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Alphabetical Listing

PART 4
M-R

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]
[last 5 days] [Recommended recordings]

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Gustav MAHLER (1860-1911) Symphony no. 2 Resurrection (1894) [82:02] Miah Persson (soprano); Christianne Stotijn (mezzo) Chicago Symphony Chorus; Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Bernard Haitink rec. live, November 2008, Symphony Hall, Chicago. DDD CSO RESOUND CD CSOR 901914 [21:12 + 60:50] also available as SACD [JZ]

Points to an affinity between Haitink and the CSO in interpreting Mahler ... see Full Review

Gian Francesco MALIPIERO (1883-1973) Symphonies 5, 6, 8 & 11 (Volume 3) Moscow SO/Antonio de Almeida rec. 1994 NAXOS 8.570880 [73:51] [JW]

The journey from spring to winter. Laudably direct and animated ... see Full Review 

Bohuslav MARTINU (1890-1959) Piano Quartet, Oboe Quartet, Duo 2, Piano Trio 3, George Caird (oboe), Schubert Ensemble rec. 2009 CHANDOS CHAN10551 [67:10] [BBr]

A very tempting buy … see Full Review  

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Bohuslav MARTINU (1890-1959) Complete Piano Music - Vol. 6 & 7 Giorgio Koukl (piano) Chiara Solari (piano, third hand) rec. 2008 NAXOS 8.572024/5 [53:45 + 54:52] [JW]

The overarching reach of Koukl proves dominant and permanent ... see Full Review

Bohuslav MARTINU (1890-1959) Cello sonata 1 see MESSIAEN

Giuseppe MARTUCCI (1856-1909) La Canzone dei Ricordi (1886) [31:19] Notturno, Op. 70 No. 1 (1888) [7:42] Ottorino RESPIGHI (1879-1936) Il Tramonto (1918) [16:33] Carol Madalin (mezzo) English Chamber Orchestra/Alfredo Bonavera rec. 13-14 November 1987, Rosalyn Hill Chapel, Hampstead, London HYPERION HELIOS CDH55049 [55:45] [TB]

Make no mistake, these are fine performances of fine music that urgently deserves to be heard. … see Full Review

Nicola MATTEIS (c.1650-d. after 1714) False Consonances of Melancholy - Ayres for the Violin Baldomero Barcielo (viola da gamba, theorbo); Ronaldo Lopes (guitar, theorbo); Francesco Romano (theorbo, guitar); Anna Fontana (clavecin) Gli Incogniti/Amandine Beyer (violin) rec. 2009 ZIGZAG TERRITOIRES ZZT 090802 [72.49] [GH]

A fascinating insight into the unusual early baroque, superbly played but only sporadic moments of special brilliance… see Full Review 

Peter MAXWELL DAVIES (b.1934) Taverner (1964-72) [115:52] Martyn Hill (tenor) - Taverner David Wilson-Johnson (baritone) - Jester London Sinfonietta Voices, New London Children’s Choir, Fretwork, His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts BBC Symphony Orchestra/Oliver Knussen rec. 5-14 December 1997, Studios 1 & 2, BBC Maida Vale, London NMC D157 [70:09 + 46:43] Two for the price of one

Stands tall in a field filled with operatic giants. ... see Full Review

Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) String Quartet 2 see Beloved of the Gods

Johann Kaspar MERTZ (1806 - 1856) Sechs Schubert’sche Lieder see SCHUMANN

Olivier MESSIAEN (1908-1992) Thème et Variations, Louange à l’Éternité de Jésus Bohuslav MARTINU (1890-1959) Cello sonata 1 Joe CUTLER (b. 1968) Music for Parakeets Elliot CARTER (b. 1908) Cello sonata Lionel Handy (cello); Nigel Clayton (piano) rec. 2009 CADENZA MUSIC CACD0906 [65:02] [GD]

On balance a rewarding listen for sheer discipline and interpretive integrity ... see Full Review

Krzysztof MEYER (b.1943) String Quartets 5, 6 & 8 Wieniawski Qt rec. 2008 NAXOS 8.570776 [71:36] [BBr]

Very stimulating music … see Full Review

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Carlo Ignazio MONZA (c.1696 - 1739) Harpsichord Music Terence Charlston (harpsichord) rec. 2005 DEUX-ELLES DXL1117 [67:14] [JV]

An ideal combination of first-rate music and performance ... see Full Review 

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART Piano Concertos 12, 21 & 24 see Pianistes Français

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Piano Concertos 24 & 25 Berlin PO/Daniel Barenboim (piano) rec. 1988 WARNER MAESTRO 2564 691759 [62:57] [BBr]

Neither performance scintillates … see Full Review 

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano see Beloved of the Gods

Jacques OFFENBACH (1819-1880): La Belle Hélène ; Orpheus in the Underworld see SAINT-SAENS

Henryk PACHULSKI (1859-1921) Piano Works Volume 1 Lubow Nawrocka (piano) rec. May 2008 ACTE PRÉALABLE APO 187 [61:09] [JW]

Athletic, strongly argued but ultimately lacking in true distinction. ... see Full Review

Giovanni PAISIELLO (1740-1816) Piano Concertos 1, 3 & 5 Francesco Nicolosi (piano) Campania CO/Luigi Piovano rec. 2007 NAXOS 8.572065 [49:51] [J-PJ]

Very listenable ... see Full Review 

Sir Hubert PARRY (1848-1918) Hypatia – Incidental Music (Hypatia and Philammon; Ruth and Orestes; Orestes’ March) see VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

Wilhelm PETERSON-BERGER (1867-1942) Arnljot (excerpts) Erland Hagegård (baritone) Stockholm PO & Ch/Okko Kamu rec. 1973 STERLING CDO10822 [53:14] [JW]

A tempting 50+ minutes from an epic opera in good sound, and with fine notes ... see Full Review 

Giacomo PUCCINI (1858-1924) La Bohème (1896) Teresa Stratas, José Carreras, Renata Scotto, Metropolitan Opera Ch & O/James Levine rec. 1982 DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 0734539 [125:00 + 30:00] [BW]

A strong contender in a competitive market ... see Full Review

Giacomo PUCCINI (1858-1924) Edgar José Cura, Amarilli Nizza, Ch & O Teatro Regio Torino/Yoram David ARTHAUS MUSIK 101377 [157:00] [RMK]

The original version ... an interesting failure ... see Full Review

Giacomo PUCCINI (1858-1924) La Rondine Ainhoa Arteta (soprano) Marcus Haddock (tenor) Washington Ntl Opera O & Ch/Emmanuel Villaume rec. live, 1998 DECCA 074 3335 [110:00] [image] [NB]

An excellent way of discovering the hidden jewel that is La Rondine ... see Full Review

Henry PURCELL (1659-1695) The Complete Ayres for the Theatre Crispian Steele-Perkins (trumpet) ¹ Crispian Steele-Perkins (trumpet), Stephen Keavy (trumpet) ² The Parley of Instruments/Roy Goodman rec. October 1994, St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom Full tracklist at end of review HYPERION CDS44381-383 [3 CDs: 74:13 + 65:41 + 68:42] [JW]

No caveats - it’s to be enjoyed ... see Full Review

Robin de RAAFF (b. 1968) Raaff Marcel Rejians, Danielle de Niese, Nieuw Ens/Lawrence Rees rec. 2004 ETCETERA KTC 1370 [74.05] [RH]

Should be of interest to anyone who loves opera and wants to know where it might be going in the 21st century ... see Full Review

Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) 24 Preludes Steven Osborne (piano) rec. 2008 HYPERION CDA67700 [78:15] [BR]

A deeply intelligent pianist unifies this cycle … see Full Review 

Songs by Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) & Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Yoram Chaiter (bass), Irena Zelikson-Litchen (piano) rec. 2008/9 ROMEO RECORDS 7277 [75:36] [GF]

Lieder interpretation of the highest order ... see Full Review 

Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Piano Concerto 2 see Géza Anda

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Einojuhani RAUTAVAARA (b. 1928) Twelve Concertos rec. 1991-2005 ONDINE ODE 1156-2Q [4 CDs: 268:27] [RB]

Powerful, often directly accessible, nuanced and patently sincere ... see Full Review 

Max REGER (1873-1916) Clarinet Sonatas Florent Héau (clarinet) Patrick Zygmanowski (piano) rec. 2002 ZIGZAG TERRITOIRES ZZT090303 [39:36] [GD]

A confident approach that excels in logic and coherence ... see Full Review

Joseph RHEINBERGER (1839-1901) Sacred and Secular Choral Music Regensburger Domspatzen/Georg Ratzinger Eberhard Kraus (organ) rec. 12-15 July 1993, St. Emmeran, Regensburg and at the Tonhalle der Regensburger Domspatzen. ARS MUSICI 232154 [67:09] [KS]

This is a delightful collection of music, sure to please casual and serious listeners alike... see Full Review

Christopher ROUSE (b. 1949) String Quartets 1 & 2, Compline Calder Qt, Alicia Lee (clarinet) Sivan Magen (harp) Daniel Alexander (flute) rec. 2007 E1 MUSIC KIC-CD-7752 [56:22] [RB]

Rouse continues to carve out his own distinctive world ... see Full Review

Miklós RÓZSA (1907-1995) Violin concerto Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD (1897-1957) Violin concerto Matthew Trusler (violin) Düsseldorfer Symphoniker/Yasuo Shinozaki rec. 2008 ORCHID CLASSICS ORC100005 [68:06] [NB]

A very good disc of some really beautiful violin playing ... see Full Review

Jakub Jan RYBA (1765-1815)Czech Christmas Mass Three pastorellas [10:30] Czech Christmas Mass [39:31] Magdalena Kožená (mezzo) Gabriela Eibenová (soprano) Jaroslav Brezina (tenor) Michael Pospíšil (bass) Capella Regia Musicalis/Robert Hugo rec. September 1998, Church of Our Lady of the Convent, Kladruby (Czech Republic) DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON ARCHIV 477 8365 [50:01] [PB]

A wonderful antidote to the usual Christmas fayre – very warmly recommended. ... 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]
[last 5 days] [Recommended recordings]


 



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