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reviews: Nat King Cole, Eartha Kitt, George Formby, Fred Astaire,
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BOOK
REVIEWS
Felix
Mendelssohn - His
Life and Music by Neil Wenborn (inc. 2 CDs) NAXOS
BOOKS ISBN
978-1-84379-232-1; £13 [RW]
An
ideal companion for a music student or audiophile ... see Full
Review
The
Rest is Noise...Listening to the Twentieth Century, by Alex Ross.
Farrar Straus Giroux, New York, 2007. ISBN-10: 0-374-24939-3; ISBN-13:
978-0-374-24939-7. 543 pages plus preface, notes, acknowledgement, suggested
listening, index. 21 B/W photographs. 6-1/3 inches by 9-1/8 inches.
USD 30.00 CND 34.50. [PSh]
A candy bar for
musicologists ... see Full Review
Sibelius
by Andrew Barnett. Yale University Press, New Haven and London. 2007.
ISBN 978-0-300-11159-0. 445 pages including appendices, index, catalogue
of works, an appendix of musical examples mostly from relatively unknown
works, and 18 B&W photographs. RRP: USD40, GBP25. [PSh]
Exhaustively
complete, acutely perceptive, a real page turner ... see Full
Review
The
Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 2009 by Ivan March,
Edward Greenfield, Robert Layton and Paul Czajkowski Paperback:
1602 pages Publisher: Penguin £30.00 (or less)
LATEST
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FRIDAY
January 30th
Ludwig
van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Piano
Sonatas 14, 17, 30 & 31 
Heinrich
Neuhaus (piano) rec. Moscow 1946-50 RUSSIAN
COMPACT DISC RCD16245 [66:50] [JW] 
Utmost
probity and moving control ... see Full
Review
Johannes
BRAHMS (1833-1897) Symphony
1, Double Concerto Willi Boskovsky (violin) Emanuel
Brabec (cello) Concertgebouw O, Vienna PO/Wilhelm Furtwängler
rec. live, 1950/2 IDIS 6554 [79:38] [JW] 
A
worthwhile pairing but transfers bettered elsewhere ... see Full
Review
Benjamin
BRITTEN (19 13-1976) Violin
Concerto William WALTON (1902-1983) Viola
Concerto Maxim Vengerov (violin, viola)
London SO/Mstislav Rostropovich rec. 2002 EMI CLASSICS 2285252 [64:29] [BBr] 
Do
you really want to buy this disk simply for the Walton? ... see Full
Review
Fryderyk
CHOPIN (1810-1849) Piano
Concertos 1 & 2 Arthur Rubinstein, Los Angeles PO/Alfred Wallenstein,
NBC SO/William Steinberg rec. 1946/53 NAXOS HISTORICAL 8.111296 [66:58] [JW] 
Poetic
finesse from the placid waters of the studio ... see Full
Review
Jacqueline
FONTYN (b.
19 30) On
a Landscape by Turner, Au fil des siècles, L'Anneau de Jade,
Quatre Sites Janácek
PO/David Porcelijn rec. 2006 CYBELE
860.601 
[59:19] [HC]
Does
justice to Fontyn's complex but rewarding music ... see Full
Review
Dimitri
KABALEVSKY (1904-1987) Symphonies
1-4 NDR & Hungarian
Radio Ch, NDR Radiophilharmonie/Eiji Oue rec. 2001/2 CPO
999 833-2 [45:12 + 60:19] [RB]
THURSDAY
January 29th
Johann
Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Cembalo
Concertos Francesco Cera (harpsichord) I Barocchisti/Diego
Fasolis rec. 2005/8 ARTS 47729-8 [68:15] [JV]
Much
noise, little expression - there is no reason to recommend this
disc ... see Full Review
Johannes
BRAHMS (1833-1897) Piano
Concertos 1 & 2, Intermezzos, Six Piano Pieces Wilhelm Backhaus (piano)
Vienna PO/Karl Böhm rec. 1953-67 DECCA ELOQUENCE 480 0800 [67:04
+ 68:42] [CH]
Seekers
after Brahms cannot ignore Backhaus ... see Full
Review
Nicolas
CHÉDEVILLE (1705-1792) Le
Printems ou Les Saisons Amusantes Les Eclairs de Musique
rec. 2001 ARTS 476698 [54:15] [JV]
Perfect
musical entertainment … instrumental colour and imaginative performances
... see Full Review
Fryderyk
CHOPIN (1810-1849) Piano
Concertos 1 & 2 Vassily
Primakov (piano) Odense SO/Paul Mann rec. 2008 BRIDGE
9278 [75:04] [MM]
Extraordinary
power and beauty ... see Full
Review
Carson
COOMAN (b.
1982) Songs Amanda Forsythe
(soprano), Jeffrey Grossman (piano) rec. 2008 ALBANY
TROY1053 [72:33] [BBr]
Nothing
to make me want to hear it ever again ... see Full
Review
Kenneth
LEIGHTON (1929-1988) Orchestral
Works Volume 1 Symphony for Strings, Organ Concerto,
Concerto for String Orchestra John Scott (organ) BBC
Ntl O Wales/Richard Hickox rec. 2006 CHANDOS CHAN10461 [74:34]
[RB]
This
is an attractive disc and extremely well recorded and presented ... see Full
Review
Ruggiero
LEONCAVALLO (1857-1919) Complete
Chamber Songs Barbara Meszáros (soprano),
Hector Sandoval (tenor), Luis Ledesma (baritone) Umberto Finazzi
(piano) rec. 2007 DYNAMIC CDS570/1-2 [68:47
+ 72:32] [CH]
The
repertoire is worth conserving, but a mixed bunch of singers ... see Full
Review
Carl
NIELSEN (1865-1931) Aladdin Mette Ejsing (contralto); Guido Paevatalu
(baritone) Danish Ntl Chamber Ch, Danish Ntl SO/Gennady Rozhdestvensky
rec. 1992 CHANDOS CHAN10498X [79:36] [RB]
Packed
deep with characteristic touches - no Nielsen enthusiast can be without
it ... see Full Review
Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Symphony
9 Berlin PO/Sir Simon Rattle rec.
2005 EMI CLASSICS 2285332 [57.43] [GH]
A
journey after which life can never be quite the same again ... see Full
Review
Kazimierz
SEROCKI (1922-1981) Romantic
Concerto Tadeusz BAIRD (1928-1981) Piano
Concerto Jan KRENZ (b.
1926) Piano concertino Adam Wodnicki (piano) Polish
Ntl RSO/Tadeusz Wojciechowski, Jerzy Swoboda rec. 1999-2001 DUX 0651 [64:27]
[RB]
Excitingly
recorded … should appeal to the adventurous ... see Full
Review
WEDNESDAY
January 28th
Johann Sebastian BACH
(1685-1750)
The Bach Cantata Pilgrimage - Volume 5 Cantatas for the Eighth Sunday
after Trinity, Cantatas for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity
Joanne Lunn (soprano);
Daniel Taylor (alto); Christoph Genz (tenor); Gotthold Schwarz (bass)
The Monteverdi Choir; English Baroque Soloists/Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
rec. 2000 SOLI DEO
GLORIA SDG 147 [53:10 + 65:36]
[JQ]
Another
distinguished and stimulating issue in this important series ... see
Full Review
Arrigo
BOITO (1842-1918)
Mefistofele
- opera in a Prologue, Four Acts and Epilogue (1868) Mefistofele - Ferrucio
Furlanetto (bass); Faust - Giuseppe Filianoti (tenor); Margherita and
Helen of Troy - Dimitra Theodossiou (soprano); Marta - Sonia Zaramella
(mezzo); Pantalis - Monica Minarelli (mezzo)
Chorus, Orchestra and Corps de Ballet of Teatro Massimo, Palermo, Sicily/Stefano
Ranzani rec. 2008
DYNAMIC 
DVD
33581 [2 DVDs: 144:00]
[RF]
This
production does justice to Boito’s operatic mélange ... see Full
Review
Paul HINDEMITH
(1895-1963) Das
Marienleben Op.27 (1948 version) [71:05]
Elisabeth Meyer-Topsøe (soprano) Per Salo (piano) rec. 2006 Includes
texts DANACORD DACOCD
670 [71:05]
[JW]
A
powerfully expressive performance ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Tilo MEDEK (1940-2006)
Organ
Works Wandlungs-Passacaglia (2001) [5:09] B-a-c-h,
Vier Töne für Orgel (1973) [7:44] Verschüttete Bauernflöte (1969)
[11:22]
Quatemberfeste für Orgel (1989) [29:16] Gebrochene Flügel
(1975) [7:42] Rückäufige Passacaglia (1979) [11:02]
Martin Schmeding (organ) rec. 25-27 March 2008, Evang. Aufstehungskirche,
Düsseldorf-Oberkassel.
CYBELE
SACD 060.801 [72:21]
[DC]
Some
of the most unearthly musical sounds I have ever heard ... see Full
Review
Olivier
MESSIAEN
(1908-1992) Éclairs
sur l'Au-Delá... (1988-92)
Wiener Philharmoniker/Ingo Metzmacher rec. 2008
KAIROS MUSIC 0012742KAI [67:00] [DM]
C’est
vraiment parfait! A deeply satisfying performance ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Giacinto
SCELSI
(1905-1988) Preludi,
Serie I-IV: Serie I [21:05]; Serie II [17:49]; Serie III [18:40]; Serie
IV [13:46] Alessandra
Ammara (piano) rec. 30 September – 1 October 2008, Chiesa di S. Apollinaire,
Monticello de Lonigo, Vicenza, Italy
ARTS 47721-8
[73 :10]
[DC]
Enigmatic,
fascinating, and a technically outstanding achievement all round. ...
see Full Review
Cæli Porta:
‘Gateway of heaven and star of the sea’ 17thC Sacred Music form
Lisbon and Granada Choir
of the Queen’s College, Oxford/Owen Rees Carlotte Philips (organ) rec.
2007/8, DDD. Booklet with texts and translations.
GUILD GMCD7323 [60:32]
[BW]
Attractive
performances of strikingly beautiful music ... see Full
Review
Placido Domingo in Concert -
Placido Grandissimo
Placido Domingo (tenor), Julia Migenes (soprano), Guadalupe Sanchez
(soprano), Ernesto Bitetti (guitar), National Symphonic Orchestra of
Spain /Eugene Kohn/Manuel Alejandro rec. live 1992, Includes Video Special:
Composer Documentary
CASCADE
82002 [DVD: c.60:00 + Video Extra c.35:00]
[CH]
Essentially
a television event. Once through will be enough ... see Full
Review
Gundula Janowitz in Concert
George Frederic HANDEL (1685-1759) Giulio Cesare: Overture
[5:00]; Da tempeste il legno infranto [8:08] Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Don Giovanni: Crudele?...
Non mi dir [7:23] Carl Maria von
WEBER (1786-1826) Der Freischütz: Wie
nahte mir der Schlummer… Leise, leise [8:18] Giuseppe
VERDI (1813-1901) I Vespri Siciliani: Overture
[8:27] Attila: Santo di Patria… Allor che i forti [6:37]
Giacomo PUCCINI (1858-1924) Tosca: Vissi d’arte
[3:30] Richard WAGNER (1813-1883)
Tannhauser: Dich, teure halle [6:14]
Gundula Janowitz (soprano) Graz Philharmonic Orchestra/Berislav Klobucar
rec. live, in concert, Stefaniensaal, Graz, 1970 Region Code 0, Aspect
Ration 4:3, Mono only VAI
4458 [RMo]
I’d
be willing to stay up all night to hear her ... see Full
Review
Prague,
L’âge d’or baroque Josef Ferdinand Norbert SEGER (1716-82) Prelude and Fugue in C [5:19]
Fantasia and Fugue
in d minor [8:50] Johann Caspar Ferdinand FISCHER (1665-1746) Aria [12:59] Josef SEGER Prelude and Fugue in c minor [4:53] Johann Kaspar KERLL (1627-93) Canzona III in d minor [3:40]
Passacaglia in d
minor [7:00] Josef SEGER Toccata and Fugue in d minor [4:22] Fugue
in b minor [2:24] Toccata
and Fugue Pastorale [4:32] Gottlieb Theophil MUFFAT (1690-1770) Aria sub Elevatione [6:23]
Karel Blažej KOPřIVA (1756-85) Fugue in d minor supra cognomen DEBEFE [3:18]
Pavel Kohout (organ of Our Lady of Týn, Prague, Hans Heinrich
Mundt, 1673) rec.
Our Lady of Týn, Prague, Czech Republic, 19-21 September 2007. DDD.
Booklet with notes
in French, English and Czech, including complete organ specification
and registration for each work.
EDITIONS HORTUS 053
[63:47]
[BW]
The
organ music of Seger, well played and recorded here, is a real discovery
... see Full Review
TUESDAY January 27th
Ludwig
van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Fidelio
Arnold Schoenberg
Choir; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Simon Rattle rec. 2003
EMI CLASSICS GEMINI 2176302 [65:58 + 44:17][ST]
Deeply
disappointing ... see Full Review
Kenneth
LEIGHTON (1929–1988) Orchestral
Works – Vol. 2
BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Richard Hickox rec. 2007
CHANDOS CHAN10495 [57:28][RB]
Sincere
and undemonstrative music not lacking grandeur ... see Full
Review
Magnus
LINDBERG (b.1958) Sculpture; Campana
in aria; Concerto for Orchestra
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo rec. 2006-8
ONDINE ODE11242 [64:10][HC]
I
enjoyed this very fine release enormously ... see Full
Review
Ljubica MARIĆ
(1909-2003) Byzantine Concerto; Threshold
of Dream; Ostinato super thema Octoïcha; Songs of Space
Radio-Television
Belgrade Chamber Orchestra/Oskar Danon rec. 1964-77
CHANDOS HISTORICAL CHAN10267H [69:12][RB]
Unfailingly
imaginative ... see Full Review
Bohuslav
MARTINŮ (1890-1959) Sinfonietta
La Jolla; Toccata e due canzoni; Concerto Grosso
Josef Hála
(piano); Prague Chamber Orchestra/Ondřej Kukal rec. 1997
SUPRAPHON SU39582 [59:29][RB]
Glorious
Martinů ... see Full Review
Wolfgang
Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Early
Piano Sonatas
Zeynep Ucbasaran (piano) rec. 2008
EROICA JDT3403 [61:27 + 56:19][CH]
Mozart
speaking without interference … you should be well pleased ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Camille SAINT-SAËNS
(1835-1921) Complete Works for Cello and Orchestra
Johannes Moser
(cello); Radio Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR/Fabrice Bollon rec.
2007 HÄNSSLER CLASSIC
CD93.222 [69:16][MC]
A
fruitful emotional encounter with Saint-Saëns ... see Full
Review
Antonio
VIVALDI (1678–1741) Violin Concertos
Daniel Hope (violin);
Chamber Orchestra of Europe rec. 2008
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4777463 [57.44][RH]
An
interesting dialogue between modern ways and period practice … see Full
Review
Marilyn
Horne – A Profile rec.
1994 EMI CLASSICS
2165819
[50.35 + bonus 25.23][RJF]
Insight
into the career of one of the century’s greatest opera singers ... see
Full Review
Mary
and Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey: ‘Sisters
in Hope of the Resurrection’
The Choir of Westminster Abbey/James O’Donnell rec.
2008
HYPERION CDA67704 [66:42][BW]
A
fine recording – a first-class introduction to Tudor music ... see Full
Review
MONDAY January 26th
Johann
Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Solo Cantatas
for Alto
James Bowman (counter-tenor); The King’s Consort/Robert
King rec. 1988
HYPERION HELIOS CDH55312 [59:03][JFL]
A
voice, not the most tender, beautiful in many ways, but tinged with
artifice ... see Full Review
Ludwig
van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Piano
Sonatas Nos. 30-32 (Vol. VIII)
András Schiff (piano) rec. 2007
ECM NEW SERIES 1949 4766192 [64:42][DC]
Warning:
may render your current versions redundant ... see Full
Review
Georges BIZET (1838-1875)
Symphony in C; L’Arlésienne Suites Nos. 1 & 2
Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Children’s Corner Suite
Leopold Stokowski and his Symphony Orchestra rec. 1949-52
CALA CACD0548 [78:15][CH]
For
those who will exchange modern sound for the magic of a great interpreter
... see Full Review
Johannes
BRAHMS (1833-1897) Piano Concerto
No. 2 Pyotr Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Piano Concerto No. 1
Arthur Rubinstein (piano); London Symphony Orchestra/Albert Coates,
John Barbirolli rec. 1919-32
NAXOS HISTORICAL 8.111271 [71:12][CH]
Difficult
to look the other way when Rubinstein is playing ... see Full
Review
Joseph
HOLBROOKE (1878-1958) Violin Sonata No.
3 Sir Henry WALFORD DAVIES (1869-1941)
Violin Sonata No. 2 Cyril ROOTHAM
(1875-1938) Violin Sonata Arthur BENJAMIN
(1893-1960) Sonatina for cello and piano
Jacqueline Roche (violin); Robert Stevenson (piano) rec. 2008
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX7219 [63:00][RB]
A
fine conspectus of neglected British violin sonatas ... see Full
Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Gustav MAHLER
(1860-1911) Symphony No. 4
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra/Jonathan Nott rec. 2006
TUDOR 7151
[55:29][TB]
Makes
a strong impression ... see Full Review
RECORDING
OF THE MONTH Joseph MARX
(1882-1964) Orchestral Songs and Choral Works
Christine Brewer (soprano); BBC Symphony Chorus & Orchestra/Jiří
Bělohlávek rec. 2008
CHANDOS CHAN10505 [71:33][RB]
A
seething aureate blaze. Wonderful stuff ... see Full
Review
BARGAIN
OF THE MONTH Richard
STRAUSS (1864-1949) Vier letzte Lieder etc.
Heather Harper
(soprano); London Symphony Orchestra/Richard Hickox rec. 1986-7
EMI CLASSICS FOR PLEASURE 2283742 [63:11][DM]
A
thrilling Straussfest. Not to be missed ... see Full
Review
Richard
WAGNER (1813–1883)
Tristan und Isolde
Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau/Golo Berg rec. 2007
ARTHAUS MUSIC 101325
[2 DVDs: 224:00][GF]
A
very likeable performance ... see Full
Review
The Voice in the Garden:
Spanish Songs and Motets, 1480-1550
Gothic Voices/Christopher Page rec. 1993
HYPERION HELIOS CDH55298 [52:08][BW]
Pretty
well irresistible ... see Full Review
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