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LATEST CD & DVD REVIEWS

Monday July 25th

To our Norwegian Friends. We send our deepest sympathy and commiserations for the outrageous deaths you have suffered. MWI Team

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180 reviews completed so far this month

Johann Sebastian BACH Goldberg Variations Nicholas Angelich (piano) rec. 2011 VIRGIN CLASSICS [GD] If you feel that there is too much subtlety in Bach interpretation these days, Angelich might just be for you.

Johann Sebastian BACH St. John Passion Peter Schreier (tenor) Olaf Bär (baritone) Marjana Lipovšek (mezzo) Roberta Alexander (soprano) Robert Holl (bass) Leipzig Rundfunkchor, Staatskapelle Dresden/Peter Schreier rec. 1988 NEWTON CLASSICS [MC] An enjoyable account.

Reinhard KAISER Passion Music Capella Orlandi Bremen/Thomas Ihlenfeldt rec. 2009 CPO [EM] These un-dramatic interpretations are particularly unfitting

Dora PEJAČEVIC Symphony, Phantasie Concertante Volker Banfield (piano) Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz/Ari Rasilainen rec. 2008 CPO [RB] The Symphony is a pleasing discovery if not totally compelling while the Phantasie Concertante is hyper-romantic fun.

Franz SCHUBERT Piano Sonatas 4 & 13, Wandererfantasie Eldar Nebolsin (piano) rec. 2009 NAXOS [GM][BW] Well worth considering, especially at the price.

Robert SCHUMANN Carnaval Sergei RACHMANINOV Piano Pieces Sergei Rachmaninov (piano) rec. 1929/40 ST-LAURENT STUDIO [JW] St-Laurent have effortlessly outstripped RCA.

Sir Arthur SOMERVELL Maud Songs by Sterndale Bennett & Howells & a reading of Tennyson's Maud Stephen Roberts (baritone) Terence Allbright (piano) Gabriel Woolf (reader) PRELUDE RECORDS [EM] This failed to impress.

Jörg WIDMANN Messe, Fünf Bruchstücke, Elegie Jörg Widmann (clarinet) Heinz Holliger (piano) Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken/Christoph Poppen rec. 2008/9 ECM NEW SERIES [HC] This superb release is the best introduction possible to Widmann’s hugely personal sound-world.

The Golden Age of Light Music Confetti rec. 1949-59 GUILD LIGHT MUSIC [JW] Another ingeniously compiled selection, giving as ever great value for money.

Virtuoso Works by Tartini, Bach, Wieniawski & Franck Ray Chen (violin) Noreen Polera (piano) rec. 2010 SONY CLASSICS [SA] Overall this disc is a powerful argument that Chen is on his way to becoming the virtuoso the cover says he is!

 

Musicweb's Recordings of the Month Click here Musicweb's Bargains of the Month Click here

NEW and RECENT ARTICLES

July Download Roundup #2 by Brian Wilson

All Michael Herman's discographies have been updated

The Compleat Academic? by Arthur Butterworth

Recent Nostalgia discs £9 postage paid Nostalgia index of reviews
My Fair lady & Gigi Original Casts 1956 & 1958 Retrospective RTR 4181
Forces' Sweethearts and Heart Throbs 50 tracks tbr
Bing Crosby & Buddies Gone Fishing 53 tracks tbr
Jack Teagarden "Big T" - a hundred years from today 46 tracks
George Shearing - Lullaby of Birdland 52 tracks tbr
The songs of George Gershwin - 51 tracks 1925-1951

NOTICES

The Thomas Dunhill Connection Fri 21st - Sun 23rd October 2011, Bondleigh, Devon, UK

Discs received for review A new feature; updated monthly

Shopping on-line? Help us by doing it through MusicWeb Sales page

Advice for Windows Vista Users wishing to play sound samples from reviews

MUSICWEB Special Offer We had great success with selling the Haydn Symphonies as mp3 files put onto CD (see review). This time we offer the complete organ works of J.S.Bach played by Kevin Bowyer on 8CDs containing 320 kbps mp3 files and a complete set of notes as a pdf file. You can buy these through MusicWeb for just £23 post-free here. Reviews by Brian Wilson and Kirk McElhearn Same Price: Complete Haydn Symphonies on mp3 CDs review NOTE: These sets cannot be played on a normal CD player. You will need one of the following: a computer; a portable MP3 device (like an iPod, but not limited to iPods) a DVD player; the latest generation of in-car disc players.

 

MUSICWEB EXCLUSIVE Celebrating Fifty Years devoted to British Music 4CD sets £18 post free world-wide EXCLUSIVE Buy both sets for just £28 post free world-wide See Review

Arkivmusic has over 4000 ArkivCDs which are digital remakes of out-of-print CDs available nowhere else. New issues now contain full booklet notes link

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