GEORGE BENJAMIN
Benjamin: Lessons in Love and Violence (complete opera recorded in 2018) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Stéphane Degout, Barbara Hannigan, Gyula Orendt, Peter Hoare / George (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jul/2019 ] "At just 90 minutes, this is an opera of impressive concentration with not a word or note wasted." Gramophone |
VALENTIN SILVESTROV
Silvestrov: Hieroglyphen Der Nacht Anja Lechner (cello) [ ECM / CD - released 1/Oct/2018 ] "Listeners familiar with the benign beauty that imbues much of Silvestrov's sacred choral works will be in for quite a shock. [The Elegie is] brilliantly performed by seasoned Silvestrov cellist Anja Lechner." Gramophone |
J.S. BACH / C.P.E. BACH / J.C. BACH
The Bach Family: Magnificats Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen (conductor) [ Hyperion / CD - released 16/Feb/2018 ] "You would be hard-pressed to find a more illuminating disc than this latest offering from Arcangelo" BBC Music Choral & Song Choice March 2018 |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Il Sogno di Scipione (complete opera) The Choir and Orchestra of Classical Opera, Ian Page [ Signum / 2 CD - released 13/Oct/2017 ] Classical Opera continue their continuing complete Mozart opera recording series with the one-act dramatic serenade 'Il sogno di Scipione', K126. Composed in 1771 as a celebratory homage to Prince Archbishop Sigismund Schrattenbach of Salzburg,... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op 106 "Hammerklavier" & Op 27/2 "Moonlight" Murray Perahia (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 9/Feb/2018 ] "Perahia is artist enough to know that great art is never, of itself, ugly. It may be Beethoven's instinct to push every component of the dauntingly complex contrapuntal finale [of the Hammerklavier] to its logical conclusion (and beyond) but Perahia |
LOYSET COMPERE
Compere: Missa Galeazescha, Music for the duke of Milan Odhecaton, Paolo Da Col [ Alpha / CD - released 22/Sep/2017 ] "...the groups are so well blended (and indeed opulent) that one imagines that Galeazzo would have been delighted. In fact, the variety of approaches on offer is one of this disc's most attractive aspects." Gramophone |
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
Machaut: Sovereign Beauty The Orlando Consort [ Hyperion / CD - released 10/Jul/2017 ] "if I hear a finer recording of 14th-century music this year I'll be very surprised." Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice, July 2017 |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: The Bells / Symphonic Dances Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mariss Jansons [ Br Klassik / CD - released 10/Aug/2018 ] Two large symphonic tone poems by the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov can be experienced on this release: the four-movement symphonic poem 'The Bells' ('Kolokola') op 35, based on a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, for solo voices, choir and orchestra,... |
FANTINI:/ MALVEZZI / CACCINI / MARENZIO / BRUNELLI / STRIGGIO
Stravaganza d'Amore!: The Birth of Opera at the Medici Court Ensemble Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD Box Set - released 15/Nov/2017 ] "The performances are highly polished, chorus and ensemble, producing a glossy and liberally embellished sound while the dozen soloists give fine and well-balanced contributions." BBC Music Opera Choice Oct 2017 |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Ottone (complete opera) Max Emanuel Cencic, Lauren Snouffer, Pavel Kudinov, Ann Hallenberg / Il Pomo d'Oro, George Petrou [ Decca / 3 CD Box Set - released 11/Sep/2017 ] "this new recording is emphatically the version to have of an opera whose dramatic flaws are redeemed by magnificent individual scenes and any number of good tunes." Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice, September 2017 |
CHARLES GOUNOD
Gounod: Cantates et Musique Sacree Gabrielle Philiponet (soprano), Sébastien Droy (tenor) / Flemish Radio Choir, Brussels Philharmonic, Hervé Niquet [ Bru Zane Ediciones Singulares / 2 CD/Book - released 26/Jan/2018 ] "The choral singing has wonderful richness, clarity and fervour, above all in the Messe vocale, which is breathtaking. A tremendous set, it adds immeasurably to our understanding of Gounod's work. Very highly recommended indeed." Gramophone |
BRETT DEAN
Dean: Hamlet (Complete opera recorded in 2018) Glyndebourne Opera / Allan Clayton, Sarah Connolly, Barbara Hannigan, Rod Gilfry / Vladimir Jurowski (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 20/Jun/2019 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 WINNER - Contemporary |
JEAN SIBELIUS
Sibelius: Tapiola / En Saga / Eight Songs Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano) / Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu (conductor) [ Ondine SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 24/Aug/2017 ] "Lintu's Tapiola does indeed settle into one of the finest performances on record, reconciling the obvious with the mysterious...Again, [En Saga] is a superb performance: rich down below, perky up top, full of delectable solos" Gramophone |
BRETT DEAN / LUCA FRANCESCONI
Dean: Dramatis Personae / Francesconi: Hard Pace Håkan Hardenberger (trumpet) / Gothenburg Symphony, John Storgårds [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 24/May/2017 ] Ever since his very first disc, released by BIS some thirty years ago, Hakan Hardenberger has earned recognition for his performances of the classical repertory, but also as a pioneer of significant and vituosic new music for the trumpet.... |
OLIVIER MESSIAEN
Messiaen: Catalogue d'Oiseaux Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano) [ Pentatone SACD / 3 Hybrid SACD - released 9/Mar/2018 ] "It's hard to imagine the textures having greater impact or precision, or the continuity and discontinuity being projected with greater concentration…Not a single sound emerges with indifference." Gramophone |
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni [The Four Seasons] Rachel Podger (violin) / Brecon Baroque [ Channel Classics SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 10/Aug/2018 ] "It's not just that the actual playing is superb: serene virtuoso fluency from Podger, gorgeously supported by her colleagues...It's also that this is something genuinely, effortlessly and naturally different.": Gramophone |