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Alfredo
CASELLA
(1883 – 1947)
Sinfonia (Symphony No.3) Op.63 (1939-40) [45:33] Elegia eroica (Heroic
Elegy) Op.29 (1916) [16:39] 
Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma/Francesco La Vecchia rec.2008 and 2010
NAXOS 8.572415 [62:12]
[NB]
A
conundrum – an interesting big symphony coupled with a shorter work
that represents Casella at his considerable finest.
Fryderyk
CHOPIN
(1810-1849)
Andante Spianato et Grande polonaise brillante, Ballade in G minor,
Nocturne 2, Scherzo in B flat minor, Mazurkas, Piano Sonata
Martin Kasík (piano) rec. 2001,
ARCO DIVA UP 0048-2 131 [71:02] 
[JW]
Unsentimental
but sensitive, a warm romantic tone.
Frédéric
CHOPIN (1810-1849)
Ballades 1-4, Impromptu s 1-4
Bella Davidovich (piano) rec. 1981/2
NEWTON CLASSICS 8802047 [58:25]
[BR]
Heavy
Chopin which commands respect but not my enjoyment.
Frédéric
CHOPIN
(1810-1849)
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op.11 (arr. for piano and string quintet)
(1830) [39:59] Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op.21 (arr. for piano
and string quintet) (1830) [32:40]
Gianluca Luisi (piano) Ensemble Concertant Frankfurt (Peter Agoston,
Klaus Schwamm (violin), Wolfgang Tluck (viola), Ulrich Horn (cello),
Timm Johannes Trappe (double-bass)) rec. 2010, Hybrid SACD, DDD.
MDG 
9031632
[72:52]
[OL]
The
excitement is gone: beautiful but boring.
George
CRUMB
(b.1929)
CD 1 Makrokosmos - Volume I (1972/73) [34:10] Makrokosmos - Volume
II (1972/73) [31:27] CD 2 Makrokosmos - Volume III Music for a Summer
Evening (1965) [36:48] Makrokosmos IV Celestial Mechanics
(1979) [22:22]
Berlin PianoPercussion rec. live, 24 March 2009, Radialsystem V, Berlin
TELOS
MUSIC TLS093 [66:32 + 59:11]
[DC]
Very
good live recording.
Richard
DANIELPOUR (b.1956) The Enchanted Garden: Preludes
for piano, Books I and II
Xiayin Wang (piano) rec. 2009
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559669 [49:37]
[Byz]
Wang
amply repays Danielpour's dedication with a fine, thoughtful performance
that brings out the best in the music.
Claude
DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Nocturnes, La Mer, Petite Suite
Chœur de l’Opéra de Paris, Cento Soli O, Radiodiffusion Française Ntl
O/Louis Fourestier, Henri Büsser rec. 1952/5
FORGOTTEN RECORDS FR479 [60:00]
[CH]
Performances
that reflect changing styles in Debussy interpretation. Debussy fans
will also need to hear the “Petite Suite” played under the man Debussy
chose to orchestrate it.
Claude
DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Sonata for Cello and Piano see CLIMATE
CHANGES
Peter
DICKINSON (b. 1934) Rags, Parodies & Vitalitas Variations
Peter
Dickinson (piano) rec. 1975-2010
NAXOS 8.572654 [79:36] [JF]
Excellent.
I liked virtually every track on this disc.
Gaetano
DONIZETTI (1797-1848)
L’Elisir d’amore
Valeria Esposito (soprano) Aquiles Machado (tenor) Chorus Lirico Marchigiano
‘V. Bellini’, Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana/Niels Muus
rec. live, 2002
ARTHAUS MUSIK 107007 
[136:00]
[RJF]
In
a highly competitive market among DVDs of this popular and melodic opera,
I would look elsewhere for better overall staging and also singing.
Jan
Ladislav DUSSEK (1760-1812) Piano Concertos, Marie
Antoinette
Andreas Staier (piano) Jean-Michel Forest (speaker) Concerto Köln rec.
1992
CAPRICCIO 5072 [66:22]
[Byz]
A
good opportunity to acquire this highly collectible disc which includes
an as yet unrecognised masterwork of the era in marvellously authentic
sound.
Antonín
DVORÁK
(1841-1904) String Quintet 3, String Sextet
Martinů Qt, Pierre-Henri Xuereb (viola) Petr Hejny (second cello)
CLASSIC
TALENT DOM 2911 116 [67:53]
[SV]
A
young ensemble in performances that are appealing and quite powerful.
Paul
DUKAS (1865-1935)
Complete Piano Music
Marco Rapetti (piano) rec. 2010
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 9160 [57:13 + 55:14]
[GH]
A
really useful collection played with commitment and intensity and at
an entirely reasonable price. Worth searching out.
Edward
ELGAR
(1857-1934) Cello Concerto, Sea Pictures, The Kingdom Prelude
Li-Wei
(cello), Elizabeth Campbell (mezzo) Adelaide SO/Nicholas Braithwaite
ABC
CLASSICS DISCOVERY 476 3535 [63.42]
[EM]
Rather
mixed and uneven with some awe-inspiring moments and some disappointing.
Edward
ELGAR
(1857-1934) Songs see British
Romantics
Eriks
EŠENVALDS (b. 1977) Passion and Resurrection,
Night Prayer, A drop in the ocean, Legend of the walled-in woman, Long
Road
Carolyn Sampson (soprano) Polyphony; Britten Sinf/Stephen Layton rec.
2010
HYPERION CDA67796 [64:09] [JQ]
Hyperion
introduce us to the music of another very interesting Baltic composer
in definitive performances.
Louise
FARRENC (1804-1875) Sonata 2 Pauline
VIARDOT-GARClA (1821-1910) Sonatine, Morceaux
Annette-Barbara
Vogel (violin) Ayako Tsuruta (piano) rec. 2001
CYBELE 351.101
[58:46] [DC]
Attractive,
if not earth-shattering.
Gabriel
FAURÉ (1845-1924) Piano Quartets 1 & 2; Ballade
Marguerite Long (piano) Trio Pasquier, Jacques Thibaud (violin) Maurice
Vieux (viola) Pierre Fournier (cello) Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire
O/Andre Cluytens rec. 1940/56
PRISTINE AUDIO PACM076 [80:00]
[GA]
These
classic performances of Fauré’s Piano Quartets are given a new lease
of life, and should be acquired by anyone who enjoys Fauré or chamber
music.
Jacqueline
FONTYN (b.1930) Six Climats see CLIMATE
CHANGES
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Christopher FOX (b.
1955) Catalogue Irraisoné
Christopher Fox (speaker) Exaudi/James Weeks rec. 2006
METIER MSVCD92103 [53:00]
[CR]
Not
to be missed.
César
FRANCK (1822-1890)
Symphony, Le chasseur maudit
Vienna State Opera O/Artur Rodzinsky rec. 1954
FORGOTTEN RECORDS FR181 [55:53]
[RMay]
Rodzinsky
made me listen to these works with fresh ears.
Cesar
FRANCK (1822-1890) Violin Sonata see BRAHMS
César
FRANCK (1822-1890) Violin Sonata see Virtuoso
Wilhelm
FURTWÄNGLER (1886-1954)
Violin Sonata 2 Ludwig van BEETHOVEN
(1770-1827) Violin Sonata 8
Sophie Moser (violin) Katja Huhn (piano) rec. 2005/8
HÄNSSLER PROFIL PH11023 [60:34]
[MC]
An
uncommon pairing. Well worth hearing. A fascinating release.
Stacy
GARROP (b.1969)
Silver Dagger, In Eleanor's Words, String Quartet
3 Lincoln
Trio, Buffy Baggott (mezzo) Kuang-Hao Huang (piano) Biava Qt rec. 2009/10
CEDILLE
CDR90000122 [67:30]
[Byz]
Garrop's
writing is undeniably imaginative, even innovative.
Angelo
GILARDINO
(b.1941)
Concerto di Oliena, Studi di Virtuosità e di Trascendenza
Cristiano Porqueddu (guitar) "Sardinia Chamber Orchestra"
(electronically synthesised) rec. 2010
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 9208 [67:24]
[Byz]
There
are no good reasons to buy this disc.
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Alberto GINASTERA
(1916-1983) Cello Concertos 1 & 2
Mark Kosower (cello) Bamberg SO/Lothar Zagrosek rec. 2009/2010
NAXOS 8.572372 [68:58] [Byz]
A
marvellous team performance making a compelling case for these concertos.
The Government must act now to make these compulsory components of the
repertoire.
Berthold
GOLDSCHMIDT (1903 – 1996) Cello Concerto see
KORNGOLD
David
GOMPPER (b.1954) Violin Concerto, Ikon, Flip,
Spirals
Wolfgang David, Peter Zazofsky (violin) Royal PO/Emmanuel Siffert rec.
2009
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559637 [70:28] [Byz]
An
intriguing mixture of Romanticism and discreet atonality.
Morton
GOULD (1913-1996) Saint Lawrence Suite, Jericho Rhapsody,
Derivations, Symphony 4
Stephanie Zelnick (clarinet) University of Kansas Wind Ens/Scott Weiss
rec. 2010
NAXOS 8.572629 [62:00] [NB]
Bubbling
creative energy and humour prove central to Gould’s success.
John
GRANLUND (1888-1962) Passacaglia, Organ Sonata see
OrganOrgan
Edvard
GRIEG (1843-1907)
Violin sonatas 1-3
Natalia Lomeiko (violin) Olga Sitkovetsky (piano) rec. 2001
DYNAMIC DM8016 [61:53]
[Byz]
Confident,
expressive, poetic, optimistic: it is hard to imagine a performance
that Grieg himself would have liked more than this one.
Edvard
GRIEG (1843-1907) Piano Concerto see
MENDELSSOHN
Heinz
Karl GRUBER
(b. 1943) Busking,
Nebelsteinmusik, Violin Concerto 1
Håkan Hardenberger (trumpet) Katarina Andreasson (violin) Swedish
CO/Heinz Karl Gruber rec. 2008/9
BIS BIS-CD-1781 [78:19] [HC]
Three
substantial and often beautiful works in splendid readings and recording.
George
Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759) Alessandro Severo Niccolo
MANZARO (1795-1872)
Don Crepuscolo
Mary Ellen Nesi (mezzo) Christophoros Stamboglis (bass) Armonia Atenea/George
Petrou rec. 2010
MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM MDG6091674-2 [3CDs: 185:59]
[RH]
Handel’s
pasticcio functions well as a dramatic entity and as an omnium gatherum
of his music, plus the performances are terrific.
Franz
Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809) Violin and cello concertos
Salvatore Accardo (violin) Christine Walevska (cello) English CO/Salvatore
Accardo, Edo de Waart rec. 1972/1980
NEWTON CLASSICS 8802017 [68:49 + 73:29] [GPu]
Accardo’s
violin concertos are worth having; Walevska’s cello concertos are somewhat
ponderous.
Franz
Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809) String Quartets Vol. 3
Leipziger Streichquartett rec. 2009
MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM MDG 307 1683-2 [67:03]
[MG]
Clean,
thoughtful, satisfyingly classical accounts.
E.T.A.
HOFFMANN
(1776-1822) Liebe
und Eifersucht Gary Martin (baritone) Robert Sellier (tenor)
Ludwigsburger
Schlossfestspiele O/Michael Hofstetter rec. 2008
CPO 777 435-2 [56:25 + 65:31]
[GPu]
It’s
no undiscovered masterpiece, but Hoffmann’s singspiel makes for enjoyable
listening.
Herbert
HOWELLS (1892-1983) Choral Music
Rodolfus Ch/Ralph Allwood, Tom Winpenny (organ) rec. 2009
SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD190 [69.02] [EM]
A
splendid conclusion to an excellent disc of exquisite and radiant singing.
Herbert
HOWELLS (1892-1983) Five Early Songs; Three Rondeaux see
SOMERVELL
Engelbert
HUMPERDINCK (1854-1921) Königskinder
Klaus Florian Vogt (tenor) Juliane Banse (soprano) Christian Gerhaher
(baritone) Rundfunkchor Berlin, Berliner Mädchenchor, Deutsches
SO Berlin/Ingo Metzmacher rec. 2008
CRYSTAL CLASSICS N67044 [3 CDs: 156:00] [ST]
While
not an under-rated masterpiece it’s a good place to turn if you like
Hansel and Gretel, and a recording as good as this one is a perfect
introduction.
Claude
LE JEUNE (1528/1530-1600)
Dix
Pseaumes de David (1564)
Ludus Modalis (Nathalie Marec, Annie Dufresne (sopranos); Jean-Christophe
Clair (alto); Bruno Boterf, Vincent Bouchot (tenors); François Fauché,
Jean-Michel Durang (basses); Yannick Varlet (organ, harpsichord))/Bruno
Boterf (director) rec. 2010. DDD
RAMEE RAM 1005 [75:28]
[Byz]
Beautifully
crafted, texturally full-bodied and deeply expressive from beginning
to end.
Sven
Lyder KAHRS (b. 1959) Dew Sparrows Breath:
Wie eine Blume, von der ich Namen nicht weiss; Und fernhin, ehe
alles geschieht; Umile e tardo; Wir nur ziehen allem vorbei, wie ein
luftiger Auftauch;Mas tes désirs ont la couleur du vent; Sparrows
Pierre Strauch and Anton Lukoszevieze (cello) Ens Recherche, Duo Slaato
Reinecke, Ens Ernst/Thomas Rimul, Dimitri Vassilakis (piano) asamisimasa
rec. 2005-2008
AURORA ACD5017 [71:03]
[CR]
A
fascinating collection … a striking and imaginative modernist voice.
Reinhard
KAISER (1674-1739) Passion Music
Capella Orlandi Bremen/Thomas Ihlenfeldt rec. 2009
CPO 999 821-2 [79.24]
[EM]
These
un-dramatic interpretations are particularly unfitting
August
KLUGHARDT (1847-1902) Violin Concerto, Symphony 3
Mirjam Tschopp (violin) Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau/Golo Berg. rec.
Dessau 2008-9
CPO 777 465-2 [77:46]
[RB]
I
do hope that CPO will record the other Klughardt symphonies; there are
five in total.
Erich
Wolfgang KORNGOLD (1897-1957) Songs - Vol. 1
Britta
Stallmeister (soprano) Uwe Schenker-Primus (baritone) Klaus Simon (piano)
rec.2007/2008
NAXOS 8.572027 [76:53]
[DM]
A
very worthwhile addition to the catalogue.
Erich
Wolfgang KORNGOLD
(1897 – 1957) Cello concerto Ernest
BLOCH (1880 – 1959)
Schelomo Berthold GOLDSCHMIDT (1903
– 1996) Cello Concerto
Julian Steckel (cello) Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie/Daniel
Raiskin rec. 2009
C-AVI 8553223 [54:04]
[NB]
Julian
Steckel – remember that name – Bravo!
Erich
KORNGOLD (1897-1957) String sextet see MENDELSSOHN
Pierre
de LA RUE (c.1460-1518)
Missa de Feria, Pater de celis Deus, Missa Sancta Dei
genitrix
Gothic Voices/Christopher Page, Christopher Wilson, Shirley Rumsey (lutes)
rec. 1997
HYPERION HELIOS CDH55296 [65.35]
[GH]
Incredibly
uninteresting, inexpressive and even dull.
Mario
LAVISTA
(b.1943) Complete
String Quartets
Cuarteto Latinoamericano rec. 2007
TOCCATA TOCC0106 [75:27]
[MS]
Lavista's
music has enough about it of difference and contrast to appeal to a
wide audience. Impeccable performances that both satisfy and whet the
appetite. A bit of a find.
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Kenneth LEIGHTON
(1929-1988) Et Resurrexit, Six Fantasies on Hymn Tunes
4-6, Missa de Gloria
Greg Morris (organ) rec. 2009
NAXOS 8.572601 [70:10] [NB]
Naxos
have a winner of a disc here.
Magnus
LINDBERG (b.1958)
Orchestral Music
Avanti! CO, Finnish RSO, Bavarian RSO/Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste,
Esa-Pekka Salonen rec. 1989-2008
ONDINE ODE1110-2Q [4 CDs: 258:27]
[RB]
Avant-garde
origins never quite let go. Brilliance, fantastic, imaginative orchestra
textures all add to the draw of this music.
Franz
LISZT (1811-1886)
Études d’exécution transcendante 7 & 11, Légendes
1 & 2, Ave Maria, Hungarian Rhapsody 12, Pater Noster
Martin Berkofsky (piano) rec. 2010
ARTS 47757-8
[78:27] [DC]
A
recording with great atmosphere and personal integrity.
Franz
LISZT (1811-1886) Voll
Freud und Leid - Ausgewählte Lieder
Hans Jörg Mammel (tenor) Hilko Dumno (piano) rec. 2010
CARUS 83.446 [59:57] [GF]
I
like a lot of what Mammel is doing but he lessens the impact of the
songs by making them seem smaller than they are.
Franz
LISZT (1811-1886) Piano sonata see
RACHMANINOV
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