December 2023
A Byzantine Emperor at King Henry’s Court (Cappella Records)
A spellbinding confrontation of liturgical music from two traditions – a perfect ‘alternative’ for Christmastide [JV]
JL Adams: Darkness and Scattered Light (Cold Blue Music)
Deep resonant scores that explore darkness, physical and spiritual [DMD]
Chopin: Piano Works (DeHaan Records)
Superlative playing – a valuable addition to the Egorov discography [SG]
Don’t Forget About Me (Toccata Press)
A gripping, if tragic story of a composer and pianist who died too young [MMB]
Bellini: Composizioni da Camera (Acte Préalable)
An enterprising collection of Bellini songs is unfortunately let down by less than ideal performances [PT]
A Scarlatti: La sposa dei cantici (Acis)
An Alessandro Scarlatti world premiere in splendid performance [RWe]
Listening Studio Report
by John Quinn
Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker (Opus Arte)
(Déjà Review) Truly magical – the ideal family Christmas present [IL]
A Piano Christmas in the 1920s (Lyrichord)
(Déjà Review) An enjoyable and unabashed collection [JW]
Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus
by Ralph Moore
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No 2 (Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings)
In all respects, a worthy 150th anniversary tribute to Rachmaninov [JQ]
Ullmann: Little Cakewalk – Lieder (Gramola)
Over an hour of distressing singing sabotages this song selection [JW]
Bruce Liu (piano): Waves (Deutsche Grammophon)
An intriguing programme with much to enjoy even if it does not quite add up [DMD]
Brahms: Die schöne Magelone (Genuin)
The best case for Brahms’s song cycle [DF]
Il castrato del granduca – Arias for Gaetano Berenstadt (Glossa)
A highly interesting collection of rare baroque arias [GF]
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos 1-9 (Dynamic)
Some good things here, but as a whole this is not competitive [SB]
Berlioz: L’Enfance du Christ (Hyperion)
(Déjà Review) A performance to love and to cherish [SV]
Praetorius: Lutheran Mass for Christmas Morning (Archiv Produktion)
(Déjà Review) A refreshing antidote to all those unimaginative festive compilations [DM]
Agata-Maria Raatz (violin, voice) Echo of Bach (Solo Musica)
A strange, uneven but enjoyable disc lit up by the violinist’s own compositions [DMD]
Gnattali: Piano Music (Nimbus Records)
Brazilian music owes a lot to Radamés Gnattali and this is an excellent showcase of his piano music [RCh]
Haydn: Late Symphonies, Vol 2 (Naxos)
Thrilling second instalment of Haydn’s ‘London’ Symphonies [DF]
Mozart: Don Juan (Narodowy Institut Fryderyka Chopin)
A fine performance of an oddball Bizet curiosity, but Mozart’s orchestration and vocal variety are sorely missed [MZ]
Sirventès – Chamber Music by Iranian female composers (New Focus)
Deserves to be heard by all who are interested in contemporary chamber music [GPu]
Wordsworth, Wilson & McGuire: Piano Works (Heritage)
Impressive performances all around [JF]
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Featured Naxos review |
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