MusicWeb reviewers select their
Recordings of the Year
Reviewers were allowed a totally free choice. They were not restricted
to discs they had reviewed.
PAGE 1 Page
2
Click on the covers to read the full reviews
| |
MUSICWEB
INTERNATIONAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR |
|
|
Dmitri
SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975) Kondrashin
conducts the Fifteen Symphonies No. 1 in F minor
(1925) No. 2 in B, To October (1927) No. 3 in E flat, The
First of May (1929) No. 4 in C minor (1935) No. 5 in D minor
(1937) No. 6 in B minor (1939) No. 7 in C, Leningrad (1941)
No. 8 in C minor (1943) No. 9 in E flat (1945) No. 10 in
E minor (1953) No. 11 in G minor, The Year 1905 (1957) No.
12 in D minor The Year 1917 (1961) No. 13 in B flat minor,
Babi Yar (1962) No. 14 (1969) No. 15 in A (1971)
Artur Eisen, bass (13); Evgenia Tselovalnik (sop) (14);
Evgeny Nesterenko, (bass) (14) Choirs of the Russian Republic/Alexander
Yourlov (2, 3, 13) Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra/Kirill
Kondrashin Rec. Moscow 19 July 1972 (1); 29 Nov 1972 (2);
12 Nov 1972 (3); 1962 (4); 27 Mar 1968 (5); 15 Sept 1967
(6); 7 Mar 1975 (7); 4 Nov 1967 (8); 20 Mar 1965 (9); 24
Sept 1973 (10); 9 July 1973 (11); 13 Dec 1972 (12); 23 Aug
1974 (13); 24 Nov 1974 (14); 27 May 1975 (15). ADD
AULOS CLASSICS AMC2 - 043 - 1-10 [10CDs: 68:59
+ 65:28 + 68:16 + 60:02 + 75:34 + 71:10 + 56:36 + 64:46
+ 53:54 + 54:06]
For
a complete single conductor-orchestra survey Kondrashin
and Aulos set the gold standard. The music and the performances
speak for themselves. These are exemplary recordings presented
in raging colours and with a compulsive tragic power. RB
|
| |
Len
Mullenger |
|
|
John
FOULDS (1880-1939)
Three
Mantras from Avatara (1.
Of Action and Vision ... of
Terrestrial Avataras; 2. Of
Bliss and Vision ... of Celestial
Avataras; 3. Of Will and
Vision ... of Cosmic Avataras)
Op. 61b (1930) [26:28] Lyra
Celtica - concerto for voice
and orchestra Op. 50 (1925) [16:11]
Apotheosis (Elegy)
- Music Poem No. 4 for violin
and orchestra Op. 18 (1907) [11:18]
Mirage - Music Poem No.
5 for orchestra Op. 20 (1910)
[23:49] Susan Bickley (mezzo)
Daniel Hope (violin) City of Birmingham
Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo
rec. Symphony Hall, Birmingham,
26-27 Feb 2004. DDD WARNER
CLASSICS 2564 61525-2 [78:13]
This
music produces an enormous G-force;
well that is how it feels. I attended
the concert performance from which
this recording was made and felt
as if I was being pushed back
and back, squashed down into my
seat by the towering climax of
the first Mantra; now released
in this sensational recording.
Do follow all the links appended
to this review. LM
|
| |
CLASSICAL EDITOR
Rob Barnett's CD of the YEAR |
|
|
BEECHAM conducts
SIBELIUS 2 and DVORÁK 8 BBC Legends
Jean
SIBELIUS (1865-1957)
Symphony No. 2 in D major Op. 43 (1902) [39:35] Antonín
DVORÁK (1841-1904)
Symphony No. 8 in G major Op. 88 (1898) [36:15]
BBC Symphony Orchestra
(Sibelius) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Dvorák)
Sir Thomas Beecham Rec. Royal Festival Hall, London, 8
Dec 1954 (Sibelius); 25 Oct 1959 (Dvorák).ADD MONO
20 Bit remastering from the original BBC tapes
BBC LEGENDS BBCL
4154-2
[77.09]
Sensational, thrilling, incandescent:
these words put you in touch with this live Beecham version
of Sibelius 2 and the Dvorák 8 races not far behind.
Music making of extraordinarily exciting intensity.RB
|
| |
Terry Barfoot |
| 
|
Ferruccio
BUSONI (1866-1924)Seven
Elegies (1907-8) [39.29] Perpetuum Mobile (1921) Seven Short
Pieces (1923) [20.46] Prelude and Etude in Arpeggios (1923)
[8.54]
Roland Pöntinen (piano)
Rec 15-18 October 2001, 17 January 2002, Bolshoi Hall, Kammermusikstudio
SWR Stuttgart
CPO 999 853-2
[72.56]
Roland Pöntinen’s
CPO recital begins with Busoni’s Elegies and is dominated
by them. And rightly so, for this is important music by
a master pianist-composer. Each of these pieces shares a
common agenda yet has its own distinctive personality. Pöntinen
knows and understands this. His playing is sensitive and
strong, and the CPO recording supports his attention to
detail with good, clear sound. The ongoing project of the
talented British pianist Paul Lewis (for Harmonia Mundi)
will offer a fierce rival, but Pöntinen remains very
satisfying, supported by excellent and thorough documentation.
TB
|
 |
Johannes
BRAHMS (1833-1897) Complete Lieder,
Volume 7 Romanzen und Lieder, Opus 84 (1877-81)
[9.48] Sechs Lieder, Opus 85 (1877-82) [12.27] Sechs Lieder,
Opus 86 (1877-79) [18.17] Fünf Lieder, Opus 94 (1883-84)
[12.23]
Juliane Banse (soprano) Iris
Vermillion (mezzo soprano) Andreas Schmidt (baritone) Helmut
Deutsch (piano) Rec March 1996(Opus 84-85), October 1997
(Opus 86), September 1999 (Opus 94); Kleiner Sendesaal,
Radio Berlin Brandenburg
CPO 999 447-2
[53.04]
These artists
clearly know and love the songs they perform. The recording
engineers have also captured them and their accompanist,
Helmut Deutsch, in an ambient and truthful perspective,
with results that are most compelling. The booklet, in its
typically thoughtful way, makes it clear exactly who does
what. In several of these settings the two women offer a
subtle yet compelling contrast of timbre, whereas in others
Banse’s soprano and Schmidt’s bass are strongly
contrasted. Contemporary
with the Fourth Symphony, Brahms’s Opus 98, the Opus
94 songs find Brahms at the height of his powers. Schmidt
is a master of this repertoire, affording due credit to
a composer whose achievement in this field is too often
overlooked.TB
|
| |
Rob Barnett |
|
|
Igor
STRAVINSKY (1882-1971) Fireworks - Fantasy
for Orchestra (1909) [3:57] The Firebird - complete ballet
(1910) [41:12] Tango (1940 rev 1953) [3:31] Scherzo à
la russe (1944) [3:50] The Song of the Nightingale - symphonic
poem (1917) [21:56] London
Symphony Orchestra/Antal Dorati Rec. Watford Town Hall 7
June 1959 (Firebird); 22, 24 June 1964 (Nightingale); 27
June 1964 (Fireworks; Scherzo); 7 July 1964 (Tango). ADD
SACD reviewed in CD mode
MERCURY LIVING PRESENCE
470 643-2
[76:47]
This
disc represents one of the last century’s greatest
recordings. If you have any affection for the Russian tradition
or for unbridled voluptuous orchestral extravagance sensationally
recorded then this must be on your shopping list. RB
|
|
|
Great
Songs of the Yiddish Stage - Volume 1 Milken Naxos
: Abraham ELLSTEIN
(1907-1963) and Other Songwriters of His Circle ELLSTEIN
Der Nayer Sher (1940) Simon Spiro, tenor ELLSTEIN
Oygn (1934) Elizabeth Shammash, mezzo-soprano ELLSTEIN
Ikh Vil Es Hern Nokh Amol (1946) Amy Goldstein, soprano
Simon Spiro, tenor ELLSTEIN Ikh Zing (1939)
Robert Bloch, tenor ELLSTEIN
Abi Gezunt (1939) Amy Goldstein, soprano ELLSTEIN
Zog Es Mir Nokh Amol* (1931) Bruce Adler, tenor Abraham
SCHWARTZ (1881-1963) Di Grine Kuzine (1921)
Joanne Borts, mezzo-soprano David
MEYEROWITZ (1867-1943) Vos Geven Iz Geven
Un Nito (1926) Simon Spiro, tenor ELLSTEIN
Oy Mame, Bin Ikh Farlibt (1936) Elizabeth
Shammash, mezzo-soprano Ilia
TRILLING (1895-1947) Zog, Zog, Zog Es Mir
(1942) Nell Snaidas, soprano YABLOKOFF
(1903-1981) Der Dishvasher (1936) Robert Abelson,
baritone TRILLING
Du Shaynst Vi Di Zun (1941) Nell Snaidas, soprano Robert
Bloch, tenor ELLSTEIN
Vos Iz Gevorn Fun Mayn Shtetele? Benzion Miller, tenor Mazl
(Ellstein) Elizabeth Shammash, mezzo-soprano Reuben
DOCTOR (c.1880-1940) Ikh Bin A "Boarder"
Bay Mayn Vayb (1922) Bruce Adler, tenor
ELLSTEIN Der Alter Tsigayner (1938) Simon
Spiro, tenor
Vienna Chamber Orchestra
*Barcelona Symphony/National Orchestra of Catalonia/Elli
Jaffe
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS
8.559405 [62:33]
Sheer
delight! Adherents of music theatre must hear this glorious
revival of music from a little known milieu. These songs
are saucy, smiling, swooning, sexy, sentimental and yes
schmaltzy. Stylistic streams flow freely ... interacting
with each other. Weimar decadence, Viennese operetta voices
of Lehár and Robert Stolz, Klezmer, folk song, Brahmsian
lullaby they collide, inter-breed and metamorphose. In Ikh
Zing (tr.4) which I have played at least fifteen times already
for sheer pleasure, Robert Bloch knows how to use that yearning
slightly nasal tone of voice so ringingly close to Dermota
and Wunderlich. A sure-fire recipe for goose-flesh and the
prickle of hairs on the back of the neck. RB
|
|
|
Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
The Poisoned Kiss (1936) An opera in three acts. Libretto
by Evelyn Sharp and Ralph Vaughan Williams Pamela Helen
Stephen, mezzo-soprano - Angelica Roderick Williams, baritone
- Gallanthus John Graham-Hall, tenor - Hob Richard Suart,
baritone - Gob Mark Richardson, bass - Lob Neal Davies,
baritone - Dipsacus James Gilchrist, tenor - Amaryllus Janice
Watson, soprano - Tormentilla Gail Pearson, soprano - First
Medium Helen Williams, soprano - Second Medium Emer McGilloway,
mezzo-soprano - Third Medium Anne Collins, contralto - Empress
Persicaria Chorus of Day and Night Voices, Hobgoblins, Witches
and Forest Creatures, Milliners and Messenger Boys, Flower
Girls, Lovers Adrian Partington Singers
BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Richard Hickox Rec. Brangwyn
Hall, Swansea, 3-6 January 2003 World premiere recording
CHANDOS CHAN 10120 [2CDs: 57:56+58:03 =
115:59]
The
Poisoned Kiss is, for all its occasional echoes elsewhere,
sui generis, as the lawyers say - one of a kind.
Representing a serenade for a summer’s night, it is
by no means perfect. While it creaks from time to time don’t
deny yourself this music of undemanding delight, witty repartee
and romantic enchantment. RB
|
|
SEEN AND HEARD EDITOR
Marc Bridle's CD OF THE YEAR |
 |
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Symphony No. 2 Resurrection
Eteri Gvazava, soprano, Anna
Larsson, contralto Orfeón Donostiarra
Lucerne Festival Orchestra/Claudio Abbado Claude
DEBUSSY (1862-1918) La mer Lucerne Festival
Orchestra/Claudio Abbado
Recorded live at the Lucerne Festival, Summer 2003
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON
00289 477 5082 [45’01 + 60’29]
I have
written about few CDs this year, but the one outstanding
disc I have reviewed is Claudio Abbado’s Lucerne pairing
of Debussy's La Mer and Mahler's Second Symphony. Some of
the responses to this disc have been unfathomable; questions
about the quality of the ensemble should not arise given
that any half-decent critic with a score in hand should
be able to discriminate in favour of the Lucerne Festival
Orchestra’s response, and their accuracy. Questions
about the sound of this recording are more subjective, and
are dependent on individual factors that will determine
one’s response to the performance. The more one hears
this symphony – and this disc neither projects this
argument more or less successfully – is that Mahler’s
Second remains the most difficult of this composer’s
scores to record. Abbado’s Mahler can go through peaks
and troughs, but there is no question in my mind that this
is his most successful recording of the symphony since a
live Vienna one from 1968. It is not the greatest Mahler
performance on disc this year (that falls to Riccardo Chailly’s
Concertgebouw Mahler 9) but it is the one that has proved
the most enduring to return to on repeated listening. The
Debussy is simply luminous. MB
|
| |
Colin Clarke |
|
|
Richard
WAGNER (1813-1883) Tristan und Isolde
Jon Vickers (tenor) Tristan; Birgit Nilsson (soprano) Isolde;
Ruth Hesse (mezzo) Brangaene; Bengt Rundgren (bass) Marke;
Walter Berry (baritone) Kurwenal; Stan Unruh (tenor) Melot;
Horst Laubenthal (tenor) Shepherd/Young Sailor; Paul Taillefer
(baritone) Steersman; New Philharmonia Chorus ORTF National
Orchestra/Karl Böhm. Théâtre Antique,
Orange, France, 7 July, 1973  PAL.
4:3. Region 0. Live
HARDY CLASSIC VIDEO HCD4009 (240’00
A magnificent
reading of one of Wagner’s greatest scores. The fact
remains that whatever the shortcomings of this DVD (strange
balances, jerky camera-work etc), this is an experience
to treasure. It should be in every Wagnerian’s collection.
CC
|
 |
Harrison
BIRTWISTLE (b. 1934) The Triumph of Timea
(1972) [29’38]. Ritual Fragmentb (1990) [1123]. Gawain’s
Journeya (1991) [24’37].
aPhilharmonia Orchestra, bLondon Sinfonietta/Elgar Howarth.
Rec. aBlackheath Concert Halls in January 1993, bRosslyn
Hill Chapel, Hampstead, on November 21st, 1991.
NMC
ANCORA NMC D088 [66’12]
This year
has brought a memorable Birtwistle Festival at the South
Bank. As a reminder of Birtwistle’s towering stature
in British music of now, NMC have reissued classic performances
of classic modernist scores. Urgently recommended.CC
|
 |
Cyril
SCOTT (1879-1970)
Symphony No. 3, ‘The Muses’a (1937) [34’45].
Piano Concerto No. 2b (1958) [20’16]. Neptune (1933,
rev. 1935) [24’22].
bHoward Shelley (piano);
aHuddersfield Choral Society BBC Philharmonic/Martyn Brabbins.
DDD
No rec. info. available.
CHANDOS CHAN10211
[79’32]
Chandos
have done Scott proud, with superb performances and a recording
of demonstration quality. The Third Symphony and Neptune
are première recordings; the Piano Concerto No. 2
appears for the first time on CD. This is an essential purchase.
CC
|
| |
Michael Cookson |
|
|
Antonio
VIVALDI (1678-1741) Vespers of Sorrow
Stabat Mater, RV621 Sonata al Santo Sepolcro, RV130 Nisi
Dominus, RV608
Magnificat, RV611 Salve Regina (Plainchant)
La Tempesta/Jakub Burzynski (counter-tenor) Rec.: 11, 14
Jan 2004, Evangelical Reformed Church, Warsaw, Poland. DDD
BIS BIS-CD-1426
[54:35]
My
principal record of the year is this captivating new Vivaldi
release from the enterprising BIS label that combines scores
which could have been used for an imagined Vespers on the
popular Catholic feast commemorating the Seven Sorrows of
the Blessed Virgin Mary – Our Lady of Sorrows. The
performance could have taken place on the fifteenth September
1727 at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice.
This remarkable
and atmospheric programme is sung and directed by the supremely
talented young Polish counter-tenor Jakub Burzynski who
performs all the solo parts that Vivaldi wrote for both
contralto and soprano voice. Burzynski gives a special and
suitably reverent performance, not always technically perfect,
yet so rich in passion and high in intensity. The Polish
based period instrument and vocal ensemble La Tempesta execute
exceedingly secure and strikingly expressive performances,
displaying excellent tone and textures throughout.
Vivaldi
has provided memorable, moving and inspired scores that
are wholly compelling and enchanting infused with a certain
spiritual mystery and awe. This BIS release is refreshingly
distinctive and gives superb entertainment!
MC
|
| 
|
Johannes
BRAHMS (1833-1897) Piano Quartet No. 1
in G minor op.25 (1861) Robert SCHUMANN (1810-56)
Fantasiestucke for piano, violin and cello op.88 (1842)
Martha Argerich (piano) Gidon
Kremer (violin) Yuri Bashmet (viola) Mischa Maisky (cello)
Recording: Teldec Studio, Berlin. February 2002
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON
DG 463 700-2 [58:17
The
atmosphere must have been electric when this glittering
collection of four celebrated star soloists, Martha Argerich,
Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet and Mischa Maisky came together
in February 2002 in Berlin to record the powerful Brahms
First Piano Quartet and Schumann’s underrated Fantasiestucke
op.88 .
It is frequently
stated that superstar solo performers do not always make
first-class chamber musicians. After listening to this recording
that assertion could not be further from the truth. This
account of the Brahms First Piano Quartet is truly the most
vital, inspired and exciting chamber performance that I
have ever experienced. An indispensable release, masterly
performed! MC
|
|
|
Ottorino
RESPIGHI (1879-1936) Ancient Dances and
Airs for Lute Suites Nos: 1, for orchestra (1917); 2, for
chamber orchestra (1924); 3, for strings (1932)
Philharmonia Hungarica/Antal
Dorati Recorded: Grosser Saal, Wiener Konzerthaus, 9-11
June 1958. ADD  Super
Audio CD 3 channel stereo
MERCURY LIVING PRESENCE
470 637-2 [54:32]
This
re-release of Respighi’s complete Ancient Dances and
Airs, for Lute from the Philharmonia Hungarica under the
great Antal Dorati on Mercury Living Presence SACD is one
of the most superb recordings that I have had the privilege
to hear. I cannot find fault with the CD which I would describe
as one of the very ‘great’ recordings of all
time.
These orchestrated
Ancient Dances and Airs for Lute are modern transcriptions
and adaptations of pieces for Lute from Italian and French
Renaissance and early Baroque composers. Respighi has created
an incredibly successful synthesis of contrasts of brilliant
orchestral colours, some sturdy, some delicately transparent
and all truly delightful.
The Philharmonia
Hungarica under their great Maestro Antal Dorati were both
in their prime at the time of this recording. Dorati directs
truly exhilarating accounts bringing out the invention and
imagination in Respighi’s brilliant scoring. Extraordinary
performances of outstanding virtuosity that conveying sheer
enjoyment. It is hard to believe that this recording is
forty-five years old as it sounds of demonstration standard
with the original three channel format sounding absolutely
marvellous. A remarkable
achievement. Magnificent! MC
|
|
Johannes
BRAHMS (1833-1897) String Quartet in C
minor Op. 51 No. 1 (c.1868-73) String Quintet in G major
Op. 111 (1890) Belcea
Quartet Thomas Kakuska (second viola on Op. 111) Recorded:
Potton Hall, Suffolk, UK (Op. 51/1, July 2003); (Op.111,
September 2003) DDD
EMI CLASSICS 5 57661
2 [62:19]
With these masterful performances
on this EMI Classics release the exciting English based
Belcea Quartet under the leadership of Corina Belcea go
from strength to strength and place themselves on an equal
footing to the finest ensembles in Europe.
In the String
Quartet in C minor Op. 51 No. 1 the talented Belceas play
with an enviable style and a natural warmth. The listener
is held in their spell from the start throughout the heart-searching
of the score’s solemnity and passion
The Belceas, augmented with Thomas Kakuska on second viola,
thoroughly enter into Brahms’ spirit of naturalness,
harmoniousness, and joy in the second String Quintet op.111.
The talented players succeed in expressing the work’s
reflective exuberance of youth combined with considerable
vigour and a excellent degree of optimism.
These are excellent accounts from the Belceas and the release
is eminently collectable.MC
|
 |
Felix
MENDELSSOHN (1809-47) String Quartets Vol.
2 String Quartet (No. 2) in A minor, Op. 13 (1827) [29:29]
String Quartet (No. 5) in E flat major, Op. 44 No. 3 (1838)
[33:49]
Henschel Quartet Recording:
November 13-15, 2003 Bavaria-Studio, Munich, Germany
ARTE NOVA
CLASSICS 82876 57744 2 [63:29]
Containing
three siblings the award winning Henschel Quartet are a
young German based ensemble who are successfully carving
out a considerable international reputation for themselves.
This wonderful release follows swiftly on the heels of their
critically acclaimed first volume of Mendelssohn’s
String Quartets Op. 13 and Op. 44 No.3. The Henschel Quartet
clearly have Mendelssohn’s music in their blood, playing
with accomplishment, passion and considerable control. In
short these are most stylish and delicious accounts.
The German
based Henschel Quartet go from strength to strength and
on this showing a magnificent career is assured. Available
on super budget label Arte Nova, I can confidently recommend
his superb release without reservation. MC
|
| |
Robert Farr |
| 
|
Giacomo
MEYERBEER (1791-1864) Margherita
D’Anjou. Melodramma Semiseria in Two Acts
Margherita D’Anjou,
(widow of Henry VI of England), Annick Massis, (sop); The
Duke of Laverenne, (Grand Senechal of Normandy), Bruce Ford,
(ten); Isaura, (Laverenne’s wife), Daniela Barcellona,
(mezzo); Carlo Belmonte, (A general banished by the Queen,
in the service of Glocester), Alastair Miles, (bass); Riccardo,
(Duke of Glocester), Paul Putins (bass); Michelle, (a French
physician), Favio Previati, (bass); Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
London Philharmonic Orchestra/David Parry Recorded at Henry
Wood Hall, London. October 2002
OPERA RARA. ORC25
[3CDs: 61.25+56.14+53.40]
New
recordings of opera are thin on the ground, with the big
international companies largely restricting their contracted
artists to hyped recitals. Notable among the exceptions
are issues from Opera Rara and Chandos, supported by the
Sir Peter Moores Foundation, and those from the Naxos stable.
The outstanding new opera recording from Opera Rara was
of Margherita D’Anjou (3 CDs. ORC 25), which is my
recording of the year. First performed at La Scala during
the composer’s years in Italy from 1817 to 1824, after
which he left for Paris, it is one of six operas he wrote
in that period all of which were successful at the time.
This well recorded issue based round house singers allows
opera lovers to hear what else was going on in Italy in
Rossini’s heyday.
RJF
|
| 
|
Giacomo
MEYERBEER (1791-1864)
Meyerbeer
in Italy Romilda e Constanza,
‘Che barbaro tormento’ Semiramide Riconoscuita,
‘Il piacer, la gioja scenda’ Emma di
Rseburgo, ‘Di gioja, di pace’ Margherita
D’Anjou, ‘Pensa, e guarda; Amico, all’erta’
L’Esule di Granata, ‘Sì,
mel credi’; ‘Iltrono avito’; ‘Trema
i tuoi complici’ Il Crociato in Egitto,
‘Queste destre l’acciaro di morte’; ‘Ah!
Non ti son più cara’; ‘Cara mano dell’amore’;
‘Sogni, e ridenti’
Geoffrey Mitchell Choir Philharmonia
Orchestra. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/David Parry
No recording venues or dates given
OPERA RARA ORR222
[68.06]
Opera Rara’s single
disc ‘Meyerbeer in Italy’ (ORR 222) has excerpts
from all the works the composer created and presented in
his years in Italy. It is the perfect complement to my record
of the year. It is also an enjoyable introduction to a composer
who is still undervalued and under represented on disc.
RJF
|
 |
Peter
Von WINTER
(1754-1825) Maometto.
Tragic Melodrama in Two Acts
Maometto, Sebastian Na (ten);
Zopiro (Sheriff of Mecca), Antonia de Gobbi (bass); Omar
(Maometto’s Lieutenant), Luca Salsi (bar); Fanor (Senator
of Mecca), Cesare Ruta (ten); Seide (Maometto’s Slave),
Gloria Montanari (m.sop); Palmira (Maometto’s Slave),
Maria Luigia Borsi (sop) Czech Philharmonic Choir. Czech
Chamber Soloists, Brno/Gabrielle Bellini Recorded live July
13th and 18th 2002 in Kurhaus Bad Wildbad, Germany, during
the ‘Rossini In Wildbad Festival’
MARCO POLO 8.225279-80
[2CDs: 72.26+64.32]
The Bad
Wildbad Festival has become known as the ‘Pesaro of
the North’, not only making a speciality of the operas
of Rossini but also of ‘Italian Operas’ written
by German composers of a similar vintage. In 2002 it featured
the great rarity Maometto by the German born Peter Von Winter
that had lain unperformed for 150 years. Scholars designate
his ‘Das unterbrochene Opferfest’ (1796) as
being the most successful German operatic work between Mozart’s
‘Die Zauberflöte, (1792) and Weber’s ‘Der
Freischütz’ (1821). However, the return of the
Italian provinces of Lombardy and the Veneto to Austrian
sovereignty in the spring of 1814 provided Von Winter, as
it did Meyerbeer and others, favourable opportunity in Milan
for composers of Austro-German origin. ‘Maometto’
was premiered at La Scala, then as now the premier opera
house in Italy, on January 28th 1817 and was such a success
as to run for 45 performances featuring some of the finest
singers of the day. RJF
|
 |
Modest
Mussorgsky (1839-1881) Boris
Godunov. Opera with Prologue and 4 Acts in
the version revised and orchestrated by Nicolay
Rimsky-Kosakov
Boris, Pimen, and Varlaam,
Boris Christoff (bass); Marina and Fyodor, Eugenia Zareska
(mez); Grigory, Nicolai Gedda (ten); Rangoni and Schelkelov,
Kim Borg (bass); Simpleton, Wassili Pasternack (ten); Shuysky,
Andrej Bielecki (ten); Xenia, Ludmilla Lebedeva (sop) French
National Radio Orchestra, Russian Chorus of Paris. Cond.
Issay Dobrowen Recorded 7th –21st July 1952 in the
Théâtre des Champs-Élysees, Paris Appendix.
Studio recordings of Fyodor Chaliapin as Boris Godunov.
Recorded Queens Small Hall, London May 1926 and Kingsway
Hall, London, June 1931
NAXOS HISTORICAL
8.110242-44 [3CDs; 64.35+68.12+71.39]
With many famous opera recordings
now out of copyright, the year has seen a cluster of re-issues
from Naxos and Regis as well as those companies owning the
original masters. Mark Obert-Thorn’s remasterings
for Naxos generally stand head and shoulders above all others,
often even those from the owning companies. Given the quality
of Mark Obert-Thorn’s work matched here by the magnificent
performance of Boris Christoff, taking three principal roles
with distinction and clear differentiation, and the conducting
of Issay Dobrowen puts this issue in pride of place. RJF
|
 |
Giacomo
PUCCINI (1858-1924) ‘PUCCINI
PASSION’. Cheryl Barker, (soprano)
Le Villi, ‘Se come voi piccini..’
Edgar, ‘Adio mia dolce’ Manon
Lescaut, ‘Il quelle trine morbide’
Manon Lescaut, ‘Sola, perduta, abbandonata’
La Boheme, ‘Si, mi chiamano Mimi’.
‘Quando me’n vo’. ‘Donde lieta usci’
Tosca, ‘Vissi d’arte’
Madama Butterfly, ‘Un bel di vedremo’.
‘Che tua madre dovrà’. ‘Con onor
muore’ La Rondine, ‘Chi il
bel sogno di Doretta’. ‘Ore dolci e divine’
Suor Angelica, ‘Senza Mamma’
Gianni Schicchi, ‘O mio babbino caro’
Turandot, ‘Signore, ascolta’.
‘Tu che di gel sei cinta’ E
l’uccellino, Sole e amore,
Orchestra Victoria. Cond
Richard Bonynge Recorded South Melbourne Town Hall, Australia
MELBA. MR-301085
[71.20]
The best single disc opera
recital to come my way this year features the Australian
lyrics soprano Cheryl Barker. She has a very individual
vibrant lyric soprano voice that conveys much emotion. There
is within the voice a beat that helps the passion in Tosca’s
‘Vissi d’arte’ and agony in Butterfly’s
‘Un bel di’ (tr. 9). Her tone, support of the
voice and vocal characterisation is a joy. She is also heard
to particularly good effect as Mimi and Sister Angelica.
RJF
|
 |
Ramon
VARGAS (tenor). ‘Between Friends’
Georges BIZET (1838-1870)
Les Pecheurs de perles, ‘Au fond du temple saint’
(Vassily Gerello, bar.) Gioachino
ROSSINI (1792-1868) Maometo II, ‘In
questi estremi instanti’ (Barbara Lavarian, sop. Vessilina
Kasarova, mez.) Il barbiere di Siviglia, ‘All’idea
di quell metallo’ (Manuel Lanza, bar.) Gaetano
DONIZETTI (1797-1868) L’Elisir d’amore,
‘Ardir! Ha forse il cielo mandato…Voglio dire,
lo stupendo elisir..Obbligato’ (Leo Nucci, bar.) Giuseppe
VERDI (1813-1901) Don Carlo, ‘E lui…Dio
che nell’alma infondere’ (Vassily Gerello, bar.)
Don Carlo, ‘È dessa!..ma lassù ci vidremo’
(finale scene; Miriam Gaucci, sop.) La forza del destino,
‘Solenne in quest’ora’ (Roberto Frontali,
bar) Giacomo PUCCINI
(1858-1924) La Boheme, ‘In un coupe..O Mimi,
tu piu non torni’ (Roberto Frontali, bar)
Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano
Giuseppe Verdi. Cond. Vjekoslav Sutej Recorded April 8th
to 15th 2003, in the Auditorium di Milano, Milan
RCA ‘Red Seal’
82876 54343 2 [56.08] Full Price
With the decline in recordings
of complete opera, the major companies sometimes come up
with an interesting repertoire for their contracted artists.
This collection of duets does that but with a little extra
imagination. It features Ramon Vargas with a number of different
singers in both popular and lesser-known works. Vargas is
making major strides in the international opera houses and
is extending his fach to take on heavier roles.
This disc provides an excellent opportunity to hear one
of the best of the current tenors in good vocal state singing
a wide variety of repertoire. It also enables us to hear
other international singers who in the recent past would
have featured on complete opera recordings.RJF
|
 |
Beniamino
GIGLI (tenor) 1890-1957 ‘The
Gigli Edition’. Volume 5. New York Recordings 1927-28
Georges BIZET (1838-1870)
Les Pecheurs de perles, Au fond du temple saint (with Giuseppe
De Luca, bar) Amilcare PONCHIELLI
(1834-1886) La Gioconda, Enzo Grimaldo, Principe
di Santifior (with Giuseppe De Luca, bar) Gaetano
DONIZETTI (1797-1868) Lucia di Lamermoor
Tombe degl’ avi miei Giusto cielo, rispondete (Ezio
Pinza, bass) Tu che Dio spiegasti l’ali (Ezio Pinza,
bass) Chi mi frena in tal momento? (Sextet; with Giuseppe
De Luca, bar. Ezio Pinza, bass. Amelita Galli- Curci, sop.
Loise Homer, cont. Angelo Barda, ten.) Giuseppe
VERDI (1813-1901) Rigoletto, Bella figlia
del’amore (Quartet; with Giuseppe De Luca, bar. Ezio
Pinza, bass. Amelita Galli- Curci, sop. Loise Homer, cont.)
La Traviata, De, miei bollenti spiriti Ambroise
THOMAS (1811-1896) Mignon, Adieu Mignon
Mignon, Ah, non credevi tu Giacomo
MEYERBEER (1791-1864) L’Africaine,
O paradiso Pietro MASCAGNI
(1863-1945) Cavalleria rusticana, Viva il vino
spumeggiante
Ernesto DE CURTIS (1875-1937)
Voce’e notte. Canta pe’ me! Recorded in Liederkrnz
Hall New York and 16 West 64th Street, New York (Manon),
November and December 1927; January, May and December 1928
Accompanied by the ‘Victor
Orchestra’, cond. Rosario Bourdon (trs. 1-3 and 14-19)
and Metropolitan Orchestra, cond Giulio Setti (trs. 4-13)
NAXOS HISTORICAL
8.110266 [79.06]
Recitals
of famous singers from the past appear regularly on a variety
of labels. The remasterings from Naxos are far superior
to others and come at bargain price too. With the conclusion
of their admired Caruso Edition the company has moved on
to other tenors, notably Beniamino Gigli. Of the seven volumes
issued to date, Vol. 5 is the most notable. It has fine
singing from the great tenor himself, notably in the extended
extracts from Lucia, as well as that from his equally great
contemporaries in the quartet from Rigoletto and the sextet
from Lucia.RJF
|
 |
Ruggero
LEONCAVALLO (1858-1919) Pagliacci.
Opera in Two Acts. Plus appendix, Florence Quartararo Memorial
Canio, Ramon Vinay (ten);
Nedda, Florence Quartararo (sop); Tonio, Leonard Warren
(bar); Silvio, Hugh Thompson (bar); Beppe, Lesley Chabay
(ten) Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera New
York. Conducted by Giuseppe Antonicelli Live broadcast performance.
February 28th 1948
Plus appendix of Florence
Quartararo in excerpts recorded 1945-1950
George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759)
Atlanta, Care Selve Umberto
GIORDANO (1867-1948) Andrea Chenier, La
mamma morta Giuseppe VERDI
(1813-1901) Il Trovatore, Tacea la notte placida
Otello, Act 1 duet (abridged) with Joseph Laderout (ten)
Giacomo PUCCINI (1858-1924)
Tosca, Perche chiuso with Ramon Vinay Tosca, ‘Vissi
d’arte’ Landon
RONALD (1873-1938) Cycle of Life, Love I
have won you Georges BIZET
(1838-1870) Carmen, Parle-moi de ma mere. With
Ramon Vinay Pietro MASCAGNI
(1863-1945) Cavalleria
rusticana, Voi la sapete Madama Butterfly, Un bel di vedremo
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART
(1756-1791) Le nozze di Figaro, Dove sono Don Giovanni,
Taci inguisto core. With Ezio Pinza (bass), Salvatore Baccaloni
(bass) Jules MASSENET (1842-1912) Thais, Mirror Song
Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828).
Ave Maria
GUILD HISTORICAL.
Immortal Performances Series. GHCD 2291-92 [2CDs:
72.08+79.10]
My singer
discovery of the year is the American soprano of Italian
parentage Florence Quartararo. She sings a vibrantly full
toned and characterised Nedda in Pagliacci in Guilds two-disc
set. The second disc is devoted to Quartararo’s four
commercial 78s and private recordings from broadcast performances.
She is a must hear for all lovers of great operatic singing.
These well-reproduced tracks from the 78s include a beautifully
coloured and expressive Car Selve from Handel’s Atlanta
and a notable Tacea la notte from Il Trovatore. This is
lyric soprano singing of the very highest order. The voice
soars with clarity whilst words, expression, legato and
colouration combine to give superb characterisation. Florence
Quartararo was invited by Toscanini to sing Desdemona in
his broadcast Otello. Many critics believe the recording
from that broadcast to be one of the all time greats. Unfortunately
for opera lovers, the Met management refused to release
Quartararo for the detailed rehearsals that Toscanini demanded
and the great maestro turned to his favourite Herva Nelli
for the role. I believe that if Quartararo had sung the
Desdemona on that recording she would not have been allowed
to leave the stage forever when she did, after a mere four
years at the Met, and the history of recorded opera on LP
would have been very different than that which we inherit
now on CD. On the evidence of the recordings on this second
CD of the Guild issue Quartararo’s is a voice to set
alongside the all time greats of the 20th century. RJF
|
 |
JACQUES
OFFENBACH (1819-1880) La Périchole.
Opéra bouffe in 3 acts. Highlights La
Périchole, Régine Crespin (sop); Piquillo,
Alain Vanzo (ten); Don Andrès de Ribiera, Jules Bastin
(b. bar); guadelena, Rebecca Roberts, (sop); Berginella,
Eva Sourova, (sop); Mastrilla, geneviève Baudoz 9mez)
Chorus of l’Opera du Rhin. Orchestre Philharmonique
de Strasbourg. Cond. Alain Lombard Recorded in the Palais
des Fêtes, Strasbourg. February 1976
WARNER ‘APEX’
2564 61500-2 [66.57]
Whilst we might criticise
the majors for the lack of new opera recordings they themselves
recognise that they are sitting on a gold mine of often
superb performances and they seek to get a further economic
return on these. There are few better performances of Offenbach’s
frothy works than the highlights on this disc that contains
all of the best bits, most of the rest being dispensable
spoken dialogue. At bargain price, and with excellent singing
and characterisation from Régine Crespin in particular,
the disc provides an excellent opportunity for all those
who do not know the oeuvre to remedy that deficiency.RJF
|
| |
Göran Forsling |
 |
Leontyne
PRICE Giuseppe VERDI
(1813-1901) Aida (1871) – Ritorna vincitor!
[6’55]; Qui Radamès verrà [1’32];
O patria mia [5’14]. Il trovatore (1853) – Che
più t’arrestib? [2’28]; Tacea la notteb
[4’31]; Di tale amor che dirsib [1’25]; Timor
di me? … D’amor sull’ali rosee [5’19]c.
Giacomo PUCCINI (1858-1924)
Madama Butterfly (1904) – Un bel dì
vedremo; Tu? Tu? piccolo Iddio! (Morte di Butterfly) [2’50].
La rondine (1917) – Chi il bel sogno di Dorettae [2’48].
Tosca (1900) – Vissi d’artee [3’15]. Turandotf
(1926) – Signore, ascolta! [2’33]; Tu che di
gel sei cinta [2’34].
Leontyne Price, bLaura Londi
(sopranos) Rome Opera Orchestra/adefOliviero de Fabritiis,
bcArturo Basile. Rec. June a27th, d29th, ef28th, f29th,
1960, bcJuly 15th & 22nd, 1959. ADD RCA
RED SEAL LIVING STEREO SACD 82876 61395 2
[46’18]
This was Miss Price's debut
recital and I hadn't heard it for many years. Anyway, memories
of excerpts from this disc back in the 60s proved to be
just as valid today. This belongs to the most glorious soprano
singing ever committed to disc. GF
|
 |
Nostalgica
Juan MARTÍN (b. 1943):
Rumba Nostálgica; Astor
PIAZZOLLA (1921 – 1992): Romance del
Diablo; Roland DYENS
(b. 1955): Tango en Skai; Béla
BARTÓK (1881 – 1945): Romanian
Folk Dances; Bill WHELAN
(b. 1950): Riverdance (from RiverdanceThe Show);
CELTIC TRADITIONAL:
She Moved Through the Fair; Bill
WHELAN: American Wake (from Riverdance The
Show); CELTIC TRADITIONAL:
The Salley Gardens; Nigel WESTLAKE (b. 1958): Six Fish;
DEEP PURPLE:
Highway Star.
Saffire – The Australian
Guitar Quartet (Antony Field, Slava Grigoryan, Karin Schaupp,
Gareth Koch). Recorded 4–16 June 2004, Jumpstart Studios,
Brisbane, Australia.
ABC CLASSICS 476 261-1 [54:39]
I don't thing I have ever
been so enthusiastic about a record that could traditionally
be labelled "cross-over" but in my vocabulary
is "borderless" music. Four marvellous guitarists
playing music from Bartok to Deep Purple.GF
|
 |
A
Night At The Opera: The Next Generation VERDI:
Rigoletto: Un di, se ben rammentomi ... Bella figlia dell’amore
(IT, KJ, MP, MK); MOZART:
La Clemenza Di Tito: Parto, parto (KJ); GOUNOD: Faust: Quel
trouble inconnu ... Salut! Demeure chaste et pure (MP);
Alerte, alerte! (IT, MP, VR); PUCCINI:
La Bohème: Vecchia zimarra (VR); MOZART:
Don Giovanni: Là ci darem la mano (KJ, MK); VERDI:
Don Carlo: Son io, mio Carlo (MK); O Carlo, ascolta (MK);
OFFENBACH:
Les Contes d’Hoffmann: Barcarolle (IT, KJ); HANDEL:
Orlando: Sorge infausta una procella (VR);
PURCELL: The Tempest: Arise, arise, ye subterranean
winds (VR); VERDI:
Il Trovatore: Vanne ... D’amor sull’ ali rosee
(IT); BIZET:
Les Pêcheurs de Perles: Au fond du temple saint (MP,
MK); STRAUSS:
Ariadne Auf Naxos: Seien wir wieder gut! (KJ); PUCCINI:
Gianni Schicchi: avete torto! (MP); BELLINI:
I Puritani: Suoni la tromba (MK, VR)
Indra Thomas, soprano (IT), Kristine Jepson, mezzo-soprano
(KJ), Matthew Polenzani, tonor (MP), Mariusz Kwiecien, baritone
(MK), Valerian Ruminski, bass (VR) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Charles
Rosenkrans Recorded August 2001 at Walthamstow Assembly
Hall, London
NAXOS 8.557309
[70:59]
A nice concept:
Five young singers in a mixed programme of arias and ensembles
– a good alternative to the normal solorecital. Especially
the tenor; Matthew Polenzani, and the bass, Valerian Ruminski,
are certainly names to watch and the mezzo, Kristine Jepson,
is not far behind. The other two are more ordinary but as
a whole it is a finedisc – and cheap too.GF
|
| |
Gary
Higginson |
|
|
Hildegard
of BINGEN (1098-1179)
Sapphire Night: O Frondens
Virga; Karitas Habundat; O Euchari,
Columba; In Matutinis Laudibus;
Columba Aspexit. Anonymous 'O Gloriosa'
Patricia
VAN NESS (b.1951) ‘The
Nine orders of the Angels' Tapestry/Laurie
Monahan (soprano and harp) 
Carolann Buff, (mezzo-soprano)
Recorded at Mandelslah, May 2003.
DDD
MUSIK DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM
344 1193-2 [76.43] [GH]
Sapphire
Night successfully combines Hildegard’s
mesmerizing and ecstatic melodies
with Patricia van Ness’ ‘Nine
orders of Angels’ fro unaccompanied
female voices which has been inspired
by Hildegard’s vocal lines.
|
|
|
Robin
MILFORD (1903-1959) Fishing
by Moonlight (1952) [6.33] Miniature
Concerto in G (1933) [9.09] Elegiac
Meditation (1946-7?) [8.23] Two
Orchestral Interludes (1930) [3.49]
Go, Little book –Suite (1930)
[14.55] Elegy for James Scott, Duke
of Monmouth and Buccleuch (1939)
[7.06] Interlude for flute and strings
(1944) [5.10] Festival Suite (1950)
[14.27] Guildhall Strings, Robert
Slater (director), Julian Sperry
(flute), Julian Milford (piano),
Carys Lane (soprano) Recorded in
Christ’s Hospital, Horsham,
Sussex on 26-28 May 2003 DDD HYPERION
CDA 67444 [69.48]
Robin
Milford’s music is quintessentially
English, subtle, understated and
melancholic.
|
|
|
Temple
of Chastity - CODEX LAS HUELGAS
- Music from 13th Century Spain
Virgenes egregie; Salve sancta parens;
Surrexit de tumulo; Rosa das Rosas;
Castitatis thalamum; Benedicamus
benigno voto; Catolicorum concio;
Alpha bovi et leoni; Veni, redemptor
gencium; Audi Pontus, audi tellus
followed by improvisation; Salve
regina glorie; Gaude, virgo plena
Deo; Vella e mininna; Confessorum
agonia; Ex illustri nata prosapia;
Parit preter morem; Castrum pudicie/Virgo
viget melius; Como poden per sas
culpas; O Maria, virgo regia/Organica
cantica; Maria, virgo virginum Mille
Fleurs Recorded at the church St.
Silas the Martyr, Kentish Town,
September 2002. DDD SIGNUM CD 043
[59.38] [GH]
Temple
of Chastity is a disc of medieval
Spanish music from the ‘Codex
de les Huelgas in Spain dating from
the 12th Century. Female voices
of delicate beauty and music of
spiritual atmosphere.
|
| |
Robert Hugill |
|
ASCENSION
James MACMILLAN (b.1959)
Tremunt videntes angeli Kenneth
LEIGHTON (1929 - 1988)
Preces and Responses (1964) Percy
Carter BUCK (1871 - 1947) Eternal Monarch,
King Most high Plainchant Psalm XLVII Plainchant Psalm CVII
Richard ALLAIN (b.1965)
Magnificat from the Exon service Richard
ALLAIN (b.1965) Nunc Dimittis from the Exon
service Patrick GOWERS
(b.1936) Viri Galilaei Robert
WILLIAMS (1782 - 1818) Hail the Day that
Sees him Rise Olivier MESSIAEN
(1908 - 1992) L’Ascenscion
(a) Choir of St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh
Susan Hamilton (soprano) Revd Philip Blackledge (cantor)
Simon Nieminski (organ) Matthew Owens (solo organ) (a) Matthew
Owens (director) Recorded February and June 2003, St. Mary’s
Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh
DELPHIAN RECORDS
DCD 34017 [76.27]
A tremendous
recital, from the opening notes of MacMillan's haunting
'Tremunt videntes angeli' it showcases the talents of the
choir of St. Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh and a range of
fine contemporary Scots composers, as well as providing
a satisfying solution to the problem of
constructing this sort of recital record. RH
|
|
Jonathan
Dove (1959 –) – Flight
Refugee – Christopher
Robson (counter tenor) Controller – Claron McFadden
(soprano) Bill – Richard Coxon (tenor) Tina –
Mary Plazas (soprano) Older Woman – Nuala Willis (mezzo-soprano)
Stewardess – Ann Taylor (mezzo-soprano) Steward –
Gary Magee (baritone) Minskman – Steven Page (bass-baritone)
Minskwoman – Anne Mason (mezzo-soprano)
Immigration Officer – Richard Van Allan (bass-baritone)
Glyndebourne Festival Opera London Philharmonic Orchestra
David Parry (conductor) Recorded Glyndebourne September
1999
Chandos CHAN10197(2)
2 CD’s [64.55, 64.17]
A lovely
performance of a fine, attractive opera. It is heartening
to see that, for once, a contemporary composer has managed
to create something contemporary without being embarrassed
by the past. Dove’s musical language is expressive,
romantic even, though it is not cutting edge modernism nor
does it use romantic gesture for irony. The opera is not
a soul searching masterpiece, but it is fluent and entertaining;
surely what De Angelis and Dove intended. RH
|
 |
Gioacchino
ROSSINI (1685 - 1757) Overtures:
L’Italiana in Algeri, Der verlorene Akkord, La Gazza
Ladra, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, L’inganno felice,
La Scala di Seta, Otello, Tancredi, La Cenerentola arranged
by Vaclav SEDLAK (1776
- 1851) and Guillaume
LEGRAND (1770 - 1845)
Consortium Classicum Rec. 2003.
MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM MDG 301 0393-2
[67.43]
Charming
early 19th century arrangements for Wind band of Rossini
overtures in infectiously joyous performances - something
to just sit back and enjoy. RH
|
| |
Bill Kenny |
 |
Poul
ROVSING OLSEN (1922-1982) Belisa
– An Opera in Four Scenes Text by Federico
Garcia Lorca - Sung in Danish.
Belisa: Eir Inderhaug (sop)
Don Perlimplin: Sten Byriel (bass) Marcolfa:
Marianne Rørholm (mezzo) The Mother: Anne Margrethe
Dahl (sop) Household Spirit 1: Lise-Lotte Nielsen (sop)
Household Spirit 2: Elisabeth Halling (sop) Vocal Group
Ars Nova, Odense Symphony Orchestra / Tamás Vetö
Bo Lundbye Jaeger, electronics. DDD. Recorded at Odense
Concert Hall May 1st -3rd, May 6th -7th and June 10th and
in the Danish Radio Concert Hall on October 29th 2002. Recorded
in cooperation with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation.
DACAPO 8.226013
[72:00]
Anyone interested
in unusual opera or Scandinavian music should rush out to
buy this recording. It was a Disc of the Month for me and
now ranks as my Discovery of the Year. Part of Da Capo's
remarkable archive of Danish music, it is full of accessible,
attractive and often extremely beautiful music. A genuine
find. BK
|
 |
The
Russian Seasons Leonid
DESYATNIKOV (b.1955) The Russian
Seasons for violin solo, soprano solo and string orchestra
and dedicated to Alicia Urwiller. Spring: Dominical, Lullaby,
Song for St, Georges’s Day * Summer: Lament with Cuckoo,
Song for Whitsuntide,* Fertilising Song Autumn: Song for
Ember Days *, Autumn Song, Nuptial Song Winter: Song for
Christmastide, Song for Shrovetide, Closing Song * Alexander
RASKATOV (b.1953) The Seasons Digest,
after ‘The Seasons’ op.37a by P.
I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
for solo violin, strings, percussion and prepared piano.
+ January: At the Fireside February: Carnival March: Song
of the Lark April: Snowdrop May: Starlight Nights June:
Barcarole July: Song of the Reaper August: The Harvest September:
The Hunt October: Autumn Song November: Troika Ride December:
Christmas
Julia Korpacheva, soprano
* Andrey Pushkarev, percussion +, Reinut Tepp, piano +,
Kremerata Baltica/Gidon Kremer, solo violin and director.
Recorded in December 2001 at Studio Nalepastrasse, Berlin.
NONESUCH 7559-79803-2
[51.26]
Two explorations
of 'Russian-ness' and of the mystical connections of time,
with both of which Gidon Kremer declares himself to be pre-occupied.
All of the music is intriguing and engaging and it is all
played beautifully by Kremerata Baltica. Another discovery
of compelling interest. BK
|
 |
Benjamin
BRITTEN (1913 -1976) Billy Budd
Captain Vere: Philip Langridge
Billy Budd: Thomas Allen John Claggart: Richard van Allan
Mr. Redburn: Neil Howlett Mr. Flint: Phillip Guy- Bromley
Mr.Ratcliffe: Clive Bayley Red Whiskers: Edward Byles Donald:
Mark Richardson Dansker: John Connell Novice: Barry Banks
Squeak: Howard Milner Novice’s Friend: Christopher
Booth – Jones Bosun: Malcolm Rivers First Mate: Anthony
Cunningham Second Mate: Christopher Ross Arthur Jones /
Maintop:Richard Reaville Cabin Boy: Oscar Ces English National
Opera Orchestra / David Atherton,English National Opera
Chorus / Martin Handley, David Drummond Designers: Tom Cairns/
AnthonyMcDonald Lighting: David Cunningham Stage Direction:
Tim Albery, DVD Direction: Barrie Gavin, BBC / RM Arts Co-production
1988. Recording details are not given.
ARTHAUS MUSIK 100
2787 (1
disc) [155 minutes]
Tim Albury's
production of Britten's 1961 two-act revision of his opera
based on Herman Melville's story Billy Budd, Foretopman.
Splendidly sung and carefully conducted by David Atherton,
this DVD of a live performance from 1981 is technically
excellent with good sound and decent programme notes. Well
worth having for those who like DVD versions of opera. BK
|
|
Ian Lace |
| |
Gustaf
BENGTSSON (1886-1965) Violin Concerto in
B minor (1941) * Cello Concerto in A minor (1932) †
*
Tobias Ringborg (violin) † Mats Rondin (cello) Malmö
Opera Orchestra/Mats Rondin*; Tobias Ringborg † Recorded
at the Palladium, Malmö, June 2004
STERLING CDS-1063-2 (59:42)
First
of all I would like to pay tribute to Bo Hyttner’s
enterprising Sterling record company. Sterling has consistently
unearthed and premiered so much interesting Late Romantic
material from all over Europe is. This year, I have particularly
enjoyed the two new Sterling releases.
What
delightful concertos these are, so wonderfully melodic.
Bengtsson’s Violin Concerto is unmistakeably Nordic
in character and it has some quite ravishingly beautiful
melodies, reminiscent of Max Bruch in their romantic intensity.
Grieg’s influence is discernible. The finale has plenty
of colour and fireworks. The Cello Concerto mixes eeriness
and drama with haunting, heart-on-sleeve melody and a vivacious
finale. Why
have these lovely melodic concertos been so ignored? Every
soloist should be considering them. IL
|
| |
Miloslaw
KOENNEMANN (1826-1890) Der Fremersberg (1853)
Jacques OFFENBACH (1819-1880)
Overture: La Princesse de Trébizonde (1869)
Konradin KREUTZER (1780-1849)
Overture: Das Nachtlager von Granada (1834) Jean-Baptiste
ARBAN (1825-1889) Fantasie und Variationen
über den ‘Karneval in Venedig’ *
Johann STRAUSS II (1825-1889)
Ballsträusschen (1878) Lob der Frauen (1866/7) Charles
GOUNOD (1818-1893) La Colombe (Entr’acte
aus der Oper) (1860)
*Matthias Höfs (trumpet) Baden-Badener Philharmonie
conducted by Werner Stiefel (Recorded in Weinbrennersaal
des Kurhauses, Baden-Baden in June 1994, April 1995 and
April 2003)
STERLING CDS-1062-2 (55:50)
A delightful collection this, nothing
serious, nothing profound, just fun.All the works are associated
with the celebrated German spa town, known as the ‘summer
capital of Europe’ that attracted the rich and the
famous seeking rest and cures throughout the 19th century.
The main work is Koennemann’s Der Fremersberg, a musical
tribute to a mountain in the vicinity of the Spa. Listening
to it today one might be forgiven for thinking it was film
music, it is so graphic: hunting scenes, a rustic folk song
and dance episode and one of the most violent storms in
all music with all sorts of effects, bass drum rolls growing
evermore furious, rattles, firecrackers, a wind machine
etc. – it is as if Ferde Grofe has been let loose
in Baden-Baden - a hell of a storm and fantastic fun.
Another highlight is Arban’s
‘Carnival in Venice’ fantasy and variations.
Matthias Höfs on the cornet à pistons shows
incredible virtuosity, speed and clarity, in his playing
of this well-known tune. One can imagine audiences going
wild and demanding repeats again and again.The other pieces
by Offenbach, Johan Strauss II, Konrad Kreutzer and Gounod,
are all delightful, and enthusiastically played. This
is a fun collection that sparkles. IL
|
|
Il
Gattopardo (The Leopard)
1963 French/Italian film. Music by Nino
ROTA (1911-1979)
Directed by Luchino Visconti
Starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale
(Digital restoration of complete film from original 70mm
negative materials overseen by the film's director of photography,
Giuseppe Rotunno, and presented in its original wide screen
aspect ratio) Italian language with English subtitles Running
time: 178 mins plus extra material
BFI (British Film
Institute)
BFIVD595
I make no
bones about it, this is one of my favourite films and it
has one of my favourite film scores. The rousing emotionall-laden
music was lifted practically bar-by-bar from Rota’s
Symphony on a Love Song (recently recorded by Chandos) It
can be argued that the sound quality of the music is not
as good as one might have wished and some have said that
certain scenes have been shortened or omitted but the colours
have been beautifully restored but at last this wonderful
film is now available on DVD. IL
|
|
LIONEL
MONCKTON (1861-1923) La Cingalee (1904)
New Year; Salaam; Pearl of Sweet Ceylon; Tea, Tea, Tea;
My Cimmon Tree;
In the Island of Gay Ceylon; Cingalee; White and Brown Girl;
True Love; When this Girl was a Wee Girl; Monkeys; Sloe
Eyes; You and I; The Dance I'll Lead Him; Bear Away the
Bride The Arcadians (1909) Plant your Posies;
My Mutter; Fickle Fortune; Pipes of Pan; Sweet Simplicitas;
Arcady is ever Young; I Love London; We want to be Arcadians;
Joy of Life; Come to Arcady; Back your Fancy; Half Past
Two; Piccadilly; Girl with A Brogue; Charming Weather; Truth
is So; Beautiful; To All and Each; Arcady is ever Young
Quaker Girl (1910) In this Abode of Madame
la Mode; A Quaker Girl; A Dancing Lesson; While our worthy
Village Neighbours; Barbizon; Tip Toe; Tony from America;
0, Time, Time! Mr. Jeremiah, Esquire!; Couleur de Rose;
Little Gray Bonnet; Come to the Ball
Pirjo Levandi (sop), Jeanne
Servchenco (sop), Mariliina von Uexküll (sop), Julie
Lill (cont), Oliver Kuusik (ten), Annika Tonuri (mezzo sop),
Mart Sander (bar) Chorus and Bel Etage orchestra/Mart Sander
Recorded at the State Philharmonic Society's Concert Hall,
Tallinn, Estonia; Spring 2002 and Autumn 2003
DIVINE ART 2-4110
[69:08]
Ah! How
this album brings back childhood memories in the 1940s when
my generation’s parents and grandparents requested
such delights on BBC Radio’s Family Favourites. The
charms of these three Edwardian operettas, or musicals,
are enthusiastically and sensitively communicated, with
no condescending archness, by the Estonians whose diction,
barring one or two oddities of pronunciation, is very good.
How nice to hear the ‘Pipes of Pan’, ‘Arcady
is Ever Young’, and ‘Charming Weather’
from The Arcadians, and ‘Come to the Ball’
from The Quaker Girl again after all these years.
I will confess that I had never heard the equally beguiling,
rollicking music for The Cingalee. IL
|
 |
Sergei
RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Piano Concerto
no.1 in F sharp minor op.1 [26 :02], Piano Concerto no.2
in C minor op.18 [32 :26], Piano Concerto no.3 in D minor
op.30 [38 :23], Piano Concerto no.4 in G minor op.40 [24
:35], Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini op.43 [23 :44]
Stephen Hough (piano) Dallas
Symphony Orchestra/Andrew Litton Rhapsody recorded 29th
June 2003 and the Concertos recorded live during April and
May 2004 at the Eugene McDermott Concert Hall, Morton H.
Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas
HYPERION CDA67501/2
[74:41 + 70:54]
My recording of the year
I leave until last. These live performances (except for
the studio-recorded Paganini Variations) impress strongly.
The ear is arrested immediately by the portamenti string
slides in the opening movement of Rachmaninov’s First
Piano Concerto indicating that these performances are to
be as close as possible to those originally intended by
the composer. Litton’s orchestra is excellent: listen
to the Dallas players in the lovely Andante of the First
Piano Concerto, sheer poetry; and how much detail they reveal
in the Allegro Vivace of the Fourth Concerto. Hough’s
technique is superb, his eloquent readings thoughtful, deeply
probing, phrasing sensitive and subtle. Tempi are often
very fast yet Hough is always in control every chord a model
of clarity. It is good, too, that note has been taken of
Rachmaninov’s Vivacissimo markings for the ‘big
tune’ at the end of the Third Concerto. A set to cherish,
and for me, Hough’s recording of the Fourth Concerto
can be set beside Michelangeli’s classic recording.
IL
|
|
Em Marshall |
|
London Pride – A
Celebration of London in Song Lionel
MONCKTON Chalk
Farm to Camberwell Green [3'07]
Madeleine DRING (John
Betjeman) Business Girls [2'12] Sandy
WILSON A Room in Bloomsbury [3'03] George
GERSHWIN (Ira Gershwin) A foggy day in London
town [4'12] William WALTON (Anon)
Rhyme [2'00] David Owen NORRIS
Big Ben Blues [3'42] Ewan MACCOLL
Sweet Thames, flow softly [3'18]
BOYCE/arr. FRANKLIN
(Lockman) The
Pleasures of Spring Gardens, Vauxhall [3'38]Jonathan
DOVE Five
Am’rous Sighs [8'04] (Mary Montagu) Between your sheets
you soundly sleep [2'50]; (Mary Montagu) Finish! Finish,
these Languors make me sick [1'02]; (Matthew Prior) My heart
still hovering round about you [1'20]; (Mary Montagu) All
these dismal looks and fretting [1'41]; (Matthew Prior)
Venus, take my votive glass [1'21]) Kit and the Widow Wimbledon
Idyll [4'25] Harold
FRASER-SIMSON (A.A.
Milne) They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace
[2'17] Michael
CARR/Billy MAYERL (Jimmy
Kennedy) Mayfair merry-go-round [3'01] Harry
DACRE While
London’s fast asleep [4'56] Richard
Rodney BENNETT Let’s go and live in the
country [2'30] Manning SHERWIN
(Eric Maschwitz) A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
[5'50] Bennett
SCOTT (A.J.
Mills) Take me in a Taxi, Joe [3'43]
Donald SWANN (Joyce Grenfell) Joyful
Noise [6'07] Noel
COWARD London Pride [5'31]
Catherine Bott (soprano) David Owen Norris
(piano) Recorded live at the Savage Club, London, 23rd and
26th May 2003. DDD
HYPERION CDA67457 [71.58]
A delightful compilation of very different songs performed
superlatively by Catherine Bott and David Owen Norris. These
will make you laugh and cry – and the musicianship
is unrivalled! EM
|
 |
Arnold
BAX (1883-1953) Youth (Clifford Bax) [3.32]
Parting (George Russell) [5.17] The Fairies (William Allingham)
[5.31] Lullaby (‘Sheila MacCarthy’ i.e. Arnold
Bax)[4.07] A Milking Sian (Fiona Macleod) [4.12] Song in
the Twilight (Freda Bax) [5.16] The Enchanted Fiddle (‘Anon’
i.e. Arnold Bax) [2.16] Far in a Western Brookland (A.E.
Housman) [4.15] To Eire (James H Cousins) [3.37]
A Celtic Song Cycle (Fiona Macleod): Eilidh my Fawn [3.42];
Closing Doors [6.03]; The Dark Eyes to Mine [2.35]; A Celtic
Lullaby [7.04]; At the Last [3.44]. The White Peace (Fiona
Macleod) [2.26] When we are lost (‘Dermot O’Brien’
i.e. Arnold Bax) [5.44] When I was one and twenty (A.E.
Housman) [3.06] Roundel (Chaucer) [3.15] The Market Girl
(Thomas Hardy) [1.58]
Ian Partridge (tenor), Jean Rigby (mezzo), Michael Dussek
(piano) Recorded St George’s, Brandon Hill, London,
21-23 July 2003
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX 7136 [77.57]
Singing at its best with
Partridge’s gorgeous tenor and Rigby’s sensitive
mezzo in a selection of charming songs from an important
English composer.EM
|
 |
Benjamin
BRITTEN (1913-1976) The foggy, foggy dew
[2.32] Sally in our alley [4.10] Tom Bowling [4.28] A brisk
young widow [2.01]
O Waly Waly [3.32] Sweet Polly Oliver [2.28] Early one morning
[2.57] The bonny Earl o’Moray [2.29] The ash grove
[2.45] Come you not from Newcastle [1.13] Le roi s’en
va-t’en chasse [3.21] La belle est au Jardin d’amour
[2.4] The minstrel boy [1.55] How sweet the answer [2.07]
The last rose of summer [3.54] Avenging and bright [1.26]
Oft in the stilly night [2.34] The miller of Dee [1.44]
Ca’ the yowes [3.50] The plough boy [2.05]
Peter Pears (tenor), Benjamin Britten (piano) 1-4 recorded
October, 5-21 recorded 1961, at Kingsway Hall, London
DECCA BRITISH MUSIC COLLECTION 476 1973
[67.00]
An authentic collection of
songs performed by Pears accompanied by the composer. A
tremendous rapport between the performers enables the nuances
in these songs to be brought out brilliantly without ever
lapsing into sentimentality. A must-have for any Britten
lover. EM
|
 |
Charles
Villiers STANFORD (1852 - 1924) Requiem,
for SATB soloists, chorus and orchestra op. 63 (1896) The
Veiled Prophet of Khorassan - excerpts (1879)*
Peter Kerr (tenor) Virginia Kerr (soprano)* Nigel Leeson-Williams
(bass) Frances Lucey (soprano)
Colette McGahon (mezzo-soprano) RTE Philharmonic Choir/Mark
Duley RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland/Adrian
Leaper (Requiem)/Colman Pearce (Khorassan) Recorded at the
National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland, Feb, Sept 1994.
DDD
NAXOS 8.555201-02 [59:34 + 44:55]
Incredibly, a première
recording of Stanford’s sublime Requiem, exquisitely
performed EM
|
 |
Frank
BRIDGE (1879-1941) Chandos Collected
Orchestral Works Vol 5 Suite for Strings (1909-10)
The Hag (1902) * Two Songs of Robert Bridges (1905-06) *
Two Intermezzi from ‘Threads’ (1921/38) * Two
Old English Songs (1916) Two Entr’actes (1906/36)
Valse Intermezzo à cordes (1902) Todessehnsucht (1932/36)
Sir Roger de Coverley (A Christmas dance) (1922/39)
Roderick Williams (baritone) * BBC National Orchestra of
Wales/Richard Hickox Rec. Brangwyn Hall, Swansea, 3-4 December
2003. DDD
CHANDOS CHAN 10246 [68:17]
Good old Chandos keeping
up their excellent work in English music. This disc contains
some real gems – and some surprises (The Hag!). Top
performances, and wonderful music.EM
|
PART TWO
|
