Classical CDs
graham.rickson
Beethoven: Symphonies 1-9 Berliner Philharmoniker/Sir Simon Rattle (Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings)Inevitably there's the question of whether anyone needs another modern-instrument cycle of Beethoven symphonies. If the answer's yes, Paavo Järvi's set with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie is my current favourite, but it's only available on expensive single discs. Sir Simon Rattle's unspectacular Vienna Philharmonic cycle is now available at budget price, but this new Berlin set is better in every respect. It will improve the life of anyone who spends the time exploring it. The playing is Read more ...
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Louis Aubert: Sillages, Violin Sonata etc Jean-Pierre Armengard (piano), Alessandro Fagiuoli (violin), Olivier Chauzu (piano) (Grand Piano)Louis Aubert's piano work Sillages is ranked alongside Ravel's Gaspard in the sleeve notes to this disc, and one source places him among the greatest of French composers. It's impossible to judge on the basis of one 70-minute CD, but the four works by Aubert played here are exceptionally good and don't deserve to have slipped through the cracks. You suspect that bad luck is at the root of his neglect. Born in 1875, Aubert sang the “Pie Jesu” as a boy Read more ...
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Beethoven: Symphonies 4 & 5 Concentus Musicus Wien/Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Sony)Nikolaus Harnoncourt announced his retirement in December, so this live recording from May 2015 is presumably among his last. Harnoncourt has recorded plenty of Beethoven before – including an iconic symphony cycle with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe – but these are period instrument performances, made with his own Concentus Musicus Wien. They're both persuasive, worth hearing for musical and sentimental reasons, Harnoncourt insisting in his eloquent sleeve note that Beethoven's symphonies must be performed Read more ...
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Montanari: Violin Concertos Johannes Pramsohler (violin and director), Ensemble Diderot (Audax Records)Versatile baroque violinist Johannes Pramsohler’s latest act of musical exhumation introduces us to one Antonio Maria Montanari, a violinist and composer active in 18th century Rome. Born in Modena in 1676, he was thrown into the spotlight after Corelli’s death in 1613, stepping into the older composer’s role as a capo, an organiser and recruiter of musicians in the city. Montanari became an influential teacher, but his status as a composer has been forgotten, largely because so little Read more ...
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Dvořák, Suk, Janáček: Violin Concertos Josef Špaček (violin), Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Jiří Bělohlávek (Supraphon)Josef Suk's expansive single movement Fantasy in G minor is a big-boned, lovable work; it's a surprise to learn that Suk complained in later years that he'd had “enough of it to last a lifetime.” Suk's large-scale pieces can be a little overbearing. This 23-minute work isn’t. It opens brilliantly witha furious tutti passage full of quirky modulations and punchy accents. You expect that soloist Josef Špaček’s first entry will calm things down, but Suk’s music becomes Read more ...
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Nielsen: Violin Concerto, Flute Concerto, Clarinet Concerto Nikolaj Znaider (violin), Robert Langevin (flute), Anthony McGill (clarinet), New York Philharmonic/Alan Gilbert(Dacapo)Nielsen's Violin Concerto opens with a crash and a growling pedal note. It's an unlikely opening to one of the most genial concertos in the repertoire. Sibelius's concerto is full of chilly glitter, but Nielsen offers his listeners a friendly hug. Everything that's great about this composer's music is here. The tunes are good. Structurally it's interesting. Tempi are predominantly slow, though the music is packed Read more ...
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Hugi Guðmundsson: Calm of the Deep The Hamrahlíd Choir/Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir, Nordic Affect/Guðni Franzson (Smekkleysa)Calm of the Deep introduces us to contemporary Icelandic composer Hugi Guðmundsson. Who sees his music as “a dialogue between old and new, past and present”. There are many magical things on this disc. Like To This My Thoughts Turn All My Days, based on an anonymous melody first notated in 1742. Guðmundsson's brilliant recasting treats the tune with utter respect. The harmonies are often disarmingly simple, though the best moments have the melody confidently floating above Read more ...
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Théodore Dubois: Musique Sacrée et Symphonique, Musique de chambre (Ediciones Singulare)Théodore Dubois is the sort of figure whose grave you'd expect to stumble upon in Père Lachaise Cemetery. For decades he was a senior figure in French music, teaching at the Paris Conservatoire for 35 years. Until, that is, his abrupt retirement in 1905, precipitated by his refusal to award the Prix de Rome to a young upstart called Maurice Ravel. Start dipping into this three-disc set, and you can understand why. Dubois's conservative style and impeccable manners place him very much in the 19th Read more ...
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Bach: St John Passion Berliner Philharmoniker, Members of the Rudfunkchors Berlin, Soloists/Sir Simon Rattle, with staging by Peter Sellars (Berliner Philharmoniker)You'd happily settle for an audio recording of Sir Simon Rattle's version of Bach's St John Passion, but director Peter Sellars' input makes its presentation as a DVD essential. Daniel Finkernagel and Alexander Lück's stylish, unfussy video direction is only mentioned in small print on the booklet's last page – a pity, as their work adds hugely to this issue's success. Sellars' ritualistic, spare conception is undeniably Read more ...
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Bruckner: Symphony no 2 Wiener Symphoniker/Carlo Maria Giulini (Wiener Symphoniker)No apologies for reviewing a reissue, as this disc is fabulous. Originally a 1974 EMI recording, it's now released on the Wiener Symphoniker's own label. Carlo Maria Giulini was their Music Director between 1973 and 1976. The orchestra apparently loved him, and there's an affectionate sleeve note penned by Robert Freund, principal horn during his tenure. Giulini's professionalism and quiet humility shine through, and Freund rightly alludes to the conductor's spontaneity. Giulini's few Bruckner recordings Read more ...
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Brahms: The Violin Sonatas Corey Cerovsek (violin), Paavali Jumppanen (piano) (Milanollo)Listening to Brahms's chamber music in hefty doses is good for the soul. The symphonies and concertos are weighty, rich creations – magnificent in their own way, but easily rendered cumbersome and indigestible when performed badly. Whereas it's hard to think of a single Brahms chamber work that doesn't tick all the boxes. Listening to the three mature violin sonatas should be an inspiring, enjoyable experience. And so it is on this disc. Corey Cerovsek's warm sound suits this music to perfection, Read more ...
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Britten, Weinberg: Violin Concertos Linus Roth, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Mihkel Kütson (Challenge Classics)“I am a pupil of Shostakovich. Although I have never had lessons from him, I count myself as his pupil, as his flesh and blood.” Mieczysław Weinberg's close, complex relationship with his senior mentor continues to affect how we perceive his own music. Which is maddeningly inconsistent, and the jury's still out as to whether he's one of the great Soviet composers. But, when Weinberg is on form he can be terrific, and this 1959 Violin Concerto is a magnificent beast. It Read more ...