Classical Editor: Rob Barnett
 

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Classical Editor: Rob Barnett,  Reviewers: Rob Barnett, Ian Lace, Len Mullenger, and:  Richard Adams, Colin Anderson, Terry Barfoot,  Marc Bridle, Arthur Butterworth, Colin Clarke, Paul Conway, Gary Dalkin, Andy Daly, Tony Duggan, Harry Downey,  Gerald Fenech,  Lewis Foreman, David Frieze, Malcolm Galloway,  Ian Marchant, John Phillips, Ailís Ní Ríain, Humphrey Smith, Philip Scowcroft, Colin Scott Sutherland, Andrew Seivewright, Richard Whitehouse, Reg Williamson, Peter Grahame Woolf, David Wright. A complete list of contributors can be seen here


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August 2000 part 5

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  COMPETITION: WIN a CD


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The 50th Anniversary of Stereophonic Tape Recording

A remarkable record of one of the best kept secrets in the history of audio engineering; the development of tape recording.

Reg Williamson

AMERICAN WORKS FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO
Charles IVES

Violin Sonata No. 4 (1936) [10.26]
AARON COPLAND

Violin Sonata (1942-43) [18.17]
BENJAMIN LEES

Violin Sonata No. 2 (1973) [19.67]
LEON KIRCHNER

Sonata Concertante (1952) [19.35]
Ives and Copland: Jaime Laredo (violin) Ann Schein (piano)
Lees: Rafael Druian (violin) Ilse von Alpenheim (piano)
Kirchner: Jaime Laredo (violin) Ruth Laredo (piano)
PHOENIX PHCD 136  [68.20]

The Ives Sonata is one of his most probingly exploratory. It slips and slides as if memories were focusing and blurring all the time - not exactly intimidating just rather leading edge. It echoes with strained memories of children's summer camp meetings in the 1870s-1890s. It has its moments of ecstasy as in the largo - a swelteringly soporific version of 'Yes, Jesus Loves You' - Delian in its irresistible decay.

MUSIC FOR SOLO CELLO
BACH; BERIO; HENZE; WALTON

Antonio Lysy (cello)
Pelleas 0106 [70 min] [PW]

this CD will have a local appeal, particularly for people who had enjoyed the recital.

Works for solo viola
BERIO; DILLON; DUSAPIN; KURTAG; LIGETI; SCIARRINO

Garth Knox
Naïve  (Montaigne-Auvidis) MO782082 [66.02]

Nothing naïve about this co-production with Auvidis Montaigne -WDR! It is the best solo viola CD I have come across and I recommend it strongly - even to those who have been put off by the list of composers and might not have intended to read further?

AWARD WINNING BRITISH MUSIC
CHANDOS BRIT 0014 [75.55]. Bargain Price

A collection of bits and pieces superbly recorded and performed advertising Chandos's catalogue of British Music. Formerly supplied as a free disc attached to magazine fronts. This issue should be so supplied and not charged for.

CASAVOLA; SAVINIO; MIX; CASELLA; SCELSI; MORTARI; GIUNTINI; CHESIMO; NAPOLETANO; MALIPIERO; BIROT; STRAVINSKY
Futuris music (piano anthology 1)
Daniele Lombardi (piano)
col legno WWE 20076 [76.44] [PGW]

This is a thoroughly invigorating and entertaining collection of music related to the Futurism movements in Italy and Russia

CHINOISERIE
ROSSINI
Petite Polka chinoise. CHASINS Rush Hour in Hong Kong. GRAINGER Beautiful Fresh Flower. ARENSKY Atude sur un thème chinois. TCHEREPNIN Five 'Chinese' Concert Etudes. SCOTT Lotus Land. BUSONI Turandot's Frauengemach. GOULD Pieces of China. WEBER-DIAZ Imporvisation on a Chinese Folk Song. ADAMS China Gates. ORNSTEIN A la Chinoise. MARTINU The Fifth Day of the Fifth moon. KETELBY In a Chinese Temple Garden.
Jenny Lin (piano).
BIS CD1110 [DDD] [79'45] [CC]

Enthusiastically recommended. A veritable treasure trove of delights!!

CONTEMPORARY SPANISH CHAMBER MUSIC
CASABLANCAS; GUZMAN; PLADEVALL; CASAS; GUINJOAN

Chamber Orchestra Works
London Sinfonietta/Edmund Colomer
Ensayo Perspectives ENY-2001 [50.05]

This is an attractive collection, apparently of fairly recent Spanish music from the Barcelona area, but I am hesitant because the documentation is sparse in the extreme, with no information about the composers nor dates of their works.....It is a pity not to know more about the genesis of this CD, but there is plenty of accessible, enjoyable music for listeners curious about the Spanish scene, which remains relatively obscure in UK.

The English Kreisler.
The Violin Music of Albert Sammons.

Paul Barritt (violin)/Catherine Edwards (piano)
Hyperion CDA 67096 66' 55"

We are all familiar with the celebrated violinist Fritz Kreisler's activities as a composer, writing encores and salon piece which he at first attributed to various eighteenth century names. Less well known is the fact that the great English violinist Albert Sammons was also an expert turner of such delightful trifles....This is a beautifully presented discovery.

Lewis Foreman

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings Lieder
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone) Aribert Reimann & Hermann Reutter (piano)
EMI Classics CMS5 67349 2 [76.12, 73.44,73.53] [PW]

So this is an uncommon collection, of uncommon interest, and if it does not sell well it will presumably soon disappear for ever.

French Saxophone Concertos
Pierre DUBOIS
(1930-95)
Saxophone Concerto No. 2.
Jean RIVIER
(1896-1987)
Concerto for Saxophone, Trumpet and String Orchestra.
Patrice SCIORTINO
(b1922)
Sonances.
Daniel Gremelle (saxophone); Antoine Curé (trumpet); Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra/Bystrík Rezucha.
Marco Polo 8.225127 [DDD] [53'55]. [CC]

Daniel Gremelle is a convincing exponent of his chosen repertoire.....There are plenty of opportunities for Gremelle's virtuosity to shine....

THE GOLDEN AGE OF SINGING Volume two 1910-1920
Complete track listing and artist rosta below
NIMBUS NI7052-3 2CD [2hr 30m]

It has been a pleasure to refresh my memories of the miraculously alive sounds of voices from the early days of recording in my Prima Voce collection. The standard in this new compilation is enviably high, reflecting the vast collection of mint-quality ancient 78s upon which Nimbus can draw for their unique processing method, which is a model of discretion, with strictly limited remastering interference.

VOICE OF THE CARNYX
Music for trombone.
John Kenny
The Voice of the Carnyx
David Home Sonata for trombone and piano
Edward McGuire
Zephyr for trombone and string quartet
John Purser Skyelines for trombone and organ
David Dorward 0 how I love Thee
Tom Bancroft Bone Tone Poem
John Maxwell Geddes Leo Dreaming

John Kenny (trombone) with David Home (piano) John Kitchen (organ) Tom Bancroft (drums) John Whiting (sound projection) Chamber Group of Scotland.
British Music Label BML 016 [DW]

The carnyx was a long Celtic trumpet known throughtout Europe as long ago as 200BC. Romans used it to terrify enemies and in John Kenny's piece for four carnyxs we are impressed, alarmed and excited by primitive, blood-curdling sounds of bellicose pageantry.

PLAYGROUNDS FOR ANGELS:
Works by Rautavaara, Sibelius, Grieg and Nystedt.

Brass Partout Hermann Baumer.
BIS CD 1054 72m DDD. [GF]

...a splendidly vivid interpretation by Brass partout. This group is a top-class brass ensemble and their sheer musical prowess is never in doubt.

PROSPICE Songs with quartet. Piano.
H Walford Davies
: Prospice; George Butterworth: Love Blows as the Wind Blows; Arthur Somervell: A Broken Arc; Geoffrey Bush: Farewell, Earth's Bliss; Ralph Vaughan Williams: Five Mystical Songs.
Martin Oxenham (baritone); Bingham String Quartet; Katharine Durran (piano). Meridian. Duo DUOCD 89026 75' 12" [LF]
Every so often one comes across a recording which has long been available but has somehow failed to attract much notice or be widely subscribed by record stores, and yet on investigation proves to be a complete revelation.

Lewis Foreman

MUSICA DIVINA
Works by: Schutz, Scheine, Bach, Draeske, Bruckner etc.
Dresdner Kreuzchor Roderich Kreile.
DG 453-484-2 76m DDD.[GF]

This well filled CD contains a host of beautiful music from the 16th century Schutz onto the relatively modern Reger.....a must for the choral enthusiasts who should have this splendid boy's choir in their collection.

O SACRUM CONVIVIUM
Leeds Cathedral Boys Choir. Leeds Cathedral Choir.
Julie Crosby (organ) Joseph Cullen (director).
Foxglove Audio F0X036.[DW]

This collection of 19 items is a curious mixture of a programme and quality. The organ is a superb instrument and the inadequate CD notes should have told us about it.


THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE RUSSIAN GUITAR. Volume II

1. Ovchinnikov: Piano's Melancholy Sound
2. Kushenov-Dmitrievsky: Cosaque
3. Sychra: Divertissement sur des Airs Russes
4. Cavos-Sychra: "My Dear Friend"
(aria from the opera-ballet
The National Guard, or Love to the Fatherland)
5. Gornostaev: Caprice Militaire
6. Ladyzhensky: Grande Fantaisie
7. Ladyzhensky: Valse
8. Vetrov: Elegy
9. Vetrov: You Won't Believe
10. Liakhov: I'll Go Scythe the Grass

Oleg Timofeyev (Russian seven string guitar)
DORIAN DOR-93203

A chance, for we guitar enthusiasts familiar with those western European guitar composers of the late 18th and 19th century's such as Fernando Sor (1786-1838) of Spain and the Italian Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829), to hear that there existed a parallel tradition of guitar playing complete with its own composers and rich repertoire of music.

THE SONG OF THE NEY (Persian Classical Music)
Hossein Omoumi (ney) Sima Bina (vocal) Madjid Khaladj (tombak, daf) Madjid Derakhshani (tar)
Nimbus NI 7060/1 [70.03+57.28] [PW]

the effect is often of a conversation between passages in the breathy lower register answered with the more liquid tone of the higher. It is seductive and compelling music, with melodies elaborated in some dozen modes.

NETANIA DAVRATH (1931-87)
sings RUSSIAN, YIDDISH, ISRAELI FOLKSONGS
42 songs in orchestral arrangements
VANGUARD CLASSICS OVC 8058/9 [70.02+66.08] [RB]

....Her voice is tender, strong, nasal, arch, shy, abandoned, free from vibrato, pure and clean and distinctly un-operatic. She has that platinum quality of voice that is unsophisticated and girlishly innocent..... A splendid and generous collection or all admirers of Davrath's art and the crystal stream of folk music.

KING FREDERIK IX (of Denmark) (1899 -1972) conducts The Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in:-
Wagner:
Overture: Tannhäuser. Overture: Rienzi
Beethoven:
Symphonies 3 and 7
Grieg:
Last Spring
Gade:
Echoes of Ossian
Børresen
: Prelude to the Royal Guest
dacapo 8.224158-59 2CDs [146:20] [IL]
[HD]
(These CDs have been released on the occasion of the 90th birthday of HM Queen Ingrid, the Queen Mother, on 28th March 2000; and by special permission of Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II and Her Majesty Queen Ingrid)

Probably King Frederik IX of Denmark was unique in the annals of royal patronage, in extending his love of music to a passion for conducting, as his favourite pastime....An intriguing release


LEGENDS - PODIUM KNIGHTS
Sir John Barbirolli
Haydn:
Symphony 83 "The Hen"; Johann Strauss II: Selection of pieces; Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier - Suite; Lehar: Gold and Silver Waltz
Halle Orchestra (9 August 1969, Royal Albert Hall, London)
BBCL 4038-2 [76' 28"]

Sir Adrian Boult
Schubert:
Unfinished Symphony; Bizet: Jeux d'enfants - Suite; Ravel: Daphnis & Chloe - Suite 2  (30 July 1964, Royal Albert Hall);
Sibelius:
Symphony 7* (8 March 1963, Royal Festival Hall, London)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra*
BBCL 4039-2 [73' 56"]

I shall not belittle either conductor by giving marks. Both CDs enjoy good stereo sound, Boult's is a minute shorter than stated (the above timing is correct) and I prefer the order of Sibelius, Bizet, Schubert and Ravel for continuous (programmed) listening. If, on this occasion, the Barbirolli issue is a souvenir (with the Haydn considerably more than that), Boult's CD is an immensely important release.

Colin Anderson

A SOUTHWEST CHRISTMAS
Ed HENDERSON (b1932)
Milagros de Navidad [18.38]
Jon WASHBURN
(b1942)
Noel Sing We! [11.14]
Lo, how a rose e'er blooming [3.04]
The Star [8.52]
Hernando FRANCO
(1532 - 1585)
Magnificat secundi toni [9.35]
Johann Sebastian BACH
(1685 - 1750)
Weihnachlieder [6.19]
Phoenix Bach Choir
Robert Tree Cody. Native American flute.
Frank Koonce. Classical Guitar.
Mark Sunkett. Percussion.
Jon Washburn. Narrator.
Conductor Jon Washburn
Recorded Jan 17 - 20 1997 All Saints Episcopal Church, Phoenix. DDD
Soundset Recordings SR1005 [58.22] [HD]

This CD might appeal for Christmas if sampling in the shop is possible.

BOOK REVIEW
Gustav Mahler: Vienna - Triumph and Disillusion (1904-1907)
by Henry-Louis de La Grange
Oxford University Press
ISBN 0-19-315160-X
Hardback, 1,024 pages, 32 black and white plates, £35.00

This is the third volume of Henry-Louis de La Grange's magisterial biography of Gustav Mahler, one of the greatest literary undertakings of the last century.

Marc Bridle

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

DANTE: La Divina Commedia.
'The Inferno', 'Purgatory', 'Paradise'.
Read by Heathcote Williams.
Naxos Audiobooks 3 volumes. 9 discs DDD.
Inferno: NA309912 237m Purgatory: NA314312 257m Paradiso NA317912 237m [GF]

A truly great project and one to treasure in the audiobook field.

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