October 2023
Tveitt: Hardanger Tunes, Suites 1 & 4 (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Engeset coaxes this gorgeous material into shape without effort or artificiality [GH]
Schubert: Lieder Vol 2 (Warner Classics)
(Déjà Review) Bostridge is surely worthy of a position in the same illustrious gallery as Fischer-Dieskau, Janet Baker and a few others [TB]
Humour and Classical Music: Elgar’s Smoking Cantata
by David Barker
Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (Delphian)
Deeply committed performances, informed by consummate musicianship [SG]
Murschhauser: Prototypon Longo-Breve Organicum (Brilliant Classics)
Fine performances of liturgical organ music by a little-known master from South Germany [JV]
Hannah: Music for Piano and Organ (PGM Audio)
Canadian Ronald Hannah’s piano works offer playfulness and charm and more besides [JW]
Halévy: La Juive (Philips)
This sole studio recording of a thoroughly entertaining opera makes a strong case for its rehabilitation [RMo]
Martinaitytė: Hadal Zone (Cantaloupe)
An extraordinary voyage to the depths of the ocean and of the psyche [DMD]
Enna: Violin Concerto, Symphony No.2 (Dacapo)
Fine performances of mildly enjoyable works may win the composer new admirers [EJW]
Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Mascagni is a powerful advocate of his own music – his fluid, dramatic reading is filled with moving moments and telling detail [FC]
Boccherini: String Quintets (MDG)
(Déjà Review) All praise to Ensemble Concertant Frankfurt, who play this little-known music with skill, imagination and true stylistic understanding [TB]
Fux: La corona d’Arianna (Arcana)
Cuts aside, a very fine performance of one of Fux’s works for the stage [JV]
Hindemith: Cardillac (BR Klassik)
A fine tribute to the late conductor which currently has the field to itself on CD [MP]
Van der Pals: String Quartets Vol. 1 (cpo)
Gently melancholic chamber works from a less-well-remembered composer [JW]
Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (Archipel)
A faintly disguised incarnation of Karajan’s classic first studio recording with the BPO, which has long been available on other labels in somewhat superior sound [RMo]
Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin (Alpha Classics)
Worth hearing for the sheer beauty of Krimmel’s voice alone [DMD]
Wagner: Götterdämmerung (Decca)
A recording for the ages, revealed in full splendour in a new re-mastering [JQ]
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]
Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht, Chamber Symphony No. 2 (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Anyone who believes that Schoenberg is approachable only for the specialist listener should hear this disc [TB]
Beethoven: The Symphonies (Deutsche Grammophon)
Does this cycle justify its release – the answer is an enthusiastic if qualified yes [DMD]
Bruckner: Symphony No.2 (Capriccio)
Beautifully balanced between thrilling tension and lyricism despite – or because of? – the pervasively propulsive speeds [RMo]
Echoes of Bohemia: Czech Music for Wind (Chandos)
The Orsini Ensemble rises superbly to all the challenges of this colourful and attractive music [GPJ]
Nathan Milstein (violin) Mendelssohn, Bruch & Tchaikovsky (Biddulph)
The first Bruch/Mendelssohn coupling is restored, with Tchaikovsky to swell the programme [JW]
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas (Pentatone)
A colourful and dramatic performance of “The only perfect English opera” – with a modern twist [GF]
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