January 2024
Eva Zöllner (piano accordion) – voces, señales (Genuin)
Contemporary Columbian music for the piano accordion which takes a great deal of getting used to [GH]
Chaminade: Mots d’amour (Deutsche Grammophon)
(Déjà Review) A tonic for the winter months [IL]
Hélène Grimaud (piano) Mozart & Schumann (C major)
A very fine orchestra and pianist in a concert of some distinction [RWe]
Decker: Ørnen 1897 (Antarctica Records)
An unusual and attractive work inspired by an obscure and ill-fated Swedish attempt on the North Pole [RHa]
Shura Cherkassky (piano): The Complete 78-rpm Recordings 1923-1950 (APR)
An opportunity to savour Cherkassy’s seductive magic [SG]
Nardini: Complete Music for 2 Violins (Brilliant Classics)
A well-deserved recognition of a neglected composer [JV]
Ravel: Complete Solo Piano Music Vol. 3 (Danacord)
The performance captures all the nuances of Ravel’s pianism [JF]
Puccini: I Canti (BR Klassik)
Charles Castronovo breathes new life to these smart orchestrations of Puccini’s piano songs [MC]
Carolyn Sampson (soprano) but I like to sing… (BIS)
A delight from start to finish – Carolyn Sampson is on effervescent form [JQ]
Thomas Demenga (cello) Bach, Hosokawa & Yun (ECM)
The contemporary pieces featured here would have been unthinkable without Bach’s innovative thinking [HC]
In Memoriam Lars Vogt: Brahms, Viotti & Dvořák (Ondine)
The Tetzlaffs’ tribute to the late Lars Vogt leaves a mixed impression [LW]
Wigmore Soloists: Chamber Works (BIS)
Committed and inspiring performances of important chamber works [JF]
Franck: Piano Works (Hänssler Classic)
Fabulous playing shows off Franck’s early virtuosity while impressing in the familiar late works [RCh]
Luzzaschi: Il Concerto Segreto (Ricercar)
An impressive revival of the art of the Concerto delle donne [JV]
Shostakovich: Symphony No 8 (ICA Classics)
A concert that marks the beginning of a great conductor/orchestra relationship hampered by poor sound [NB]
Dusman: Flashpoint (Neuma Records)
A varied selection of instrumental, chamber and ensemble works from a quietly accomplished if little-known figure [RHa]
Bach: Cello Suites (Artway Records and Claves)
Two fine new accounts of Bach’s cello suites but the Artway issue is clearly preferable [RMo]
Bentzon: Symphonies 5 & 7 (Dacapo)
(Déjà Review) These symphonies are examples of Bentzon’s metamorphic style in which the voices of Bartok, Simpson and Shostakovich nudge and jostle [RB]
Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht (DUX)
Intermittently good, but inconsistent and not outstanding [RMo]
Toscanini: The 1948 Brahms Cycle Vol. 1 (Pristine Audio)
Toscanini at his best in these great live concert recordings from 1948, lovingly remastered [GPJ]
Thomas Jensen (conductor) Legacy Vol. 20 (Danacord)
Holmboe’s Seventh Symphony heads a varied and packed historic Danacord twofer [JW]
Yunchan Lim (Deutsche Grammophon)
Half a disc of Yunchan Lim’s Beethoven, live in Guangju, expands our understanding of the latest Cliburn winner [JH]
Mozart: Requiem (Acis)
Mostly of interest to Marylanders, but contains a gutsy performance of Mozart’s Requiem in a new performing edition [ST]
Dreams, Desires, Desolation (Divine Art)
A substantial exploration of English song [JF]
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