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RECORDINGS
OF THE MONTH
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Vincenzo BELLINI
(1801-1835) I Capuleti e I Montecchi
Elina Garanca (mezzo); Anna Netrebko (soprano); Wiener Symphoniker/Fabio
Luisi rec.
2008 DEUTSCHE
GRAMMOPHON 4778031 [76.10 + 51.26][RJF]
It
will be a long time before this recording is bettered ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gabriel
FAURÉ (1845–1924) L’Horizon
Chimérique, Poême d’un jour, Mirages Francis
POULENC (1899–1963) Tel jour telle nuit, Chansons
villageoises, La Fraicheur et le Feu Thomas
Oliemans (baritone) Malcolm Martineau (piano)
rec. 2008 ETCETERA KTC1366 [62:04] [GF]
The
natural heir to Gerard Souzay ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH George Frideric HANDEL
(1685-1759) Twelve Concerti grossi, Op.
6 Il Giardino
Armonico/Giovanni Antonini rec. 2008
L’OISEAU LYRE 4780319 [3 CDs: 64:00 + 59:29 + 45:00][MG]
Handel
outside the comfort zone. Tremendously stimulating … see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Kara KARAYEV (1918-1982)
Symphony No. 3; Leyla and Mejnun; Don Quixote (Symphonic Engravings)
Russian Philharmonic
Orchestra/Dmitri Yablonsky. rec. 2008
NAXOS 8.570720 [58:10][CC]
A
disc that gives hope in this recession-torn world ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Wolfgang Amadeus
MOZART
(1756-1791)
Piano Concertos 20 & 27
Clifford Curzon (piano) English CO/Benjamin Britten. rec. 1970
ESOTERIC ESD90014
[65:18] [JLa]
One
of the most sublime and supreme accomplishments of the recording angel
... see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Henry
PURCELL (1659-1695) Dido and
Aeneas Choir &
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/Steven Devine rec. 2008
CHANDOS CHACONNE CHAN0757 [69:49][MG]
All
round excellence, but the added music is controversial … see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Fernando
SOR (1778-1839) Fantasias y Estudios
Manuel Babiloni (guitar) rec. 2008
EDITS E.G. TABELET 1017 [65:52][ZT]
No
finer recording of this Sor repertory is available ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Igor STRAVINSKY
(1882-1971) Canticum Sacrum; Agon;
Requiem Canticles
SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart; SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg/Michael
Gielen rec. 2004-7 HÄNSSLER
CLASSIC CD93226 [57:52][DC]
Not
sure about late Stravinsky? This is the path to enlightenment ... see
Full Review
HISTORICAL
RECORDING OF THE MONTH The
Dawn of Recording:
The Julius Block Cylinders
Full track-list at end of review
MARSTON 53011-12 [3 CDs: 78:12 + 76:03 + 79:09]
[JW]
No
praise can be too high ... see Full
Review
BARGAINS
OF THE MONTH
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH John FIELD (1782-1837) The
Piano Concertos Miceal
O'Rourke (piano) London Mozart Players/Matthias Bamert
rec. 1994-96 CHANDOS CHAN10468(4)X [4
CDs: 249:13] [EM]
A
glorious sense of joy … lively and exciting ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Joseph HAYDN
(1732-1809) The Complete Symphonies - MP3 Edition
Austro-Hungarian
Haydn Orchestra/Adam Fischer rec.1989-2001 NIMBUS
NI 1722 [8 CDs: approx. 37:00:00]
DC
A
very worthwhile experiment and a truly excellent set: meet Mr. Haydn!
... see Full Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Jules MASSENET
(1842–1912) Manon Claude DEBUSSY
(1862-1918) La Demoiselle élue Hector
BERLIOZ (1803-1869) Les nuits d’été
Orchestra and Chorus of the Théâtre National de l’Opéra Comique/Pierre
Monteux rec. 1955 NAXOS
HISTORICAL 8.111268-70 [3 CDs: 66.59 + 80.13 + 67.29][RMo]
At
super-bargain price, these three discs are a steal ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Wolfgang Amadeus
MOZART (1756-1791)
Concerto for two pianos, Sinfonia concertante for Violin &
viola Håvard Gimse, Vebjørn
Anvik (pianos) Lars Anders Tomter (viola) Norwegian CO/Iona Brown (violin)
rec. 1995/6 CHANDOS
CHAN10507X [53:56] [DC]
A
winner – puts the fon back into Sinfonia, takes the con out of Concertante
... see Full Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Carl August
NIELSEN
(1865 – 1931) The
Symphonies Janáček
Philharmonic Orchestra/Theodore Kuchar rec. 2005 BRILLIANT CLASSICS
92885 [3 CDs: 65:55 + 79:04 + 69:45]
[JL]
Nothing
less than a paradigm shift ... see Full Review
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