The
American Album
Antonin DVORÁK
(1841-1904)
String Quartet 12 Charles Tomlinson
GRIFFES (1884-1920) Two Sketches Based
on Indian Themes Samuel BARBER
(1910-1981) String Quartet 
Cypress String Qt
CYPRESS STRING QUARTET [51:44] [BR]
Wonderful
program, spontaneous ensemble, wacky acoustic.
Du
angenehme Nachtigall
Collegium
‘Flauto e voce’ rec. 2011
CARUS 83.344 [69:01] [JW]
An
ingenious selection, cleverly compiled, fluently and engagingly performed
and finely recorded.
A
Piano Evening with Martha Argerich Sergei
PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Symphony 1; Piano Concerto 1
Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856) Violin
Sonata 1 Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1771-1827)
Triple Concerto
Martha Argerich (piano) Renaud Capuçon (violin) Gautier Capuçon (cello)
Flanders SO/Alexandre Rabinovitch-Barakovsky rec. 2005
ARTHAUS MUSIK 107 221 
[87:00]
[SA]
All
in all an extremely rewarding and satisfying DVD that will entrance
whenever it is played.
Martha
Argerich at the Verbier Festival
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Piano Concerto 2 Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH
(1906-1975) Piano Concerto 1 Georges BIZET
(1838-1875) Symphony
Martha Argerich (piano); David Guerrier (trumpet) Verbier Festival CO/Gábor
Takács-Nagy rec. 2010
EUROARTS/ IDÉALE AUDIENCE 3079564 
[87:00] [SA]
Argerich
has an uncanny ability to make everything she plays sound special.
Arrivederci
Vittorio Grigolo (tenor) Teatro Regio di Parma O/Pier Giorgio Morandi
rec. 2011
SONY CLASSICS 88697 911342 [66:14] [GF]
A
good lyrical tenor. I look forward to hearing more from him.
The
Art of the Bass Arias by Boito, Bizet, Gounod, Mussorgsky,
Rachmaninov, Rossini and Verdi
Carlo Colombara (bass) rec. 2003/6
NAXOS 2.110612 [68:28]
[DBe]
An excellent soundtrack let down by the visuals. Is it worth buying
this DVD for its audio alone?
The
Art of Lied Franz SCHUBERT
(1797-1828) Schwanengesang Robert
SCHUMANN (1810-1856) Dichterliebe Hugo
WOLF (1860-1903) Möricke-Lieder
Werner Gura (tenor) Cristoph Berner, Philip Mayers, Jan Schulsz (piano)
rec. 1998-2006
HARMONIA MUNDI HMX 2908460.61 [62:24 + 56:59] [JQ]
There
is much to enjoy here.
The
Art of Fugue
BACH, MOZART, SCHUMANN, REINECKE,
EISLER, BRITTEN, PURCELL, VILLA-LOBOS, HONEGGER,
ZEISL, MOSZKOWSKI
NFM
Wroclaw Chamber Orchestra 'Leopoldinum'/Ernst Kovacic
(violin, conductor) rec. 2010
CD ACCORD ACD 168-2 [69:21] [Byz]
Bach’s
spirit unsurprisingly permeates the programme.
Three
Ballets by Sir Frederick Ashton
Giacomo MEYERBEER (1791-1864)
Les Patineurs Igor STRAVINSKY
(1882-1971) Scènes de Ballet Various
Divertissements
Dancers of the Royal Ballet, Royal Ballet Sinfonia/Paul Murphy, Royal
Opera House O/Barry Wordsworth rec. 2004/10
OPUS ARTE OA1064D
[96:00 + 30:00 (extras)] [JS]
Not
everything on this disc is as good as Les Patineurs but it is full of
good things and it is all worth seeing at least once.
Battle
Music A Musical Journey: Germany
and England Music by Beethoven, Liszt, Ippolitov-Ivanov
& Rimsky-Korsakov
Slovak RSO/Ondrej Lenárd
NAXOS 2.110547
[54:00] [RJF]
A
Naxos Musical Journey with a difference and which I recommend to every
proud Englishman in particular.
Sir
Thomas Beecham in Toronto
CBC SO, Toronto SO, Royal PO rec. 1958-60
MUSIC & ARTS CD-1255 [4 CDs: 287:33] [JW]
For
Beecham followers this is a mandatory purchase.
Julian
Bream in Concerto Works
by Giuliani, Arnold, Ravel, Berkeley, Roussel & Cimarosa
Julian Bream (guitar) Melos Ensemble/Malcolm Arnold rec. 1960
ALTO ALC 1174 [70:02] [RB]
The
Bream benediction: phenomenal dexterity, remarkable dynamics and a gift
for the soft and the non-percussive.
The
Contemporary Lute Works by Stockhausen, Karkoff, Cage &
Reich
Peter Söderberg and Sven Åberg (lute, theorbo) rec. 1990/91
ALICE ALCD004 [64:35] [DC]
Still
an attractive disc, though more diaphanous than daring.
Plácido
Domingo Operas by Meyerbeer, Ponchielli and Saint-Seans
ARTHAUS MUSIK 107511
[4 DVDs: 474:00] [ST]
Great
ensemble performances of highly enjoyable operas and the price is very
good value too. A set to indulge in.
Duetti
Works by Bononcini, Mancini, Porpora & Marcello. Philippe Jaroussky,
Max Emanuel Cencic (counter-tenors) Les Arts Florissants/William Christie
rec. 2011 VIRGIN CLASSICS 5099907094323 [74:21] [JW]
Much
of this is rare and its colonisation by the two great counter-tenors
is hugely to our advantage.
French
Orchestral Miniatures - Vol. 1 Works by Delibes, Lalo,
Franck, Chabrier, Bizet & Saint-Saëns
Chamber Philharmonic of Bohemia/Douglas Bostock rec. 1996
SCANDINAVIAN CLASSICS 220522 [62:26] [SFV]
An
innovative program ... a must-have for Compleat Compleatists.
Mary
Garden (soprano)
Claude
Debussy, Jean Dansereau (piano) rec. 1904-1928
MALIBRAN CDRG 196 [79:14] [JW]
An
attractive selection of some of Garden’s more difficult-to-trace
recordings.
Gioia!
Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano) Comunitat O Valenciana/Omer Meir Wellber
DECCA
CLASSICS 4782730 [60.31] [RJF]
An
enjoyable premiere collection of arias from a singer who is collecting
encouraging reviews.
The
Golden Age of Light Music Holidays for Strings
rec.
1952-1961
GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5189 [79:08] [JF]
Recover
the fun and the sun of holidays past.
Emilio
de Gogorza (baritone) Selected Recordings
rec. 1900-27
MARSTON 52068-2 [79:38 + 79:23] [JW]
This
versatile baritone has been well served here, and this selection shows
him to have been a first rate, communicative artist.
Robert
Helps in Berlin
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559696-97 [55:36 + 62:13] [Byz]
Generally
introspective, concise, unhurried, often frigid, a paragon of clarity
and coherence.
Elsie
Houston (soprano) Queen of Brazilian Song
rec. 1928-41
MARSTON 51011-2 [79:22] [JW]
A
fitting, appropriate envoi to an unclassifiable singer who stamped her
mark on the music of her native country and beyond.
Eileen
Joyce (piano) The Complete Parlophone and Columbia Solo Recordings
1933-1945
APR 7502 [5 CDs: 368:01] [CH]
Should
leave no doubt that Eileen Joyce was a major figure. Performances to
be wondered at, pondered over and, occasionally, rejected.
Evgeni
Kissin: The Russian Archives Works by Tchaikovsky,
Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov & Scriabin
rec. 1985-89
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 9243 [3 CDs: 168:45] [SA]
Evgeni
Kissin has established himself as one on the great interpreters of Russian
piano repertoire.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Liaisons
Arias by Mozart, Cimarosa, Haydn & Salieri
Chen Reiss (soprano) L’arte del mondo/Werner Ehrhardt rec. 2010
ONYX 4068 [55:48] [GF]
Marvellous
singing – an interesting and un-hackneyed programme.
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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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