Superbudget £5.99 or less 
Budget £6-7.99 
Medium £8-10.99 
Full
price £11+ 
Download
American
String Project:
Live 2010 - 10 Year Anniversary Album Works arranged for string
ensemble by Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn, Mendelssohn & Verdi. Documentary
American String Project rec. 2009/10
MSR CLASSICS MS1386 [68:40 + 72:32 + DVD: 25:25]
[JW]
A
certain lumbering quality inherent but fine playing, bold and confident.
Sir
Thomas Beecham conducts French Music rec. 1936-1959
EMI CLASSICS 9099322 [6 CDs: 407:44]
[JW]
Well
chosen, utilising established transfers and very competitively priced.
Jussi
Björling Jussi at Gröna Lund (complete recordings: 1950–1960)
Works by Mozart, Strauss, Liszt and others.
BLUEBELL ABCD 114 [3 CDs: 78:52 + 76:47 + 76:48]
[GF]
No
true admirer of Jussi Björling can afford to be without these recordings.
Alfred
Brendel on Music Three lectures. rec. 2010
UNITEL
CLASSICS 
703408
[225:00] [KM]
Alfred
Brendel gives three interesting lectures on music, but his delivery
makes them a tough slog.
Christmas
Cantatas of 18th century Gdansk - Vol. 2 Works by Roemhildt,
Pucklitz, Grain & Mohrheim
Ingrida Gapova (soprano) Jan Medrala (alto) Krzysztof Kozarek (tenor)
Szymon Kobylinski (bass) Goldberg Baroque Ens/Andrzej Mikolaj Szadejko
rec. 2010
SARTON 002-1 [69:21] [JW]
An
interesting disc but the solo singing is very variable indeed.
Come
to the River - an Early American Gathering
Apollo’s
Fire /Jeannette Sorrell (harpsichord) rec. 2009/10
AVIE AV2205 [65:56]
[JS]
A
very enjoyable disc which can be played as a whole - repeatedly - with
great pleasure.
Contemporary
British Organ Music - Vol. 3
Michael Bonaventure (organ) rec. 2010
SFZ M0111 [70:58] [Byz]
Not
a bad investment at all for organ music fans.
Conversazioni
I - Cantatas from a Cardinal's Court Works by Caldara, Albinoni,
Handel, and Scarlatti
Sounds Baroque/Julian Perkins rec. 2009
AVIE AV2197 [76:37]
[JV]
A
mixed baggage - Handel comes off best, some other items are disappointing.
Danielle
de Niese (soprano) Beauty of the Baroque Arias
by Handel, Purcell, Monteverdi, Pergolesi and Bach
Andreas Scholl (counter-tenor) The English Concert/Harry Bicket rec.
2010/11
DECCA 478 2260 [56:50]
[GF]
A
somewhat mixed bag but there is such freshness and charm here that in
the end one capitulates.
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Plácido
Domingo
- My Greatest Roles - Vol 4 Verismo Opera
WARNER CLASSICS 52498
493524 [4 DVDs: 112+112+78+35]
At
the bargain price offered, the quality singing in this collection shows
up more recent performances offered at full price. Grab a copy while
you can.
Plácido
Domingo - Live from the Vienna State Opera
Georges BIZET (1838-1875) Carmen Giuseppe
VERDI (1813-1901) Il Trovatore Richard
WAGNER (1813-1883) Lohengrin
Ch & O Vienna State Opera/Carlos Kleiber, Herbert von Karajan, Claudio
Abbado rec. 1978/1990
ARTHAUS MUSIK
107505 [4 DVDs: 524:00] [ST]
A
very affordable way of obtaining three highly collectable performances.
Echoes
of Time
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH
(1906-1975) Violin Concerto 1 Giya
KANCHELI (b. 1935) V&V
Arvo PäRT (b. 1935) Spiegel im Spiegel Sergei
RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Vocalise
Lisa Batiashvili (violin) Bavarian RSO/Esa-Pekka Salonen, Hélčne Grimaud
(piano) (Pärt; Rachmaninov) rec. 2010/1
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 477 9299 [68:21]
[MC]
A
beautiful played and recorded disc of twentieth century music. Batiashvili
playing is highly refined and gorgeous.
Fiesta
Criolla -
Latin-American - Orchestral Works Astor
PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992) Manuel
Gómez CARRILLO (1883-1968) Theodoro
Valcárcel CABALLERO (1896-1942) Francisco
MIGNONE (1897-1986) Guillermo
Uribe HOLGUIN (1880-1971) Alberto
WILLIAMS (1862-1952)
Nora Chastain (violin) Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen/Gabriel
Castagna rec. 2010
CHANDOS CHAN 10675 [77:10]
[ZT]
Obscure
symphonic treasures from South America.
Mirella
Freni - A Life Devoted to Opera A film by Marita Stocker
Mirella
Freni (soprano) rec. probably 2009/10
ARTHAUS MUSIK DVD
101 519 [58:00] [RJF]
A
fond memento of one of the greatest singers of her generation. A few
more extensive clips of her in performance would have been welcome.
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Giulini
in America Works by Britten, Dvorák, Mahler,
Mussorgsky, Prokofiev & Schubert
Chicago SO/Carlo Maria Giulini rec. 1976-78
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 477 9628 [5 CDs: 367:45]
[DC]
Classic
recordings in a bargain package – what’s not to like?
Going
Solo
Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio (violin) rec. 2010
MSR CLASSICS MS 1397 [70:06]
[BR]
Goodness,
what a fascinating program: Telemann, Ysa˙e, Porter, Schulhoff, a premiere.
And the playing is the work of a consummate professional.
The
Golden Age of Light Music Bright and Breezy
rec. 1936-60
GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5180 [78:54] [JF]
This
is a series than can probably continue indefinitely: roll on the next
81 releases!
Glenn
Gould in Concert 1951-1960
WEST HILL RADIO ARCHIVES WHRA 6038 [6 CDs: 423:44] [JW]
A
must for Gouldians, and indeed others too.
Great
British Sopranos
rec. 1904-49
REGIS RRC1374 [79:44]
[JW]
In
several minds about this … decent enough selection, though top-heavy
with Teyte and Sheridan.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH The
Italian Intermezzo Music Without Words from the operas
by Cilea, Puccini, Catalani, Giordano, Ponchielly, Mascagni, Verdi,
Wolf-Ferrari and Leoncavallo
BBC Philharmonic/Gianandrea Noseda rec. 2008-10
CHANDOS CHAN 10634 [72:32]
[IL]
Magical,
uninhibited heart-on-sleeve performances delivered in the very best
Chandos sound.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Kaleidoscope
Maria
Forsström (contralto) Andreas Edlund (harpsichord) Matti Hirvonen
(piano) (7-24) rec. 2010/1
MUSICA REDIVIVA MRSACD020 
[71:32]
[GF]
A
varied and fascinating and superbly executed disc.
Richard
Lewis: The Great Welsh Tenor Arias by Handel
and Folksongs of the British Isles
London SO/Malcolm Sargent; Chamber O/Charles Mackerras; Tina Bonifacio
(harp)
REGIS RRC1375 [79:33] [JW]
If
you want Lewis in this repertoire, stick with Dutton.
Light
and Shadow Modern orchestral works by Worthington, Oswald,
Albert, Russo, Lombardi & Perttu
Moravian PO, Plzen PO/Vit Micka; Russian PO/Ovidiu Marinescu; Ohio State
University O/Marshall Haddock rec. 2007-10
NAVONA RECORDS NV 5847 [52:04] [Byz]
While
not exactly trail-blazing this music deserves to be heard again.
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]
[last 5 days] [Recommended
recordings]
EXPLORE
MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL 
