Classical CDs
Classical LPs Weekly: Weinberg, Keaton Henson, RiopySaturday, 09 November 2019
Weinberg: 24 Preludes Gidon Kremer (violin) (Accentus)Weinberg wrote this set of 24 instrumental numbers in 1969 for Rostropovich. Exactly why Rostropovich never performed them isn't clear, and they weren't heard in public until 1996.... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Haydn, Mahler, Matthew WhitesideSaturday, 02 November 2019
Haydn: Opus 20 String Quartets, Nos 2, 3 & 5 Dudok Quartet Amsterdam (Resonus)When discussing Haydn’s music it's difficult to avoid using words like ‘elegant’, ‘witty’ and ‘brio’, but I'll do my best. The writer E.T.A Hoffman should... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Carlos Cipa, Fozié Majd, Iiro Rantala, Amir Mahyar TafreshipourSaturday, 26 October 2019
Iiro Rantala: My Finnish Calendar (ACT)Iiro Rantala’s little commentaries for each of these 12 short pieces are almost worth the CD price alone, offering an astute guide to the typical Finnish psyche alongside handy references to weather and... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Gabriela Montero, Ravel, Caroline Shaw, Edith HemenwaySaturday, 19 October 2019
Gabriela Montero: Piano Concerto No 1, ‘Latin Concerto’, Ravel: Concerto in G Gabriela Montero (piano), The Orchestra of the Americas/Carlos Miguel Prieto (Orchid Classics)Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero describes herself as “a globalised... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Ed Lyon, Jason Vieaux, Irina BorissovaSaturday, 12 October 2019
Ed Lyon - 17th Century Playlist Ed Lyon (tenor), Theatre of the Ayre (Delphian)Lutenist Elizabeth Kenny describes this disc as a baroque mixtape, and it contains discrete songs, not operatic arias. Uniformly catchy, tenor Ed Lyon’s selection... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Brahms, Bright, Dvořák, Gipps, RotaSaturday, 05 October 2019
Brahms: Symphony No 3, Dvořák: Symphony No 8 Bamberger Symphoniker/Jakub Hruša (Tudor)Brahms 3 and Dvořák 8 make for an interesting pairing: Brahms at his most autumnal and introspective coupled with Dvořák in ebullient mood. There's a useful... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Axel Borup-Jørgensen, Purcell, Ostrobothnian Chamber OrchestraSaturday, 28 September 2019
Floating Islands: Guitar music by Axel Borup-Jørgensen Frederik Munk Larsen (guitar) (OUR Recordings)Carl Nielsen cast a long shadow over the generation of Danish composers who succeeded him, and there's mention here of post-war musicians... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Eleanor Alberga, Parry, BlondelSaturday, 21 September 2019
Eleanor Alberga: String Quartets 1, 2 & 3 Ensemble Arcadiana (Navona Records)Eleanor Alberga’s String Quartet No 2 popped up on my iPod’s shuffle setting whilst driving few months ago, provoking me to pull over and spend the next 13... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Haydn, Korngold, Philippe ManourySaturday, 14 September 2019
Haydn, arr. Stegmann: Symphonies 44, 75 and 92 Ivan Ilić (Chandos)The easiest way for amateur music lovers to get to know orchestral pieces used to be through piano transcriptions and chamber arrangements. Liszt’s versions of Beethoven... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Albert Roussel, Roy Budd, PropellorSaturday, 07 September 2019
Albert Roussel Edition (Erato)Be grateful that Albert Roussel became a composer at all. Born in 1869 and orphaned at a young age, he was a talented pianist who joined the French navy as a teenager. Music was an enjoyable distraction during his... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Saint-Saëns, Yolanda Kondonassis, Konstantin Reinfeld & Benyamin NussSaturday, 31 August 2019
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos 3, 4 & 5 Alexandre Kantorow (piano), Tapiola Sinfonietta/Jean-Jacques Kantorow (BIS)Saint-Saëns’ five piano concertos are a pleasure no one need feel guilty about indulging in. My current go-to cycle is a... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Bach, Christophersen, Mr McFall's ChamberSaturday, 24 August 2019
Bach: Keyboard Music Nils Anders Mortensen (piano) (Lawo Classics)There's so much to love about this Bach keyboard disc: namely attractive artwork, glowing sound and an intelligent programme clearly chosen by the artist. And there's the... Read more... |
