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RECORDINGS
OF THE MONTH
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH David BEDNALL
(b.
1979) Requiem * O come let us sing; Salvator mundi; Let all the
world 
The Chamber Choir of St, Mary’s, Calne/Edward Whiting David Bednall
(organ); *Philip Dukes (viola) rec. 2009
REGENT REGCD327 [64:29] 
[JQ]
Anyone
who is interested in choral music should try to hear this wonderful
disc. ... see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN
(1770-1827)
String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op. 18/6 (1798-1800) String Quartet
No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130 (1825-26) Große Fuge for String
Quartet in B flat major, Op. 133 (1825-26)
Artemis Quartet (Natalia Prischepenko (violin); Gregor Sigl (violin);
Friedemann Weigle (viola); Eckart Runge (cello)) rec. 8-13 November,
16-18 December 2009, Teldex Studio, Finckensteinallee, Berlin. DDD
VIRGIN CLASSICS 50999 694584 0 8 [74:25]
[MC]
These
Beethoven Quartets are given performances of the highest quality. A
sure-fire ‘Record of the Year’ for 2010. ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Muzio CLEMENTI
(1752-1832)
The Complete Sonatas -Vol. 5 Sonatas op. 34, 37 & 46
Howard Shelley (piano) rec. 2009
HYPERION CDA67814 [77:51 + 67:28]
[MS]
The
fifth of six sets containing all of Clementi's piano sonatas - played
with great flair, expertise but above all insight. Another winner …
see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Antonín DVORÁK
(1841-1904) Symphonic Poems The
Water Goblin, The Noon Witch, The Golden Spinning Wheel,
The Wild Dove,
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Charles Mackerras rec. , 2001, 2008,
2009
SUPRAPHON SU 4012-2 [79:42]
[BR]
The
new standard recordings of Dvorák’s symphonic poems … see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH George
Frideric HANDEL
(1685 – 1759) Giulio
Cesare in Egitto (1724) Complete recording of the 1724 version.
Kristina
Hammarström (mezzo) – Giulio Cesare; Emanuela Galli (soprano) – Cleopatra;
Mary-Ellen Nesi (mezzo) – Sesto; Irini Karaianni (mezzo) – Cornelia;
Romina Basso (mezzo) – Tolomeo; Tassis Christoyannis (baritone) – Achilla;
Petros Magoulas (bass) – Curio; Nikos Spanatis (bass) – Nireno; Orchestra
of Patras/George Petrou rec. 24-30 July 2006, Patras, Greece Italian
libretto with English translation enclosed
MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM MDG 609 1604-2 [3 CDs: 75:50
+ 78:48 + 77:23]
[GF]
A
knock-out from the very first bars of the overture ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Joseph HAYDN
(1732-1809)
Opera at Eszterháza: Arias - La Circe
Miah Persson (soprano) Haydn Sinfonietta Wien/Manfred Huss rec. 2008/9
BIS
BISSACD1811 
[71.31] [MM-B]
A
joy from beginning to end ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Sergei RACHMANINOV
(1873-1943)
Aleko (1892-1893)
Sergey Murzaev (baritone) - Aleko; Svetla Vassileva (soprano) - Zemfira;
Evgeny Akhimov (tenor) - Young Gypsy; Gennady Bezzubenkov (bass) - Old
Gypsy; Nadezhda Vasilieva (mezzo) - Old Gypsy Woman; Coro del Teatro
Regio del Torino; BBC Philharmonic/Gianandrea Noseda. rec. 2009. DDD
CHANDOS
CHAN10583 [50:55]
[CC]
My
Recording of the Month, by a long way. The BBC Philharmonic sounds simply
superb … Noseda conducts intelligently, sensitively, with full structural
awareness of the dramatic trajectory. ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Sven-David SANDSTRÖM
(b.
1942) Messiah
Festivalensemble Stuttgart/Helmuth Rilling rec. live, 2009
CARUS 83.453 [36:06 + 54:15]
[GF]
One
of the finest large-scale choral works during the whole post-war era
… see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Richard STRAUSS
(1864–1949) Ein
Heldenleben, Op. 40 (1898)[47:29] Anton
WEBERN (1883-1945) Im Sommerwind* (1904) [15:03]
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Bernard Haitink rec. 2009. DSD
CSO-RESOUND CSOR 901 1004 [62:32] [JQ]
A
magnificent CD, including as fine a CD version of Ein Heldenleben as
I can recall ... see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Visions
– Lavinia Meijer Benjamin
BRITTEN (1913-1976) Suite, Op. 83 (1969) Paul
PATTERSON (b. 1947)
Spiders, Op. 48 (1985) Bugs, Op. 93 (2006) Garrett
BYRNES (b. 1971)
Visions in Twilight (2000) Isang YUN
(1917-1995) In Balance (1987) Toru
TAKEMITSU (1930-1996) Stanza II for harp and tape (1971)
Lavinia
Meijer (harp) rec. 2009
CHANNEL CLASSICS CCS
SA 29709 [63:08]
[DM]
A
must-have for harp aficionados and audio buffs alike. ... see Full
Review
BARGAINS
OF THE MONTH
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Alban BERG
(1885-1935) Violin
Concerto Igor STRAVINSKY (1882-1971)
Violin Concerto Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY
(1840-1893) Violin Concerto
Arthur Grumiaux (violin) Concertgebouw O/Igor Markevitch, Ernest Bour,
Vienna SO/Bogo Leskovic rec. 1956-67
DECCA ELOQUENCE 480 0481 [78:55] 
[WH]
An
unmissable disc from a master violinist … see
Full Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Gioachino ROSSINI
(1792-1868) L’Italiana
in Algeri - Comic opera in two acts (1813)
Samuel Ramey (bass); Kathleen Battle (soprano) I Solisti Veneti; Prague
Philharmonic Choir/Claudio Scimone rec. 1980
ERATO OPERA COLLECTION 2564 68335 9 [71.30 + 69.21] 
[RF]
A
welcome return to the catalogue of this excellent performance which
is a must for all Rossini enthusiasts. ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Gioacchino ROSSINI
(1792-1868)
Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Juan Diego Flórez (tenor) Joyce DiDonato (mezzo) Pietro Spagnoli
(baritone) Ch & O Royal Opera House, Covent Garden/Antonio Pappano
rec. live, 2009
VIRGIN CLASSICS 6945819 
[2 DVDs: 102:00 + 74:00]
[ST]
A
big thumbs-up on every front ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Franz SCHUBERT
(1797-1828)
Die schöne Müllerin
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone); Gerald Moore (piano) rec. 1961
EMI
CLASSICS 9659402 [62:30] 
[KM]
Perhaps
the best recording of this work, available in a new edition ... see
Full Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH
Early One Morning:
Finnish Orchestral Favorites
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra (CD1), Camerata Finlandia (CD2)/Jorma Panula
rec. 1995,1996,2007
NAXOS CD 8.578143-44 [70:33 + 53:15]
[BR]
I
loved this two-disc sampler of lesser-known Finnish composers … 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]
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