Schumann: Violin concertos, etc - REVIEW

Schumann: Violin concertos; Phantasie

Baiba Skride (violin); Danish National SO, John Storgards

Orfeo C854131A

From the opening tutti of the D minor concerto, Skride and Storgards unite to give a powerful, richly romantic view of Schumann's works for violin and orchestra.  Skride plays with impressive depth of tone and beauty of sound and, if Anthony Marwood's Hyperion disc of the same works is marginally to be preferred, it is encouraging that a musician as talented as her is moved to make such a strong case for these neglected works. 

*****

Mozart, Rachmaninov, Ravel etc: works for two pianos - REVIEW

Mozart, Rachmaninov, Ravel etc: works for two pianos

Martha Argerich, Gabriele Baldocci

Dynamic CDS7663

Recorded live in Livorno in 2008, this programme of 'Argerich's two-piano Greatest Hits' finds her and her young Italian colleague in mercurial form.  Mozart's D major sonata and Milhaud'sScaramouche fizzle, while an especially kaleidoscopic La valse is truly terrifying.  It is only in Rachmaninov's first suite that one misses the alchemy of Argerich's partnership with Nelson Freire.  The recording is somewhat harsh and overloads occasionally, but this is an exciting snapshot of what must have been an extraordinary evening.

****

Elgar: Cello Concerto; Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations; etc - REVIEW

Elgar: Cello Concerto; Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations; etc

Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello); BBC SO, Jiri Belohlavek

Harmonia Mundi HMC902148

Queyras' lack of sentimentality and sense of drive in the Elgar are very welcome, as is the urgent and ripely idiomatic contribution from an orchestra currently at the top of its game.  The Tchaikovsky has great poise and zest, and as a bonus we are treated to two short pieces by Dvorak - Silent Woodsand the Rondo - which could scarcely have been done better.  We are not short of recordings of any of these works, but nevertheless this disc is worth investigating.

*****

Schubert: Quartet in G, D.887, etc - REVIEW

Schubert: Quartet in G, D.887; Quartettsatz, D.703

Wihan Quartet

Nimbus Alliance NI6221

This refined Czech ensemble gives a finely-nuanced, warmly expressive reading of Schubert's final masterpiece in the genre.  If their earlier disc, the traditional coupling of the Rosamunde and Death and the Maiden quartets may have been a touch too restrained for some listeners, here there is no want of fire or volatility.  With demonstration quality sound, and a welcome coupling, this performance deserves to be heard.

*****

Vaughan Williams: Symphonies nos.5 & 7 - REVIEW

Vaughan Williams: Symphonies nos.5 & 7

LPO, Bernard Haitink

LPO 0072 (2 CDs)

Haitink recorded all nine of Vaughan Williams' symphonies for EMI, finding warmth and spaciousness without sacrificing energy when needed: No.5 had an almost Brucknerian sweep, and no.7 was more cogently symphonic than is often the case.  As the performances under review were given at the time of their respective studio recordings, they are essentially similar although in significantly murkier sound and, in the case of no.5, marred by a restless, bronchial December audience.

***

F & L Couperin, Marchand, etc: Harpsichord works - REVIEW

F & L Couperin, Marchand, etc: Harpsichord works

John Kitchen

Delphian DCD34109

Vividly alert to the widest range of styles and moods, Kitchen's survey of music from the age of Louis XIV is a delight from start to finish.  The 1755 Baillon instrument from the collection at Edinburgh University sounds superb, especially in the dashing dance movements, and the Delphian recording is typically clear and warm. Kitchen intersperses substantial suites by Louis Marchand, Elizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre and Francois Couperin with imaginatively chosen shorter works in a generous programme that will suit any listener looking for a varied single disc of this repertoire.

*****

Britten: War Requiem - REVIEW

Britten: War Requiem

Galina Vishnevskaya, Peter Pears, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau; choirs; Melos Ensemble; LSO, Benjamin Britten

Decca 4785433 (2 CDs & blu-ray audio)

Decca have done Britten, and one of their genuinely iconic recordings, proud.  Newly-remastered, this fifty year-old recording sounds as if it were made yesterday.  The work fits handily onto a single CD, with the invaluable rehearsal extracts taking up the second disc.  Best of all is an audio blu-ray of the performance which, for those with the set-up, provides studio-quality of blistering power and definition.  It is touching that such an important, moving document has been restored to such a level.

*****

Amore e morte dell'amore: duets by Monteverdi, Handel, etc - REVIEW

Amore e morte dell'amore: duets by Monteverdi, Handel,etc

Roberta Invernizzi, Sonia Prina; Ensemble Claudiana, Luca Pianca

Naive OP30549

An imaginative, engaging programme that opens with Monteverdi at his most austere to Handel at his Italian brightest, via a characterfully chromatic duet by Marcello and - to showcase these excellent players - a vibrant instrumental sonata by Domenico Scarlatti.  Invernizzi and Prina revel in the range and colour of the works in hand, and are rewarded with benchmark recorded sound and presentation.  Roll on Volume Two!

*****

Berlioz trans. Liszt: Harold en Italie - REVIEW

Berlioz trans. Liszt: Harold en Italie; etc

Philip Dukes (viola), Piers Lane (piano)

Naxos 8.573011

Liszt cleverly condenses Berlioz's epic soundscape, with the result that orchestral textures are clarified and sharply delineated (especially when in the powerful hands of Piers Lane).  The viola is inevitably on a more equal footing with its accompaniment, and it is startling to hear details that fall by the wayside in even the best orchestral performance.  Dukes makes a passionate advocate, with a big sound and a relish for felicitous detail, and if Kurt Roger's Hindemith-like sonata makes for an odd coupling for the Berlioz, Liszt's haunting Romance oubliee is a delightful sorbet between them.

****

Theodore Dubois: Piano Concerto no.2, Suite, etc - REVIEW

Theodore Dubois: Piano Concerto no.2, Suite, etc

Cedric Tiberghien (piano); BBC Scottish SO, Andrew Manze

Hyperion CDA 67931

Hyperion's ambitious Romantic Piano Concerto series reaches its sixtieth issue with a disc dedicated to a figure - academic, administrator, organist - now thought of as a fringe figure in the history of French music.  He was a hugely prolific composer and, if much on the disc reminds the listener of Saint-Saens (who he succeeded as organist of the Madeleine), there is a romantic warmth underpinning the skittishness.  Tiberghien plays with fizzling technique and total commitment, especially in the Second Concerto which really ought to be heard more often.  Magnifique!

*****

Bartok, Prokofiev, Hindemith: Sonatas for solo violin - REVIEW

Bartok, Prokofiev, Hindemith: Sonatas for solo violin

Ning Feng (violin)

Channel Classics CCSSA34413 (hybrid SACD)

A generous collection of some of the key 20th century works for solo violin.  This is the second solo disc from this assured Chinese player, presenting a more logical, more satisfying programme than its rather bitty predecessor.  He plays a modern instrument, securing a singing tone and overcoming most technical difficulties with ease.  If no performance on the current disc is quite a first choice, this is nevertheless a convenient way to acquire fine performances of important repertoire in excellent sound.

****

Schubert: Sonata in G, D.894; Wanderer Fantasy - REVIEW

Schubert: Sonata in G, D.894; Wanderer Fantasy

Tristan Pfaff (piano)

Aparte AP065

Pfaff presents a young man's view of the big, reflective G major sonata: tempi are swift, perhaps too swift some times; he makes the most of the astonishing outbursts in the Andante, and the Allegretto is suitably song-like.  He seems more comfortable, however, in the out-and-out virtuosity of the 'Wanderer' Fantasy; he draws a rich sound from his instrument (no information is given; the booklet contains no notes, merely the Wanderer poem!) and impresses with a very wide tonal palette.

****

Judith Bingham: Choral Music - REVIEW

Judith Bingham: Choral Music

Wells Cathedral Choir, Matthew Owens

Hyperion CDA 67909

Writing fluently and with a fine ear for text and balance, Bingham has produced a steady flow of choral works over the last ten years, many receiving their first outing on this well-recorded disc.  There are many striking textures, such as the 'Lamb of God' section of what is the composer's third Missa brevis, but these all seem to spring up organically, giving the impression that nothing is done merely for effect.  The Wells boys, men and - in one piece - girls acquit themselves with distinction.

*****

Mahler/Stein: Symphony no.4 - REVIEW

Mahler/Stein: Symphony no.4*; Debussy/Sachs: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faun

Sonia Grane (soprano)*; Royal Academy of Music Soloists Ensemble, Trevor Pinnock

Erwin Stein's chamber version of Mahler's Fourth is not the stranger to concert hall or disc it once was; his arrangement is a miracle of clarity and economy.  The Academy's young musicians do it full justice, and are rewarded with recorded sound that is both warm and natural.  The arrangement of Debussy's Prelude, assumed to be by Schoenberg-pupil Benno Sachs, takes us further from the established version, relying heavily on the piano to 'fill out' the sound; but it is hard to imagine a better account of it on record.

*****

"14": works for violin & piano - REVIEW

"14": Works for violin & piano by Paganini, Tartini, Wieniawski, etc

David Garrett (violin), Alexander Markovich (piano)

DG 4790933

A very curious release.  At a time when David Garrett is, Kennedy-like, trying to reinvent himself as a 'rock star' violinist, this programme sits oddly with his carefully marketed 'maverick' image.  Recorded eighteen years ago by fresh-faced, teenage Garrett, there is a great deal of lovely playing here, if without the last word in imagination.  But the intervening years have seen the 'Prodigy Fiddler' field become much more competitive, and one wonders just why this disc is released now after nearly twenty years. 

***

Donizetti: Caterina Cornaro - REVIEW

Donizetti: Caterina Cornaro

Carmen Giannattasio, Colin Lee, etc; BBC Singers & SO, David Parry

Opera Rara ORC48 (2CD)

Yet another hugely welcome discovery from this most enterprising of labels.  Donizetti's score bristles with tuneful highlights, the young leads are excellent, and Parry holds everything together with panache and the lightest possible touch.  Collectors may know an off-air recording featuring Caballe and Carreras; personal affection for those artists aside, this modern recording comfortably outshines it.

*****

Riisager: Concerto for Orchestra; Symphonies nos. 1 & 2; etc - REVIEW

Riisager: Concerto for Orchestra; Symphonies nos. 1 & 2; etc

Aarhus SO, Bo Holten

Dacapo 8.226147

As unpredictable and hard to pin down as fellow Dane Nielsen, Knudage Riisager is nevertheless an interesting and important voice.  His second symphony recalls Sibelius, other works on the present disc suggest a debt to Martinu and his teacher Roussel.  Definitely worth a listen, especially when Dacapo have gone to the trouble of capturing these vivid performances in such good sound.

*****

Wagner: extracts from The Ring; The Flying Dutchman - REVIEW

Wagner: extracts from The Ring; The Flying Dutchman

Egils Silins (bass-ba); Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, David Zinman

RCA Red Seal 88725479412

As he has in Strauss, Mahler and latterly Schubert, Zinman presents here a leanly-textured, clear and exciting interpretation of these Wagner highlights.  The Ride of the Valkyries and Siegfried's Rhine Journeyknock your socks off, while his Sunrise is richly coloured and deeply touching.  Latvian Egils Silins makes an enormous impression as The Dutchman and (as he proved recently in Manchester) Wotan in what is an exceptional one-disc Wagner feast.

*****

Sibelius: Symphony no.2, etc - REVIEW

Sibelius: Symphony no.2, etc

Halle Orchestra, Mark Elder

Halle CDHLL7516

A superbly-played, warmly-cogent reading of the Symphony is a telling reminder both of what an insightful, natural Sibelian we have in Sir Mark; and of what a fine ensemble he has at his fingertips.  Coupled with an imposingPohjola's Daughter and an Oceanides of great power and atmosphere, this really is essential listening

*****

Mompou: Musica callada, etc - REVIEW

Mompou: Musica callada, etc

Arcadi Volodos (pf)

Sony Classical 88765433262

Belying his reputation as a barnstormer, Volodos unexpectedly turns his prodigious technique to the refined, delicate miniatures of Catalan composer-pianist Federico Mompou.  He invests these pieces with a hypnotic poetry entirely in keeping with the music, no more so than in Musica callada, his last and probably greatest cycle of pieces.  For Mompou to have such a high-profile, well-recorded release is a great compliment to a fascinating musical voice

****.