RECORDINGS
OF THE MONTH
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Johannes BRAHMS
(1833-1897) Violin Concerto Jean SIBELIUS
(1865-1957) Violin Concerto 
Efrem Zimbalist (violin) Boston SO/Serge Koussevitzky; Cleveland O/Rudolf
Ringwall rec. 1944/46
PRISTINE AUDIO PASC 307 [77:33] [RB]
Simply
glorious and even astonishing. Not to be missed on any account.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Bob
CHILCOTT (b. 1955) Requiem, Salisbury Motets,
Downing Service
Laurie Ashworth (soprano) Andrew Staples (tenor) Jonathan Vaughn (organ)
The Nash Ensemble, Wells Cathedral Choir/Matthew Owens rec. 2011
HYPERION CDA67650 [79:39] [JQ]
An
excellent collection of music by Bob Chilcott, including an important
new Requiem.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Claude DEBUSSY
(1862-1918) Pour le Piano, Estampes, L’isle joyeuse Karol
SZYMANOWSKI (1882-1937) Prelude and Fugue, Sonata
Rafal
Blechacz (piano) rec. 2011
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 477 9548 [62.22] [RBe]
An
altogether brilliant recital from an outstanding young pianist.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH George ENESCU
(1881-1955) Chamber Music 1895-1906
Claudia Bara (piano) Tatiana Samouil (violin) Gérard Caussé (viola)
Vincent Lucas (flute) Justus Grimm (cello) Frédéric Mellardi (trumpet)
Carmen-Elena Rotaru (piano) rec. 2011
INDESENS INDE036 [76:02] [Byz]
A five-star CD that should appeal to anyone with ears and a heart.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Howard
HANSON (1896-1981) Symphony 1, The Lament
for Beowulf
Seattle SO/Chorale/Gerard Schwarz rec. 1988-1990
NAXOS 8.559700 [48:34] [DM]
Scandalously
neglected music, persuasively played.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Joseph HAYDN
(1732-1809) Piano Sonatas Vol. 3
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano) rec. 2011
CHANDOS CHAN 10689 [75:22] [MG]
You
may not agree with everything he does, but you know you’re in the presence
of great playing.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Bernard HERRMANN
(1911-1975) The Battle of Neretva; The Naked and
the Dead
Moscow SO/William T. Stromberg rec. 2010
TRIBUTE FILM CLASSICS TFC1007 [77:16] [RB]
Classic Herrmann. Rejoice collectors everywhere. This is a recording
project done to an enviable standard.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH
Erich Wolfgang
KORNGOLD (1897-1957) Die stumme Serenade
Sarah
Wegener, Birge Radde, Frank Buchwald, Young Opera Company, Holst-Sinfonietta/Klaus
Simon rec. 2009
CPO 777 485-2 [63:24 + 55:09] [IL]
Just the thing for unrepentant romantics.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH E.J. MOERAN
(1894-1950)
Sketches for Symphony 2, Overture for a Festival John
IRELAND (1879-1962) Sarnia
Royal Scottish Ntl O/Martin Yates rec. 2011
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX 7281 [59:14] [RB]
Sensational
… radiance, colour and drive.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Dmitri
SHOSTAKOVICH (1906
- 1975) Cello Concertos 1 & 2
Enrico Dindo (cello) Danish Ntl SO/Gianandrea Noseda rec. 2010/11
CHANDOS CHSA 5093 
[60:11] [DC]
A
must-have and a life-changer for Shostakovich fans.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Richard STRAUSS
(1864-1949) Lieder
Soile Isokoski (soprano) Marita Viitasalo (piano) rec. 2011
ONDINE ODE 1187-2 [64:05] [ST]
If
another song recital as good as this comes our way this year, then we
will be blessed indeed.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Richard WAGNER
(1813-1883) Götterdämmerung
Christian Franz, Deborah Polaski, Wolfgang Koch, John Tomlinson, Anna
Gabler, Philharmoniker Hamburg/Simone Young rec. 2010
OEHMS CLASSICS OC 928 [4 CDs: 266:10] [GD]
As
good as you could want.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH
Eternal Light
Elin
Manahan Thomas (soprano) Age of Enlightenment O/Harry Christophers
UNIVERSAL 4765970 [63:31] [MC]
I
cannot think of a finer exponent of early music around today than Thomas.
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.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH
Nilla Pierrou & en Stradivarius
Nilla Pierrou (violin) Eugène De Canck (piano) Roel Dieltiens
(cello) rec. 1974-93
OAK GROVE CD 2027 [3 CDs: 231:47] [GF]
Adds
a lot to the picture of Pierrou - an obligatory purchase for all those
who have heard her in concert but also those who haven’t.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Songs
of the Baltic Sea
National Youth Choir of Great Britain/Mike Brewer rec. 2008/10
DELPHIAN DCD34052 [76:59] [WH]
An
inspired and inspiring recital, magnificently sung and recorded.
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2 A-B] [Part 3 C-L]
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