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Hoffnung Music
Festivals 1956,58,61
$31
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This is a must
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Hoffnung - A
Last Encore
On 2 CDs lasting
1 hour 45min, this contains all the recordings
of Hoffnung preserved in the BBC archives.
They include the famous and hilariously
funny Bricklayer story. $22
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Les Chemins d'Amour F. Poulenc, C. Debussy,
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NEW
and RECENT ARTICLES
MusicWeb
recommended recordings 2004
Tony
Banks in interview with Christopher Thomas,
March 2004
Seven: A Suite for Orchestra
THE
CRITICS’ PRIME CONCERN ---- Arthur Butterworth
A
Young Composer’s Diary Revisited in Maturity:
Richard Stoker’s First Visit to London 19th
-25th July 1957
It
is the Very Model of a Modern Concert-Hall
Platform
by Paul Serotsky
TREVOR
HOLD (1939 - 2004):
Obituary By Lewis Foreman
The
Golden Age of Singing
by Bernard Jacobson
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BOOK
REVIEWS
Maurice Duruflé,
1902-1986: The Last Impressionist
Ronald Ebrecht (editor)
Scarecrow Press $55.00 Cloth 0-8108-4351-X
June 2002 248pp £42 [JW]
Otherwise
this is a well-produced, thoughtful and illuminating
festschrift whose value is significant in
one’s perceptions of this still undervalued
and "timid" traditionalist. ...
see Full Review
Music Librarianship
in the United Kingdom: fifty years of
the United Kingdom Branch of the International
Association of Music Libraries, Archives and
Documentation Centres
Richard Turbet (editor)
Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003, xix 252pp, ISBN
07546 0572 8 £45 MusicWeb
price £42.50 [JW]
A
lucid and broad survey and those stimulated
by the workings of the International Association
of Music Libraries et al will find much upon
which to reflect. ... see Full
Review
UNEASY
LISTENING - A caricature guide to 20th
century composers
by John Minnion 109pp
Paperback ISBN 0-9544499 1 6 [RB]
This
is wonderfully well done as a book of illustrations.
It tells us something of the psychology of
the composer in each case and does so wittily
and not without taking a few dangerous corners.
... see Full
Review
RECORDINGS
OF THE MONTH
Frank
BRIDGE (1879-1941)
Orchestral Works, Volume 4 Rebus
- Overture for Orchestra (1940) [10:44]
(premiere recording on CD) Oration (Concerto
elegiaco) for solo cello and orchestra
(1930)* [29:16] Allegro moderato -
Fragment of a symphony for string orchestra
(1940-41) [13:24] (edited by Anthony Pople)
Lament for string orchestra (Catherine,
aged 9, 'Lusitania' 1915) (1915) [5:21]
A Prayer for chorus and orchestra
(1916-18)† [17:55] Alban
Gerhardt (cello)* BBC National Chorus of
Wales † BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Richard
Hickox Rec. Brangwyn Hall, Swansea, 13-14
May 2003
CHANDOS CHAN 10188 [77:00] [RB]
An
extraordinarily rewarding series now celebrated
in a fourth volume placing the masterly
tragic-elegiac Oration alongside the busily
loquacious Rebus, the innocence of Lament
and the transitional but still independent-minded
A Prayer.... see Full
Review
RECORDING OF THE MONTH The
Berkeley Edition: Volume Four Michael
BERKELEY (b. 1948) Concerto
for Organ and Orchestra Viola Concerto (Revised
version 1996) Lennox
BERKELEY (1903-1989) Voices of
the Night Op. 86 Symphony No. 2 (Revised
version 1976)
Paul Silverthorne (viola) Thomas Trotter
(organ) BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Richard
Hickox Rec. St. David’s Hall, Cardiff, May
2003 (Organ Concerto) Brangwyn Hall, Swansea,
May 2003 (other works) DDD
CHANDOS CHAN 10167 [71:26] [CT]
Another
fine addition to the ongoing Chandos Berkeley
Edition ... see Full
Review
Les
Chemins d’Amour Francis
POULENC (1899-1963) Le
sommeil; Quelle aventure; La reine de cœur;
Ba, be, bi, bo, bu; Les anges musiciens;
Le carafon; Lune d’avril; Violon; C’est
ainsi que tu es; Dernier poème; Les
chemins d’amour Claude
DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Chevaux de
bois; Beau soir; Fleurs des blés;
Rondel chinois; Nuit d’étoiles Henri
DUPARC (1848-1933) Extase; Au
pays où se fait la guerre; Chanson
triste; Soupir; Le manoir de Rosemonde;
Elégie; Phidylé; L’invitation
au voyage
Olga Pasiecznik (soprano), Ewa Pobłocka
(piano) Recorded at the National Philharmonic
Concert Hall, Warsaw, 5th-6th
January and 25th-26th
February 2002
CD ACCORD ACD 078-2 [68:13] [CH]
It
would be difficult to imagine a better duo
partnership for this music, in whose hands
it wafts in and out of the consciousness
as a perfect musical equivalent of Marcel
Proust. ... see Full
Review
Toivo
KUULA (1883-1918)
Finnish Songs Syystunnelma
(Autumn Mood), Tuijotin tulehen kauan (Long
stared I into the Fire), Aamulaulu (Morning
song), Kesäyö kirkomaalla (Summer
Night in the Churchyard), Epilogi, Suutelo(the
Kiss), Marjatan Laulu (Marhatta’s Song),
Sinikan Laulu (Sinika’s Song), Sinipiika
(Blue Maiden), Lauanta-Ilta (Saturday Evening),
Jääkukkia (Ice Flowers), Vanha
Syyslaulu (Old Autumn Song), Yö nummella
(Night on the Moor), Tule Armaani (Comer,
my Sweetheart), Inamdran Laulau (Imandra’s
Song),Purjein kuutamolla (Sailing in the
Moonlight). Leevi
MADETOJA (1887-1947) Syksy-Sarja
(Autumn Song Cycle) Syksy (Autumn),
Lähtö (The Departure), Luulit,
ma katselin sua (You thought I was watching
you), Hyvää yötä ( Good
Night), Lintu sininen (Bluebird), Ijät
hyrskyjä päin (Ever against the
Breakers)
Kirsi Tiihonen, (soprano), Satu Salminen
(piano). Recorded Järvenpää
Hall, Järvenpää , Finland,
25-27 August 1996. DDD
MARCO POLO 8.225177 [74.11] [AO]
This
fascinating conjunction of nostalgia and
forward thinking provides us with some beautifully
evocative mood music. ... see Full
Review
DISCOVERY OF THE MONTH Johann
Joachim QUANTZ (1697-1773)
Concerto
in G minor for two flutes, strings and bc:
Allegro [6.17]; Amoroso [4.18]; Presto [4.56]
Concerto in G major for two flutes, strings
and bc (No.89): Spiritoso e larghetto [2.42];
Allegro [3.46]; Grave [1.59]; Allegro assai
[3.46] Concerto in D major for flute, strings
and bc (No.82): Allegro di molto-Adagio-Allegro
[7.32]; Un poco andante e cantabile [4.49];
Allegro [4.56] Concerto in G major for flute,
strings and bc (No161): Allegro [5.58];
Arioso mesto [5.56]; Allegro Vivace [4.12]
Josep-Francesc Palou – flute Claudi
Arimany - flute Hungarian Virtuosi Chamber
Orchestra Rec. Aug 2002, L’Auditori del
Conservatori de Palma de Mallorca
COLUMNA MUSICA 1CM0109 [61.33] [PW]
A
most welcome disc of stylish performances
of quite wonderful music and deserves wide
dissemination. ... see Full
Review
Valentin
SILVESTROV (b.
1937)Requiem
for Larissa (1997/9)
National Choir of Ukraine "Dumka"National
Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine/Volodymyr
Sirenko Recorded: Kiev, Ukraine, 2001
ECM New Series 1778 (472 112-2) [52:32]
. [HC]
Most
beautiful and deeply felt. Poignant grief
expressed with sincerity, honesty and restraint
...A major work ... one of the finest discs
I have heard recently. ... see
Full Review
Ralph VAUGHAN
WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
The Poisoned Kiss An
opera in three acts. Libretto by Evelyn
Sharp and Ralph Vaughan Williams
Soloists BBC National Orchestra of
Wales/Richard Hickox Rec. Brangwyn Hall,
Swansea, 3-6 January 2003 World premiere
recording
CHANDOS CHAN 10120 [2CDs: 57:56+58:03
= 115:59] [RB]
This
set now joins the strong representation
of RVW Hickox-conducted operas on Chandos
and provides undemanding delight, witty
repartee, romantic enchantment - a serenade
for a summer’s night ... see Full
Review
Fancy That! John
DANKWORTH (b.1927) Suite
for Emma Leonard
BERNSTEIN (1917-1990) Sonata
for clarinet and piano Arthur
BENJAMIN (1893-1960) Le Tombeau
de Ravel Sergei
RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Vocalise
Robert MUCZYNSKI
(b.1929) Time Pieces André
PREVIN (b.1929) Passing Fancy
Fancy Passing
Alan Vivian, clarinet; Susanne Powell, piano
Recorded at Llewellyn Hall, Canberra, ACT,
Australia, August 1998
REVOLVE AJM1314 [66:12] [GPJ]
A
most distinguished disc, beautifully planned
and executed, and the recording is ideal.
... see Full Review
Piano
Music for Children Béla
BARTÓK (1881-1935) Four
pieces from Ten Easy Pieces Igor
STRAVINSKY (1882-1971) Les
Cinq Doigts Sergei
PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Music
for Children, op. 65 Dmitri
SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975) Children’s
Notebook, op.60 Aram
KHACHATURIAN (1903-1978) Pictures
from Childhood Aaron
COPLAND (1900-1990) Five pieces
from Piano Album Anton
WEBERN (1883-1945) Kinderstück
Béla
BARTÓK (1881-1935) Four
pieces from Mikrokosmos, Volume 6
Raymond Clarke, piano Recorded on 16th
December 2001 and 1st September
2001 at King’s Hall, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
DIVINE ART 25022 [77:18] [GPJ]
I
don’t know whose idea this CD was, but it
was a brilliant one. More please! ... see
Full Review
BARGAIN OF THE MONTH
Frederich Von FLOTOW
(1812-1883) Alessandro
Stradella, comic opera (1844)
Stradella, Werner Hollweg (ten); Leonore,
Helen Donath (sop); Bassi, Richard Kogel (bass);
Malvolio, Alexander Malta (bass); Barbarino,
Ferry Gruber (ten). Orchestra and Choir of
Bayerischen Radio/Heinz Wallberg Rec. Germany,
1977, ADD Albert
LORTZING (1801-1851) Regina,
opera excerpts (1848) Simon, Gerhard Frei
(bar); Regina, Irmgard Klein (sop); Stefan,
Heinz Friedrich (bass); Richard, Karl Heinz
Stracke (ten).
Choir and Orchestra of Berlin Radio/Walter
Schartner Rec. Berlin, Germany, 1951, ADD
GALA GL100.733 [63.38+75.03] [RW]
High-spirited
and refreshing with everyone responding admirably.
The handling of the nuances of the Flotow
is excellent. ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Jean
SIBELIUS (1865
- 1957) The
Complete Symphonies:- Kullervo,
Op. 7 (1892) (3)(f)† [80.59] Symphony
No. 1, Op. 39 (1898-9) (1)(a) [39.34]
Symphony No. 2, Op. 43 (1901-2) (1)(c)
[46.38] Symphony No. 3, Op. 52 (1904-7) (2)(d)
[30.17] Symphony No. 4, Op. 63 (1911) (1)(b)
[37.18] Symphony No. 5, Op. 82 (1914-9) (2)(d)
[30.17] Symphony No. 6, Op. 104 (1923) (1)(c)
[26.05] Symphony No. 7, Op. 105 (1924) (1)(e)
[22.51] Other Orchestral Works:- En
Saga, Op.9 (1892, rev. 1901) (1)(e)
[18.48] Karelia Suite, Op.11 (1893)
(3)(h) [15.21] Rakastava,
Op. 14 (1893) (1)(e) [14.40]
Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22 (1893-5)
(4)(g) [51.47] Finlandia,
Op. 26 (1899-1900) (1)(c)
[9.00] Valse Triste, Op. 44
(1904) (1)(c) [6.04]
Pohjola’s Daughter, Op. 49 (1906) (4)(g)
[15.05] Night Ride and Sunrise,
Op. 55 (1907) (3)(h) [17.01]
The Bard, Op. 64 (1913-4) (4)(g)
[7.57] Tapiola, Op. 122 (1925-6)
(2)(d) [18.29] The
Oceanides, Op.73 (1914) (3)(h)
[10.57]
Hillevi Martinpelto (sop.)†, Karl-Magnus
Fredriksson (bar.)† London Symphony Chorus†
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Colin Davis
Rec. London: (1) Blackheath Concert Halls,
(2) Watford Town Hall, (3) Walthamstow Assembly
Hall, (4) Watford Colosseum, (a) December
1994, (b) April 1994, (c) 12-13 December 1994,
(d) 1-3 December 1992, (e) April/December
1994, (f) November 1996, (g) 17-19 January
2000, (h) 13 February 1998
BMG/RCA RED SEAL 82876-55706-2 [7 CDs:
77.38 + 72.53 + 61.07 + 73.09 + 64.41 + 75.25
+ 76.51 = 501'44] [PSe]
Sympathetic
recordings and vital performances of revelatory
interpretations, over 500 minutes of pure
bliss for any lover or learner of Sibelius.
... see Full
Review
Sir
Thomas Beecham (1879-
1961) - Great Conductors of the 20th Century
CD
1 Gioacchino ROSSINI
William Tell Overture Antonín
DVOŘÁK Legend No. 2 Richard
WAGNER Das Rheingold - Entry of
Gods into Valhalla Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART Divertimento No.
15 Frederick DELIUS
Appalachia Carl
Maria von WEBER Der Freischütz
Overture CD 2 Nikolai
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Antar Symphony
Felix MENDELSSOHN
Song without words Op. 102 Nos
2 and 3 Peter Ilyich
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 George
Frideric HANDEL Amaryllis Suite
- Sarabande Edith Furmedge (soprano) Margaret
Field-Hyde (soprano) Sylvia Patriss (alto)
Gwladys Garside (mezzo-soprano) Walter Widdop
(tenor) George Chitty (tenor) Theo Herrmann
(bass) Cuthbert Matthews (baritone) Cuthbert
Matthews (bar) (Delius) Royal Opera Amateur
Chorus (Delius) London Philharmonic Orchestra
(Rossini, Dvořák, Weber, Delius); Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra (rest) Rec. mono and
stereo (only I from Tchaikovsky) - 1934-1958.
ADD EMI CLASSICS/IMG 575938-2 [2CDs:
] [RB]
Some
very special music making here and invaluable
in its wholesale publication of many previously
unissued originals. A stunner. ... see Full
Review
Detailed listing (last t wo
days)]
[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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