Holmboe: Concertos - REVIEW

Holmboe: Concertos
Erik Heide (violin), Lars Anders Tomter (viola); Norrkoping SO, Dima Slobodeniouk
Dacapo 6.220599 (hybrid SACD)
A valuable collection of three very different, inventive works from the maverick Danish master, the disc begins in knock-your-socks-off fashion with the arresting opening of the viola concerto, played with a winning mix of glorious tone and swagger by Tomter and the excellent Norrkoping players. The second violin concerto is a little more elusive, but no less rewarding; and the disc sees not only the premiere recording but also the premiere performance of the 19-year-old Holmboe's Concerto for Orchestra. Curious listeners fond of Tippett's soundworld will find much to enjoy here, especially when the disc is so well recorded.
*****

Shura Cherkassky: World Record Club recordings - REVIEW

Beethoven: Sonata Op.111, Eroica Variations; Schubert: Sonata D.959; pieces by Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, etc
Shura Cherkassky (piano)
Guild GHCD2398/99 (2CD)
In the early 1960s, mercurial maverick Shura Cherkassky made three solo records for World Record Club. Not by nature a studio animal, the sessions found him in sparkling form and these performances are a delight. He is relatively free in the larger works - Beethoven's final sonata and the late Schubert A major will not initially be to everyone's taste - but the collection of shorter works and encores that make up this generous collection are to be to be treasured.
****

This Heart that Flutters (song recital) - REVIEW

This Heart that Flutters (song recital)
Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), Iain Burnside (piano)
Opus Arte OACD9015D
A new series of CDs from DVD label Opus Arte in partnership with Rosenblatt Recitals cleverly combines live recordings from the series with specially-recorded studio material. Brownlee is heard in superb voice, perfect for bel canto favourites from Donizetti and Rossini as for French song or Ben Moore's touching settings of Joyce and Yeats. With Burnside a peerless collaborator, this augers well for the rest of the series.
*****

Griffes: Piano Music - REVIEW

Griffes: Piano Music
Garrick Ohlsson
Hyperion CDA67907
Neglected in the US as elsewhere, even today, Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920) was a unique voice at a fascinating time in the history of American music. With an ear for evocative tone-painting matching Scriabin's and a feeling for the last voices of European romanticism, his refusal neatly to be pigeonholed is both the cause of his neglect and the reason he should belatedly be celebrated. And celebrated he is by Ohlsson, whose passion and formidable technique are placed entirely at Griffes' service. With excellent sound and fascinating sleevenotes, this is recommended with all possible enthusiasm.
*****

Chopin: Piano Concerto no.2; Roussel; Ravel - REVIEW

Chopin: Piano Concerto no.2; Roussel: Symphony no.3; Ravel: Daphnis & Chloe Suite no.2, etc
Nelson Freire (piano); BBC SO, Lionel Bringuier
BelAir BAC079 (DVD), BAC479 (blu-ray)
It was a bold idea to invite this young French conductor to the BBC Proms, and surely madness to film the concert in high definition...? Well thank goodness the BBC and innovative label BelAir took the chance, as this is a model of filmed music-making. His rapport with the orchestra (and with soloist Nelson Freire, here on scintillating form) is immediately evident, as is the imagination and flair he brings to each piece. Thoroughly recommended for anyone willing to re-experience a tremendous concert in the comfort of their own home.
*****

Beethoven: Mass in C; Cherubini: Sciant gentes - REVIEW

Beethoven: Mass in C; Cherubini: Sciant gentes
Soloists; Kammerchor & Hofkapelle Stuttgart, Frieder Bernius
Carus 83.295
A warm-hearted reading of Beethoven's Mass, with incisive choral contributions and impressive playing from a relatively small ensemble. The drama is dented, however, by the over-resonant acoustic of the Klosterkirche Alpirsbach in which especially the chorus swim (the excellent soloists, recorded more closely, are less affected). The Cherubini (a premiere recording) is a welcome oddity but, even with this makeweight, the disc offers short measure at under fifty minutes.
***

Barber: Cello Concerto; Cello Sonata; Adagio for strings - REVIEW

Barber: Cello Concerto; Cello Sonata; Adagio for strings
Christian Poltera (cello); Bergen PO, Andrew Litton; Kathryn Stott (piano)
BIS 1827 (hybrid-SACD)
Poltera is completely at home in Barber's richly romantic concerto, finding tenderness and vitality with the deft support of Litton's players. A performance such as this makes it all the more bewildering that the piece is not heard more often. The sonata is an earlier work, less certain of its step but just as rewarding, and here finding another perfectly idiomatic reading. With excellent sound, this makes an excellent addition to Poltera's series of single composer discs for Bis.
*****