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Classical Editor: Rob
Barnett
Music Webmaster
Len Mullenger:
Len@musicweb-international.com
|
Classical Editor: Rob
Barnett
Music Webmaster |
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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
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PART 4 [Part 1] [Part 2]
[Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]
Franz SCHUBERT (1797 - 1828) Symphony No 5 in B Flat Major [28.45] Symphony No 8 in B Minor [38.20] Completed by Brian Newbould (Including Entracte Music No I from Rosamunde) Rosamunde. Incidental Music. Ballet Music No 2 [6.54] Symphony No 9 in C Major "The Great" [59.35]Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Sir Charles Mackerras Recorded Abbey Road Studios. CD1 November 1990, CD2 October 1987. DDD Total Timing [133.46]
Recommended listening - you do not need to be a period performance devotee to enjoy it.
Franz SCHUBERT Four Violin Sonatas D384,408, 385 & 574; Fantasie D934; Arpeggione Sonata D821
A complete delight and a nostalgic trip too. ...A delectable Double Decca to grace anyone's collection.
Franz SCHUBERT (1797 - 1828) Quintet in A D667 "Trout"* [39.42] Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART(1756 - 1791) Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade in G K525)** [17.50]
Certainly a disc to consider but it is not generously filled and there are better versions of the Trout to choose from.
Robert SCHUMANN (1810-56). Toccata in C, Op. 7. Etudes symphoniques, Op. 13 (including Five Posthumous Variations). Fantasie in C, Op. 17.
Not recommended
Alexander SCRIABIN (1872-1915) Preludes, Volume 2. Julian SCRIABIN (1908-1919) Four Preludes.
The curiosity offered by this disc lies in the appending of four preludes by Julian Scriabin (who died at the age of eleven). The works do, indeed, sound like his father's music. A haunting end to an interesting disc.
Salvatore SCIARRINO Le voci sottovero & Infinito Nero
All fully explained - 'silence is not empty. It gives birth to sound' - and beautifully packaged. Very bizarre, so no star rating attempted!
SIBELIUS Symphonies Nos. 1,2,5 & 7, 'The Swan of Tuonela'.
...these magnificently refurbished Pye recordings demonstrate a grand sweep and manner that was characteristic of Sir John's live performances so often talked about in Manchester of the fifties.
DVD REVIEW: SIBELIUS Violin Concerto De FALLA Nights in the Gardens of Spain
This DVD contains one of the greatest performances of Sibelius' Violin Concerto you will ever hear. It is a performance that chilled me to the bone.
STANFORD Songs Vol. 2.
Varcoe and Benson have already proved themselves as master interpreters of this composer's songs and they are quite in inspired form throughout, indeed this volume should confirm that Hyperion's stature in the world of English song remains quite unchallenged.
STRAUSS Choral Works Feierlicher Einzug; Wanderers Sturmlied Op 14; Festliches Präludium Op 61; Olympic Hymn; Taillefer Op 52
This is the third recording of Taillefer, Richard Strauss's most unlikely vocal work, an enormous setting for soloists, chorus and orchestra, dating from 1903, telling the story of the Battle of Hastings and the heroic deeds of William the Conqueror's minstrel Taillefer. Owing to its overblown forces and a battle scene that out-Heldenlebens Ein Heldenleben, critical reception has not been as positive as I feel it deserves.
STRAVINSKY Shadow Dances. Tangoa. Suitesa - No. 1; No. 2. Concerto in Db. Concertinob. Octetb. Three Pieces for String Quarteta. Praeludiuma. Ragtimea. Duetc. Fanfare for a New Theatrec. Scherzo à la Russea.
Overall a fascinating collection of miniatures, well played and well recorded.
Toru TAKEMITSU (1930 - 1996) I hear the water dreaming (1987)** [10.50] Toward the sea I (1981)* [11.11] Le fils des étoiles (1975)* [ 4.15] Toward the sea II (1981)** [11.08] And then I knew 'twas wind (1992)* [13.10] Toward the sea III (1989)* [10.56] Air (1995)* [ 5.36]
This will not be everyone's cup of tea. Sampling first would be advised.
G. P TELEMANN 6 Paris Quartets.
Wilbert Hazelzet Sonnerie.
With the glut of Bach recordings being issued, other composers have remained quite in the shadows this year so it is welcome to review this excellent reissue of Telemann's 'Paris' Quartets
TELEMANN Der Tod Jesu.
'Der Tod Jesu' is rather similar to the St John Passion in its reflective thematic inspiration and absence of bombastic religious statements.
THALBERG Piano Concerto in F minor, Souvenirs de Beethoven, Nocturne, Canzonette Italienne, Un Soupir
.... while the music-making is accurate, it does seem slightly careful. There is little of the sheer élan which a concerto of this type might demand, and which an extra rehearsal or two might have achieved.
This 1985 La Scala performance of Aida is a triumph.
TOMAS LUIS DE VICTORIA (1548-1611) Devotions and Lamentations Devotion to Our Lady 52.16 Mystery of the Cross 76.16
The spare Mystery of the Cross contrasts with the harmonic riches of the Devotion to Our Lady. All is lovingly recorded and performed.
VIVALDI Nisi Dominus RV 608 , Concerto in F for strings RV 141, Clarae stellae, scintillate, RV 625, Concert in C for strings RV 109, Vestro Principi Divino, RV 633, Salve Regina, RV 616.
These pieces were not written for a countertenor and, quite frankly they do not work and Vivaldi is the loser and that is not fair. And yet Scholl is magnificient. He really is. It is like the situation when one is asked a question and the answer is neither yes or no.
This is certainly a Tristan that many could live with and it survives repeated viewing well. And, it is crucially a gripping performance.
Richard WAGNER Love Duets from "Siegfried" and "Tristan und Isolde"*
For those who like their Wagner short and for those who wish to hear Domingo especially in these two duets, this disc is a must.
[Part 1] [Part 2]
[Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]
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