CHARLES IVES
Ives: Concord Sonata Joonas Ahonen (piano), Pekka Kuusisto (violin) [ BIS / CD - released 1/Sep/2017 ] Charles Ives's 'Concord Sonata' is often described as one of the greatest of American piano works. Published in 1920, at the composer's own expense, it contains radical experiments in harmony and rhythm and would have to wait until 1939 for its first... |
DUKAS
Dukas: Ariane et Barbe-Bleue (Recorded live at Gran Teatre del Liceu, June & July 2011) BLU-RAY Gran Teatre del Liceu / José van Dam, Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet / Stéphane Denève (conductor) & Claus Guth (director) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Feb/2013 ] Stéphane Denève is universally acclaimed for his interpretation of French repertoire. |
CHAUSSON / RESPIGHI / SUK / VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Poème Julia Fischer (violin) / Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Yakov Kreizberg [ Decca Music Group / CD - released 10/Jun/2011 ] "This beautiful disc is one of Fischer's best, and also stands as a fitting testament to Kreizberg's art." (BBC Music) |
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Bernstein: Mass Kevin Vortmann (tenor) / Philadelphia Orchestra, Westminster Symphonic Choir, Temple University Concert Choir, The American Boychoir, Yannick Né [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 1/Apr/2018 ] "Nézet-Séguin might seem like just a bystander amid all the activity, but the fact that this recorded account is as coherent as it is attests to his multitasking strengths." Philadelphia Inquirer |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Das Rheingold (complete opera recorded 2012) Mariinsky Orchestra, Valéry Gergiev (conductor) [ Mariinsky / CD - released 2/Aug/2013 ] [Gergiev] draws plenty of vivid drama and glowing colour from the Mariinsky players, particularly the uniquely silken but powerful brass...Mikhail Petrenko and Evgeny Nikitin [make a] rich-voiced pair of giants, a splendid characterisation. (Gramopho |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Symphony No 1 (with Balakirev - Tamara) Mark Padmore, Sally Matthews, Kate Royal, Bernarda Fink, Andrew Staples / London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Simon Rattle [ LSO Live SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 9/Sep/2016 ] "this release completes a superb Rachmaninov symphony cycle…it's a taut, gripping account, Gergiev often pushing the accelerator harder than Mariss Jansons and Mikhail Pletnev" Gramophone |
W. A. MOZART
Piano Sonatas 1-18 (complete) Michael Endres (piano) [ Oehms Classics / 5 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2011 ] The pianistic refinement and interpretive imagination Michael Endres brings to his Mozart sonata cycle easily ranks alongside leading modern-day contenders... (ClassicsToday.com) |
BÉLA BARTÓK
Bartok: Piano Concerto No 3 / Concerto For Orchestra Javier Perianes (piano), Münchner Philharmoniker, Pablo Heras-Casado [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 5/Jan/2018 ] The inexhaustible strength of a genius Neither the disillusionment that set in after his exile to the United States nor his declining health stopped Bartók from fulfilling his commission for the Concerto for Orchestra nor from writing the Third Piano... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Otello (complete opera recorded in 2001) BLU-RAY Teatro alla Scala / Plácido Domingo, Barbara Frittoli, Leo Nucci /Riccardo Muti (conductor) [ Arthaus Legendary Performances BLU-RAY / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jul/2015 ] The cylindrical uniform stage set by Ezio Frigerio emphasised the hopeless consequence of the tragedy, as did the Orchestra della Scala, which, under the baton of Riccardo Muti, never sacrificed the dark, disturbing elements of the score. |
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Mendelssohn: Choral Works (Lieder) Op. 41, 48, 59, 88, & 100 RIAS Kammerchor, Hans-Christoph Rademann [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / CD - released 10/Aug/2018 ] "This is first-class singing, captured in equally first-rate sound (from Berlin's Jesus-Christus-Kirche)-and if you want to fall in love with Mendelssohn's choral writing, this is where it will happen. Highly recommended!" 10/10 Classics Today |
FRANZ LISZT / JULIUS REUBKE
Organ Works Robert Costin at the Organ of Wellington Town Hall [ Atoll / CD - released 20/Jun/2008 ] "Displaying consummate control he expertly demonstrates the range and luxuriant tone colours of the Norman and Beard organ at Wellington." (MusicWeb May 2009) |
MUSSORGSKY / PROKOFIEV / STRAVINSKY
Salzburg Festival 2012 Opening Concert BLU-RAY Sergei Semishkur (tenor) / Wiener Philharmoniker [Vienna Philharmonic], Valery Gergiev [ EuroArts / Unitel Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Feb/2014 ] "the Philharmonic - and particularly the Vienna State Opera Chorus - render Stravinsky's Psalms with biting urgency, with rhythm and transparency of sound effectively replacing their usual lushness." (Gramophone) |
RAVEL / DUTILLEUX / DELAGE
Ravel, Dutilleux, Delage BLU-RAY / DVD Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Leonidas Kavakos, Julia Bullock [ LSO Blu-ray + DVD / Blu-ray Disc/DVD - released 27/Oct/2017 ] "Rich sound and crystalline picture quality make this an enjoyable viewing experience." Gramophone |
GIACHES DE WERT
Giaches de Wert: Divine Theatre - Sacred Motets Stile Antico [ Harmonia Mundi SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Mar/2017 ] "It is a testament to Werts's emotional immediacy that this album is one of their (Stile Antico's) most engaging recording; polyphony to grab one's attention rather than to carpet a devotional daydream" Gramophone Award Nomination 2017 - Early Music |
GIOVANNI BATTISTA PERGOLESI
Pergolesi: Adriano in Siria (Complete opera recorded live in 2011) BLU-RAY Teatro Comunale Pergolesi / Marina Comparato, Lucia Cirillo, Annamaria Dell'Oste / Ottavio Dantone (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Apr/2012 ] "Top marks go to conductor and director for giving the music space to breathe. The vocal cast is almost uniformly brilliant. Dell'Oste is in a class of her own: she turns coloratura into eloquent, heart-rending declarations" (BBC Music) |
ELLIOT CARTER
Elliott Carter: 103rd Birthday Concert Various performers [ NMC DVD / DVD - released 15/Dec/2013 ] This DVD features 4 world premieres (A Sunbeam's Architecture, String Trio, Mnemosyné, Rigmarole) - two of which were specially written for this concert - and filmed tributes from leading British composers. Enclosed is a 24-page booklet featuring... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Simon Boccanegra (complete recorded in 2002) BLU-RAY Vienna State Opera / Thomas Hampson, Cristina Gallardo-Domas, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Miroslav Dvorský / Daniele Gatti (cond) [ Arthaus Legendary Performances Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Oct/2015 ] Arthaus presents a "visually alert, musically sensitive and disturbingly coherent" (The Standard) production of Simon Boccanegra on Blu-ray, one of Verdi's lesser known works yet regarded by many opera lovers as one of his finest. |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Lieder und Klavierstucke (melodies and pieces for the piano) Werner Gura (tenor) Christoph Berner (pianoforte) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 1/Sep/2016 ] These songs by Mozart accompanied the events of his life like illustrations in a picture-book - from the departure of a close friend to a meeting of his Masonic Lodge. After their highly personal exploration of the Romantic lied, Werner Güra and... |
FRANZ SCHMIDT
Schmidt: Symphony No. 2 (with Richard Strauss: Dreaming by the Fireside) Wiener Philharmoniker [Vienna Philharmonic], Semyon Bychkov [ Sony Classics / CD - released 10/Aug/2017 ] "this is down on my list of the best discs of 2017 already, and it will take some toppling from first place" BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Month, July 2017 ***** |
JACEK SZYMANOWSKI
Szymanowski: Litany to the Virgin Mary / Stabat Mater / Symphony No. 3 'Song of the Night' Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano) Agnieszka Rehlis (mezzo) Dmitry Korchak (tenor) Artur RuciĆski (bar) / Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, Jacek Kaspsz [ Warner Classics / CD - released 25/Sep/2017 ] "This huge ensemble is captured in brilliant sound - essential for appreciating the composer's luxuriantly detailed soundworld...[in the Stabat Mater] Kaspszyk ensures that everything is balanced between introversion and dramatic impact" BBC Music |