| Click on the CD cover for
review |
|
|
 |
Harald
SAEVERUD
Cello Concerto; Symphony No.8
Truls Mork (cello)/Stavanger Symphony Orchestra/Ole Kristian Ruud
BIS CD-972 [64' 21"] [CA]
Melody is the root of
Saeverud's invention; his expression is personal and communicative and requires
concurrent appreciation of its organic development and emotional release.
|
Colin Anderson |
 |
Franz SCHUBERT
(1797 - 1828)
Octet in F Major, D 803 [53.07]
Ludwig SPOHR (1784 - 1859)
Octet in E Major [24.56]
The Vienna Octet
Recorded March 58 (Schubert) and March 59 (Spohr) Sofiensaal, Vienna ADD
DECCA Legends 466 580-2 [78.03] [HD]
Some vintage Chamber
music from Decca. The Schubert Octet is a welcome back and the Spohr a welcome
addition. |
 |
 |
SCHUBERT
Lieder.
Edith Wiens (soprano); Rudolf
Jansen (pianoforte); Joaquin Valdepeñas (clarinet)*
CBC MVCD 1053 65:51m
[CH]
.... when the
singer enters a miracle happens and the piano glistens and shimmers around
the voice in a way it so often just fails to. Many a more famous version
seems earthbound after this. |
 |
 |
Franz SCHUBERT
Winterreise
 Peter Pears (tenor)
Benjamin Britten (piano)
Decca 466 382-2
[70.07] [PW]
It is good to have this
classic 1963 account of Winterreise back in the catalogue.... An
indispensable acquisition. |
 |
 |
Franz SCHUBERT
Piano Duets Fantasy D940; Variations D813; Grand Duo
D812
Sviatoslav Richter/Benjamin
Britten (piano)
Decca 466 822-2 [75.27]
[PW]
A gem quarried from
the BBC recordings at the Aldeburgh Festivals of 1964/65 at the Aldeburgh
Parish Church (Variations) and Jubilee Hall (Fantasy & Duo). Not a lot
needs to be said. The intimate venues were conducive to superb 'domestic'
music making, ideally exemplified by the coming together of these great musicians
year after year. |
|
 |
WILLIAM SCHUMAN
(1910-1992)
Judith (1949) 23.41
Eastman Philharmonia/David Effron
Night Journey (1947) 21.28
Endymion Ensemble/Jon Goldberg
In Sweet Music (1978)
Rosalind Rees (soprano)/Orpheus Trio 24.54
rec 1983, 1981, 1980.
COMPOSERS RECORDINGS INC
CRI CD791 [70.16] [RB]
Schuman's 'hand' is
unmistakable. The haunted, whispering and attentuated strings, the tension
built and held, the gale-blown or breezily strident sassy woodwind, the explosive
energetic brass barks and towering monoliths, the counterpoint of lean and
slow-moving lyrical ideas against quicker material....An imperative addition
for anyone captivated by the violin concerto or third symphony.
|
 |
 |
SCHUMANN
Piano Concerto in A minor. op
54
BRAHMS
Piano Concerto in D minor, op 15
Ivan Moravec, Dallas Symphony
Orchestra, Eduardo Mata
Dorian Records,
DOR-90172, 79 minutes, Full-Price [MB]
Ivan Moravec is
a name that might not be familiar to many, yet he is one of the last of a
legendary generation of great pianists that demands comparison with Richter,
Gieseking and Solomon.
Both the Schumann
and the Brahms recordings on this disc, from live performances, are in their
own ways fascinating insights into a world of pianism you hardly ever hear
nowadays. This disc is indispensible for this reason alone, even if the
performances will generate some controversy. |
Brahms
Schumann
 |
 |
Ruth Crawford
SEEGER
Chamber Works
String Quartet; Suites for Wind Quintet, Wind Quintet & Piano &
for Piano & Strings; Diaphonic Suites 1-4.
Pellegrini Quartet & Ensemble
Aventure
CPO 999 670-2
[63.15] [PW]
This is a valuable and
comprehensive collection of forthright, clear-headed music, arranged well
in a sequence which varies the instrumentation between wind and strings,
and from one voice to six. |
|
 |
SHOSTAKOVICH
Cello sonata; Blok romances
JANACEK
Pohadka
BRIDGE
Phantasie
Rostropovich/Vishneskaya/Benjamin Britten,
with Brainin/Schidlof/Lovett.
Decca 466 823-2
[74.22] [PW]
I found this one of the
most interesting and valuable of the recent batch BBC live recordings at
the Aldeburgh Festivals, which display Britten's versatility & prowess
at the piano.... Another splendid Aldeburgh Festival recital compilation,
impeccably remastered to vivid, nostalgic effect for those of us who attended
some of these performances, and equally recommendable to younger
collectors. |
 |
 |
SIBELIUS:
The Tempest - Incidental Music, op.129: Prelude; Suites 1 and
2
Violin Concerto in D minor, op.47 (1)
Dmitry Sitkovetsky (violin)
(1); Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Sir Neville Marriner
Hänssler CD 98.353
[70' 37"] |
 |
 |
WILHELM STENHAMMAR
(1871-1927)
Symphony No. 2 (1915)
Serenade (1913 rev 1919)
Stockholm PO Tor Mann (Symphony)
Rafael Kubelik (Serenade)
stereo rec Stockholm Concert Hall 15-16 Aug 1959 (symphony) 22-24 Sept 1964
(serenade)
SWEDISH SOCIETY DISCOFIL SCD1114 [78.56]
Do not be too quick
to dismiss this generous coupling on account of age. The recording quality
is decent, solid and honest. The coupling is outstandingly generous and the
performances are of great virtue.....The generous repackaging of the series
was an inspired stroke. |
|
 |
DVD Review:
Strauss
Elektra
Eva Marton, Brigitte Fassbaender, Cheryl Studer, Franz Grundheber &
James King
Chorus & Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera, Claudio Abbado
Arthaus Musik, 100048 109 minutes [MB]
For this is a great
performance, one of the finest you will ever hear with a near-perfect cast
and playing by the Vienna Philharmonic that is shattering.
|
|
 |
STRAVINSKY
Shadow Dances.
Tangoa.
Suitesa - No. 1; No. 2. Concerto in
Db.
Concertinob.
Octetb. Three Pieces for String
Quarteta.
Praeludiuma.
Ragtimea.
Duetc. Fanfare for a New
Theatrec. Scherzo à la
Russea.
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
Producer Christian Gansch. Engineer Wolf-Dieter Katwatky. Date
aApril 1996, bDecember 1995, cDecember
1996.
DG 453 458-2 (full price, 1 hour 7 minutes).
Guest review from INTERNATIONAL RECORD
REVIEW |
Michael Oliver |
 |
Toru TAKEMITSU
(1930-1996)
I Hear the Water Dreaming†
Toward the Sea (versions for flute and guitar; for flute, harp
and string orchestra†;and for alto flute and harp)
Le Fils des Étoiles
And then I knew 'Twas Wind*
Air
Patrick Gallois (wooden flute) and Fabrice Pierre (Salvi
harp and Camac* harp)
BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Davis †
Deutsche Grammophon
20/21 - 453459 -2 [IL]
Takemitsu's primary
inspiration was the natural world and the flute was the instrument that came
closest to capturing its essence through its many possible variations of
tone-production and fingering to allow extraordinary subtle colouring of
phrases and even individual notes......A colourful collection of slow moving,
mostly serene and dreamlike music most sympathetically played.
|
|
 |
Pyotr Il'yich
TCHAIKOVSKY
String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11
String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, OP. 22
New Haydn Quartet, Budapest
- Janos Horvath, Peter Sarosi,(violins) Gyorgy Porzolt,(viola) and Gabor
Magyar (cello)
recorded 2-5/10/95, in the Unitarian Church Budapest. DDD
Naxos 8.550847
[66.35]
An excellent, well performed
disc of two of Tchaikovsky's best loved chamber works in an excellent recording
at budget price |
|
 |
TELEMANN
Der Tod Jesu
Dorothee Mields Britta
Schwarz Klaus Mertens Jan Kobow
Magedburg Chamber Choir/Telemann Chamber Orchestra Michaelstein/Ludger
Remy
CPO 999 720-2[76.12]
[PGW]
This may surprise listeners
who are more familiar with Telemann's voluminous instrumental music. The
text is vivid and refreshingly unfamiliar. The recitatives are dramatic and
expressive and the sequence of reflective arias is accompanied by a variety
of obligatto instruments, which maintains interest and pleasure.
|
|
 |
TURINA
Sonatas 1 Op.51 & 2 Op.82; Sonata espagnola; Homenaje a Navarra;
Variaciones clasicas; Euterpe
Roland Roberts (violin) Miyako Hashimoto
(piano)
Meridian
CDE 84430 70 mins
Roland Roberts is a
reasonably accomplished violinist, though perhaps with limited imagination,
and his intonation is slightly suspect at times. More seriously (perhaps
related to the recording) his tone sounds wiry and harsh - the CD benefits
from playing with some top cut. The notes by the violinist need proof-reading.
|
|
 |
Giuseppe
VERDI
(1813 - 1901)
La Traviata Victoria de los Angeles, Germont Carlo
del Monte, Germont Mario Sereni, Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Serafin
EMI double fforte
CZS 5 73824 2 2CD's [ 119.02 ] [HD]
If you want a Traviata
that won't break the bank and you will continue to enjoy after repeated playings
- this is the one to buy. |
|
 |
Abbé Georg Joseph VOGLER
(1749 - 1814)
Requiem in E Flat Major (arr. Dr. Joachim Veit) [57.00]
Chor der Staatlichen Musikhochschule Mannheim
Kurpfalzisches Kammerorchester.
Sabine Goetz (soprano), Barbara R. Grabowski (alto),
Christopher Wittmann (tenor), Rudolf Piernay (bass).
Gerald Kegelmann (conductor).
DDD Recorded July 16/17 1999. SWR Studio Kaiserslautern
ARTE NOVA Classics 74321 71663 2 [57.00] [HD]
A most interesting disc
that brings back to life a lost piece. |
|
 |
SAMUEL SEBASTIAN
WESLEY
Five Symphonies.
London Mozart Players Matthias
Bamert.
Chandos CHAN9823 71m
DDD.[GF]
Mathias Bamert's
'Contemporaries of Mozart' series now tackles Wesley, an English composer
chiefly remembered for his sacred music . These five symphonies are full
of colour and imagination and resemble Ditterdorsf's 'Ovid' Symphonies for
their range of flair and advanced orchestration. |
|
 |
Richard YARDUMIAN
(1917-1985)
Armenian Suite (1937)
Symphony No. 2 Psalms (1947, 1964)
Lili Chookasian (contralto)
Utah SO/Varujan Kojian
rec 1981? PHOENIX PHCD
112 [38.14] [RB]
The music strikes some
well defined dramatic attitudes along the way but is a work of evident sincerity
which generally avoids the obvious. The tender and movingly quiet ending
bespeaks a composer with no shortage of artistic valour. |
|
|
|
|
For
printing reviews there are continuously scrolling texts
