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RECORDINGS
OF THE MONTH
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Brandenburg
Concertos 1-6 
Kati
Debretzeni (violin, director) English Baroque Soloists/Sir John
Eliot Gardiner
rec. live 2009 SOLI
DEO GLORIA
SDG707 [41:32 + 50:32] 
[JQ]
Marvel
afresh at the musical skill, imagination and invention ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Charles GOUNOD (1818
- 1893) Roméo
et Juliette Bidú Sayão,
Jussi Björling, Metropolitan Opera Ch & O/Emil Cooper
rec. live, 1947 IMMORTAL
PERFORMANCES
IPCD1003-2 [74:06
+ 79:30] 
[GF]
One
of the truly great moments at the Met … indispensable ...
see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Simon HOLT (b.
1958) Tauromaquia,
a book of colours, Black Lanterns,
Klop’s Last Bite,
Nigredo Rolf
Hind (piano)
rec. 2008 NMC
D128 [69:17] 
[HC]
One
of the most endearing composers of his generation ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Carlo Ignazio MONZA (c.1696
- 1739) Harpsichord
Music Terence
Charlston (harpsichord)
rec. 2005 DEUX-ELLES
DXL1117 [67:14] [JV]
An
ideal combination of first-rate music and performance ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
(1872-1958)
Heroic Elegy & Triumphal Epilogue Roderick Elms (organ)
William ALWYN (1905-1985) Overture
in the Form of a Serenade Micaela Haslam (soprano) and the London
Chorus Prelude; Blackdown – A Tone Poem from the Surrey Hills;
Peter Pan Suite (Peter Pan; Tinker Bell; The
Lost Boys in Never-Never Land; Captain Hook); Ad Infinitum
– A Satire for Orchestra Sir Hubert PARRY
(1848-1918) Hypatia – Incidental Music (Hypatia and Philammon;
Ruth and Orestes; Orestes’ March) York
BOWEN (1884-1961) Orchestral Poem: Eventide
Roderick Elms (organ) BBC Concert Orchestra/John Wilson rec. The Colosseum,
Town Hall, Watford, England, 12-14 July 2009 World premiere recordings
DUTTON
EPOCH CDLX 7237 [72:52]
[IL]
One
of the best compilations of British music I have heard for a very long
time. ... see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Richard WAGNER
(1813–1883)
Das Rheingold (1869) [194:00]
Wotan - Juha Uusitalo, Fricka - Anna Larsson, Alberich - Franz-Josef
Kapelmann, Loge - John Daszak, Fasolt - Matti Salminen, Fafner - Stephen
Milling
Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana/Zubin Mehta rec. live, Palau
de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia, April/May 2007 Bonus Track - The
Making of Rheingold [27:00]
UNITEL
CLASSICA 700604 
[221:00]
[BK]
A
must have disc for any serious Wagnerian, I’d say. Easily on a par with
The Copenhagen Ring ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH John WARD (c.1589-1638) Consort
Music for five and six viols Phantasm
rec. 2009 LINN
CKD339 [77:57] [JW]
Something
of a revelatory disc … first class ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Greatest
Hits of All Time Contemporary Music for Oboe and Ensemble Roger
REDGATE (b.1958) Oboe quintet, Eperons Michael
FINNISSY (b.1946) Greatest Hits of All Time, Ceci n’est
pas une forme Christopher FOX (b.
1955) Oboe Quintet Howard
SKEMPTON (b. 1947) Garland Michael
FINNISSY [5:34] James
CLARKE (b. 1957) Oboe Quintet Christopher
Redgate
(oboe, cor
anglais)
Kreutzer Qt, Ensemble Exposé rec. 2002-6 METIER
MSV28513 [56:15] [CR]
An
excellent disc of well written and imaginative repertoire … see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Jonas
Kaufmann – Sehnsucht
Richard WAGNER, MOZART, SCHUBERT, BEETHOVEN,
WAGNER
Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma
Mahler Chamber Orchestra/Claudio Abbado rec. Auditorium Nicolo Paganini,
Parma, December 2008
DECCA 478 1463 [69:25]
[ST]
One
of the finest vocal recitals to have come my way this year ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Stille
Nacht (Silent Night)
Bettina Pahn (soprano); Joachim Held (lute) rec. 29-31 January 2009,
Erlöserkirche in Vahrendorf, Germany. DDD
HÄNSSLER
CLASSIC CD 98.525 [59:30]
[JV]
A
splendid Christmas disc with a number of little-known songs, performed
with great refinement and subtlety ... see Full
Review
BARGAINS
OF THE MONTH
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Béla BARTÓK (1881-1945) Boulez
conducts Bartók Chicago
SO, Berlin PO/Pierre Boulez
rec. 1991-2008 DEUTSCHE
GRAMMOPHON
477 8125 [8
CDs: 9:05:10] 
[GH]
A
good addition to your Bartók collection … some performances
will be difficult to improve on ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Ludwig van
BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Complete
String Quartets Borodin
Qt
rec. 2003-6 CHANDOS CHAN10553(8) [8
CDs: 551:10] [DC]
Excellence
and depth: real transcendent Beethoven, almost all of the time
... see Full Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Frederick
DELIUS (1862-1934) The Complete Violin
Sonatas Tasmin
Little (violin) Piers Lane (piano) rec. 1997 SONY
CLASSICAL 88697 532142 [76:40] [RB]
Magical
Delius performances ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Franz Joseph HAYDN (1732-1810) Great
Piano Sonatas Sonatas 20, 23, 28 & 48 Ronan
O'Hora (piano) rec. 1997 REGIS
RRC1311 [71:37] [OL]
Life
and love in every note ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Bohuslav MARTINU
(1890-1959) Complete
Piano Music - Vol. 6 & 7
Giorgio Koukl (piano) Chiara Solari (piano, third hand) rec. 2008
NAXOS 8.572024/5 [53:45 + 54:52]
[JW]
The
overarching reach of Koukl proves dominant and permanent ...
see Full Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Einojuhani RAUTAVAARA (b.
1928) Twelve Concertos rec.
1991-2005 ONDINE
ODE
1156-2Q [4 CDs: 268:27] [RB]
Powerful,
often directly accessible, nuanced and patently sincere ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Dietrich
Fischer-Dieskau sings Lieder by Schubert, Schumann & Brahms Dietrich
Fischer-Dieskau (baritone); Günther Weissenborn, Gerald Moore,
Jörg Demus (piano) rec. 1951-58 REGIS
RRC1313 [73:22] 
[GF]
There
is no better Lieder singing to be found anywhere on records ...
see Full Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Carol
Ann DUFFY and Sasha
JOHNSON MANNING The
Manchester Carols (2007) The
Manchester Carollers Northern Chamber Orchestra/Richard Tanner
rec. St. Thomas’ Church, Stockport, England, 22 October 2007.
DDD NAXOS
8.572469 [63:43] [JQ]
Hugely
successful and atmospherically beautiful [ST] Fresh, lively and
enjoyable [JQ]... see Full
Review
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1 New] [Part
2 A-B] [Part 3 C-L]
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5 S-Z]
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