Cristian
CARRARA (b. 1977) Mater, Face to Face, Liber Mundi,
Tales from the Underground 
Francesco D’Oracio (violin) Angela Nisi (soprano) Filarmonica
Arturo Toscanini/Matthieu Mantanus rec. 2011
ARTS 47759-8 
[54:25] [DC]
Disconnect
the phone, run the bath, pick up a cheap paperback.
Frédéric
CHOPIN (1810-1849)
Les sylphides arr. Roy Douglas (1909) [30:14] Léo
DELIBES (1836-1891) Coppélia (1870)
adapted for TV by Margaret Dale [48:48] Adolphe
ADAM (1803-1856) Giselle Act 2 pas
de deux (1841)
ICA CLASSICS DVD 
ICAD
5058 [99:46] [RMay]
This
hugely enjoyable DVD.
Frédéric
CHOPIN (1810-1849)
Piano Concerto 2, Sonata 2, Ballade 4
Khatia Buniatishvili (piano) Paris O/Paavo Järvi rec. 2011/12
SONY CLASSICAL 88691971292 [70:59] [DC]
Personal
and individual, sensitive and deeply intelligent and involving.
Frédéric
CHOPIN (1810-1849)
Piano Concertos 1 & 2
Ewa Kupiec (piano) Tasmanian SO/Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Melbourne SO/Christopher
Seaman rec. 2005/11
ABC CLASSICS 4764836 [73:25] [GA]
A
rather uneven Chopin concerto set from Ewa Kupiec.
Arcangelo
CORELLI (1653-1713)
Concerti Grossi 1-12
The Avison Ensemble/Pavlo Beznosiuk rec. 2011
LINN CKD411
[65:10 + 64:27] [BW]
Strongly competitive with earlier issues and additionally available
in SACD yet economically priced.
Claude
DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Danse sacrée and Danse
profane, Cello sonata, Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp, Violin sonata,
Rhapsody 1
Fabrice Pierre (harp) Jérôme Pernoo (cello) Elisabeth Rigollet
(piano) Ens Orchestral La Follia rec. 1997
INDESENS INDE042 [65:16] [WH]
Outstanding
performances seriously marred by inferior technical presentation.
Léo
DELIBES (1836-1891) Lakmé
Emma Matthews, Stephen Bennett, Aldo di Toro, Dominica Matthews, Opera
Australia/Emmanuel Joel-Hornak rec. 2011
OPERA AUSTRALIA OPOZ56020
[143:00] [JS]
Well
worth hearing but rather less so worth seeing.
Léo
DELIBES (1836-1891) Coppélia see Les
Sylphides
Frederick
DELIUS (1862-1934) French Masterworks: In a
Summer Garden, Five Songs to words by Paul Verlaine, Paris:
A Nocturne
Henriette Bonde-Hansen (soprano) Aarhus SO/Bo Holten rec. 2011-2012
DANACORD
DACOCD 728 [54:08] [MC]
Everything
about these performances feels just right.
Frederick
DELIUS (1862-1934) Cello sonata see
British Works for Cello
and Piano
Franz
DOPPLER (1821-1883)
& Karl DOPPLER (1825-1900)
Music for flute - Vols. 2 and 3
Claudi Arimany (flute) John Steele Ritter, Alan Branch, Marta Gulyas
(piano) rec. 2008-11
SAPHIR LVC1178 [79:03 + 79:09] [JS]
Fascinating
repertoire. Most likely to appeal to flautists who will get much from
these performances. Others may well gain unexpected pleasure from them
too.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Philipp DULICHIUS
(1562-1631)
Sacred Motets
Weser-Renaissance/Manfred Cordes rec. 2008
CPO 777 352-2 [64:46] [JV]
Immaculate
and often exciting performances.
Maurice
DURUFLÉ (1902-1986) Requiem Robin
MILFORD (1903-1959) Mass for five voices
Christine Rice (mezzo) Mark Stone (baritone) Guy Johnston (cello) Tristan
Mitchard (organ) Choir of Somerville College Oxford/David Crown rec.
2011
STONE RECORDS 5060192780208 [59.12] [PCG]
Most
valuable for the Milford and the Duruflé is nicely recessed performance
with charm and devotion.
Franz
Xaver DUSSEK (1731-1799)
Sinfonias
Helsinki Baroque O/Aapo Häkkinen rec. 2010
NAXOS 8.572683 [53:53] [JWh]
Tuneful
music brilliantly performed.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Antonín
DVOŘÁK (1841-1904) String Quartet
12 Bedřich SMETANA (1824-1884)
String Quartet 1 Josef SUK (1874-1935)
Meditation on the Old Czech Hymn Saint Wenceslas
Sacconi Qt rec. 2010
SACCONI RECORDS SACC104 [66:25] [DJB]
It
really doesn’t get much better than this.
Antonín
DVOŘÁK (1841-1904)
Symphony 9 Leos JANÁČEK
(1854-1928) Sinfonietta
SWR SO Baden-Baden und Freiburg/Sylvain Cambreling rec. 2005/9
GLOR CLASSICS GC11421 [67:35] [BR]
An
unexpectedly thrilling New World with full emotional power. Who’d
have known?
Antonín
DVORÁK (1841-1904)
Sonatina in G (originally for violin and piano) see Czech
Flute Music
George
DYSON (1883-1964) At the Tabard Inn, The Canterbury
Pilgrims, In Honour of the City
Yvonne Kenny (soprano) Robert Tear (tenor) Stephen Roberts (baritone)
London SO & Ch/Richard Hickox rec. 1996
CHANDOS CHAN 241-43 [57:25 + 45:23] [MC]
Indispensable
listening for lovers of late-Romantic English music.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Elisenda
FÁBREGAS (b. 1955) Voices of the Rainforest
Kate WARING (b. 1953) Alapana
Libby LARSEN (b. 1950) Slow
Structures Chen YI (b. 1953) Night
Thoughts
Meininger Trio rec. 2010
HÄNSSLER PROFIL PH11039 [56:39] [DM]
Utterly
absorbing; this music will give lasting pleasure.
Jindrich
FELD (1925-2007) Sonata see Czech
Flute Music
RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Gerald FINZI (1901-1956) Clarinet Concerto see
British
Clarinet Concertos
Grant
FOSTER (b. 1945) The Pearl of Dubai, The Ballad
of Reading Gaol
Mira Yevtich (piano) Andrew Goodwin (tenor) Sergey Roldugin (cello)
Novaya Russia SO, Hermitage SO, Belorussia SO & PO/Zaurbeck Gugkaev
rec. 2011/12
QUARTZ QTZ 2091 [67:22 + 37:14] [JS]
Little
in the way of individuality, formal interest or real drama but there
is an eloquence and sincerity that endears the music to the listener.
John
FOULDS (1880-1939) Cello sonata see
British Works for Cello
and Piano
Giovanni
GABRIELI (c.1554/7-1612) Music for the Feast of
St Rocco
Melodi Cantores, La Pifarescha/Elena Sartori (organ) rec. 2012
ARTS 477628
[72:11] [DC]
Thoroughly
attractive.
George
GERSHWIN (1898-1937) Piano Concerto, Rhapsody in Blue,
Second Rhapsody, I Got Rhythm Variations
Freddy Kempf (piano) Bergen PO/Andrew Litton rec. 2011
BIS-SACD-1940
[73:54] [BR]
Loudly,
proudly in a state of jazz, with snappy orchestral solos and an idiomatic
sense of fun. The Bergen Philharmonic unexpectedly commands the spotlight.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Orlando GIBBONS
(1583
- 1625) Hymns and Songs John SHEPPARD
(1515 - 1585) Missa Cantate, Spiritus Sanctus Thomas
TALLIS (1505 - 1585) Missa puer natus est nobis Robert
WHITE (1538 - 1574) Lamentations of Jeremiah
The Clerkes of Oxenford/David Wulstan rec. 1975/77
PHAIA MUSIC PHU005.7 [3 CDs: 175.43] [RH]
Astonishing
…. Amazing.
Christoph
Willibald GLUCK (1714-1787) Orfeo ed Euridice
Anita Rachvelishvili (alto) Maite Alberola (soprano) Auxiliadora Toledano
(soprano) Palau de la Musica Catalana Chamber Ch, Orquesta bandArt/Gordan
Nikolic (violin) rec. 2011
UNITEL/CLASSICA C MAJOR
710308 [110:00] [RJF]
An
over-fussy visual spectacular that may appeal to some but does no justice
to the music.
Edvard
GRIEG
(1843-1907) Piano Concerto Franz LISZT
(1911-1886) Piano Concerto 1, Fantasy on Hungarian Folk Themes
Georges
Cziffra (piano) Ntl O l’ORTF/Georges Tzipine, Andre Cluytens rec.
1959
ICA CLASSICS ICAC5079 [69:42] [SA]
I’ve
never heard anyone play the Grieg piano concerto better. Cziffra at
the very peak of his powers.
H
K GRUBER (b. 1943) 3 Mob Pieces, Busking Kurt
SCHWERTSIK (b. 1935) Divertimento Macchiato
Håkan Hardenberger (trumpet) Swedish CO/HK Gruber rec. 2009/10
BIS-CD-1884
[68:27] [DC]
Excellent
stuff: entertaining and inspiring.
Andreas
HAMMERSCHMIDT (1611/12-1675) Choral works Johann
ROSENMÜLLER (1619-1684) Magnificat
Gli Scarlattisti/Jochem Arnold rec. 2011
CARUS 83.375 [47:30] [JW]
A
celebratory tribute making a good case for these small-scale but enjoyable
works.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH George Frideric HANDEL
(1685-1759)
Acis and Galatea
Jeni Bern (soprano) Benjamin Hulett (tenor) Christ Church Cathedral
Choir; Oxford Philomusica/Stephen Darlington rec. 2012 English text
included
NIMBUS ALLIANCE NI6201 [75:36] [JS]
Supplements
rather than replaces the original but a delightful work in its own right.
One of the most enjoyable recordings I have heard for a long time.
George
Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759)
Rodelinda, Regina de’ Langobardi
Renee Fleming (soprano) Andreas Scholl (counter-tenor) Metropolitan
Opera O/Harry Bicket rec. 2011
DECCA 0743469
[170:00] [BW]
My
Rodelinda DVD of choice, though there is better to be had on CD.
Joseph
HAYDN (1732-1809)
Te Deum for chorus, orchestra and organ in C major, Hob. XXIIIc:2 (c.
1798/1800) [9:08] Ludwig van BEETHOVEN
(1770-1827) Cantata on the Death of the Emperor Joseph II, for
soloists, chorus, and orchestra, WoO87 (1790) [37:46] Cantata on the
Accession of Emperor Leopold II, WoO 88 (1790) [25:09]
Eva Müllerová (soprano); Edita Adlerová (mezzo); Aleš Vorácek (tenor);
Matej Chadima (bass); Alexandra Pridalová (flute); Jirí Šlechta (cello);
Jan Steyer (harpsichord/organ); The Prague Mixed Choir/Jan Steyer, Jirí
Petrdlík Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra of South Bohemia/Jirí Petrdlík
rec. 2012, No sung texts provided
ARCO DIVA, UP 0148-2 131 [72:16] [MC]
A
fascinating and well performed release that Beethoven and Haydn enthusiasts
will want to consider.
Franz
Joseph HAYDN (1732
- 1809) Baryton Divertimenti - Vol. 1
The Esterházy Machine rec. 2004
SMITHSONIAN FRIENDS OF MUSIC FOM 36-811 [66:53] [JV]
An
excellent opportunity to get acquainted with Haydn's baryton trios.
Franz
Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809) Symphony 47 see
TCHAIKOVSKY
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gary HIGGINSON
(b.
1952) Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Charlotte de Rothschild (soprano) Danielle Perrett (harp) Chapel Ch
of Selwyn College, Cambridge; Ely Cathedral Girls' Ch/Sarah MacDonald
rec. 2011
REGENT REGCD381 [76:49] [DJ]
A
magnificent introduction to an unjustly overlooked contemporary composer.
Engelbert
HUMPERDINCK (1854 - 1921) Hänsel und Gretel
Alice
Coote, Lydia Teuscher, London PO/Robin Ticciati rec. 2010
GLYNDEBOURNE GFOCD 015-10 [58:37 + 41:57] [GF]
Ticciati
holds his own in illustrious company. If you missed the Glyndebourne
production you will certainly not regret this purchase.
Engelbert
HUMPERDINCK (1854-1921) Hänsel und Gretel
Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
The Nutcracker
Angelika Kirchschlager (soprano) Diana Damrau (soprano) Royal Opera
O Covent Garden/Sir Colin Davis, Koen Kessels rec. 2008/9
OPUS ARTE OA1090BD
[3 DVDs: 205:00] [PCG]
You
would have to be a hard-bitten child - or adult - not to be absolutely
enchanted by both these performances.
John
IRELAND (1879-1962) Complete Organ Works
Stefan Kagl (organ) rec. 2008
CPO 777 481-2
[66.48] [EM-L]
Of
interest to Ireland aficionados.
John
IRELAND (1879-1962) Piano Music Vol. 4
Mark Bebbington (piano) rec. 2011
SOMM SOMMCD 0115 [74:54] [JF]
The
Bebbington cycle cannot be beaten. An excellent detailed exploration
of some of the finest British piano music.
Leos
JANÁČEK (1854-1928) Sinfonietta see
DVOŘÁK
Sigfrid
KARG-ELERT (1877-1933) Organ Works Vol. 7
Stefan Engels (organ) rec. 2011
PRIORY PRCD 1062 [68:11] [Byz]
The
three works here ratchet up the passion, especially in their massive,
chromatically dazzling endings.
David
KECHLEY (b.1947) Colliidng Objects
Timetable, Eric Poland, Chris Thompson, Candy Chiu (percussion), Tom
Bergeron (trumpets), Steven Bodner (saxophones), Linda Chatterton (flute),
Ina Zdorovetchi (harp), Doris Stevenson (piano) rec. 2012
INNOVA 829 [76:23] [Byz]
Accessible
and even quite catchy.
Franz
LISZT (1811-1886) Wagner Paraphrases Richard
WAGNER (1813-1883) Piano pieces
Asher Fisch (piano) rec. 2011
MELBA MR301141 [67:07] [GF]
Fisch’s
playing is as delightful as the music.
Franz
LISZT (1911-1886) Piano Concerto 1, Fantasy on Hungarian
Folk Themes see GRIEG
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