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Classical Editor: Rob
Barnett
Music Webmaster
Len Mullenger:
Len@musicweb-international.com
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Classical Editor: Rob
Barnett
Music Webmaster |
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Current
Reviews New entries are indicated by
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PART 2 [Part 1] [Part 2]
[Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]
PABLO CASALS (1879-1973) El Pessebre (The Crib) - oratorio (1945?)
Ana Maria Sanchez (sop) Raquel Pierrotti (con) Joan Cabero (ten) Enric Serra (bar) Stefano Palatchi (bass) Orfeo Catala, Cor de Cambra del Palau de la Musica/Jordi Casas Orquestra Sinfonica de Barcelona I Nacional de Catalunya /Lawrence Foster rec Barcelona 3-6 Sept 1997
Highly recommended to choral conductors looking for a novelty for Christmas. There is much here to enjoy.
Stephen CHATMAN Choral Music
Vancouver Chamber Choir/Jon Washburn rec 26-29 Oct 1999Freshly inventive tonal choral settings largely in the choral tradition represented by Geoffrey Bush and Herbert Howells perceptively recorded and brilliantly performed.
CHOPIN Piano Concerto in E minor, Op.11, Scherzo in Bb minor Op.31, Waltz in Ab major Op.34/1 & short pieces by Rachmaninov, Mendelssohn, A. Rubinstein, Weber, Schytte & von Sternberg.
Joseph Hofmann
These performances show Joseph Hofmann (1876-1957) in his prime; he went into a sad decline in later life and retired in the '40s, the worse for too much drinking. He made this Duo-Art recording of the Chopin E minor Piano Concerto in 1925, and the shorter pieces were committed to piano rolls at various dates between 1919 & 1928.
CLERAMBAULT Livre d'orgue; Chants du Salut
The present Music at Versailles series is devoted to discovering or rediscovering little known gems from France's musical heritage.
COUPERIN Organ works (Fantaisies etc)
Perhaps rather a specialist's collection, but (taken a few at a time) the music should give pleasure to a wider listening public, and there are some delicious stops on this early 18.C instrument.
DEBUSSY String Quartet in G minor, op. 10 RAVEL String Quartet in F major.
This is a bargain of bargains!
Marcel DUPRÉ Complete Organ Works Vol.11 Vespers Op.18; Regina Coeli Op. 64; Chorale & Fugue Op. 57.
With this CD, Jeremy Filsell reaches the penultimate stage of his vast task, the complete recording of Marcel Dupré's compositions for organ solo.
DUSAPIN Requiem(s) Granum Sinapis; Umbrae Mortis; Dona eis
In any country or musical culture, the most interesting composers are often those whose work stands apart from prevalent or mainstream trends. Pascal Dusapin, the most important French composer of the generations younger than Boulez or Barraqué, undoubtedly belongs to this category. His music has a penetrating, searing individuality that is utterly unassimilable within stylistic categories.
DVORAK (1841-1904) Symphony No. 9 in E minor, B178, 'From the New World'a. Piano Trio in E minor, B144, 'Dumky'b. Slavonic Dances, B83c. Serenade for Strings in E, B52d. Carnival Overture, B169c.
There are some real gems in this set - certainly enough to justify the modest outlay. Buy this set, play the Slavonic Dances. And smile.
GEORGE DYSON Violin Concerto. Children's Suite after Walter de la Mare.
How many versions of the Elgar Violin Concerto are currently available or of the Britten? How many of the Dyson? This Dyson concerto is vastly superior to both of these.
ELGAR Symphony No. 1 48.09 WAGNER Meistersinger Overture 8.17
Recommendable disc - great for Elgar 1. Norrington deliberate but his approach imbued with passion. Superb technically. Auspicious launch to the series.
Heino ELLER (1887-1970) Violin Concerto (1933) Symphonic Poems: Twilight (1917) Dawn (1920) Phantoms (1924) In the Shade and in the Sunshine (1926) The Singing Fields (1951) *
A lucky find for the enquiring soul with a leaning towards Nordic late romantics. Notes are pretty good with sound quality consistently with very decent digital radio broadcasts.
Eötvös Psalm 151; Psy; Triangel
Here is one of the most important percussion CDs I have heard for many a month..... Definitely a CD to collect if you are interested in the development of percussion during the late 20th Century.
MANUEL DE FALLA (1876-1946) El Sombrero de tres picos, La Vida Breve - interludio y danza, El Amor Brujo
A mixed bag. Vivid in the Three Cornered hat and hints of tiredness in El Amor.
JOHN FOULDS (1880-1939) Works for string quartet Quartetto Intimo (1935) 32.32
Quartetto Geniale (1935) 7.33 Aquarelles (1921) 12.51Do not forget this simply superb Foulds disc. Foulds captured in all his dangerous and tumultuously inventive lyricism.
BENJAMIN FRANKEL The Battle of the Bulge (1965)
All in all this magnificent release of a large-scale score is a fine tribute to Frankel as a composer of highly distinguished film scores. A very welcome offshoot in CPO's Frankel series. Recommended and not only to film buffs.
Harold FRASER SIMSON The Maid of the Mountains
Ronald Corp follows on his immensely successful recording of Sidney Jones' 'The Geisha' with this wonderfully melodious work that has been unjustly neglected for almost eight decades.
GABRIELI (c1553 - 1612) Music for Brass, Volume 2
Eric Crees Recorded All Hallows Church, Gospel Oak, London.19/8/95 (14), 12/3/96 (3,6,8), 13/3/96 (2,12),28/11/97 (1,5,7,10,11), 29/11/97 (4,9,13) DDDA strongly recommended CD - and not just for those who enjoy good brass playing.
GERHARD
Paul Conway appraises available recordings of the symphoniesGILBERT Dream Carousels; Igoruchki; Quartet of Beasts; Six of the Bestiary; Towards Asavari.
There is an abundance of purely musical humour and fantasy, making for an excellent long listen, nearly 80 minutes, and with NMC's production standards, a good bargain too. Gilbert manages all his disparate instrumental combinations with easy aplomb and there are many bright sounds to relish. Hard to describe; hear it instead!
GLAZUNOV The Seasons - ballet * rec 1929 Symphony No. 7 ** rec 1950
Experience authentic Glazunov in historic performances. Neither conductor dawdles. You need to be tolerant of historic sound.
GLAZUNOV (1865-1936) The King of the Jews (1913) 53.33 Introduction and Dance of Salome (1908) 15.31
To date Polyansky is better in this incidental music than in the Symphonies. If you want the music for King of the Jews alone then the Naxos version is worth considering. Otherwise this full price disc is strongly recommendable as a generous selection of Glazunov's music for the theatre.
GODOWSKY Java Suite (1925) World Premiere Recording Alexander TANSMAN Exotique,
La Flute de Bambou dans la foret de Bandoeng, Le Gamelang de Bali
rec 12-13 Aug 1999, New JerseyPremiere CD of the Java Suite in extremely sympathetic performance and sound.
GIOVANNI MANE GIORNOVICHI Violin Concertos Vol 3 Nos 6,2 & 10.
It was indeed a pleasure to listen to finely crafted concertos which although satisfying are ultimately unmemorable.
Glière. Symphony no. 1 in E flat Op. 8, Symphonic Poem The Sirens Op 33.
What a lovely, melodious, sunny and cheerful symphony.This is one to buy!
GLIERE (1875-1956) Bronze Horseman suite, Horn Concerto
BBCPO/Edward DownesGliere's Bronze Horseman is well worth the price and the concerto is there for good measure. Splendid recording and performances.
GLIERE (1875-1956) Overtures and Orchestral Works Gyul'sara overture (1936) Concert Waltz, Shakh-Senem overture (1925)s Ballad (1902) * Overture on Slavonic Themes (1941) Heroic March for Buryat-Mongolian ASSR, Holiday at Ferghana overture (1940)
Beyond the three symphony CDs the most intriguing of the Chandos series. A brightly coloured high calorie Russian selection.
GLIERE (1875-1956) Harp Concerto (1938) 26.59 Coloratura Soprano Concerto (1943) 13.54 GINASTERA Harp Concerto (1956) 23.43
The Ginastera lends backbone to this unusual and well engineered anthology. The Gliere vocal concerto is warmly recommended.
HAYDN Piano Trios Op 71/2 & 3 and Op 73/3.
This is a good account of three of Haydn's piano trios, composed in London. To give them full stature, all repeats are included.
HOLT …era madrugada; canciones;; sparrow night
This is darker music than that of Simon Holt's teacher Anthony Gilbert (NMC D068) which has been promoted in tandem with this one. Born 1958, Holt is an acknowledged leader of his generation of British composers, and this portrait CD can be recommended to those unfamiliar with his music, which is championed regularly by London Sinfonietta, the Nash Ensembles and others.
HOVHANESS Symphony No. 53 Star Dawn (1983) 13.56 Symphony No. 29 (1976) 25.16 *The Flowering Peach (1954) 15.20 Grand Final Processional - Symphony No. 20 Three Journeys toa Holy Mountain (1968) 6.49
An outstanding collection of Hovhaness's music for windband. The composer does not talk down to the highly skilled college bands who have taken up his ambitious music. These are very much symphonies that happen to have been written for windband.
HOVHANESS The Music for String Quartet Bagatelles String Quartet No. 1 Jupiter String Quartet No. 3 Reflections on my Childhood String Quartet No. 4 The Ancient Tree ZHOU LONG
Song of the Ch'InGenerous selection. Recommendable especially for those put off by the complexity of Hovhaness's orchestral scores. Melody presented with crystalline clarity.
Jacques IBERT Bacchanale (1956) Divertissement (1928) Overture de Fete (1940) Symphonie marine (1931) Escales (1922)
This disc is quite clearly for those who want this programme as a one disc collection, and as such it is a very good offering. By buying separately however, you can do better, although it will damage your pocket more.
CHARLES IVES (1874-1954) Symphony No. 2 (1897-1901) 34.33 PAUL CRESTON (1906-1985) Symphony No. 2 (1944) 21.55
A recommendable disc showing two contrasting facets of neglected orchestral Americana.
Janácek Mša Glagolskaja & Vecné evangelium (Glagolitic Mass & The Eternal Gospel)
Svárovský’s new recording is in every way a thrilling performance of the Glagolitic Mass. Not only are the great orchestral interludes beautifully played, but there is a symbiotic relationship between them and the great choral sections....This new Ultraphon recording offers a rare performance of one of Janácek's unknown glories (The Eternal Gospel) and this will probably make it the first choice for many.
LEHÁR: Die lustige Witwe
By and large this set has seen off all comers since it first came out and probably will do so for a good long while yet. It comes with a synopsis, libretto and a detailed essay by Richard Osborne, in English, French and German; and if anybody thinks that a first CD of under half-an-hour sounds like poor value, I can think of plenty that last nearly three times as long and aren't worth a third of what you pay for this.
KENNETH LEIGHTON Sonatina No.2 Op.1b Fives Studies Op.22 Fantasia Contrappuntistica Op.24 Pieces for Angela Op.47 Four Romantic Pieces Op.95
Margaret Fingerhut (piano)
Margaret Fingerhut plays beautifully throughout and this CD is yet another well-deserved tribute to a most distinguished composer whose death in 1988 was a great loss indeed.
[Part 1] [Part 2]
[Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]
Classical Editor: Rob Barnett, Reviewers: Rob Barnett, Ian Lace, Len Mullenger, and: Richard Adams, Colin Anderson, Arthur Baker, Terry Barfoot, Marc Bridle, Arthur Butterworth, Colin Clarke, Paul Conway, Gary Dalkin, Andy Daly, Tony Duggan, Harry Downey, Gerald Fenech, Lewis Foreman, Christopher Howell, 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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