Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Symphony 5 
London PO/Klaus Tennstedt rec. 1088
ICA CLASSICS ICAD 5041 
[76:09] 
[JQ]
A
splendid visual record of a great Mahler conductor directing a blazing
performance.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Das Lied von der Erde
Carolyn Watkinson (mezzo) John Mitchinson (tenor) BBC PO/Kurt Sanderling
rec. 1988 see
Schumann Symphony
4
Niels
MARTHINSEN
(b.1963)
Symphony no.2 Snapshot (2009) [30:29] Concerto, In the Shadow
of the Bat, for three trombones and orchestra (2009) [19:38] Snow
White’s Mirror - Opera Trailer (2010) [12:53] The King of Utopiaville
Demo (2009) [6:56]
HÅkan Björkman, Stefan Schulz, Jörgen van Rijen (trombones) Aarhus
Symphony Orchestra/Christian Lindberg rec. 2009. DDD
DACAPO 8.226545 [56:23] 
[Byz]
Marthinsen's
genre-bending music should find an audience easily
Bohuslav
MARTINŮ
(1890-1959) Viola Sonata see Music
for Viola and Piano
Giuseppe
MARTUCCI (1856-1909) Piano Concerto 2; Notturno; Tema
e Variazioni
Pietro Massa (piano) Neubrandenburger Philharmonie/Stefan Malzew rec.
2009/10
CRYSTAL CLASSICS N67052 [69:43] [Byz]
A
worthy disc likely to be enjoyed by anyone keen on Romantic piano concertos.
William
MATHIAS (1934-1992)
Piano Concertos 1 & 2 Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
(1872-1958) Fantasy
Mark Bebbington (piano) Ulster O/George Vass rec. 2011
SOMM SOMMCD 246 [70:46] [NB]
Unknown
Vaughan Williams is always a delight to discover. Of the Mathias concertos
the second in particular is the treasure here.
Jenny
McLEOD (b.1941) The Emperor and the Nightingale,
Three Celebrations, Rock Concerto
Helen Medlyn (narrator) Eugene Albulescu (piano) New Zealand SO/Uwe
Grodd rec. 2010
NAXOS 8.572671 [67:35] [Byz]
Colourful,
straightforward, optimistic.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Die Zauberflöte
Ileana Cotrubas, Peter Schreier, Christian Boesch, Martti Talvela, Edita
Gruberova, Vienna PO/James Levine rec. 1982
ARTHAUS MUSIK 107199 [2
DVDs: 189:00] 
[RJF]
A
top recommendation. They do not do productions like this any more I
regret to say.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Piano Sonatas, Fantasia
Daniel Levy (piano) rec. 2009
EDELWEISS EDEM 3366 [78:35] [IL]
Inspired
Mozart played with élan.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Piano Concertos 19 & 23, Aria, “Ch’io mi scordi di te?”
Hélène
Grimaud (piano) Mojca Erdmann (soprano) Bavarian Radio CO rec. 2011
DEUTSCHE
GRAMMOPHON 477 9455 [64:18] [GA]
Hélène
Grimaud’s Mozart is big, and certainly not dull; others may find
it a little heavy-handed.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
6 Wiener Sonatinen (1786): No. 1 in C major [10:15];
No. 2 in A major [9:28]; No. 3 in D major [5:58]; No. 4 in B flat major
[8:28]; No. 5 in F major [7:27]; No. 6 in C major [11:52]
Meiko Miyazawa (piano) rec. Antwerp, 2010
TALENT DOM 2929 04 
SACD
[53:54] [TB]
Nicely
recorded and tastefully turned.
Modest
MUSSORGSKY (1839-1881) Night on the Bare Mountain,
Pictures at an Exhibition see TCHAIKOVSKY
Carl
NIELSEN (1865-1931) Clarinet Concerto see
EÖTVÖS
Jacques
OFFENBACH (1819-1880) La Belle Hélène
Vesselina
Kasarova (mezzo) Deon van der Walt (tenor) Oliver Widmer (baritone)
O & Ch Zürich Opera House/Nicholas Harnoncourt rec. 1997
ARTHAUS MUSIK
100 087 [124:00] [JS]
Well
worth hearing but I doubt if you will want to see it more than once.
Maurice
OHANA (1913-1992) Etudes d'Interprétation
María Paz Santibáñez (piano) rec. 2009/10
LA MÀ DE GUIDO LMG 4009 [60:44]
[Byz]
Ohana
is nowhere near as daunting as Stockhausen or Boulez, and offers up
considerable reward in terms of the pianistic exploration of textures
and sonorities.
Andrzej
PANUFNIK (1914–1991) Symphonic Works - Volume 4
Sinfonia Elegiaca, Sinfonia Sacra, Symphony 10
Konzerthausorchester Berlin/Lukasz Borowicz rec. 2010
CPO 777 683-2 [62:09]
[RB]
Jaggedly
rhythmic violence and understated yet breathtaking eloquence.
Harry
PARTCH (1901 - 1974) Enclosure 8
1. Music Studio: Harry Partch [18:04]
2. Windsong [17:47] 3. U.S. Highball (1943, revised 1955) [24:26] 4.
Rotate the Body in all Its Planes [9:00] 5. The Music of Harry Partch
[29:59] 6. Barstow (1941, rev. 1968) [10:49] 7. Castor and Pollux –
A Dance for the Twin Rhythms of Gemini (1952) [17:18]
San Diego Harry Partch Ensemble
INNOVA 399 [127:23]
[PSe]
Innova’s
second “final” Harry Partch Enclosure features five fabulous films pristinely
preserved on DVD, plus two previously unpublished videotape recordings
– a bargain at any price.
Arvo
PÄRT (b.
1935) Piano Music
Ralph van Raat (piano) Netherlands Radio CPh/JoAnn Falletta rec. 2010
NAXOS
8.572525 [65:53] [LW]
A
program of piano works tracing Arvo Pärt’s career from his
student days to the present.
Dora
PEJAČEVIC (1885-1923) Piano Trio; Cello Sonata
Andrej
Bielow (violin) Christian Poltéra (cello) Oliver Triendl (piano) rec.
2008
CPO 777 419-2 [63:57]
[Byz]
Radiant,
passionate, supremely lyrical.
Krzysztof
PENDERECKI (b.1933) Duo Concertante see
RIHM
Giovanni
Benedetto PLATTI (1697-1763) Cello Concerto in D minor see
VIVALDI
Manuel
PONCE (1892-1948) Six Preludes see Stefanizzi
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Amilcare
PONCHIELLI (1834-1886) La Gioconda
Deborah Voigt (soprano) Richard Margison (tenor) Ch & O/Corps de
Ballet of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona/Daniele Callegari rec.
2005
ARTHAUS MUSIK DVD
107291 [2 DVDs: 174:00] [RJF]
Rarely
performed nowadays, Ponchielli’s best known opera is unlikely to get
a better-staged, sung and danced performance than it does here.
Francis
POULENC (1899-1963) Les Biches see
STRAVINSKY
Sergey
PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Romeo and Juliet
see
Nobel
Prize Concert 2009
Veli-Matti
PUUMALA (b.1965) Chainsprings, Seeds of Time,
for piano and orchestra
Roland Pöntinen (piano) Tampere Phil/Hannu Lintu rec. 2009-2010
ALBA ABCD
319 [64:34]
[Byz]
Music
that is generally masculine, energetic, occasionally almost kitschly
post-modern, and sometimes introspective.
Sergei
RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Piano Sonatas 1 &
2, Three piano pieces, Nunc dimittis
Leslie Howard (piano) rec. 2009
MELBA MR301127 [75.23] [RBe]
Full
of passion and shimmering, nervous energy.
Sergei
RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Piano Sonata 2; Corelli Variations;
Moments Musicaux
John Lill (piano) rec. 1994-97
REGIS RRC 1331 [78:30] 
[Byz]
Rachmaninov's
music is superb and Lill is in excellent form.
Sergei
RAKHMANINOV (1873-1943)
The Great Works for Solo Piano and Paganini Rhapsody Track-listing
at end of review
John Lill (piano) BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Tadaaki Otaka rec.
1994-1997. DDD
NIMBUS NI 1736 [4 CDs: 71:00 + 63:59 + 75:28 + 77:00] [DM]
Good
playing, good recording and good value; don’t hesitate.
Chanson
Vocalise
Sergei RACHMANINOV
(1873-1943) Cello Sonata, Vocalise Viktor
SUSLIN (b. 1942) Chanson contre raison, Ton
H
Hyun-Jung Berger (cello) José Gallardo (piano) rec. 2011
SOLO MUSICA SM 165 [67:00] [MC]
Worth
investigating.
Maurice
RAVEL (1875-1937) Le Tombeau de Couperin, Piano Concerto
in G
Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano) Hélène Grimaud (piano) Royal PO/Jesús Lopez-Cobos
REGIS
RRC1339 [68:19] [BR]
A
tale of two pianists: Grimaud’s living-daylights concerto bests Thibaudet’s
stubborn, eccentric solo pieces.
Maurice
RAVEL (1875-1937) Piano Concerto see
Nobel
Prize Concert 2009
Maurice
RAVEL (1875-1937) Violin Sonata; Ma Mère l’Oye; Sonatine
see DEBUSSY
Maurice
RAVEL (1875-1937) Piano Trio see
FAURÉ
Steve
REICH (b. 1936) Triple Quartet, Piano Counterpoint, Different
Trains
London Steve Reich Ens/Kevin Griffiths, Vincent Corver (piano) rec.
2011
EMI CLASSICS 0873192 [54:43] [KM]
Continuing
with recordings of music by Steve Reich, this eponymous ensemble offers
two works in unrecorded versions, along with one that’s just like the
“official” recording.
Marga
RICHTER (b.
1926) Riders to the Sea (chamber opera in one act)
(1996) [59:15] Kyrie for string quartet and double bass
[7:30]
rec. 2006.
LEONARDA LE358 [66:45]
The
bell has the final say in this tragic, atmospheric and moving opera.
Wolfgang
RIHM (b.1952) Lichtes Spiel, Dyade
Krzysztof PENDERECKI (b.1933) Duo Concertante Sebastian
CURRIER (b.1959) Time Machines
Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin) Roman Patkoló (double bass) New York PO/Michael
Francis; Alan Gilbert rec. 2010/11
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 477 9359 [63:51] [Byz]
Mutter
rarely disappoints, and certainly will not in these searing performances.
Ned
ROREM (b.1923) Chamber Music with Flute
Fenwick Smith (flute) David Leisner (guitar) Ronald Thomas (cello) Ann
Hobson Pilot (harp) Mihae Lee (piano) rec. 1993/2008
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559674 [70:52] [Byz]
Nuanced,
intimate, well-structured and generally melodic.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gioachino
ROSSINI (1792-1868) Il Barbiere di Sivilglia
Rolando Panerai (baritone) Teresa Berganza (mezzo) Luigi Alva (tenor)
Covent Garden Ch & O/Carlo Maria Giulini rec. 1960
ICA ICAC 5046 [66:42 + 62:24]
[JS]
Pure
gold; a performance that takes wing and which captures the listener
in its spell whatever its sonic or other limitations.
RECORDING
OF
THE MONTH
Alec ROTH
(b. 1948)
Earthrise, Hymn to Gaia, Shared Ground, Ponticelli
Philippe Honoré (violin) Ex Cathedra/Jeffrey Skidmore rec. 2011
SIGNUM
CLASSICS SIGCD270 [42:30 + 49:00] [JQ]
Important
and stimulating music - all recorded for the first time - in excellent
and committed performances.
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for alphabetical listings by composer:
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1 New] [Part
2 A-B] [Part 3 C-L]
[Part 4 M-R] [Part
5 S-Z]
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