Classical Editor: Rob Barnett   Founder Len Mullenger: Len@musicweb-international.com

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	Reviews for August 2001 The September Reviews have been started here Full list of reviewers and contributors here July Reviews June Reviews May reviews
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There are over 250 CD reviews for August on the next five pages

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Annual Meeting of the Alan Rawsthorne Society 8th & 9th September 2001 Corpus Christi College Oxford
non-members welcome

Arts in residence Great Music in Wonderful Surroundings with Arts in Residence

NEW and RECENT ARTICLES

WHAT DOES A CLASSICAL DJ DO BETWEEN SELECTIONS? An insiders story from behind the microphone by Jim Stokes
THE BUSINESS OF MUSIC Reflections of a music publisher by Ernst Roth Now complete!
Remembering Harold Craxton by Christopher Howell
Marc Bridle in Interview with Ben Heppner
SHIPS AND HARBOURS IN BRITISH MUSIC By:- P. L. Scowcroft
Theatre Conductor and Composer: ALFRED REYNOLDS (1884-1969) by Phil Scowcroft
THOSE INCREDIBLE MEN AND THEIR MUSIC MACHINES By Roy Brewer
Some orchestral music of Percy Whitlock by John France
Arthur Butterworth Writes: Musical Sports Days
HOW I CAME TO KNOW THE MUSIC OF EDMUND RUBBRA by Gary Higginson
SOME THOUGHTS ON YORK BOWEN byJohn Lindsay
EMI ENCORE A new budget label is coming
Phil Scowcroft's Garlands: Nos 110-127 now completed

On-Line help sites: How do I do this, Where do I find this. Some free, some not

Did you know you could help sponsor a new recording for as little as £10 - a symphony for £25? Read on  such as this one  now reviewed here: GRAHAM WHETTAM  Sinfonia Intrepida   BBCSO/Sir Charles Mackerras.   Redcliffe Recordings RR016 (44' 11'') [PC]

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RECORDINGS OF THE MONTH

"A LITTLE OF WHAT YOU FANCY"
The Golden Age of the British Music Hall: Recordings from 1901-1931 Marie Lloyd, Harry Lauder, George Robey, Charles Coborn, Harry Champion, George Formby Snr., Billy Williams, Vesta Victoria, Florrie Forde, Billy Merson.Will Fyffe, Dan Leno, Little Tich, Albert Whelan, Gus Elen, Norah Blaney, Lily Morris, Vesta Tilley, Albert Chevalier, Billy Williams.  ASV Living Era CD AJA 5363 [74.56] [TD]

This is an indispensable record for those who love the world of the old Music Hall.

Malcolm ARNOLD (b. 1921) Symphony No. 7 (1973) Symphony No. 8 (1978) National SO of Ireland/Andrew Penny rec 21-22 Feb 2000, National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland (in presence of composer) NAXOS 8.552001 [63.55] [PS] [RB]

Approach this "approachable" music with caution - Arnold's Seventh Symphony merits an "18" certificate with additional warnings for the faint-hearted! Rounding off their highly recommendable complete set of the Arnold symphonies, Andrew Penny and the NSO of Ireland may well have saved the best until last. Electrifying music given highly charged performances - buy it, and be damned! [PS]

Penny and the Irish orchestra in lucid and imaginative performances charting the brilliance and the darkness of the Irish chapter of Arnold's Dark Night of the Soul. [RB]

Hector BERLIOZ (1803-1869) Les Troyens (1856-8) Ben Heppner (tenor) - Enée  Michelle DeYoung (mezzo-soprano) - Dido Petra Lang (mezzo-soprano) - Cassandre Sara Mingardo (alto) - Anna Peter Mattei (baritone) - Chorèbe Stephen Milling (bass) - Narbal Kenneth Tarver (tenor) - Lopas London Symphony Chorus London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis (Recorded 3, 7, 8 & 9 December 2000, Barbican Centre, London) LSO Live LSO 0010 CD 4 CDs [62.23, 68.57, 56.25, 51.51], Super Budget Price

This recording, from live performances at the Barbican last December, is the finest opera CD I have heard this year.  An outstanding bargain, this is an unmissable set.

Joseph-Ermend BONNAL (1880-1944) String Quartet No. 1 (1919) [33.31] String Quartet No. 2 (1938) [21.08] Quatuor Debussy rec Aizac (07), 6-9 Oct 1999 ARION ARN 68504 [54.39] [RB]

I urge you strongly to seek out Bonnal's sheerly magical impressionistic music.

Dietrich BUXTEHUDE (1637-1707) Harpsichord Music Vol. III Lars Ulrik Mortensen, harpsichord Rec: September 1998 DA CAPO 8.224118 [54.24] [KM]

This recording is perhaps the most essential of the three disc Marco Polo series. The Aria: "La Capricciosa" is undoubtedly Buxtehude's masterpiece, and probably a model for Bach's Goldberg Variations. Another excellent recording that all lovers of harpsichord music should own.

Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Images  Set 1, Images Set 2, Images oubliées,  Estampes,  Masques pour piano, L'isle joyeuse Noriko Ogawa (piano) Rec August 2000, Nybrokajen 11, Stockholm BIS CD1105 [73.28] [TB]

The unique sound-world of Debussy is delivered with the utmost conviction.

RUSSIAN ROMANCE Russian songs arranged for violin and orchestra by PETER BREINER Takako Nishizaki (violin), Queensland Symphony Orchestra / Peter Breiner] rec 1994, ABC Studios, Brisbane, Australia NAXOS 8.555331 [61.09] [CG]

Highly enjoyable arrangements for violin and orchestra of some familiar Russian favourites.

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Organ Masterpieces Ton Koopman, organ Rec: not specified (late 1980s) REGIS RRC 2042 [131.47] [KM]

This recording features a selection of some of Bach's best organ works, played on some of the best sounding organs available. An excellent set, well worth buying for the music, the performance, or the sound of the organs; or perhaps all three.

Hector BERLIOZ (1803-1869) Les Troyens (1856-8) Ben Heppner (tenor) - Enée  Michelle DeYoung (mezzo-soprano) - Dido Petra Lang (mezzo-soprano) - Cassandre Sara Mingardo (alto) - Anna Peter Mattei (baritone) - Chorèbe Stephen Milling (bass) - Narbal Kenneth Tarver (tenor) - Lopas London Symphony Chorus London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis (Recorded 3, 7, 8 & 9 December 2000, Barbican Centre, London) LSO Live LSO 0010 CD 4 CDs [62.23, 68.57, 56.25, 51.51], Super Budget Price

This recording, from live performances at the Barbican last December, is the finest opera CD I have heard this year.  An outstanding bargain, this is an unmissable set.

AMERICAN ANTHEM: from ragtime to art song Nathan Gunn (baritone), Kevin Murphy (pianoforte) Recorded in St. Michael's Church, Highgate, London, 1998 EMI CLASSICS Debut Series CDZ 5 73160 2 [CH]

The programme is an appealing one. If you don't know much about the American art song then start here.

Elisabeth Batiashvili : Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV1002 Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) Violin Sonata No. 1 in G, Opus 78 Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Rondo in B minor, D895 Elisabeth Batiashvili (violin) Milana Chernyavskaya (piano) Rec October 1999 and November 2000, Potton Hall, Suffolk EMI Classics Debut Series CDZ 5 74017 2 [64.10] [TB]

Elisabeth Batiashvili is a major talent with a huge future, as those who heard last year's Proms performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto may remember.

Katarina Karnéus sings Strauss, Mahler, Marx Katarina Karnéus (mezzo-soprano), Roger Vignoles (pianoforte) Recorded 7/1998 at St. Michael's Church, Highgate, London EMI CLASSICS CDZ 5 73168 2 [64.55][CH]

Katarina Karnéus has a very interesting voice, but here I feel there is still work to be done. What we hear is the sort of creamy, golden-toned "soprano" voice which we usually associate with Strauss.

BOOK REVIEWS

COMPANION TO MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE MUSIC Edited by Tess Knighton and David Fallows Oxford University Press, 1997 428 pages 0-19-816540-4 [KM]

This excellent collection of articles is something that lovers of early music will find themselves returning to often.

PAUL CRESTON - A Bio-Bibliography compiled by Monica J Slomski Published by Greenwood Publishing Group No.55 in the Bio-Bibliographies series [RB]

This is an extremely attractive volume and is THE companion for anyone setting out on the exciting pilgrimage through Creston's works.

Harry Halbreich 'Arthur Honegger' (translated by Roger Nichols) Amadeus Press, price: œ32.50 (hardback) ISBN 1-57467-041-7 [TB]

The true nature of Honegger's achievement comes over loud and clear in Halbreich's book.

ALMA ROSÉ: VIENNA TO AUSCHWITZ By Richard Newman with Karen Kirtley Amadeus Press. 400 pages. ISBN 1-57467-051-4 [TD]

A true story brilliantly told where music comes to mean the difference between life and death and where life is stranger and crueler than fiction could ever be.

Score Reading - A Key to the Music Experience By Michael Dickreiter (Translated by Reinhard G. Pauly) Amadeus Press; Paperback; 264 pages $19:95. ISBN 1-57467-056-5 [IL]

This is a very interesting and useful book - one that this reviewer will be continually dipping into.

 

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[Part 1 New]  [Part 2 A-B] [Part 3 C-L]
[Part 4 M-R]  [Part 5 S-Y] [Part 6 Misc]   

Classical Editor: Rob Barnett,  Reviewers: Rob Barnett, Ian Lace, Len Mullenger, and:  Richard Adams, Colin Anderson, Arthur Baker, Grace Barber, Terry Barfoot,  Peter Bates, Marc Bridle, Arthur Butterworth, Frank Cadenhead, Colin Clarke, Paul Conway, Jim Cooke, Gary Dalkin, Andy Daly, Tony Duggan, Harry Downey,  Christopher Fifield, Lewis Foreman, Simon Foster, John France, Julian Hellaby, Christopher Howell, Simon Jenner, Stephen Lloyd,   Kirk McElhearn, Gwyn Parry-Jones, John Phillips, John Quinn, Ailís Ní Ríain, Humphrey Smith, Philip Scowcroft, Adrian Smith, Colin Scott-Sutherland, Andrew Seivewright, Paul Serotsky, Christopher Thomas, Richard Walker, Richard Whitehouse, Jonathan Woolf, Peter Grahame Woolf, David Wright. A complete list of contributors can be seen here

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