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Alphabetical Listing

Recommendations

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[Part 1 New] [Part 2 A-B] [Part 3 C-L]
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RECORDINGS OF THE MONTH

RECORDING OF THE MONTH David BEDNALL (b. 1979) Requiem * O come let us sing; Salvator mundi; Let all the world The Chamber Choir of St, Mary’s, Calne/Edward Whiting David Bednall (organ); *Philip Dukes (viola) rec. 2009 REGENT REGCD327 [64:29] [JQ]

Anyone who is interested in choral music should try to hear this wonderful disc. ... see Full Review

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op. 18/6 (1798-1800) String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130 (1825-26) Große Fuge for String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 133 (1825-26) Artemis Quartet (Natalia Prischepenko (violin); Gregor Sigl (violin); Friedemann Weigle (viola); Eckart Runge (cello)) rec. 8-13 November, 16-18 December 2009, Teldex Studio, Finckensteinallee, Berlin. DDD VIRGIN CLASSICS 50999 694584 0 8 [74:25] [MC]

These Beethoven Quartets are given performances of the highest quality. A sure-fire ‘Record of the Year’ for 2010. ... see Full Review

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Muzio CLEMENTI (1752-1832) The Complete Sonatas -Vol. 5 Sonatas op. 34, 37 & 46 Howard Shelley (piano) rec. 2009 HYPERION CDA67814 [77:51 + 67:28] [MS]

The fifth of six sets containing all of Clementi's piano sonatas - played with great flair, expertise but above all insight. Another winner … see Full Review 

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Antonín DVORÁK (1841-1904) Symphonic Poems The Water Goblin, The Noon Witch, The Golden Spinning Wheel, The Wild Dove, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Charles Mackerras rec. , 2001, 2008, 2009 SUPRAPHON SU 4012-2 [79:42] [BR]

The new standard recordings of Dvorák’s symphonic poems … see Full Review

RECORDING OF THE MONTH George Frideric HANDEL (1685 – 1759) Giulio Cesare in Egitto (1724) Complete recording of the 1724 version. Kristina Hammarström (mezzo) – Giulio Cesare; Emanuela Galli (soprano) – Cleopatra; Mary-Ellen Nesi (mezzo) – Sesto; Irini Karaianni (mezzo) – Cornelia; Romina Basso (mezzo) – Tolomeo; Tassis Christoyannis (baritone) – Achilla; Petros Magoulas (bass) – Curio; Nikos Spanatis (bass) – Nireno; Orchestra of Patras/George Petrou rec. 24-30 July 2006, Patras, Greece Italian libretto with English translation enclosed MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM MDG 609 1604-2 [3 CDs: 75:50 + 78:48 + 77:23] [GF]

A knock-out from the very first bars of the overture ... see Full Review

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809) Opera at Eszterháza: Arias - La Circe Miah Persson (soprano) Haydn Sinfonietta Wien/Manfred Huss rec. 2008/9 BIS BISSACD1811 [71.31] [MM-B]

A joy from beginning to end ... see Full Review 

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Aleko (1892-1893) Sergey Murzaev (baritone) - Aleko; Svetla Vassileva (soprano) - Zemfira; Evgeny Akhimov (tenor) - Young Gypsy; Gennady Bezzubenkov (bass) - Old Gypsy; Nadezhda Vasilieva (mezzo) - Old Gypsy Woman; Coro del Teatro Regio del Torino; BBC Philharmonic/Gianandrea Noseda. rec. 2009. DDD CHANDOS CHAN10583 [50:55] [CC]

My Recording of the Month, by a long way. The BBC Philharmonic sounds simply superb … Noseda conducts intelligently, sensitively, with full structural awareness of the dramatic trajectory. ... see Full Review

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Sven-David SANDSTRÖM (b. 1942) Messiah Festivalensemble Stuttgart/Helmuth Rilling rec. live, 2009 CARUS 83.453 [36:06 + 54:15] [GF]

One of the finest large-scale choral works during the whole post-war era … see Full Review 

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Richard STRAUSS (1864–1949) Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 (1898)[47:29] Anton WEBERN (1883-1945) Im Sommerwind* (1904) [15:03] Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Bernard Haitink rec. 2009. DSD CSO-RESOUND CSOR 901 1004 [62:32] [JQ]

A magnificent CD, including as fine a CD version of Ein Heldenleben as I can recall ... see Full Review

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Visions – Lavinia Meijer Benjamin BRITTEN (1913-1976) Suite, Op. 83 (1969) Paul PATTERSON (b. 1947) Spiders, Op. 48 (1985) Bugs, Op. 93 (2006) Garrett BYRNES (b. 1971) Visions in Twilight (2000) Isang YUN (1917-1995) In Balance (1987) Toru TAKEMITSU (1930-1996) Stanza II for harp and tape (1971) Lavinia Meijer (harp) rec. 2009 CHANNEL CLASSICS CCS SA 29709 [63:08] [DM]

A must-have for harp aficionados and audio buffs alike. ... see Full Review

 

BARGAINS OF THE MONTH

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Alban BERG (1885-1935) Violin Concerto Igor STRAVINSKY (1882-1971) Violin Concerto Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Violin Concerto Arthur Grumiaux (violin) Concertgebouw O/Igor Markevitch, Ernest Bour, Vienna SO/Bogo Leskovic rec. 1956-67 DECCA ELOQUENCE 480 0481 [78:55] [WH]

An unmissable disc from a master violinist … see Full Review

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Gioachino ROSSINI (1792-1868) L’Italiana in Algeri - Comic opera in two acts (1813) Samuel Ramey (bass); Kathleen Battle (soprano) I Solisti Veneti; Prague Philharmonic Choir/Claudio Scimone rec. 1980 ERATO OPERA COLLECTION 2564 68335 9 [71.30 + 69.21] [RF]

A welcome return to the catalogue of this excellent performance which is a must for all Rossini enthusiasts. ... see Full Review

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Gioacchino ROSSINI (1792-1868) Il Barbiere di Siviglia Juan Diego Flórez (tenor) Joyce DiDonato (mezzo) Pietro Spagnoli (baritone) Ch & O Royal Opera House, Covent Garden/Antonio Pappano rec. live, 2009 VIRGIN CLASSICS 6945819 [2 DVDs: 102:00 + 74:00] [ST]

A big thumbs-up on every front ... see Full Review 

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Die schöne Müllerin Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone); Gerald Moore (piano) rec. 1961 EMI CLASSICS 9659402 [62:30] [KM]

Perhaps the best recording of this work, available in a new edition ... see Full Review 

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH Early One Morning: Finnish Orchestral Favorites Turku Philharmonic Orchestra (CD1), Camerata Finlandia (CD2)/Jorma Panula rec. 1995,1996,2007 NAXOS CD 8.578143-44 [70:33 + 53:15] [BR]

I loved this two-disc sampler of lesser-known Finnish composers … 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]
[last 5 days] [Recommended recordings]


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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