Gustav MAHLER
(1860-1911)
Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Resurrection
(1894) [83'44] 
Elizabeth Whitehouse (soprano); Bernadette
Cullen (mezzo); Melbourne Chorale and Symphony
Orchestra/Markus Stenz. rec. live, Arts Centre,
Hamer Hall, Melbourne, 2-4 December 2004.
ABC CLASSICS 476 7738 [32'10 + 51'34]
[CC]
An
important event well preserved. That said,
this is not a Second that will go down in
the pantheon of greats - not by a long chalk
... see Full
Review
Gustav
MAHLER
(1860-1911) Symphony
No 5 in C# minor (1904) [68:10]
(I Trauermarsch [11:54]; II Stürmisch
bewegt mit grösster Vehemenz [13:43];
III Scherzo: Kräftig nicht zu schnell
[17:27]; IV Adagietto: Sehr langsam [10:01];
Rondo-Finale: Allegro [14:42])
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Sakari
Oramo Rec. live in Symphony Hall, Birmingham
in October 2004 DDD
WARNER CLASSICS 2564 62055-2 [68:10] [PCW]
City
of Birmingham fans will love this and anyone
looking for a decent middle-of-the-road version
in fine sound is unlikely to be disappointed
… see Full
Review
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911)
Symphony No. 5 (1902)
Orchestre Nationale de France/Bernard Haitink
recorded in concert by Radio France, 30 June,
1 July 2004, Paris. DDD.
NAÏVE V 5026 [78:00][AO]
Interesting
for its elegiac formality, but lacking in
a sense of musical trajectory ... see Full
Review
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911)
Eighth Symphony (1907) Sylvia
Greenberg, soprano; Lynne Dawson, soprano;
Sally Matthews, soprano; Sophie Koch, alto;
Elena Manistina, alto; Robert Gambill, tenor;
Detlef Roth, baritone; Jan-Hendrik Rootering,
bass. Rundfunkchor Berlin (Simon Halsey, director);
MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig (Howard Arman, director);
Windsbacher Knabenchor (Karl-Friedrich Beringer,
director), Sigurd Brauns, organ.
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Kent
Nagano Recorded in Berlin, April-May 2004
HARMONIA MUNDI HMC 901858.59 [24.12 and
63.59] [EM]
Possibly
not the best Mahler Eight I’ve heard, but
it’s certainly one of the showiest – everything
about it is rather exaggerated, culminating
in a flashy and dramatic, but impressive,
performance ... see Full
Review
Joseph MARX
(1882-1964) Alt-Wiener
Serenaden for large orchestra (1941-2)
[18.26] Partita in modo antico (1937-8,
arr. for string orchestra 1945) [31.08] Sinfonia
in modo antico (1940-41, arr. for string
orchestra 1944) [27.10]
Bochum Symphony Orchestra/Steven Sloane
rec. Stadhalle, Wuppertal, Germany, 24-30
April 2003
ASV CD DCA 1158 [76.45] [SV]
Typical
Marx or not, this is immensely enjoyable music,
and it sounds as if the orchestra was enjoying
it as well.... see Full
Review
Felix
MENDELSSOHN–BARTHOLDY (1809-1847)
String
Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 12 (1829) [21:49]
Fugues (1821): d minor [2:15]; F major [1:55];
g minor [2:31]; c minor [2:50] String quartet
in e minor, Op. 42, No. 2 (1838) [25:48]
Vogler String Quartet (Tim Vogler and
Frank Reinecke, violins; Stefan Fehlandt,
viola; Stephan Forck, cello)) rec. 3-7 March
2004. venue not listed
PROFIL PH 04091 [57:08] [KS]
A
taut sense of ensemble throughout with spot-on
intonation, a rich warm tone, careful attention
to detail, and a magnificent sense of voicing
and collegial give and take. ... see Full
Review
Felix MENDELSSOHN
(1809-1847) Complete Organ Music, Volume 1 Prelude
and Fugue in C minor, Opus 37 No. 1 (1833) [7.37] Sonata No. 1
in F minor, Opus 65 (1839) [17.33] Praeludium in D minor (1820)
[5.24] Chorale Prelude in E minor: Nom von uns, Herr (1830) [3.28]
Fugue in E minor (1839) [3.21] Duett Fugue in D major (with Martin Stacey)
(1835 [3.56] Fughetta in A major (1840) [2.08] Andante and Variations
in D major (1844) [5.36] Four Studies for organ (1844) [15.35] Allegro
assai in C major (1845) [3.34]
Jennifer
Bate (organ) rec. July-October 2004; All Saints Church, Margaret Street,
London; St John’s Church, Upper Norwood, London; St Matthew’s
Church, Bayswater, London; St Stephen’s Church, Bournemouth; Temple
Church, Fleet Street, London; Wimborne Minster, Dorset
SOMM
SOMMCD050 [72.25][TB]
While
the less celebrated music does not here contain a blazing discovery,
it is all well written and sensitively played ... see Full
Review
Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)
Complete Organ Music, Volume 2
Sonata No. 2 in C minor, Opus 65 (1839) [11.06] Sonata No. 6 in D minor,
Opus 65 (1842) [15.13] Fugue in G minor (1820) [2.41] Fugue in D minor
(1834) [4.20] Fugue in C minor (1839) [4.14] Chorale and Variation in
D minor (1840) [5.18] Allegro in D major (1844) [5.08] Allegro
in A flat major (1844) [3.38] Allegro moderato maestoso in C major (1844)
[2.16] Allegro con brio in B flat major (1845) [4.45] Fugue in
B flat major (1845) [4.35] Andante recitativo in F minor (1845) [4.22]
Jennifer
Bate (organ) Recorded November 2003, September 2004; All Saints Church,
Margaret Street, London; St John’s Church, Upper Norwood, London;
St Matthew’s Church, Bayswater, London; St Stephen’s Church,
Bournemouth; Temple Church, Fleet Street, London; Wimborne Minster,
Dorset
SOMM
SOMMCD051 [69.01][TB]
A
complete survey such as this does Mendelssohn honour and he is a great
composer ... see Full Review
Claudio
MONTEVERDI
(1567-1643) L’incoronazione
di Poppea - Dramma
in musica in a prologue and three acts
Poppea ... Cynthia Haymon (soprano) Nerone ... Brigitte Balleys
(mezzo) Ottavia ... Ning Liang (mezzo) Ottone ... Michael Chance (counter-tenor)
Seneca ... Harry van der Kamp (bass) Drusilla ... Heidi Grant Murphy
(soprano) Arnalta ... Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (tenor) Nutrice, Famigliare
... Dominique Visse (counter-tenor) Valletto ... Claron McFadden (soprano)
Fortuna ... Elena Fink (soprano) Amore, Damigella ... Sandrine Piau
(soprano) Virtù, Pallade ... Wilke Te Brummelstroete (mezzo) With Nathan
Berg, Mark Tucker, Lynton Atkinson and Romain Bischof Les Talens Lyriques/Christophe
Rousset rec. Het Muziektheater Amsterdam, July 1994
DVD OPUS ARTE OA0924D (PAL format) or OA0925D (NTSC
format) 
[2 DVDs: 219 minutes][RM]
Interesting
but not particularly enjoyable. ... see Full
Review
Saburo MOROI
(1903-1977) Sinfonietta
in B flat op.24 ‘For Children’ (1943)
[15:46] (1.Allegro grazioso [5:25]; 2. Andantino
quasi Allegretto [3:16]; 3.Lento affabile
[7:05]) Two Symphonic Movements, op.22
(1942) [19:09] (Andante grandioso [12:05];
Allegro con spirito [7:04]) Symphony no.3,
op.25 (1944) [33:20] (A Tranquil Overture:
Andante molto tranquillo e grandioso – Birth
of Spirit and its Growth: Allegro vivace [15:09];
About Humour and Wit: Allegretto scherzando
[4:31]; Aspects of Death: Adagio tranquillo
[13:40])
National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland/Takuo
Yuasa rec. National Concert Hall, Dublin,
Ireland, 9–11 Sept 2002. DDD
NAXOS 8.557162 [68:15] [GPJ]
I
started listening to this CD feeling slightly
sceptical, but have been thoroughly won over
... see Full Review
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Piano Trios CD
1 Divertimento in B flat major, K254 (1776) Piano Trio in G major, K496
(1786) Piano Trio in B flat major, K502 (1786)CD 2 Piano Trio in E major,
K542 (1788) Piano Trio in C major, K548 (1788) Piano Trio in G major,
K564 (1788)
Trio Fontenay: (Wolf Harden (piano); Michael Mücke (violin); Niklas
Schmidt (cello)) rec. Teldec Studios, Berlin, German Republic, January
1990. DDD
WARNER CLASSICS APEX 2564 62189-2 [70:35 + 58:31][MC]
Top
class performances from the Trio
Fontenay superbly presented by Warner Classics
Apex. ... see Full
Review
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART
(1756-1791) Violin
Concerto No.3 in G K216 [23.37] Violin Concerto
No.4 in D K218 [22.28] Adagio for violin and
orchestra in E K261 [7.55] Rondo for violin
and orchestra in B flat K269 [6.23] Julia
Fischer (violin) Netherlands Chamber Orchestra/Yakov
Kreizberg Recorded at the Eglise Wallon, Amsterdam,
April 2005 
PENTATONE
CLASSICS SACD PTC5186 072 [60.45] [JW]
I
welcome Fischer’s playing though it doesn’t
efface primary recommendations (Grumiaux,
Szeryng). I’d like to hear K364 with Fischer
and Zimmerman. ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART
(1756-1971) Complete piano works for four
hands CD
1: Sonata in D major, K. 448 [23.44] Fugue
in G minor, K.401 [3.26] Variations in G major,
K.501: Andante [7.57] Sonata in F major, K.497
[34.41] CD 2: Adagio and Fugue in C minor,
K. 426 [6.56] Sonata in B-flat major, K. 358
[16.47] Sonata in C major, K. 19d [11.30]
Fantasia in F minor for musical clockwork,
K. 608 (arr. Busoni) [8.51] CD 3: Fantasia
in F minor, K.594 [8.31] Sonata in C major,
K. 521 [23.19] Sonata in D major, K. 381 [17.41]
Sonata in C major, K. 545 (arr. Grieg) [12.12]
Misha and Cipa Dichter (piano) Recording dates
and locations unspecified. DDD.
MUSICAL HERITAGE SOCIETY 5379317 [3CDs:
69.48 + 44.04 + 61.49] [ED]
This
goes on my ‘Discs of the Year’ list without
hesitation. Seminal listening in every respect.
... see Full
Review
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Piano
Concertos: No. 9 in E flat, K271a
(1777). No. 12 in A, K414b (1783).
No. 26 in D, K537, 'Coronation'c
(1790).
aMitsuko Uchida, cHomero
Francesch (pianos); aMozarteum
Orchestra Salzburg/Jeffrey Tate; bRoyal
Philharmonic Orchestra/Vladimir Ashkenazy
(piano/director); cDeutsche Kammerphilharmonie/Gerd
Albrecht. Rec. aSalzburg Festival,
1989; bHampton Court Palace, 1990;
cWiesbaden, 1990. NTSC. 4:3. PCM
Stereo. Dolby digital 5.1. DTS 5.1. Region
Code: 0 (Worldwide). Great Piano Concertos,
Volume 1
EUROARTS
2010218 [95'00] [CC]
This
product exudes the air of ongoing interpretative
decrescendo. ... see Full
Review
Modest
MUSSORGSKY
(1839-1881) Pictures
at an Exhibition (1874) [33.30] Piano Version
Dénes Várjon (piano) Orchestrated version (1922) by Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937) [32.10] Berlin Radio Symphony
Orchestra/Gilbert Levine No recording details
CAPRICCIO SACD 71 047
[65.46][JW]
Neither
performance dents the marketplace and whilst
not uninteresting this will probably prove
undesirable. ... see Full
Review
Modest
MUSSORGSKY (1838-1881)
Pictures
at an Exhibition (orch. Maurice Ravel)
[32:30] Night on Bare Mountain (arr.
Rimsky-Korsakov) [10:47] Nikolay
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844-1908) Capriccio
Espagnole [14:56] Alexander
BORODIN (1833-1887) Dance of
the Polovtsian Maidens [2:23] Polovtsian
Dances [12:11] Mikhail
GLINKA (1804-1857) Overture to
Ruslan and Ludmila [5:33]
Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg/Alain
Lombard Recorded in the Palais de Fêtes,
Strasbourg on 2-3 February and 24 March 1976
and at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès,
Strasbourg on 9-10 and 12 September 1977.
WARNER APEX 2564 62265 [79:32] [KS]
Collection
gap filler perhaps, but otherwise, shop elsewhere.
... see Full
Review
Modest
MUSSORGSKY
(1839-1881) – Leopold
STOKOWSKI (1882-1977) Symphonic Transcriptions
Modest MUSSORGSKY
(1839-1881) A
Night on Bare Mountain (1866, Stokowski
1939) [9.17] Entr’acte to Act IV of
Khovanschina (1922) [5.25] Symphonic
Synthesis of Boris Godunov (1868, Stokowski
1936) [24.21] Pictures at an Exhibition
(1874 Stokowski 1939) [28.49] Pyotr
Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Humoresque
Op.10 No.2 (1872, Stokowski 1941) [2.11]
Solitude Op.73 No.6 (1936) [3.26] Leopold
STOKOWSKI (1882-1977) Traditional
Slavic Christmas Music (1933) [3.18]
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/José
Serebrier Recorded at the Lighthouse, Poole,
September 2004
NAXOS 6.110101 SACD [76.47] [JW]
A
warm welcome for presenting Stokowski’s transcriptions
with such finesse, power and elegance and
such persuasive intelligence. ... see Full
Review
Arvo
PÄRT (b. 1935)
24 Preludes for a Fugue: film directed
by Dorian Supin Written, directed and
filmed by Dorian Supin 24 Preludes for
a Fugue [74:00] Cecilia (extracts
of rehearsals) [27:00]
Orchestra
and Choir of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa
Cecilia/Myung-Whun Chung Your Name
[28:00] (Rehearsals and excerpt from première
of ….which was the son of….)
Voices of Europe/Thorgerdur Ingólfsdóttir
Como cierva sedienta [36:00] Patricia
Rozario (soprano), Tallinn Chamber Orchestra/Tönu
Kaljuste
IDEALE
AUDIENCE DVD9D 509 [168:00][GPJ]
A
delightful and rich experience ... films
by Dorian Supin, a director exceptionally
sensitive to Pärt’s music ... see Full
Review
Harry
PARTCH
(1901-1974)Enclosure
2 - Historic Speech-Music Recordings
from the Harry Partch Archives DISC A [67'46]:
1. I am Harry Partch [0'24] 2. By
the Rivers of Babylon [3'25] 3. Texts
and Music: A Wagnerian Wrestling Match
[1'21] Ten Li Po Lyrics [17'45]:
(4. A Dream [4'33]; 5. An Encounter
in the Field [0'48]; 6. On Hearing
the Flute [0'59]; 7. The Intruder
[1'09]; 8. I Am a Peach Tree [1'25];
9. With a Man of Leisure [0'44];
10. A Midnight Farewell [1'16]; 11.
Before the Cask of Wine [2'10]; 12.
On the Ship of Spicewood [2'31];
13. By the Great Wall [1'55]) 14.
The Use of English in Serious Music [0’57]
15. Barstow - Eight Hitch-hikers’ Inscriptions
from a Highway Railing at Barstow, California
[8'26] 16. San Francisco – A Setting
of the Cries of Two Newsboys on a Street
Corner on a Foggy Night in the Twenties
[2'29] 17. Life is too Precious to
Spend It with Important People [1'29]
18. US Highball - A Musical Account of
Slim’s Transcontinental Hobo Trip [26'45]
19. While my Heart Keeps Beating Time
[1'36] 20. San Francisco II [2'50]
DISC B [73'29]:1. I’m going to
start right off by giving you some sounds
. . . [0'29] Two Settings from Joyce’s
Finnegans Wake [5'13] (2. Isobel
[2'52]; 3. Annah the Allmaziful [2'21])
4. Dark Brother [7'41] 5-23. A
Quarter-Saw Section of Motivations and Intonations
[60'06] DISC C [73'23]: 1-36.
Extracts from "Bitter Music, A Hobo
Journal" DISC D [67'42]:
1. Yankee Doodle Birds [0'36] 2.
Y. D. Fantasy - On the Words of an Early
American Tune [3'54] 3. O Frabjous
Day! [3'10] 4. You are charged with
being guilty. Are you drunk or not drunk?
[1'02] 5. Ring Around the Moon –
A Dance Fantasm for Here and Now [9'00]
6. Bless This Home [3'21] 7. Harrys
Wake [46'23]
INNOVA 401 [4 CDs: 67:46 + 73:29
+ 73:23 + 67:42] [PSe]
Sometimes
harrowing, sometimes amusing, sometimes
perplexing, but never less than fascinating,
this is at once a wide-ranging historical
overview and a celebration of Harry
Partch, the man and his Music. ... see Full
Review
Astor
PIAZZOLLA
(1921-1992) Las
Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas 1. Primavera
Porteña 2. Verano Porteña
3. Otoňo Porteńa 4. Invierno Porteña
Leo BROUWER
(b.1942) El Decameron Negro 5. El Arpa
del Guerrero 6. La Huida de los Amantes
por el Valle de los Ecos 7. Ballada de la
Doncella Enamorada Aleksander
TANSMAN (1897-1986) Cavatina
8. Preludio 9. Sarabande 10. Scherzino 11.
Barcarole 12. Danza Pomposa Agustin
BARRIOS-MANGORÉ (1882-1944)
13. Choro da Saudade 14. Un Sueňo
en la Floresta Carlo
DOMENICONI (b.1947) Koyunbab
- Suite for guitar, op.19
Robert Horna (guitar) Recorded between
December 2004 and January 2005 in Enschede
(Netherlands)
CD ACCORD ACD 138-2 [73:20] [GPJ]
Horna’s
playing is stunning; a technical assurance
which is transcendental, allied to an unusual
ability to transmit powerfully the character
of the music ... see Full
Review
Giacomo
PUCCINI (1858-1924) Tosca
(1900) Eva Marton (soprano)
Tosca; Giacomo Aragall (tenor) Cavaradossi; Ingvar Wixell (baritone)
Scarpia; Alfredo Giacomotti (bass) Angelotti; Graziano Polodori (bass)
Sacristan; Mario Ferrara (tenor) Spoletta; Giuseppe Zecchillo (bass)
Sciarrone; Gianna Brunelli (bass) Jailer; Mario Bonizzato (treble) Shepherd;
Chorus and Orchestra of the Arena di Verona/Daniel Oren Rec. Arena di
Verona, around 1984? NTSC 4:3. Subtitles in English, German, Spanish,
French, Portuguese and Japanese.
NVC ARTS/WARNER MUSIC VISION 4509-99219-2
[124'00][CC]
The
Italian press loved this Tosca. I cannot agree, but this is still worth
catching. Stick with the Domingo DG in your library. ... see Full
Review
Henry
PURCELL
(1659-1695) A
Purcell Songbook Hark! Hark! How all things [1.43] Crown the
altar, deck the shrine [2.28] If music be the food of love [3.25] Not
all my torments [1.58] O, O let me weep [6.32] I attempt from love's
sickness to fly [1.20] Olinda in the shades unseen [1.03] Urge me no
more [3.17] Bess of Bedlam [3.43] Lovely, lovely Albina [2.10] Sweeter
than roses [3.12] Dear pretty youth [1.55] When first Amintas sued for
a kiss [1.55] The cares of lovers [1.47] Ye gentle spirits of the air
[1.50] An evening Hymn [4.17]
Emma Kirkby (soprano); Christopher Hogwood (organ and spinet); Richard
Campbell (viola da gamba); Catherine Mackintosh (violin); Anthony Rooley
(lute) Rec. Forde Abbey, October 1982. DDD
DECCA ELOQUENCE 476 7467 [46.09][ED]
Classic
Kirkby and Purcell, and quality from first note to last. ... see Full
Review
Joseph
Joachim RAFF (1822-1882) Symphony No. 1 in
D major An das Vaterland op. 96 (1859-1861) [67:47]
Bamberger Symphoniker/Hans Stadlmair rec. 22-26 May 2000, Sinfonie an
der Regnitz, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal, Bamberg, Bayerischer Rundfunk. DDD
TUDOR 7099 [67:47][RB]
Low
key picturesque delights. Not to be underestimated
for fluency and atmospheric charm ... see
Full
Review
Joachim
RAFF
(1822-1882) Violin
Concerto No.1 in B minor Op.161 (1870-71)
[23.35] Violin Concerto No.2 in A minor
Op.206 (1877) [32.54] Cavatina for violin
and orchestra Op.85 No.3 (1859) orchestrated
Singer 1874 [4.48] Ungarischer for violin
and orchestra Op.203 (1876) orchestrated
Raff 1877 [8.21]
Michaela Paetsch Neftel (violin) Bamberg
Symphony Orchestra/Hans Stadlmair Recorded
in Bamberg, May 1999
TUDOR 7086 [70.07] [JW]
These
performances are adept and attractive, well
recorded and offer an entertaining 70-minutes
of music-making. ... see Full
Review
Joseph
Joachim RAFF
(1822-1882) Cello
Concerto No 1 in D minor Op.193 (1874) [23:09]
Cello Concerto No 2 in G Op. posth. (1876)
[29:54] "Begegnung" Phantasie-Stück
for Cello and Piano Op. 86 No 1* (1854)
[7:23] Duo for Cello and Piano in A Op.59*
(1848) [15:35]
Daniel Müller-Schott (cello) *Robert
Kulek (piano) Bamberg Symphony Orchestra/Hans
Stadlmair rec. Joseph-Keilberth-Saal, Bamberg,
June 2003, January 2004. DDD
TUDOR 7121 [76:26] [PCW]
Fine
performances of lyrical, romantic works
for the cello ... worth investigating ...
see Full
Review
Sunleif
RASMUSSEN (b.
1961) Symphony No.1 Oceanic Days (1995/7)
[41:25] Saxophone Concerto Dem Licht entgegen (2001)a
[20:32] Jeanette
Balland (saxophone)a; Danish National Symphony Orchestra
DR/Hannu Lintu rec. Danish Radio Concert Hall, May 2003
DACAPO 6.220506 [61:57][HC]
Performances
and recording excellent - a superb release
... see Full
Review
Steve
REICH
(b.1936) Triple
Quartet (1999) [14’45] Duet (1994)
[5’14] Different Trains (1988) [27’14]
The Smith Quartet Recorded at TCM Studios,
London, Jan.-Feb. 2005 (Different Trains)
and Konk Studios, London, June 4-7 2005
(rest)
SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD064 [46’59] [TH]
The
near-ideal representation of Reich’s considerable
contribution to the string quartet genre.
If you’re into Reich, don’t hesitate. ...
see Full
Review
Anton
REICHA
(1770-1836) Woodwind Quintets, Volume 6 Quintet
in A major, Op. 91, No. 5 [38’38"] Quintet in C minor, Op. 91,
No. 6 [38’39"] Westwood
Wind Quintet (John Barcellona, flute; Peter Christ, oboe; Eugene Zoro,
clarinet; Jack Herrick, horn; Patricia Nelson, bassoon) rec. 28-29
Feb, 24-25 June 2004, Crystal Chamber Hall, Camas, Washington, USA
CRYSTAL RECORDS CD266
[77’24"] [JQ]
Fresh
and appealing works ... these recordings
are labour of love by the Westwood Quintet.
They and Crystal have done Reicha proud
... see Full
Review
Ferdinand
RIES (1784-1837)
Grand
Septet in E flat major for piano, clarinet,
two horns, violin, cello and double bass,
Op. 25 (1808) [33:18] Grand Octet in A flat
minor for piano, violin, viola, clarinet,
horn, bassoon, cello and double bass Op.
128 (1816) [22:03]
Linos Ensemble Recorded at the Sendesaal
des BR, November, 2002. DDD
CPO 999 937-2 [55:23] [MC]
Well
presented and admirably recorded. These
colourful chamber works deserve to be better
known. Will delight those who like to explore
the lesser-known music of the late classical
period. ... see Full
Review
George
ROCHBERG (1918-2005) Symphony No. 2 (1955-56)
[31:28] Imago Mundi (1973) [24:06] Saarbrücken
Radio Symphony Orchestra/Christopher Lyndon-Gee rec. Großes Sendesaal,
Funkhaus Halberg, Saarbrücken, Germany, 19-20 Dec 2000 (Symphony);
30 Jan 2001 (Imago). DDD NAXOS
8.559182 [55.34][RB]
A
powerful angry dodecaphonic symphony and a convincing surreal Gagaku
fantasy.... see Full Review
Gioachino
ROSSINI (1792-1868) Guillaume Tell,
Opera in four acts. Libretto by Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy,
Hippolyte-Louis-Florent Bis and Armand Marrast and based on Schiller’s
play. First performed at The Paris Opéra on August 3rd 1829
Guillaume Tell - Thomas Hampson (bar); Arnold - Giuseppe Sabbatini (ten);
Walter Furst - Wojtek Smilek (bass); Melcthal - Walter Fink (ten); Jemmy,
Tell’s son - Dawn Kotoski (sop); Gesler, Governor of the Cantons
of Schwyz and Uri - Egils Silins (bass); Rodolphe - John Dickie (ten);
Mathilde, Princess of the House of Habsburg - Nancy Gustafson (sop);
Hedwige, Tell’s wife - Mihaela Ungureanu (sop); Chorus and Orchestra
of the Wiener Staatsoper/Fabio Luisi Live performance recorded 24th
October 1998
ORFEO C 640 053 D [3 CDs: 65:44 + 58:32 + 67:58][RJF]
I
enjoyed the fluency and vibrancy of this live performance ... a cohesive
and meaningful dramatic whole ... Well worth investigating. ... see
Full Review
Fred
RZEWSKI (b. 1938) Pocket Symphony (2000)
[27:38] Les Moutons de Panurge (1969) [11:38] Coming Together
arr. Matt Albert (1971) [18:51]
Eighth Blackbird (Molly Alicia Barth (flutes); Michael J Maccaferri
(clarinets); Matt Albert (violin/narration); Nicholas Photinos (cello);
Matthew Duvall (percussion); Lisa Kaplan (piano)) rec. Northeastern
Illinois University, Chicago, 14-17 July 2002, 28 Oct 2004. DDD
CEDILLE CDR 90000 084 [58:30][RB]
Two
minimalist pieces still packing the punch of their thirty plus year
old agenda plus a fully confident aural fantasy-mural. ... see
Full Review
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