Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911)
Symphonies 2, 4 & 5, Lieder aus Des Knaben Wunderhorn (1892-1901)
Christine
Oelze (soprano) Michael Volle (baritone) Gürzenich O Köln/Markus Stenz
OEHMS
CLASSICS OC 647 [21:42 + 60:35] OC 649 [54:50] OC 650
[68:03] OC 657 [61:28] oas [JQ]
Markus
Stenz’s Mahler cycle will be worth keeping a careful eye on as it progresses.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Symphony 5
Pittsburgh SO/Manfred Honeck rec. 2011
EXTON OVCL-00460 
[73:38]
[DM]
Nearly
but not quite; a decent Fifth, superbly recorded.
Gustav
MAHLER (1860-1911) Symphony 9
Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester/Claudio Abbado rec. 2004
EUROARTS 205 4004 
[84:00] [DM]
A
no-hoper, thanks to appalling sonics.
RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Gustav MAHLER (1860-1911) Rückert-Lieder see
Love
and Longing
Jules
MASSENET (1842-1912) Sapho
Renée Doria (soprano) Gines Sirera (tenor) SO de la Garde Républicaine/Roger
Boutry rec. 1978
MALIBRAN CDRG 199 [67:26 + 62:02] [ST]
All
things considered this is a release for die-hard Massenet fans only.
Peter
MAXWELL DAVIES (b.1934)
Symphony 1, Mavis in Las Vegas
BBC Philharmonic/Peter Maxwell Davies rec. 1994/7
NAXOS 8.572348 [68:03] [Byz]
The
Symphony becomes more accessible and alluring with every reacquaintance.
Sir
Peter MAXWELL DAVIES (b. 1934) Symphonies 4 &
5 Scottish
Chamber O/Philharmonia O†/Peter Maxwell Davies rec. 1990-1994
NAXOS
8.572351 [69:12] [MS]
Reissues
at an attractive price of the authoritative performances of two striking
symphonic works.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Felix
MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) Elijah
Rosemary Joshua (soprano) Sarah Connolly (mezzo) Gabrieli Cons; Wroclaw
Philh Ch; Gabrieli Young Singers Scheme; Gabrieli Players/Paul McCreesh
rec. 2011-2012
SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD300 [68:30 + 67:28] [JQ]
A
marvellous recording of Elijah.
Felix
MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)
Violin Concerto Ludwig van BEETHOVEN
(1770-1827)
Romances
Mischa
Elman (violin) rec. 1931-51
PRISTINE AUDIO PASC 339 [75:31] [JW]
Elman
fanciers can fill some gaps here.
Saverio
MERCADANTE (1795-1870) Flute concerto Albert
Franz DOPPLER (1821-1883) Andante and Rondo' Duetto
hongrois Mieczysław KARŁOWICZ
(1876-1909) Serenade for Strings
Łukasz Długosz, Agata Kielar-Długosz (flutes) Elbląg
CO/Marzena Diakun, Marcin Sompoliński rec. 2011
DUX 0868 [61:24] [JW]
I
rather admire the bizarre nature of this collection.
Xavier
MONTSALVATGE (1912 - 2002) Partita 1958, Cinco
Canciones Negras, Calidoscopi simfònic, Simfonia da Rèquiem
Clara
Mouriz (mezzo) Ruby Hughes (soprano) BBC Philh/Juanjo Mena rec. 2011
CHANDOS
CHAN 10735 [68:00] [HC]
A
splendid introduction to Montsalvatge's world and a superb centenary
release.
Xavier
MONTSALVATGE (1912-2002) El CD del Centenari
COLUMNA
MÚSICA 1CM0296 [76:45] [Byz]
A
generous compilation from the back catalogue. A Montsalvatge taster
for the centenary of his birth and the decennary of his death.
Jean
MOUTON (bef.
1459-1522) Missa Dictes moy toutes voz pensées [38:18]; Quis dabit
oculos? [8:35]; Ave Maria – benedicta tu [2:11]; Salva me, Domine [2:31];
Ave Maria - virgo serena [9:33]; Nesciens mater [4:54] Loyset
COMPČRE (c1454-1518) Dictes moy toutes voz pensées
[1:50] 
The Tallis Scholars/Peter Phillips rec. Merton College Chapel, Oxford.
DDD Original texts, English, French, German translations included
GIMELL GIMCD047 [67:54] [JQ]
A
disc of exceptional quality, proving conclusively that the music of
Jean Mouton is worthy of a wide audience.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Duos Bjarne
BRUSTAD (1895-1978) Capricii Johan
HALVORSEN (1864-1935) Passacaglia on a theme of Handel
Elise
Båtnes (violin) Henninge Båtnes Landaas (viola) rec. 2011
LAWO
CLASSICS LWC 1028 [57:08] [JW]
Speed,
bite, character, warmth and technical command. A well balanced programme.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Le nozze di Figaro
Teddy Tahu-Rhodes, Taryn Fiebig, Sian Pendry, Peter Coleman-Wright,
Opera Australia Chorus, Australian Opera and Ballet O/Patrick Summers
rec. live, 2010
OPERA AUSTRALIA OPOZ56002BD
[183.00] [MM-B]
Not
a memorable production but certainly likeable.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Concertone, Violin
Concerto 5
Piero Toso (violin) Orch di Padova e del Veneto/Christian Joseph Saccon
(violin) rec. 2007
WIDE CLASIQUE WCL 134 [56:00 + DVD 58:00] [JW]
Scrutiny
and admiration are very evident.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Homage: the Six Quartets Dedicated to Haydn
Alexander String Quartet (Zakarias Grafilo (violin), Frederick Lifsitz
(violin), Paul Yarbrough (viola), Sandy Wilson (cello)) rec. 2003/2004.
DDD
FOGHORN CLASSICS CD-1985 [3 CDs: 61:49 + 56:05 + 66:16] [Byz]
Immaculate
professionalism … huge and telling ensemble experience, instrumental
mastery practically faultless … Classical elegance and textural clarity.
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Piano Concerto 17 see
Dohnányi in London
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Symphony 35 see
BRUCKNER
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) String Quartet
17 see BEETHOVEN
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Carl NIELSEN
(1865-1931)
Symphonies 2 & 3
Erin Morley (soprano), Joshua Hopkins (baritone) New York Philharmonic/Alan
Gilbert rec.2011/ 2012
DACAPO 6.220623
[72:23] [JL]
Performances
and the sound of a lifetime.
Carl
NIELSEN (1865-1931) Violin Concerto see
TCHAIKOVSKY
RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Carl NIELSEN (1865-1931) Symphony
3 see
BRAHMS
Vitezslav
NOVÁK (1870-1949) In the Tatras (1902)
[17.10] South Bohemian Suite (1937) [30.04] Eight Nocturnes
for voice and orchestra Op. 39 (1908) [29.28]
Daniela Straková (soprano) Carlsbad Symphony Orchestra/Douglas Bostock
rec. 1998
ALTO ALC 1199 [76.42] [GH]
Hooked
on Novák since the 1970s. This budget price collection is a compulsive
purchase.
Norman
O'NEILL (1875-1934) String Quartet; Piano Trio;
Piano Quintet; Theme and Variations for piano trio
Bridge Quartet, Michael Dussek (piano) rec. 2012
EM RECORDS EMR CD005 [73.22] [MC]
Welcome
discoveries and the performances do the music full justice.
Carl
ORFF (1895-1982) Trionfi
Ruth-Margaret Pütz (soprano) Donald Grobe (tenors) Der Tölzer
Knabenchor/Cologne Radio SO & Ch/Ferdinand Leitner rec. 1974
ACANTA 233584 [3 CDs: 139:45] [NB]
Mirrors
the music itself - fascinating yet flawed.
Giovanni
PACINI (1796-1867) L’ultimo giorno di
Pompei
Raul Gimenez (tenor) Iano Tamar (soprano) Nicolas Revenq (baritone)
Bratislava Chamber Ch, O Teatro Bellini Catania/Giuliano Capella rec.
1996
DYNAMIC CDS 729/1-2 [76.46 + 75.35] [PCG]
A
good impression of Pacini with all faults and felicities well portrayed
and in focus.
Giovanni
Pierluigi da PALESTRINA (c.1525-1594)
Masses, Motets, Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet, Stabat Mater
Pro Cantione Antiqua/Mark Brown rec. 1987-90
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 94266 [5 CDs: 336:17] [Byz]
Great
purity and transcendental beauty.
Sir
Charles Hubert Hastings PARRY (1848-1918)
Te Deum, The Birds of Aristophanes Suite, The Glories
of Our Blood and State, Magnificat
Amanda Roocroft (soprano) BBC Ntl Ch & O Wales/Neeme Järvi
rec. 2012
CHANDOS CHAN10740 [75:15] [JF]
A
moving tribute to one of Britain great composers.
Krzysztof
PENDERECKI (b.
1933) Hymne an den heiligen Adalbert, Song of Cherubim,
Canticum canticorum Salomonis, Kosmogonia, Strophen
Olga
Pasichnyk (soprano) Rafał Bartmiński (tenor) Tomasz Konieczny
(bass) Warsaw PO & Ch/Antoni Wit rec. 2008-10
NAXOS 8.572481 [57:18] [MC]
Impressively
performed and well recorded.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Seppo POHJOLA
(b.
1965) Symphonies 1 & 2
Finnish RSO/Sakari Oramo rec. 2010/11
ALBA ABCD339
[60:49] [DM]
Cracking
pieces, superbly played; a demonstration disc too.
Sergei
PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) The Symphonies, Scythian
Suite
Czech PO/Zdeněk Košler rec. 1973-1982
SUPRAPHON SU 4093-2 [4 CDs: 271:15] [NB]
Too
much of a mixed bag to deserve a ringing endorsement.
Sergei
PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
Violin Sonata 2 Alfred SCHNITTKE
(1934-1998)
Suite in the Old Style Leonid NIKOLAYEV
(1878-1942) Violin Sonata
Chavdar Parashkevov (violin) Natasha Kislenko (piano) rec. 2010
CHAVDAR MUSIC [60:25] [SA]
As
a disc of violin sonatas this is extremely enjoyable.
Sergei
PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
Symphonies 5 & 6
Finnish RSO/Sakari Oramo rec. 2010/11
ONDINE ODE1181-2 [79:47] [TB]
The
Sixth makes the stronger impression here.
Sergei
PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Ballet and opera transcriptions
Vladimir
Ashkenazy (piano) rec. 1995
DECCA ELOQUENCE 480 3605 [59:42] [DM]
Vintage
Vladimir; an hour of sheer delight.
Giacomo
PUCCINI (1858-1924)
La Boheme – opera in four acts (1896) [117:00] Rodolfo
- Ji-Min Park Mimi - Takesha Meshé Kizart
Australian Opera Chorus Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra/Shao-Chia
Lü rec. 2011
OPERA AUSTRALIA
BLU-RAY DISC OPOZ56018BD [117:00] [RMay]
And,
yes, I too cried at the end.
Giacomo
PUCCINI (1858-1924) Tosca
Maria Callas (soprano) Giuseppe Di Stefano (tenor) Tito Gobbi (baritone)
Ch & O of La Scala, Milan/Victor de Sabata rec. 1953
PRISTINE AUDIO PACO 080 [72:03 + 35:54] [JS]
I
have had considerable pleasure from this re-mastering.
Joachim
RAFF (1822-1882) Piano Works Vol. 1: Frühlingsboten,
Drei Klavier-Soli, Fantaisie in B
Tra Nguyen (piano) rec. 2011
GRAND PIANO GP602 [76:47] [Byz]
Interpretations
that will long serve as a yardstick against which future performers
must measure themselves.
Joachim
RAFF (1822-1882) Piano Works 2: Fantasie-Sonate,
Variationen über ein Originalthema, Vier Klavierstücke
Tra Nguyen (piano) rec. 2011
GRAND PIANO GP612 [63:07] [Byz]
The
gold standard by which future performers of Raff will be judged.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Einojuhani
RAUTAVAARA (b.
1928) Cello Concerto 2, Percussion Concerto, Modificata
Truls Mørk (cello) Colin Currie (percussion) Helsinki PO/John
Storgårds rec. 2011
ONDINE ODE 1178-2 [62:16] [DM]
Bravo,
bravo and thrice bravo; my disc of the year.
RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937)
Shéhérazade see Love
and Longing
Maurice
RAVEL (1875-1937)
Piano Concerto in G major see Saint-Saens
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gioachino
ROSSINI (1792-1868) L’occasione fa il
ladro
Elizaveta Martirosyan, Fanie Antonelou, Gianpiero Ruggeri, Mauro Utzeri,
Württemberg PO/Antonino Fogliani rec. 2005
NAXOS 8.660314-15 [45:22 + 42:11] [JS]
An
idiomatic and joyous performance of this strangely neglected work.
Hans
ROTT (1858-1884)
String Quartet in C minor see BRUCKNER
Anton
RUBINSTEIN (1829-1894) Symphony 4
State SO of Russia/Igor Golovchin rec. 1993
DELOS DRD2012 [65:24] [NB]
Can
I go back to sleep now please?
Poul
RUDERS (b. 1949) Offred Suite, Tundra, Symphony
3 Dreamcatcher
Susanna Phillips (soprano) Odense SO/Scott Yoo rec. 2012
BRIDGE 9382 [51:48] [HC]
Volume
8 of Bridge's Ruders edition: two substantial works that deserve wider
exposure.
John
RUTTER (b.
1945) The Tewkesbury Collection
Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum/Benjamin Nicholas; Carleton Etherington
(organ); Gavin Wells (trumpet); Juliet Tomlinson (cello); Alexandra
Lowdon (oboe) rec. 2011, 2012, DDD English texts included
DELPHIAN DCD34107 [70:10] [JQ]
Despite
one or two reservations there’s much to enjoy here in a varied and enjoyable
programme.
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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