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RECORDINGS
OF THE MONTH
RECORDING OF THE MONTH Johann
Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Latin
Church Music Vol. 1 
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Chorus/Ton Koopman rec. 2008
CHALLENGE CLASSICS CC72188 [74:54 + 75:03][BW] 
Wonderful
music – excellent performances and recording ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Leonard BERNSTEIN
(1918-1990) West Side Story
chorus; orchestra/Leonard Bernstein rec. 1984 The Making of West
Side Story - documentary
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4777101 
[CD: 76:36; DVD: 88:00][RB] 
Rawness,
rasp and romance... an out and out blast ...
see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Sir
Edward ELGAR
(1857-1934) Falstaff
– Symphonic Study, Op.68 (1913) [33:19]
Enigma – Variations on an original
Theme, Op.36 (1899) [29:46] Pomp and Circumstance
March No.5 in C, Op.39 (1930) [5:41]
New Philharmonia Orchestra/Andrew Davis rec.
Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London, 4-5 January
1974. ADD.
LYRITA SRCD.301 [68:46] [BW]
Just
has the edge over Davis’s own excellent re-makes
.... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Vincent d’INDY (1851-1931) Orchestral
Works Vol. 1 Jour dété à la montagne, La Forêt enchantée,
Souvenirs Iceland
SO/Rumon Gamba rec. 2007 CHANDOS
CHAN10464 [63:25] [DM]
A
sonic and musical treat. Not to be missed ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gaetano
DONIZETTI (1797–1848) La Fille du Régiment
The Royal Opera
Chorus and Orchestra/Bruno Campanella rec. 2007
VIRGIN CLASSICS 5190029
[132:00][RJF]
Dessay’s
memorable performance as Marie will define her career ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Hugues DUFOURT
(b. 1943) Le Cyprès blanc; Surgir
Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg/Pierre-André
Valade rec. 2004-6
TIMPANI 1C1112 [61:01][HC]
Truly
magnificent. Vital and assured readings of exacting scores ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Philip GLASS (b.
1937) The
Concerto Project - Volume II Piano Concerto No. 2 “After
Lewis And Clark”,
Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra Paul
Barnes (piano), R. Carlos Nakai (Native American flute) Jillon Stoppels Dupree
(harpsichord)
Northwest CO/Ralf Gothóni rec. 2005 ORANGE
MOUNTAIN MUSIC OMM0030 [58:53] [DJB]
Hypnotic
in the best Glass tradition, also moving, thrilling and great fun! … see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH George Frideric
HANDEL (1685–1759) Ariodante
Il Complesso Barocco/Alan
Curtis rec. 2007 DYNAMIC
33559
2 DVDs [157:00][RM]
A
very very good DVD of a great Handel opera ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Jonathan HARVEY (b.
1939) Tranquil Abiding, Body Mandala,
Timepieces, White as Jasmine, … towards a Pure Land Anu
Komsi (soprano) BBC Scottish SO/Ilan Volkov rec. 2007 NMC
D141 [79:59] [TH]
You
should have this disc of music by one of the UK’s finest elder
statesmen ... see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gustav MAHLER (1860-1811) Symphony
10 Wiener
Philharmoniker/Daniel Harding
rec. 2007 DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON
4777347 [78.00] [AOz]
A
truly distinctive Mahler 10, to challenge and stimulate ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Josquin des PRÉS
(c.1440-1521) Missa Sine Nomine; Missa ad Fugam
The Tallis Scholars/Peter
Phillips rec. 2007
GIMELL CD and DOWNLOAD CDGIM039
[69:12][BW]
Superb
performances of little-known but splendid works ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Franz SCHUBERT
(1797-1828) Sakontala reconstructed by Karl
Aage RASMUSSEN
Durwasas Kammerchor Stuttgart, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie
Bremen/Frieder Bernius rec. 2006
CARUS 83218 [55:52 + 30:27][MM-B]
A
historic and wonderful recording of Schubert’s best work for the stage
... see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Jean SIBELIUS (1865-1957)
Kullervo
Soile Isokoski (soprano); Tommi Hakala (baritone); YL Male Voice
Choir, Helsinki PO/Leif Segerstam rec. 2007
ONDINE ODE1122-5 
[77:56]
[RB]
A
fine and epic Kullervo commanding its own place in a crowded field
... see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901) Il
Trovatore Leontyne
Price, Franco Corelli, Vienna State Opera Ch, Vienna PO/Herbert
von Karajan rec. live 1962 DEUTSCHE
GRAMMOPHON 4476592 [67:22 + 61:26] [ST]
The
sheer theatrical magic produced by the best in the world in live
performance ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Chant:
Music for Paradise
The Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz
rec. Sanctuary of the Relic of the Holy Cross,
Stift Heiligenkreuz, Austria, 21st
March-3rd April, 2008. DDD.Booklet
with notes, texts and translations. UNIVERSAL
CLASSICS & JAZZ UCJ176 6016
[52:45] [BW]
Already
a best-seller and deservedly so ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Karen
Geoghegan plays Bassoon Concertos Johan
Nepomuk HUMMEL
(1778-1837)
Grand Concerto W23 for Bassoon and Orchestra
in F major [23:45]; Carl
Maria von WEBER
(1786-1826) Andante e Rondo
ungarese Op 35 in C minor [9:08]; Franz
BERWALD (1796-1868) Concert Piece
in F major [11:10]; Carl
Heinrich JACOBI (1791-1852)
Introduction and Polonaise Op 9 [9:00];
Sir Edward ELGAR
(1857-1934) Romance Op 62 [5:13];
George GERSHWIN
(1898-1937) Summertime [4:36]
Karen Geoghegan (bassoon) Orchestra of Opera
North/Benjamin Wallfisch rec. 9-10 January
2008, St George’s Hall, Bradford. DDD
CHANDOS CHAN 10477 [51:46] [CR]
Extraordinary,
deeply expressive, bassoon playing ... see
Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Legendary
Piano Recordings The Complete Grieg,
Saint-Saëns, Pugno, and Diémer recordings and other G & T
rarities Edvard
Grieg, Jules Massenet,
Claude Debussy, Camille Saint-Saëns, Louis Diémer, Raoul Pugno (piano) rec.
1903-1919 MARSTON 52054-2 [77:47
+ 79:50] [JW]
Technology
applied with integrity at the service of music. Magnificent ...
see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH David
Nadien (violin): Volume 4 – the celebrated live concerto performances;
Music by Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937),
Alexander GLAZUNOV (1865-1936),
Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
and Camille SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921)
David Nadien (violin);
Various accompaniments rec. 1965-7 Bonus DVD – David Nadien – Life and
Music, a film by Mordecai Shehori
CEMBAL D’AMOUR CD130
[72:28 + DVD: 68:00][JW]
Bewitching
colour, tonal variety, tremendous vitality and generosity ... see Full
Review
BARGAINS
OF THE MONTH
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Favourite
Organ Works Werner
Jacob
rec. 1970-83 EMI
CLASSICS Triple 5093932 [3CDs: 69:50 + 69:44 + 75:45] 
[BW]
An
excellent 3-CD set for beginners and seasoned collectors alike
... see Full Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Giacomo PUCCINI
(1858–1924) Popular Puccini:
Tosca, Boheme, Butterfly
- films of Puccini’s most popular Operas in one box
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 073 4417
[363:00][AB] 
Classic
films which despite minor faults are up with the best ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906–1975) Piano
Concertos 1 & 2, Violin Concertos 1 & 2, Cello Concertos
1 & 2, Piano Quintet EMI
CLASSICS 5094282 [3 CDs: 74:35 + 65:22 + 66:09] [BBr]
An
invaluable set for the generalist or the ardent fan ... see Full
Review
Click
for alphabetical listings by composer:
[Part
1 New] [Part
2 A-B] [Part
3 C-L]
[Part 4 M-R]
[Part 5 S-Z]
[Part 6 Misc A-L]
[Part 7 Misc M-Z]
[Recommended
recordings]
An excellent reissue
by Hyperion on their Helios label, t
Over
a period of three years from December 2003,
I have spent a lot of time in the company
of Harry Partch – not literally, of course,
as he died in 1974, but working my way though
an article and some eight reviews that can
all be found on MusicWeb. Then, at the MusicWeb
annual lunch (January 2007), the name of John
Cage caught my ear. For reasons that my subconscious
was not prepared to divulge, my curiosity
was tickled. Partch and Cage have on occasion
been paired off, as a sort of American "Debussy
and Ravel" – was there any real connection
between them?
This
may come as a bit of an anticlimax but, other
than them both being American originals with
"far-out" ideas, I can’t really
think of one. In fact, they are more on the
lines of diametric opposites: with my tongue
ever-so-slightly in my cheek, I could say
that Partch was a seminal genius who got branded
as a crackpot, and Cage was a crackpot who
got branded as a seminal genius.
John
Cage (1912-92) was nothing if not controversial.
With his rise to prominence, an obliging World
split into two opposing camps. His supporters
saw him as a prime mover in the fields of
experimental and electronic music, with abiding
interests in "chance music", new
ways of using traditional instruments, and
practical application of his Zen Buddhist
beliefs.
His
detractors, the more radical of whom would
have preferred the "nothing" option,
complained that he just made a lot of silly
noise, did unspeakable things to the private
parts of otherwise perfectly respectable musical
instruments, and came up with a load of airy-fairy
claptrap to justify his bizarre buffoonery.
Partch,
who was renowned for his considered and candid
conclusions, didn’t have too high an opinion
of Cage: "When he was younger, I found
him rather charming, albeit shallow. Then
later, when he was famed for the opening of
doors to musical insight, I found myself obliged
to use the word ‘charlatan’ . . . Pretty sounds
do not necessarily make significant music,
and serious words frequently cloak hokum .
. . I’m all for common sounds as valid materials
[but] one has to have control, so that
his common sounds will mean something. . .
I feel that anyone who brackets me with Cage
is bracketing actual music with metaphysical
theories, and what I think is a serious effort
with exhibitionism." [Letter to Ben Johnston,
1952, reproduced in Innova Enclosure 3]
Who
is right – the "pro" camp or the
"anti"? You tell me. The only opinions
I can voice with any certainty are that Cage
was not really a crackpot – even if he did
give that impression to his detractors – and
in all probability he caused the expenditure
of as much hot air as all the other Twentieth
Century composers put together.
For
instance, during the late 1960s, when I was
a university student, Cage was a hot topic
for many an informal debate over a pint or
six of a Saturday night in the pub. It’s true,
I s
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