70:46] [IL]
Johannes TINCTORIS Masses L'homme arm and Sine nomine.   The Clerks' Group, director Edward Wickham Cypres CYP 3608 68'36" [PGW]
WEELKES Madrigals & Anthems   The Consort of Musicke, Anthony Rooley (director and lute) ASV CD GAU 195 [61' 47"] [PGW]
WIENAWSKI: Polonaise brillante no. 1 in D major Op. 4, CHAUSSON: Poeme Op. 25. YSAYE: Sonata No. 2 for violin solo. DEBUSSY: Sonata for Violin and Piano. SIBELIUS: Concerto in D minor Op 47.   Nikolai Znajder: Violin, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders Marc Soustrot, Sophie Rachlin: Piano. Cypres Records CYP9608 74m DDD. [GF]
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: 'Job' - A Masque for Dancing, Prelude on an Old Carol Tune, Variations for Orchestra.   Munich Symphony Orchestra Douglas Bostock. ClassicO CLASSCD244 64m DDD. [GF, RB, DW]
IAN VENABLES The Songs of Ian Venables - 16 songs   Kevin Mclean-Mair (tenor) Graham Lloyd (piano) Emerald String Quartet recorded July 1997 and 1998 ENIGMA DIGITAL ED10045 [70.22] [RB]
ARCO BALENO - Conversations - music for chamber ensemble   Arco Baleno PKP PRODUCTIES PKP014 [71.47] [RB]
ARIETTA Arias, Ariettas and Songs by Handel, Monteverdi, Gluck, Bononcini, Giordani, Durante, Lotti, Paisiello, Pergolesi, Sarti, Ciampi, Caccini, Martini
Arrangements by C Hazell, D Golightly, N Ingman, G Brinums, R Parfrey    INESSA GALANTE (soprano) London Musici/Mark Stephenson rec Aug/Sept 1999, St Silas, London CAMPION RRCD1345 [64.57] [RB]
MOZART, GLUCK and HANDEL - Italian operatic arias   David Daniels (countertenor) with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducted by Harry Bicket. Virgin Classics Veritas 7243 5 45365 2 6. [61'10"] [PW]
SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH LYRICS   Martin Hindmarsh (tenor) Alan Cuckston (piano) FEW 116CD [DW]
HANDEL'S RIVALS Operatic Hits by London's Favourite Italian composers    Marie Vassiliou (sop) Alasdair Elliott (ten) James Eastaway (oboe) John Trusler and Andrew Roberts (violins) Nicholas Roberts (cello) Jane Clark (harpsichord)    rec 28 May 1999 St Jude on the Hill, Hampstead JANICULUM JAN D203 [59.23] [RB]
TRITTICO: Vaclav NELHYBEL Trittico, Isaac ALBENIZ Feast Day in Seville, Norman Dello JOIO Variants On A Mediaeval Tune, EDVARD GRIEG Funeral March for Rikard Nordraak, Vittorio GIANNINI Symphony No. 3   Dallas Wind Symphony/Frederick Fennell REFERENCE RECORDINGS RR-52CD [62.25] [RB]
ORGAN MUSIC    Played on the Father Smith organ at St Peter's Chapel, Auckland, County Durham by Alan Cuckston.     FEW 103CD. [DW]
POMP AND PIPES! Powerful Music for Organ, Winds, Brass and Percussion   Paul Riedo (organ) Dallas Wind Symphony/Frederick Fennell REFERENCE RECORDINGS RR-58CD [68.02] [RB]
OPERATIC OVERTURES FROM THE ROYAL THEATRE, STOCKHOLM   * St Petersburg Hermitage Orchestra/Mats Liljefors Kungl Hovkappellet/Stig Westerberg rec 1995 and 1985 STERLING CDS-1009-2 [61.10] [RB]
New York Philharmonic: An American Celebration   Broadcast performances 1936-1999 NYP 9904 (10 Discs: TT 12 hours 58 seconds) [PP]
Various 20^th Century French Composers * Poulenc, Koechlin, Milhaud, Auric, Satie   Hexagon Ensemble ARSIS Classis 3980312 [57:57] [GD]
ILLUMINA Unaccompanied choral works by W H Harris, Rautavaara, Rachmaninov, Byrd, Hildegard of Bingen, Tallis, Rutter, Charles Wood, Whyte, Holst, Desprez, Grechaninov, Tchaikovsky, Palestrina, Ligeti.  Choir of Clare College/Timothy Brown   COLLEGIUM RECORDS COLCD 125 [76.08] [HS]
LILACS IN THE RAIN, the piano music of REGINALD KING   Alan Cuckston (piano) FEW 128CD [DW]
WENDY CARLOS Switched-On Box Set Wendy Carlos   ESD East Side Digital ESD81422 Collector's deluxe edition [RB]
Collection: Music for Walt Disney's FANTASIA 2000   edel 0105582DNY [IL]
SERGEI RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Historic Recordings of the Piano Concertos   Sergei Rachmaninov (piano) The Philadelphia Orchestraconducted by Leopold Stokowski/Eugene Ormandy NAXOS 8.110601 (Nos 2 and 3) [65.10] NAXOS 8.110602 (Nos 1 and 4 and Paganini Rhapsody) [71.13] mono 2 CDs only available separately [RB]
THE QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA: Various works by: Farnon, Curzon, Williams etc.   The Queen's Hall Light Orchestra. Conducted by: Charles Williams, Robert Farnon, Sidney Torch. Dutton Vocalion CDEA6021 77m ADD. [GF]
Rags Jaijaivanti, Kalyan etc   Ustad Sultan Khan (sarangi) & Shaukat Hussain Khan (tabla) Live recordings at Royal College of Music, London, October 1990 NAVRAS NRCD 0112/3; [77'03"] & [73' 00"] [PW]
Buddhist Music   Tianjin Buddhist Music Ensemble Nimbus NI 5416, [71'14"] [PW]
RICHARD FAWKES: The History of Opera.   Read by: Robert Powell Naxos NA417612/4 318m DDD. [GF]
BOOK REVIEW
SHOSTAKOVICH RECONSIDERED By Allan B Ho and Dmitri Feofanov    Published 1998 by TOCCATA PRESS 787 page. ISBN 0 907689 56 6 Price £45  $75.95  [DD]

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A word about the star ratings, they signify:-

excellent	very good	fair	disappointing	avoid

Sometimes the last star will appear bracketed. Thus:

	and
good - nearly very good		almost excellent with some minor reservations

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