Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911)
Totenfeier, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen 
Sarah Connolly (mezzo) O Age of Enlightenment/Vladimir Jurowski rec.
2011
SIGNUM SIGCD259 [38:18] [MC]
Not
exceptional but certainly impressive in spite of short playing time.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911)
Das Lied von der Erde (arr. Arnold Schoenberg/Rainer Riehn)
Jane Irwin (mezzo); Peter Wedd (tenor) Manchester Camerata/Douglas Boyd
rec. 2010
AVIE AV 2195 [60:32] [JQ]
An
act of homage by Schoenberg but no substitute for Mahler’s wonderful,
luminous original.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911)
Symphony 1
Baltimore SO/Marin Alsop rec. 2008
NAXOS 8.572207 [54:55] [JWh]
A
really satisfying Mahler 1.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Symphony 4 (arr. Erwin Stein)
Hector BERLIOZ (1803-1869) Nuits
d’Été (arr. David Matthews)
Heather Shipp (mezzo) O of The Swan/David Curtis rec. 2009
SOMM RECORDINGS SOMMCD 245 [79:50] [JQ]
Well
worth investigating if you’re attracted to hearing ‘Mahler
lite’.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860
- 1911) Kindertotenlieder, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen,
Quartettsatz Ferruccio BUSONI (1866
- 1924) Berceuse élégiaque
Sara Mingardo (contralto) Musici Aurei/Luigi Piovano rec. 2011
ELOQUENTIA EL 1233 [62:21] [GF]
Part
of the vogue for recording Mahler songs in reduced versions for chamber
sized orchestra.
RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Bohuslav MARTINŮ (1890-1959)
Piano Quintet see Dawn
of Czech Modernism
Peter
MAXWELL DAVIES (b. 1934) Symphony 1, Mavis
in Las Vegas
BBC Philharmonic/Peter Maxwell Davies rec. 1994/97
NAXOS 8.572348 [68:03] [DM]
Great
fun; a reminder of the composer’s relaxed, more genial side.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Felix MENDELSSOHN
(1809-1847)
Elijah
Rosemary Joshua, Sarah Connolly, Robert Murray, Simon Keenlyside, Wrocław
Philharmonic Ch; Gabrieli Consort, Young Singers Scheme & Players/Paul
McCreesh rec. 2011/12
SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD300 [68:30 + 67:28] [ST]
Worth
every bit as much praise as McCreesh’s Berlioz.
Felix
MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) Choral works
St Albans Abbey Girls Ch, Lay Clerks of St Albans Cathedral Ch/Tom Winpenny
(organ) Peter Holder (organ) rec.2011
NAXOS 8.572836 [77:08] [JS]
A
refreshing, enjoyable and well filled disc.
Frederico
MOMPOU (1893-1987)
Preludes 5-10, Canciónes y danzas 5-12, Impresiones intimas
Olena Kushpler (piano) rec. 2011
CAPRICCIO C5115 [63:47] [JW]
A
warmly textured series of performances, well recorded.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Bassoon
Concerto
Antonio ROSETTI (1750-1792) Bassoon
Concertos
Kurpfalzisches Kammerochester, Orchestra/Eckhart Hubner (bassoon) rec.
2012
CPO 777 742-2 [57:46] [BMcC]
A
sense of wonder, hopefulness and optimism.
Modest
Petrovich MUSSORGSKY
(1839-1881) Boris Godunov
Yevgeny Nesterenko (bass)Choir of the Bolshoi Theatre/A.Rybnov Bolshoi
Theatre Orchestra/Mark Ermler rec. 1982
ALTO ALC 2504 [3 CDs: 61:22 + 49:14 + 79:06][RB]
A
Bolshoi recording - theatricality, both brazen and tender, is a given.
RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Vitězslav NOVÁK (1870-1949)
Piano Quintet see Dawn
of Czech Modernism
Jacques
OFFENBACH (1819
- 1880) La belle Hélène, Orphée aux enfers
Dame
Felicity Lott, Michel Sénéchal, Natalie Dessay, Yann Beuron
Les Musiciens du Louvre, Opéra National de Lyon/Marc Minkowski
rec. 1997/2000
ARTHAUS MUSIK 107 506 
[123:00 + 153:00] [GF]
Superb
singing and playing.
George
ONSLOW (1784-1853) Piano Sonata, Six Pièces,
Toccata see SPOHR
Carl
ORFF (1895-1982) Carmina Burana
Kiera Duffy (soprano) Marco Panuccio (tenor) Daniel Schmutzhard (baritone)
MDR SO & Ch/Kristjan Järvi rec. 2012
SONY CLASSICAL 88725446212 [60:00] [DM]
An
anti-climax in every sense; one for the sale bins.
Charles
Hubert Hastings PARRY (1848-1918)
Cello sonata see British
Works for Cello and Piano
Giovanni
Benedetto PLATTI (1697 - 1763) Sonatas
Rüdiger
Lotter (violin) Sebastian Hess (cello) Florian Birsak (fortepiano) rec.
2010
OEHMS CLASSICS OC836 [73:00] [JV]
An
eloquent dialogue between the three instruments.
Ignaz
PLEYEL (1757-1831)
String Quartets 'Paris' Vol. 1
Janáček Qt rec. 2011
ARS PRODUKTION ARS 38818 [63:26] [Byz]
No
admirer of Haydn's late String Quartets can fail to be pleased by this
disc.
Seppo
POHJOLA (b.
1965) String Quartets 1-4
The Kamus Qt rec. 2010
ALBA ABCD334 [69:50] [HC]
Pohjola's
first four string quartets in superb sound and readings.
Joachim
RAFF (1822-1882)
Piano Works - Volume 3
Tra Nguyen (piano) rec. 2011
GRAND PIANO GP634 [76:33] [Byz]
An
intuitive sense of expression and phrasing brings this magical music
to life.
Max
REGER (1873-1916)
Violin Sonatas 2 & 3, Romance
Ulf Wallin (violin) Roland Pöntinen (piano) rec. 2008
CPO 777445-2 [64:36] [JW]
Offers
the genuine Regerian experience.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Ottorino RESPIGHI
(1879-1936)
Marie Victoire
Takesha Meshé Kizart (soprano) Markus Brück (baritone) Ch
& O Deutschen Oper Berlin/Michail Jurowski rec. 2009
CPO 777 121-2 [3 CDs: 164:45] [NB]
A
major release of great value and interest.
Nicolai
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844-1908) Scheherazade see
BEETHOVEN
Antonio
ROSETTI (1750-1792) Bassoon Concertos see MOZART
Gioacchino
ROSSINI (1792
-1868) Aureliano in Palmira
Kenneth Tarver (tenor) Catriona Smith (soprano) Geoffrey Mitchell
Ch, London PO/Maurizio Benini rec. 2010
OPERA RARA ORC46 [3 CDs: 168:43] [RJF]
Not
among the greatest of the composer’s operas but a must for all
bel canto enthusiasts as well as Rossini completists.
Gioachino
ROSSINI (1792-1868) Complete Overtures Vol. 1
Prague Philharmonic Ch, Prague Sinfonia O/Christian Benda rec. 2011
NAXOS
8.570933 [60:04] [JWh]
Bright
and breezy but not quite an outright winner.
Miklós
RÓZSA (1907-1995) Violin concerto, Concerto
for String Orchestra, Theme, Variations and Finale
Jennifer Pike (violin) BBC Philh/Rumon Gamba rec. 2011/12
CHANDOS CHAN10738 [75:08] [JF]
A
superb recording that reveals all the colour and dynamics of these complex
and passionate scores.
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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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