NEW & RECENT ARTICLES

[New] Decca Sound - The Mono Years 1944-56 Part 3 by Jonathan Woolf

[New] Download News 2015/5 by Brian Wilson & Dan Morgan

[New] A to Z of the Piano Trio Repertoire by David Barker: "C" Composers

[New] Fortepianist Penelope Crawford: An interview with Brian Reinhart

From the MusicWeb International Listening Studio: Another Audio Report by John Quinn

MusicWeb International’s Twentieth Anniversary Celebration by John Quinn

MWI Recommends - Gershwin Rhapsody in blue & Schubert ‘Great’ symphony.

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LATEST REVIEWS

Friday May 29th

Cecilé CHAMINADE (1857-1944) Piano Trio 2 Claude DEBUSSY (-1918) Piano Trio René LENORMAND (1846-1932) Piano Trio - Trio Chausson rec. 2011 MIRARE MIR163 [72:13] [DJB] Beautifully played, with a real rarity, but the shining star is the Chaminade.

Frédéric CHOPIN (1810-1849) Complete waltzes, Nocturnes - Louis Lortie (piano) rec. 2011-14 CHANDOS CHAN 10852 [83:20] [BR] Louis Lortie’s Chopin series climbs to new heights with the best album yet.

Michele ESPOSITO (1855-1929) Music for violin and piano - Carmelo Andriani (violin) Vincenzo Maltempo (piano) rec. 2014 BRILLIANT CLASSICS 95102 [46:40 + 52:40] [JW] A fine release, and complementary to an earlier Esposito release.

Yoshihiro KANNO (b. 1953) Light, Water, Rainbow - Noriko Ogawa (piano) rec. 2014 BIS BIS-2075 SACD [72:00] [KM] I look forward to hearing more music by this composer.

Anthony RITCHIE (b.1960) Symphony 4 - Jenny Wollerman (soprano) Christchurch SO/Tom Woods rec. 2014 ATOLL ACD314 [42:20] [BW] Powerful music, powerfully performed and well worth your attention.

Paweł SZYMAŃSKI (b. 1954) Pieces for String Quartet Paweł MYKIETYN (b. 1971) String Quartet 2 - Royal Qt rec. 2014 HYPERION CDA68085 [66:53] [NB] Admirers of the contemporary string quartet genre will find no fence they need to sit on here.

Donaufahrt Works by Beethoven, Doppler, Kalliwoda, Mozart & Weber - Rie Koyama (bassoon) Clemens Müller (piano) rec. 2014 GENUIN GEN15334 [66:23] [GPJ] Stunning playing from this brilliantly gifted young Japanese bassoonist.

In the Midst of Life Music From the Baldwin Part Books Vol. 1 - Contrapunctus/Owen Rees rec. 2014 SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD408 [68:18] [GH] This is a fine CD and I wait impatiently for its follow-up.

Thursday May 28th

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Havergal BRIAN (1876-1972) Symphonies 6, 28, 29 & 31 - New Russia State SO/Alexander Walker rec. 2014 NAXOS 8.573408 [69:51] [MC] De rigueur for all Brian admirers and lovers of British music alike.

Franz LISZT (1811-1886) Années de Pélerinage (Italie), Piano Sonata - Angela Brownridge (piano) rec. 2011 CAMEO CLASSICS CC9030CD [71:16] [JW] Still a fine and representative selection of Brownridge’s Liszt repertoire.

Francis POULENC (1899-1963) Les Animaux modèles, Concerto for two pianos Jean FRANÇAIX (1912-1997) Concerto for two pianos - Mona and Rica Bard (pianos) Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinlands-Pfalz/Ariane Matiakhrec. 2014 CAPRICCIO C5237 [68:55] [DC] Excellent stuff.

Maximilian STEINBERG (1883-1946) Passion Week Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844-1908) Chant Arrangements for Holy Week - Cappella Romana/Alexander Lingas rec. 2014 CAPPELLA ROMANA CR414-CD [61:57] [DC] This one will stay with you forever.

Creole Connections Morten Gunnar Larsen (piano) rec. 2013/14 LAWO CLASSICS LWC1070 [71:38] [BR] An easy-going hit collection from Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, New Orleans, Los Angeles and more.

The English Cathedral Series Volume XIX: Peterborough Cathedral - David Humphreys (organ) rec. 2014 REGENT REGCD459 [63:07] [BW] Not a barnstorming instrument but fine performances of music well chosen for it.

Pieces from the Gdansk Lute Tablature 4022 Magdalena Tomsinska (lute) rec. 2014 DUX 1150 [58.15] [GH] A very pleasing presentation.

Myra Hess (piano) Live recordings from the University of Illinois rec. 1949 APR 7306 [3 CDs: 205:23] [JW] Expands the Hess discography and our appreciation and understanding of her as a recreative artist. One can ask for little more.

Wednesday May 27th

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Violin Concertos Alfred SCHNITTKE (1934-1998) Concerto Grosso 3 - Deborah Nemtanu (violin, viola) Sarah Nemtanu (violin) Paris CO/Sascha Goetzel rec. 2014 NAÏVE V5383 [68:00] [LW] Satisfying Bach in a crowded field enhanced by the inclusion of a Schnittke concerto.

Cécile CHAMINADE (1857-1944) Piano Sonata; Etudes - Johann Blanchard (piano) rec. 2014 MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM 90418716 SACD [78:10] [BR] Great pianism, but this un-charming repertoire is not the best introduction to Chaminade.

Malcolm LIPKIN (b. 1932) Symphoies 1-3 - BBC Scottish SO/Lionel Friend, BBC PO/Edward Downes, Adrian Leaper rec. 1983-93 LYRITA SRCD.349 [67:57] [WK] British dissonant style symphonism with a convincing sense of structure and developmental ability.

Ernst MIELCK (1877-1899) Orchestral and Choral Works - Juha Kotilainen (baritone) Academic Male-Voice Ch Helsinki, Helsinki University SO/Mikk Murdvee rec. 2012/13 2012/13 TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC0174 [61:47] A fine selection of music from a life cut very short [DJB] Early nationalism but generally speaking with a Germanic accent [RB].

William PERRY (b. 1930) Music for Great Films of the Silent Era Vol. 2 - RTÉ National SO/Paul Phillips rec. 2014 NAXOS 8.573105 [79.09] [IL] A worthy follow-up to the original collection of William Perry's music for silent films.

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975) The Execution of Stepan Razin, The Sun Shines over our Motherland, The Song of the Forests - Alexei Tanovitski (bass) Konstantin Andreyev (tenor) Narva Boys Ch, Estonian Concert Ch, Estonian Ntl SO/Paavo Järvi rec.2012 ERATO 2564 616666 [79:52] [DM] Paavo Järvi follows up his fine Leningrad with very persuasive performances of these cantatas; the playing, singing and sound are sensational.

Richard STRAUSS (1864–1949) Vier letzte Lieder & other songs, Capriccio: Intermezzo & Closing Scene - Felicity Lott (soprano) Royal Scottish Ntl O/Neeme Järvi rec. 1986-92 CHANDOS CLASSICS CHAN10075X [69:30] Vier letzte Lieder & other songs - Soile Isokoski (soprano) Berlin RSO/Marek Janowski rec. 2001 ONDINE ODE9822 [64:24] [BW] Two very worthwhile alternatives to the classic Schwarzkopf and the Netrebko recordings.

RECORDING OF THE MONTH 20th Century Romantics Works by Bloch, Bourgeois, Gliere, Montag & Piazzolla - Nicholas Bayley (double bass) Geoffrey Duce (piano) rec. 2012 NIMBUS NI6308 [68:43] [BR] If you don’t have too many double bass recitals, start here: it’s captivating.

Tuesday May 26th

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Cöthen funeral music - Sabine Devieilhe (soprano) Damien Guillon (counter-tenor) Thomas Hobbs (tenor) Christian Immler (bass) Ensemble Pygmalion/Raphaël Pichon rec. 2014 HARMONIA MUNDI HMC902211 [73.53] [DC] ‘New’ old Bach – yes please!

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) Clarinet Sonatas Carl REINECKE (1824-1910) Undine Sonata; Introduzione ed Allegro appassionato - Michael Collins (clarinet) Michael McHale (piano) rec. 2014 CHANDOS CHAN10844 [69:55] An excellent recording of the Brahms Sonatas but for me it is the Reinecke pieces which are the real stars here [SSi] What more could we possibly want? [PCG]

Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841-1904) String Quartets 10 & 11 - Talich Quartet rec. 2014 LA DOLCE VOLTA LDV18 [70:11] [JW] For sheer lyric elegance and an approach that lets the music unfold naturally, warmly and affectionately, you can't go wrong with the Talich.

Christoph GRAUPNER (1683 - 1760) Bass Cantatas - Klaus Mertens (bass-baritone) Accademia Daniel/Shalev Ad-El rec. 2010 CPO 777 644-2 [71:23] [JV] I can't imagine a stronger case for these cantatas than Mertens' interpretations.

Alan HOVHANESS (1911-2000) Piano Works - Alessandra Pompili (piano) rec. 2013 DYNAMIC CDS7701 [52:52] [JW] A disarmingly well-played disc.

Kyung-Wha Chung (violin) The Complete Warner Recordings rec. 1978-2000 WARNER CLASSICS 2564 614053 [11 CDs + 1 DVD] [MC] A confident reminder of why Chung is so highly placed in the pantheon of violinists.

Guitar Music of Colombia José Antonio Escobar (guitar) rec. 2012 NAXOS 8.573059 [63:23] [BR] José Antonio Escobar’s musical tour of South America reaches the folksy, charming Afro-Caribbean influences of Colombia.

Lavinia Meijer (harp) Voyage - Amsterdam Sinfonietta/Candida Thompson rec. 2013/2014 SONY CLASSICAL 88875 046402 [60:04] [BR] Lavinia Meijer’s greatest-hits collection of French impressionists is mostly terrific.

Monday May 25th

Luis Carlos FIGUEROA (b. 1923) Suite, Piano Concerto, Flute Concertino, String Quartet - Wilson Casallas (piano) Bryan Muñoz (flute) Conservatorio Ntl Colombia SO/Guerassim Voronkov, Cuarteto Q-Arte rec. 2012 TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC0165 [66:48] Toccata Classics introduces yet another interesting unknown; the Suite is a real standout [DJB] Toccata are always up for the challenge of the unfamiliar. Are you? This is attractive music that is well worth your ear-time [RB].

RECORDING OF THE MONTH George GERSHWIN (1898-1937) Works for Piano and Orchestra - Jeffrey Siegel (piano) Saint Louis SO/Leonard Slatkin rec. 1974 BRILLIANT CLASSICS 94861 [70:19 + 70:18] [JWh] A classic Vox recording and an incredible bargain.

Max LIFCHITZ (b. 1948) Works for ensemble - Ars Nostra Ens rec. 2012 NORTH/SOUTH RECORDINGS NSR1058 [72:09] [JW] Syncretic or not, this is a fine disc.

Henry PURCELL (1659-1695) Dido and Aeneas - Vivica Genaux (soprano) Henk Neven (baritone) Accentus, O Opéra Harmonique Rouen Haute-Normandie/Vincent Dumestre rec. 2014 ALPHA 706 DVD [80:00] [CC] Altogether a most fascinating DVD, superbly performed.

Camille SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921) Symphony 3, Danse macabre, Cyprès et Lauriers, - Vincent Warnier (organ) O Ntl de Lyon/Leonard Slatkin rec. 2013/14 NAXOS 8.573331 [57:45] [MC] An agreeable release that promised a lot more than it delivered.

Mátyás SEIBER (1905-1960) Ulysses, Elegy, Three Fragments - Alexander Young (tenor) Cecil Aronowitz (viola) Peter Pears (narrator) London SO/David Atherton, London PO, Melos Ens/Mátyás Seiber rec. 1960/72 LYRITA SRCD348 [75:31] [JS] Should reawaken interest in a great but sadly short-lived composer ... excellent performances and no need to apologise for the sound.

Best of British Piano Works by Bridge, Lambert & Reizenstein - Peter Jacobs, John McCabe, Philip Martin (pianos) rec. 1989/91 CONTINUUM CCD1040 [78:46] [DC] “Best of British” and proud of it too.

Devy Erlih (violin) Sonatas by Bach, Beethoven & Ravel and works by de Falla, Sarasate & Tartini - Maurice Bureau (piano) rec. 1952 MELOCLASSIC MC2024 [78:59] [JW] A fine addition to Erlih’s regrettably small current discography.