Camille
SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921)
Complete piano works - Volume 1: Etudes 
Geoffrey Burleson (piano) rec. 2011
GRAND PIANO GP601 [67:14] [BR]
I
find myself wanting to be more enthusiastic than I am; marvelous music
in often prosaic performances.
Camille
SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921)
Symphonies 1-3, Symphonies in A & F
Bernard Gavoty (organ) Ntl O de l’ORTF/Jean Martinon rec. 1972-75
BRILLIANT
CLASSICS 94360 [79:06 + 77:15] [JS]
Very
much worth hearing. Real character and craftsmanship.
Camille
SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921) Complete Violin Concertos
Ulf
Hoelscher (violin) New Philharmonia O/Pierre Dervaux rec. 1977
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 94308 [76:10 + 73:31] [JS]
Yet
another winner from Brilliant’s constantly satisfying series of
reissues.
Camille
SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921) Violin Concerto 3, Havanaise
see MENDELSSOHN
Domenico
SCARLATTI (1685 - 1757) Viola d'amore sonatas
Valerio Losito (viola d'amore) Andrea Coen (harpsichord) rec. 2011
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 94242 [59:35] [JV]
An
intriguing and musically challenging perspective on some of Scarlatti's
sonatas.
Franz
SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Piano Trios 1 & 2, Arpeggione
Sonata
András Schiff (piano) Yuuko Shiokawa (violin) Miklós Perényi
(cello) rec. 1991
EUROARTS 
2066798 [118:00] [KM]
Great
music and excellent performances.
Franz
SCHUBERT (1770-1827) Piano Sonata 21
Franz LISZT (1811-1886) Schubert transcriptions
Rian de Waal (piano) rec. 2010
VALTHERMOND RECORDINGS [59:45] [DC]
A
unique and valuable testament.
Franz
SCHUBERT
(1797-1828) Operatic Overtures
Haydn Sinfonietta Wien/Manfred Huss rec. 1997
BIS BIS-CD-1862 [68.43] [DMcC]
No
better way to hear this still little known portion of Schubert’s
genius.
Franz
SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Grand Duo see MENDELSSOHN
Franz
SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Impromptu see
BEETHOVEN
Robert
SCHUMANN (1810-1856) Fantasie Sergei
RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Etudes-Tableaux
Alexander Drozdov (piano) rec. 2010
QUINTONE Q10008 [69:33] [Byz]
Modest
and unassuming, sensitive, unpretentious and captivating.
Robert
SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Piano Concerto, Introduction and Allegro appassionato, Introduction
and Concert-Allegro
Angela Hewitt (piano) Deutsches SO Berlin/Hannu Lintu rec. 2011
HYPERION CDA67885 [62:02] [DC]
Highly
desirable and extremely rewarding.
Robert
SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Violin Sonata no.1 in A minor, op.105 (1851) [17:21] Violin Sonata no.2
in D minor, op.121 (1851) [31:22] Clara SCHUMANN
(1819-1896) Drei Romanzen, for violin and piano, op.22 (1855)
[9:51]
Bruno Monteiro (violin) Joăo Paulo Santos (piano) rec. 2010. DDD
CENTAUR CRC 3086 [58:35] [Byz]
Approachably
intellectual playing with good attention to tempi and phrasing and very
little vibrato.
Robert
SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Symphony no.3 see GAL
Gerard
SCHURMANN (b.1924)
Duo for Violin and Piano, Leotaurus; theme and variations
for piano, Autumn Leaves for violin and piano, Contrasts
for piano
Alyssa Park (violin) Mikhail Korzhev (piano) rec. 2010,
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC 0133 [72:31][JW]
Outstanding
performances, finely judged recordings, hugely satisfying.
Heinrich
SCHÜTZ (1585 - 1672) Schütz Edition
Cappella
Augustana/Matteo Messori rec. 2003-2010
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 94361 [19 CDs: c16:40:00] [JV]
If
you want to get acquainted with Schütz’s music you better
spend a little more money on first-rate recordings.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH
(1906-1975)
Symphony 11
Leningrad PO/Yevgeny Mravinsky rec. 1959
REGIS RRC1387 [60:22] [JQ]
One
of those recordings that’s an essential element in any Shostakovich
collection.
Dmitry
SHOSTAKOVICH
(1906-1975) Symphonies 9 & 15
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR/Andrey Boreyko rec. 2009/2010
DDD
HÄNSSLER CLASSIC CD 93.284 [71:30] [LW]
Good
performances and recordings of Shostakovich staples, but the competition
is fierce.
Dmitri
SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975) String Quartets,
Piano Quintet
Alexander Quartet Volume 1
FOGHORN CLASSICS FCL 1988 [3 CDs: 74:58 + 74:01 + 73:42]
Volume 2
FOGHORN CLASSICS FCL 1991 [3 CDs: 72:12 + 69:40 + 71:01]
[DC]
Equal
to the best, both old and new.
Dmitri
SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975) String Quartets 1-4 Sergei
PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) String Quartet 2
Pacifica Qt rec. 2010-11
CEDILLE CDR 90000 130 [75.37 + 53.40] [PCG]
Much
to admire in these excellent, civilised and deeply considered readings.
Dimitri
SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975) Piano Trio 2 see
RAVEL
Andrzej
SIEWIŃSKI (d.
pre-1726) Requiem
Adam Myrczek (narrator) Camerata Silesia Singers Early Music Ensemble
Parnassos/Anna Szostak rec. 2011
DUX 0859 [51:29] [DMcC]
Serious
reservations but much here is attractive.
Bedřich
SMETANA (1824-1884) The Bartered Bride overture
see DVOŘÁK
Louis
SPOHR (1784 - 1859) German Songs Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Songs
Antonia Elisabeth Brown (soprano) Adriano Sebastiani (guitar) rec. 2009
BRILLIANT
CLASSICS 94274 [60:23] [JV]
Largely
disappointing performances of little-known songs.
Richard
STRAUSS (1864-1949) Elektra
Erna Schlüter, Hamburg State PO/Eugen Jochum rec. 1944
ACANTA 233494 [54:10 + 54:37] [PCG]
Very
well controlled but with plenty of emotion and passion.
Richard
STRAUSS (1864-1949) Songs
Felicity Lott (soprano) Graham Johnson (piano) rec. 2002
CHAMPS HILL RECORDS CHRCD037 [72:42] [Byz]
Singing
as it should be.
Richard
STRAUSS (1864-1949) Four last songs, Das was
sehr gut, Mandryka, Morgen mittag um elf
Anne Schwanewilms (soprano) Gürzenich O Köln/Markus Stenz
rec. 2011
ORFEO C858121A [52:49] [JQ]
Some
lovely Strauss singing but the account of Vier letzte Lieder fails to
challenge the best.
Richard
STRAUSS (1864-1949) Der Bürger als Edlemann,
Four Last Songs
Lisa Larsson (soprano) Musikkollegium Winterthur/Douglas Boyd rec. 2011
MUSIKPRODUKTION
DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM MDG 9011738-6 
[66:41] [JS]
Freshness
and transparency of approach.
Richard
STRAUSS (1864-1949) Symphonia
Domestica César FRANCK
(1822-1890) Le Chausseur maudit Riccardo
ZANDONAI 1883-1944) Serenata medioevale
Berlin State O, La Scala O/Carl Schuricht rec. 1942
PRISTINE AUDIO PASC 320 [77:44] [CH]
Shows
that Schuricht was more than just a German conductor of German classics.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Josef
SUK (1874-1935) Asrael Benjamin
BRITTEN (1913-1976) Sinfonia da Requiem
BBC SO/Jiří Bělohlávek rec. 2008
SUPRAPHON SU 4095-2 [61:50 + 21:23] [JQ]
A
fine souvenir of the fruitful partnership between Jiří Bělohlávek
and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Sir
Arthur SULLIVAN (1842 - 1900) The Mikado
Mitchell
Btuel, Kanen Breen, Taryn Fiebig, Orchestra Victoria/Brian Castles-Onion
rec. 2011
OPERA AUSTRALIA OPOZ56016CD [51.04 + 36.42] [RH]
Dynamic
and quite vivid. Annoying or characterful, it depends on your point
of view.
Robert
SUTER (1919-2008)
Piano Suites 1 & 2, German Chansons Claudia
SUTTER unfassbar
Claudia Sutter (piano, alto sprechgesang) Leslie Leon (mezzo) rec. 2011
GUILD
GMCD 7382 [62:50] [JW]
A
deft homage to Suter whose voice is a strong, salient one.
Antoni
SZALOWSKI (1907-1973)
Sonatine for oboe and piano see
circle of Boulanger
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Joby
TALBOT (b.1971) Alice in Wonderland
Lauren Cuthbertson, Sergei Polunin, Edward Watson, Zenaida Yanowsky,
Covent Garden O/Barry Wordsworth rec. 2011
OPUS ARTE OA1056D [120:00
+ 30:00] [IL]
An
entrancing new look at the story of Alice in Wonderland.
Aleksander
TANSMAN (1897-1986)
Piano music
Elzbieta Tyszecka (piano) rec. Kameralna Hall named after Henryk Czyza,
Lódz Philarmonia, Lódz, Poland, July and October 2011.
ACTE PRÉALABLE AP0255 [61:32] [JW]
Habitual
generosity and imagination evident in these well recorded and engaging
miniatures.
John
TAVENER (b.1944)
We shall see Him as He is, Eis Thánaton, Theophany
Patricia
Rozario, John Mark Ainsley, BBC Ntl Ch & O Wales, City of London
Sinfonia, Bournemouth SO/Richard Hickox rec. 1992-94
CHANDOS 241-42 [61:08 + 67:06] [JQ]
Three
major Tavener scores powerfully advocated by Richard Hickox.
Pyotr
Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Violin Concerto
Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958) Fantasia on Themes by
Thomas Tallis
Susanna Yoko Henkel (violin) Duisburg PO/Jonathan Darlington rec. 2009/10
ACOUSENCE
ACO-CD 21510 [51:46] [BR]
Good
enough, but “good enough” does not translate to desirable
or necessary.
Pyotr
Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
The nutcracker and the mouse king - Choreography by Toer
van Schayk and Wayne Eagling
Anna Tsygankova, Matthew Golding, Holland Symfonia/Ermanno Florio
rec. 2011
ARTHAUS MUSIK 108 054 
[108:00 + 27:00 (bonus)] [RMay]
A
very enjoyable, artistically impressive and out-of-the-ordinary Nutcracker.
Pyotr
Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) The Sleeping
Beauty (highlights)
Slovak State PO/Andrew Mogrelia rec. 1991
NAXOS 8.572931 [76:59] [JF]
May
appeal to someone who cannot endure two and half hours of the full score.
Pyotr
Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Symphony 5 Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901)
La forza del destino Overture Jean SIBELIUS
(1865-1957) Valse triste
West-Eastern Divan O/Daniel Barenboim rec. 2004
WARNER CLASSICS 2564 621905 [58:35] [SA]
Enthusiastic
concert performances in which Barenboim elicits a level of polish from
his young group comparable to that of a good standing orchestra.
Pyotr
Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Piano Concerto 1 see
BEETHOVEN
John
THOMAS (1826-1913) Welsh Music for Voice &
Harps
Rachel Ann Morgan (mezzo & harp) Edward Witsenburg (harp) rec. 2011
GLOBE
GLO 5251 [64.57] [PCG]
The
first opportunity on disc to encounter some of Thomas’s song settings.
Dimitri
TIOMKIN (1894-1979) The Greatest Film Scores
Whitney Claire Kaufman & Andrew Playfoot (vocals) London Voices,
London SO/Richard Kaufman rec. 2011
LSO LIVE LSO0720
[77:05] [IL]
Good
in parts but devoted Tiomkin aficionados might well be disappointed.
Michael
TIPPETT (1905-1998)
Concerto for double string orchestra (1940) [22.23] Fantasia
concertante on a theme of Corelli (1953) [18.30] Little music
for strings (1946) [10.36] Evening canticles (1962) [7.44]*
Five negro spirituals from A child of our time (1938,
arr.1958) [10.22]+
English String Orchestra/William Boughton rec. 1987, 1990 and 1991;
* Choir of St John’s College Cambridge/George Guest, Alexander Martin
(organ); Chapel of St John’s College, ; + Choir of Christ Church Cathedral,
Oxford/Stephen Darlington;
NIMBUS NI 7026 [69.35][PCG]
Those
who would just like a sample of some of the composer’s most immediately
approachable music will welcome this disc.
Ralph
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
Overture to The Wasps, The lark ascending, Oboe Concerto, Fantasia
on a theme by Thomas Tallis, Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus
Michael
Bochmann (violin); Maurice Bourgue (oboe) English String O/William Boughton
rec. 1985/9
NIMBUS NI 7103 [70.05] [PCG]
As
a package this is highly acceptable if these are precisely the works
you want.
Ralph
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958) On Wenlock Edge;
Merciless Beauty; Prelude on Three Welsh Hymn-Tunes; Five
Tudor Portraits
rec. 1950-60
ALBION ALBCD014 [73:49 + 21:02] [JS]
A
very welcome and imaginatively chosen selection of recordings which
very much deserve resurrection.
Ralph
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958) Fantasia on Themes by Thomas
Tallis see TCHAIKOVSKY
Giuseppe
VERDI (1813 - 1901) Il trovatore
Leontyne Price, Franco Corelli, Mario Sereni, Irene Dalis, Met Opera/Fausto
Cleva rec. 1961
SONY CLASSICS 88697 910062 [65:22 + 59:30] [GF]
A
thrilling document of a Met performance reeking with passion.
Giuseppe
VERDI (1813-1901) Simon Boccanegra
Plácido Domingo, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Anja Harteros; O &
Ch Teatro alla Scala/Daniel Barenboim rec. 2010
ARTHAUS MUSIK 108 039
[149:00] [DBi]
This
is a finely sung and played performance, but beware static staging and
poor disc production values.
Giuseppe
VERDI (1813
- 1901) Aida
Maria Curtis Verna, Franco Corelli, Torino della RAI SO & Ch/Angelo
Questa rec. 1956
WARNER MUSIC 2564 66211-8 [74:28 + 62:06] [GF]
If
you already have a good modern recording of Aida this is a worthy complement.
Giuseppe
VERDI (1813-1901) Requiem see BEETHOVEN
Richard
WAGNER (1813-1883) Parsifal
Christian Elsner, Michelle de Young, Evgeny Nikitin
Berlin RSO & Ch/Marek Janowski rec. 2011
PENTATONE PTC5186401
[4 CDs: 226:20] [ST]
The
finest release in this Janowski/Wagner series so far. Admirable and
well worth picking up.
Sir
William WALTON (1902-1983)
Choral Music
Stephen Farr (organ) Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford/Stephen Darlington
rec. 1992, Full English and Latin texts provided
NIMBUS RECORDS NI 5364 [53:13] [MC]
Sung
with devotion, character and exquisite tonal blending.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Mieczysław WEINBERG
(1919-1996) Complete Piano Works Vol. 2
Allison Brewster Franzetti (piano) rec. 2009-2010
GRAND PIANO GP607 [57:28] [SA]
Endlessly
fascinating and powerfully stated.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Mieczyslaw
WEINBERG (1919-1996) Symphony 20; Cello Concerto
Claes
Gunnarsson (cello) Gothenburg SO/Thord Svedlund rec. 2011
CHANDOS CHSA 5107 [70:50]
[BR]
At
last! A new recording of one of my favorite cello concertos. Drop everything
and listen to this.
William
YOUNG (c.1610-1662) An Englishman Abroad -
Works for Viola da Gamba
Hamburger Ratsmusik/Simone Eckert rec. 2009
CPO 777 569-2 [72:44] [JV]
An
important and exemplary production.
Judith
ZAIMONT (b. 1945) Art, fire soul - Piano
works
Elizabeth Moak (piano) rec. 2011
MSR CLASSICS MS1366 [79.57 + 75.39] [RH]
Beautifully
textured piano writing mixes with whimsical and unusual ideas.
Alexander
ZEMLINSKY (1871-1942) Piano trio see
GOLDMARK
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 
