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Chris Howell

Brahms Sextets Menuhin Gendron Aronowitz EMI CDE5749572

Brahms: Sextets No 1 & No 2 (EMI Classics)

(Déjà Review) The quite wonderful playing of No 1, in particular, makes this an essential disc [CH]

Stanfordian Thoughts: 22. Hymn Tunes

by Christopher Howell

Stanfordian Thoughts 21. Lullabies and Hush Songs

by Christopher Howell

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerti (Hyperion)

(Déjà Review) Some fleet playing but 2 & 3 are too superficial to make the cycle recommendable as a whole [CH]

Beethoven Symphs 5 & 7 Klemperer Warner 5678512

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos 5 & 7 (Warner Classics)

(Déjà Review) The stuff of legends, but what are legends made of? [CH]

cherubini medea warner

Cherubini: Medea (Warner Classics)

(Déjà Review) The set should be heard for its documentation of an extraordinary musical meeting [CH]

svendsen symphonies chandos

Svendsen: Symphonies (Chandos)

(Déjà Review) Not quite masterpieces but they are more than just easy-listening and could be widely enjoyed [CH]

Stanfordian Thoughts 20. Six Bible Songs

by Christopher Howell

Stanford: Songs Vol. 2 (Hyperion)

(Déjà Review) A good representation of the strength and variety of the central, most important, part of Stanford’s career [CH]

brahms richter rca

Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 (RCA)

A legendary, visionary version of the sonata, but don’t make this your only version of the concerto [CH]

Stanfordian Thoughts: 19. Molly Brannigan

by Christopher Howell

portechiuse tato 9791281306066

Porte Chiuse (Closed Doors) – (Maurizio Vetri Editore)

Absorbing reading for anyone able to read Italian and interested in Italian post-war history, both musical and political [CH]

Stanfordian Thoughts: 18. Father O’Flynn

by Christopher Howell

Wolf Italian Serenade Hanssler CD93024

Wolf: String Quartets (Hänssler Classic)

(Déjà Review) The Fine Arts Quartet enters into Wolf’s tormented world with total empathy [CH]

Haydn: 6 London Symphonies (Philips)

(Déjà Review) There is a sense that the musicians are really listening to one another, obtaining a chamber-music-like delicacy [CH]

Beethoven sym9 4775005

Beethoven: Symphony 9 (Deutsche Grammophon)

One of the great Ninths on record [CH]

Tricklir: Cello Concertos (Cello Classics)

(Déjà Review) Definitely worth exploring [CH]

JS Bach: The Keyboard Concertos Vol. 2 (Hyperion)

(Déjà Review) Bach performances to cherish [CH]

Bizet carmen 0734032

Bizet: Carmen (DG)

(Déjà Review) A great evening at the opera, crowned by Grace Bumbry’s great performance of Carmen [CH]

Beethoven Violin Concerto Menuhin Furtwangler EMI 5669752

Beethoven & Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos (Warner Classics)

(Déjà Review) These performances will leave you marvelling anew at the music itself [CH]

Beethoven Symp 1 6 Mravinsky Elatus 0927498332

Beethoven: Symphonies 1 and 6 (Elatus)

(Déjà Review) Mravinsky’s Beethoven is revealed to be of considerable importance, and completely idiomatic [CH]

massenet werther warner

Massenet: Werther (Warner Classics)

(Déjà Review) This issue will be prized by admirers of the two principals, but there are drawbacks [CH]

berlioz symphonie beecham warner

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique (Warner Classics)

(Déjà Review) One of the classic performances of this symphony [CH]

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 (ICA Classics)

(Déjà Review) Leinsdorf belatedly enters the select list of the greatest Tchaikovsky performances on record [CH]