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RECORDINGS
OF THE MONTH
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Ludwig
van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Complete Works for Solo Piano Vol. 6
Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano) rec. 2007
BIS BISSACD1573 
[73:04][TH] 
Familiar
music re-invented as new before your very
ears ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Ludwig van
BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Piano
Sonatas - Volume 4 Nos 5-7, 15, 19, 20, 29 & 30-32 Paul
Lewis (piano)
rec. 2008 (?) HARMONIA MUNDI
HMC901909-11 
[3
CDs: 59:30 + 60:30 + 64:13] [DJB] 
A
triumphant completion of a Beethoven cycle for the ages … see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Howard
BLAKE (b.
1938) Piano
Concerto, op.412 (1990) [25:52] Diversions,
op.337 (1984) [20:45] Toccata – A Celebration
of the Orchestra, op.386 (1988) [21:44]
Howard Blake (piano), Robert Cohen (cello)
Philharmonia Orchestra/Sir David Willcocks
(Concerto), Howard Blake (Diversions and Toccata)
rec. 1990, DDD reissue
SONY CLASSICS 88697376972 [68:21]
[BBr]
Once
heard, you’ll not want to be without this
marvellous music ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Frédéric CHOPIN
(1810-1849) Ballade No. 2; selection of Mazurkas &
Waltzes; Impromptu No. 2; Piano Sonata No. 2
Maurizio Pollini (piano) rec. 2008
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4777626 [57:08][MC]
Innate
musicality and great nobility ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Ross EDWARDS (b.
1943) Symphonies 1 & 4 Adelaide
Chamber Singers, Adelaide Phil Ch, Adelaide SO/Richard Mills
rec. 2002 ABC
CLASSICS 476 6161 [60:00] [TP]
A
first class production that deserves to find a wide audience ...
see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Sir Edward ELGAR
(1857-1934)
The
Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38 (1900) [94:21] CD 1 Part I [37:20] CD
2 Part II [57:01]
Alice Coote (mezzo) - The Angel; Paul Groves (tenor) – Gerontius; Bryn
Terfel (bass-baritone) - The Priest and The Angel of The Agony Hallé
Choir; Hallé Youth Choir Hallé Orchestra/Sir Mark Elder
rec. Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 15-19 July 2008 English text included
HALLÉ CD HLD
7520 [37:20 + 57:01]
[JQ]
A
remarkable achievement ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Edvard
GRIEG (1843-1907) Peer
Gynt Suites 1 & 2, Funeral March in Memory of Rikard
Nordraak, Old Norwegian Melody with Variations, Bell
Ringing Bergen
PO/Ole Kristian Ruud
rec. 2003-5 BIS BISSACD1591 [70:50]
[SV]
A
must-have ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Mieczysław KARŁOWICZ
(1876-1909) Symphonic Poems Vol. 1
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra/Antoni Wit rec.
2006 NAXOS
8.570452 [70:41][IL] 
For
lovers of inflated Late-Romanticism, this
is treasure trove ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Cristóbal de
MORALES (c.1500-1553) Magnificat etc.
The Brabant Ensemble/Stephen
Rice rec. 2007 HYPERION
CDA67694 [72.39][GH]
I
knew that I would like this disc almost from the start ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Nikolai
MYASKOVSKY
(1881-1950)
Complete Symphonies and Orchestral Works
USSR State Symphony Orchestra & Symphony Orchestra of the Russian
Federation/Evgeny Svetlanov rec. 1965-1994
WARNER CLASSICS 2564 69689-8 [16 CDs: c. 21:30:00][RB]
Wondrous
works, at minimal price (and presentation) – not to be missed ... see
Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Giacomo PUCCINI (1858-1924) La
Bohčme Angela
Gheorghiu, Ramón Vargas
The Metropolitan Opera O & Ch/Nicola Luisotti
rec. live,2008 EMI CLASSICS
2174179 [136:00] [IL]
I
cannot fault this production ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Robert
SCHUMANN (1810-1856) Piano
Quintet Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) Piano
Quintet Leif Ove
Andsnes (piano); Artemis Quartet
rec. 2006 VIRGIN CLASSICS 3951432 [68:33]
[DJB]
I
was entranced, enraptured and enthralled – you have to have this
one … see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Richard STRAUSS
(1864–1949)
Salome (sung in English, translation from German by Tom
Hammond) (1905) Susan Bullock (soprano) – Salome John Graham-Hall (tenor)
– Herod Philharmonia Orchestra/Charles
Mackerras rec. 2007 Salome’s dance of the Seven Veils (concert
version) CHANDOS CHAN
3157(2) [61:39 + 52:40] [DH]
Real
emotional and sonic surge ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Igor
STRAVINSKY
(1882-1971) The
Rite of Spring (1911-13, revised 1947)
[34:14] Apollon Musagète (1927-28,
revised 1947) [29:36]
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra/Jaap
van Zweden rec. 2006
EXTON OVCL 00330 [63:50]
[DM]
A
very fine Rite indeed. One of my discs of
the year. ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Patricia Petibon Amoureuses Arias
by Mozart, Haydn and Gluck Patricia
Petibon (soprano)
Concerto Köln/Daniel Harding rec. 2008 DEUTSCHE
GRAMMOPHON 477 7468 [68:39]
The
bewitching Petibon can be justly proud ... see Full
Review
BARGAINS
OF THE MONTH
BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Johannes
BRAHMS (1833-1897) Violin Concerto Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856) Violin
Concerto Ilya
Kaler (violin) Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Pietari Inkinen rec. 2007
NAXOS 8.570321 [72:13][TP]
Another
wonderful disc from Ilya Kaler ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Franz
Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809) Complete
Music for Solo Keyboard Ronald
Brautigam (fortepiano) rec. 1998-2002 BIS
BIS-CD-1731/33 [15
CDs: 17:04:37] [KM]
For
fans of the instruments or neophytes, this is a bargain not to
be missed ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Ralph
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958) and Gustav
HOLST (1874-1934) Choral Folksong Arrangments
London Madrigal Singers/Christopher Bishop; Baccholian Singers of London
rec. 1969-74
EMI CLASSICS 2161552 [78:23][MSJ]
A
favourite LP appears on CD, expanded with extras ... see Full
Review
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]
[Recommended
recordings]
Over
a period of three years from December 2003,
I have spent a lot of time in the company
of Harry Partch – not literally, of course,
as he died in 1974, but working my way though
an article and some eight reviews that can
all be found on MusicWeb. Then, at the MusicWeb
annual lunch (January 2007), the name of John
Cage caught my ear. For reasons that my subconscious
was not prepared to divulge, my curiosity
was tickled. Partch and Cage have on occasion
been paired off, as a sort of American "Debussy
and Ravel" – was there any real connection
between them?
This
may come as a bit of an anticlimax but, other
than them both being American originals with
"far-out" ideas, I can’t really
think of one. In fact, they are more on the
lines of diametric opposites: with my tongue
ever-so-slightly in my cheek, I could say
that Partch was a seminal genius who got branded
as a crackpot, and Cage was a crackpot who
got branded as a seminal genius.
John
Cage (1912-92) was nothing if not controversial.
With his rise to prominence, an obliging World
split into two opposing camps. His supporters
saw him as a prime mover in the fields of
experimental and electronic music, with abiding
interests in "chance music", new
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