Classical CDs
Classical CDs Weekly: Mahler, Saint-Saëns, Danish National Vocal EnsembleSaturday, 16 February 2019
Mahler: Symphony No 6 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle (Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings)This lavish box set documents Sir Simon Rattle’s final appearance as the Berlin Philharmonic’s principal conductor: his performance of... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Debussy, Feldman, LanggaardSaturday, 09 February 2019
Et la lune descend – piano music by Claude Debussy Olga Stezhko (Palermo Classica)Olga Stezhko writes in her extended sleeve note of wanting “to look beyond the multifaceted beauty of Debussy’s piano pieces and bring out the edge and ambiguity... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Adventures in Sound, Tora Augestad, Ashley FrippSaturday, 02 February 2019
Adventures In Sound (él records)Dipping in and out of this highly desirable box set recalls 1950s sci-fi visions of the future, looking forward to a time when we'd all be driving flying cars and living under a benevolent one-world government.... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Couperin, Dutilleux, RossiniSaturday, 26 January 2019
Couperin: Les Nations Réunies & autres sonades La Simphonie du Marais/Hugo Reyne (Musiques à la Chabotterie)François Couperin was one of the baroque era’s greatest keyboard composers. Did he write any orchestral music? Er, no. Though... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Mia Brentano, Wim Henderickx, Saint-SaënsSaturday, 19 January 2019
Mia Brentano’s Hidden Sea – 20 Songs for 2 Pianos Benyamin Nuss & Max Nyberg (pianos) (Mons Records)Hiddensee is a car-free German island in the Baltic Sea. It's mentioned as one possible inspiration for the pieces on this beguiling disc;... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Joe Cutler, Elgar, SepturaSaturday, 12 January 2019
Joe Cutler: Elsewhereness (NMC)The titles drew me in. Karembeu’s Guide to the Complete Defensive Midfielder is a great name for a piece, Joe Cutler tangentially inspired by the great French footballer’s passing skills to create a brilliant ten... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Bernstein in ParisSaturday, 05 January 2019
Mendelssohn: Symphonies 1-5, Overtures, A Midsummer Night’s Dream London Symphony Orchestra/Sir John Eliot Gardiner (LSO Live)That Mendelssohn wrote five symphonies is widely known, though I'd wager that 99% of listeners only know 40% of them... Read more... |
Best of 2018: Classical CDsSaturday, 29 December 2018
Record shops may be thin on the ground, but CDs are still very much with us. No sensible soul would ever rate listening to a recording over experiencing music live. But if, like me, time, money and geography limit one’s opportunities to nip out to... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Beethoven, Strauss, La Symphonie de Poche, Temple Church ChoirSaturday, 22 December 2018
Beethoven: Symphony No 3, Strauss: Horn Concerto No 1 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/Manfred Honeck, William Caballero (horn) (Reference Recordings)Funny how one's first experience of encountering a piece can still cast a shadow decades on; I... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Christmas, part 2Saturday, 15 December 2018
Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain Apollo’s Fire/Jeannette Sorrell (Avie)Subtitled "an Irish-Appalachian celebration", this disc follows the Scottish and Irish immigrants who pitched up in rural Virginia in the 19th century, fleeing unemployment... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Beethoven, Cage, JanáčekSaturday, 17 November 2018
Beethoven: Symphonies 2 and 7 Wiener Symphoniker/Philippe Jordan (WS/Sony)Philippe Jordan’s cheery face adorns this third volume of Beethoven symphonies from Vienna’s other orchestra, setting the tone fairly well. These are overwhelmingly... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: A Walk with Ivor Gurney, Yiddish Glory, For the FallenSaturday, 10 November 2018
A Walk with Ivor Gurney Tenebrae, Aurora Orchestra, Sarah Connolly, Simon Callow, Nigel Short (conductor) (Signum Classics)Ivor Gurney was a genuine polymath, a talented composer and poet whose career was disrupted by serving with the... Read more... |
