RECORDINGS
OF THE MONTH
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Johann Sebastian
BACH (1685-1750) The Well-Tempered Clavier Book
II 
Peter
Hill (piano) rec. 2011
DELPHIAN DCD34101 [78:49 + 79:21] [DC]
Bach
which will take you out of this world.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Béla BARTÓK
(1881-1945)
Works for Violin and Piano - Volume 1 Rhapsodies 1 & 2, Sonatas
1 & 2
James Ehnes (violin) Andrew Armstrong (piano) rec. 2011
CHANDOS CHAN10705 [80:30] [ST]
A
magnificent disc, wonderful playing captured in fantastic sound.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Ludwig van BEETHOVEN
(1797-1828)
Symphony 9
Annemarie Kramer (soprano) Wilke te Brummelstroete (alto) Marcel Reijans
(tenor) Geert Smits (bass) Consensus Vocalis Netherlands SO/Jan Willem
de Vriend rec. 2011
CHALLENGE CLASSICS CC72533 
[63:40] [DC]
Remarkably
revealing - how did Beethoven do that?
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Vincenzo BELLINI
(1801-1835)
Il Pirata
Carmen Giannattasio, José Bros, Geoffrey Mitchell Ch, London
PO/David Parry rec. 2010
OPERA RARA ORC45 [3 CDs: 159:28] [RJF]
This
dramatic performance takes this version well ahead of the dated competition.
RECORDING OF THE MONTH Hector
BERLIOZ (1803-1869)
Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 (1830) [54:58] Overture: Béatrice
et Bénédict (1862) [8:14] 
Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Robin Ticciati rec. 7-10 October 2011, Usher
Hall, Edinburgh, UK. Stereo and multi-channel 
LINN CKD 400 [63:12] [ST]
It’s
this disc I’ll be coming back to when I want to be reminded of just
how ground-breaking it still sounds.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Johannes
BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Brahms by Arrangement – Volume 1 String Quintets
Zebra String Trio rec. 2011
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC 0066 [77:35]
This
is the kind of disc that makes the most jaded listener sit up straight
and pay attention
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Benjamin
BRITTEN (1913-1976) Serenade, Nocturne
Gerald FINZI (1901-1956) Dies Natalis
Mark Padmore (tenor) Stephen Bell (horn) Britten Sinfonia/Jacqueline
Shave rec. 2011
HARMONIA MUNDI HMU 807552
[78:29] [JQ]
A
release that exudes quality.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Alfredo CASELLA
(1883-1947)
Orchestral Works Vol. 2 Concerto for Orchestra, A notte alta,
Symphonic Fragments from ‘La donna serpente’
Martin
Roscoe (piano) BBC Philharmonic/Gianandrea Noseda rec. 2011
CHANDOS CHAN10712 [73:26] [IL]
The
adventurous listener will be very well rewarded by this very imaginative
and colourful music.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Frédéric CHOPIN
(1801-1849) Piano Music Vol. 2
Louis Lortie (piano) rec. 2011
CHANDOS CHAN10714 [75:16] [DMcC]
Thoughtful,
engaging, and gorgeous.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Francisco CILEA
(1866-1950)
Adriana Lecouvreur
Angela Gheorghiu, Jonas Kaufmann, Ch & O Royal Opera House,
Covent Garden/Mark Elder rec. 2010
DECCA 074 3459 
[2 DVDs: 150:00] [ST]
Two
and a half hours of unalloyed operatic pleasure.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Claude DEBUSSY
(1862-1918)
Images, Jeux, Nocturnes, La Mer, Prélude
à l’après-midi d’une faune, Marche
écossaise sur un thème populaire, Printemps,
L’Enfant prodigue
Royal Scottish Ntl O/Stéphane Denève rec. 2011/12
CHANDOS CHSA 5102(2)
[78:04 + 68:22] [DC]
Sumptuous
sonic bathing: thrillingly superb.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Claude DEBUSSY
(1862-1918) Songs Vol. 2
Lorna Anderson (soprano), Lisa Milne (soprano), Malcolm Martineau (piano)
rec. 2011
HYPERION CDA67883 [66:47] [SA]
Thoroughly
enjoyable and rewarding in every way.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Jonathan DOVE
(b. 1959) The Passing of the Year
Convivium Singers/Neil Ferris, Christopher Cromar (piano) rec. 2011
NAXOS
8.572733 [69:23] [DMcC]
Gorgeous
and poignant, performed with wholehearted fervor.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Carlo GESUALDO
(1566-1613)
Madrigals Book 4
Delitiæ Musicæ/Marco Longhini rec. 2009
NAXOS 8.572137 [68:57] [MS]
Stylish,
convincing, profound and lovely performances. Buy it!
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH George
Frideric HANDEL (1685
- 1759) Concerti grossi
Concerto Copenhagen/Lars Ulrik Mortensen rec. 2009
CPO 777 488- 2 [58:35] [MG]
Minkowski
offers virtuosity and excitement, but Mortensen gives us state of the
art.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Christian Frederik
Emil HORNEMAN (1840-1906) Gurre Suite, Suite from
‘The Contest with the Muses’, Ouverture Héroique, Suite from Kalanus
Danish
Ntl SO/Johannes Gustavsson rec. 2010-11
DACAPO 6.220564
[66:07] [DC]
A
wealth of discovery, and with performances to match.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Leos JANÁCEK
(1854-1928)
Taras Bulba, Lachian Dances, Moravian Dances
Warsaw PO/Antoni Wit rec. 2010-11
NAXOS 8.572695 [54:27] [BR]
This
is the best Taras Bulba I’ve heard, full of original gestures
and sumptuously played.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Symphony 1, Symphony 5 Adagietto
Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949) Till
Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche
Boston SO/Erich Leinsdorf rec. 1962/3
ICA CLASSICS ICAD5051
[78:00] [CH]
An
astonishingly complete, all-embracing vision of Mahler 1, a brilliant
rapscallion of a Till and a gorgeous Adagietto.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gustav MAHLER
(1860-1911) Symphony 2
Charlotte Margiono (soprano) Jard van Nes (alto) Ch & O Staatskapelle
Dresden/Bernard Haitink rec. 1995
PROFIL EDITION PH07040 [33:16 + 53:11] [MC]
In
my experience nothing beats this remarkable Haitink account.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Claudio MONTEVERDI
(1567-1643)
Missa In illo tempore
Odhecaton/Paolo Da Col rec. 2011
RICERCAR RIC322 [64:35] [JV]
I
strongly urge you to purchase this disc.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Serge RACHMANINOFF
(1873-1973)
Moments musicaux Op.16 (1896) [27:33] Études-tableaux
Op.33 (1911) [23:35] Variations on a theme of Corelli Op.42
(1931) [17:45]
Xiayin Wang (piano) rec. 2011, 2012
CHANDOS CHAN 10724 [69:18] [NB]
A
disc of exceptional quality.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Franz
SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Piano Trios, Arpeggione Sonata
Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson
Trio rec. 2010
BRIDGE 9376A/B [64:15 + 74:07] [JS]
Likely
to give real and lasting musical pleasure.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Maria SZYMANOWSKA
(1789-1831)
Ballads and Romances
Elizabeth Zapolska (mezzo), Bart van Oort (piano – Broadwood, 1825)
rec. 2011 List of songs at end of review Texts and translations included
ACTE
PREALABLE AP0260 [71:54] [SA]
This
is a disc of rare quality
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Pyotr
Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY
(1840-1893) Violin Concerto, Sérénade Mélancolique,
Valse-Scherzo, Souvenir d’un lieu cher
James Ehnes (violin) Sydney SO/Vladimir Ashkenazy rec. 2010
ONYX 4076 [69:43] [ST]
An
altogether outstanding disc.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Pyotr
Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Eugene Onegin
Bo Skovhus,
Krassimira Stoyanova, Andrej Dunaev, Royal Concertgebouw O/Mariss Jansons
OPUS
ARTE OA 1067 D [151:00 + 30:00
extras] [JS]
A
version which anyone who loves this most personal of operas needs to
see and hear.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Alexander TCHEREPNIN
(1899-1977)
Complete Piano Music - Vol. 1
Giorgio Koukl (piano) rec. 2011
GRAND PIANO GP608 [62:38] [SA]
This
is one of those discs that makes me want to shout with delight... A
wonderful disc altogether!
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Dancing on
Ivory Romantic transcriptions for piano
Jue Wang (piano) rec. 2011
MSR CLASSICS MS1404 [55:10] [BR]
An
adventurous program which exposes a strong young pianist truly coming
into his own.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH New
Favourites
Swedish
Chamber Choir/Simon Phipps rec. 2011
MUSICA REDIVIVA MRSACD103
[73:47] [WH]
A
magnificent collection of modern Swedish choral music.
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]
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