RECORDING
OF THE MONTH
American Flute Quintets
Joan
TOWER (b.1938) Rising Arthur
FOOTE (1853-1937) Two Pieces Amy
BEACH (1867-1944) Theme and Variations 
Carol Wincenc (flute) Kevin Lawrence, Carolyn Stuart (violins) Sheila
Browne (viola) Brooks Whitehouse (cello) rec. 2011
BRIDGE 9373 [52:08] [SA]
A wonderful disc and the music is brilliantly played.
Armenian
Rhapsody Aram KHACHATURIAN
(1903-1978) Concerto-Rhapsody Suren
ZAKARIAN (b.1956) Monograph
Vache SHARAFYAN (b.1966) Suite
Alexander Chaushian (cello) Emmanuel Hovhannisyan (duduk) Vache Sharafyan
(piano) Armenian PO/Eduard Topchjan rec. 2010
BIS BIS-CD-1948 [71:56] [EML]
An
unusual, sometimes challenging, and sometimes almost revelatory, disc.
Claudio
Arrau - The 80th Birthday Recital
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Piano sonatas 21 & 23 Claude DEBUSSY
(1862-1918) Reflets dans l’eau Franz
LISZT (1811-1886) Les jeux d’eaux à
la Villa d’Este, Ballade 2 Fryderyk
CHOPIN (1810-1849) Scherzo 1
rec. 1983
EUROARTS 2058678 
[111:00] Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Piano sonatas 3, 13, 14, 21, 23, 26, 30 & 32
Claudio Arrau (piano) rec. 1970/77
EUROARTS 2058708
[85:00 + 105:00] [JW]
These
are fortunately complementary, charting Arrau at different stages in
his later life.
Baby
Needs Baroque
DELOS DE1609 [70:54] [Byz]
Probably
one of the more successful CDs in the series.
Daniel
Barenboim
First Rare Recordings 1955
Daniel Barenboim (piano) rec. 1956
GUILD GHCD 2390 [46:16] [JW]
A
pleasurable snapshot of the young Barenboim in action.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH
Between Two Worlds
Massimo Giacchetti (soprano and alto saxophone) Manuela Di Marco (organ)
rec. 2011
DYNAMIC CDS724 [61:51] [DM]
Simply
gorgeous; a guaranteed pick-me-up.
British
Clarinet Sonatas Vol. 1 John IRELAND
(1879-1962) Fantasy Sonata Charles Villiers
STANFORD (1852-1924) Sonata Arnold
BAX (1883-1953) Sonata Herbert
HOWELLS (1892-1983) Sonata
Michael Collins (clarinet) Michael McHale (piano) rec. 2011
CHANDOS CHAN10704 [72:54] [JW]
A
self-recommending start to the new Chandos series.
British
Piano Trios Rebecca
CLARKE (1886-1979)
Trio for violin, cello and piano (1921) [22:44] John
IRELAND (1879-1962)
Phantasie in A minor (1907) [10:55] Frank BRIDGE
(1879-1941) Phantasie in C minor (1907) [15:28] Rebecca
CLARKE (1886-1979)
Viola Sonata (1919) [25:32]
The Hartley Trio (Jacqueline Hartley (violin), Martin Loveday (cello),
Caroline Clemmow (piano)); Philip Dukes (viola), Sophia Rahman (piano)
rec. 1990/92. DDD
HERITAGE HTGCD 218 [75:44] [EM-L]
A
shame, but this disc wouldn’t be one I would turn to for performances
of any of these works.
British
Song Works by Dickinson, Harvey, Berkeley, Crosse &
Lutyens
Meriel Dickinson (mezzo) Peter Dickinson (piano) rec. 1974/78
HERITAGE HTGCD240 [77:45] [JF]
British
art song tradition lives on as evidenced by the pieces on this CD.
Harriet
Cohen (piano)
The Complete Solo Studio Recordings
rec. 1928-1948
APR RECORDINGS 7304 [3 CDs: 232:15] [JF]
A
set of CDs full of highlights.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Il
Concerto delle Viole Barberini
Ens Mare Nostrum, Vox Luminis/Andrea De Carlo rec. 2011
RICERCAR RIC320 [59:33] [JV]
A
superb recording.
Concertos
László
WEINER (1916-1944) Concerto for Flute, Viola, Piano
and String Orchestra (1941) [23:33] Leon KLEPPER
(1900-1991) Concertino for Flute, Viola and String Orchestra
(1961) [15:48] Ernest BLOCH (1880-1959)
Concertino for Flute, Viola and String Orchestra (1950) [7:59] Ervin
SCHULHOFF (1894-1942) Concerto doppio for Flute, Piano
and Chamber Orchestra, WV 89 (1927) [19:33]
Milan Radic (viola); Eva Aroutunian (piano) Cappella Istropolitana/Kaspar
Zehnder rec. 2010
ARCO DIVA UP0053-2 131 [67:10] [JW]
A
decently constructed programme.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Ferne
Geliebte Lieder
by Beethoven, Haydn, Schoenberg & Berg
Christian
Gerhaher (baritone) Gerold Huber (piano) rec. 2012
SONY 88691935432 [67:05] [ST]
A
quite extraordinary disc. Rush out and buy it!
Kathleen
Ferrier Complete
EMI recordings
EMI
CLASSICS 9562842 [3 CDs: 189.36] [EM-L]
Leaves
one again regretting Ferrier’s early death and realising the loss
for the musical life of this country that it entailed.
Zino
Francescatti - A treasury of studio recordings
Robert Casadesus (piano) Guilet String Qt, Philadelphia O/Eugene Ormandy,
Le Grand O Symphoniques/André Cluytens rec. 1931-35
MUSIC & ARTS CD-1260 [3 CDs: 225:12] [JW]
Excellent
transfers complete a fine contribution to the art of Francescatti on
disc.
Emil
Gilels plays Russian Music The Russian Archives
rec. 1951-84
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 9265 [3 CDs: 199:52] [SA]
Sets
like this are cherished possessions for lovers of the piano.
Emil
Gilels: Early Recordings Vol. 3 Works by Scarlatti, Liszt &
Chopin
rec. 1935-51
NAXOS HISTORICAL 8.111386 [79:37] [BR]
A
treasury of great early Gilels recordings, including very rare and very
good Scarlatti, and a newly-discovered reading of a Chopin ballade.
Vladimir
Gorbach
(guitar) Astor PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992)
The Four Seasons [19:33]; Domenico SCARLATTI
(1685-1757) Sonata K441 [4:57]; Sonata K87 [6:51]; Sonata K27
[4:17]; Sonata K431 [1:16]; Mauro GIULIANI
(1781-1829) Rondoletto [6:08] Vicente
ASENCIO (1908-1979) La Serenor [5:03]; La Joia [3:03];
La Calma [2:35]; La Gaubança [1:54]; La Frisança [3:23] rec. 2-5 February
2012, St John Chrysostom Church, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.
NAXOS 8.573023 [59:01][ZT]
Exemplary
in many aspects, but marred by relatively inferior sonic qualities of
the disc.
Haec
Dies
-
Byrd and the Tudor Revival
Ch Gonville
& Caius College, Cambridge/Geoffrey Webber rec. 2010
DELPHIAN DCD34104 [70:54] [JQ]
An
imaginative programme, splendidly performed and recorded.
The
Hickox Legacy
CHANDOS
[RB]
If
this collection appeals then discard any passing reservations. You will
be pleased.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Hirundo
Maris
Arianna Savall (voice, Gothic harp, Italian triple harp) Petter Udland
Johansen (voice, hardanger fiddle, mandolin) Sveinung Lilleheier (guitar,
dobro, voice) Miquel Àngel Cordero (double-bass, voice) David
Mayoral (percussion, voice) rec. 2011
ECM NEW SERIES 2227 [79:54] [DC]
A
magical recording which casts a spell both wide and deep.
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Imagerie
Musicale Johann Kaspar MERTZ
(1806-1856) Elegie George Frideric HANDEL
(1685-1759) Sonata Carlo DOMENICONI
(b.1947) Koyunbaba Johann Sebastian
BACH (1685-1750) Chaconne Luigi
LEGNANI (1790-1877) Fantasie Ástor
PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992) Milonga del Ángel, Primavera
Porteña
Maud Laforest (guitar) rec. 2011
MAUD LAFOREST 120811 [71:10] [Byz]
A
hugely entertaining recital.
An
Irish Songbook
Ailish Tynan (soprano) Iain Burnside (piano) rec. 2009
SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD239 [62.34] [EM-L]
Will
strongly appeal to any lover of English song or of the enchanting, mysterious
country that is Ireland!
The
Jacobean Lutenists
Karl Nyhlin (lute) rec. 2011
DB PRODUCTIONS CD147 [54.22] [GH]
A
happy mixture of the unusual and the standard.
Great
Czech conductors: Rafael Kubelík Antonín DVOŘÁK
(1841-1904) Symphony 8; Piano Concerto Dmitry
SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975) Symphony 9 Bohuslav
MARTINŮ (1890-1959) Symphony 4; Memorial to Lidice
Václav DOBIÁS (1909-1978)
Stalingrad Cantata
Czech Philharmonic rec. 1944-48
SUPRAPHON SU 4080-2 [75:01 + 79:44] [BR]
The
spotty sound can’t hide a superb collection of very early Kubelik
recordings, including numerous world premieres.
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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