May 2024
Recording British Music (Vocalion Books)
A ready source of rare information, insight and record – and a great read [GHu]
State Fair and the 20th Century-Fox Songbook (Dutton)
A celebration of great Hollywood musicals of the 40’s & 50’s performed with stunning style, sophistication and pizzazz [NB]
Thomas Jensen (conductor) Legacy v22 (Danacord)
Discography expansion in the work of Thomas Jensen [JW]
Opera Arias in Turin in 18th Century (cpo)
Charming but stylistically uniform arias from Turin in the later 18th century [CRo]
Mozart: Piano Concertos (Bridge)
(Déjà Review) Excellent retrieval work from Bridge, whose commitment to Balsam has been of long standing and great worth [JW]
Monteverdi: Madrigals (Naïve)
(Déjà Review) A glorious, theatrical recording of Monteverdi’s final collection of madrigals [GPu]
Mahler: Symphony No 3 (High Definition Tape Transfers)
An excellent, parallel recording of one of the finest Mahler performances ever committed to disc [JQ]
Liszt: Transcriptions from Operas, Piano Music Volume 61 (Naxos)
Some poetic moments but little sparkle or brilliance [MB]
Cherubini Quartet: The Complete Warner Classics Recordings (Warner Classics)
The Cherubini Quartet’s favourite and less well-remembered recordings [JW]
The Golden Age of Hollywood – recital (Quartz)
A fascinating collection of mostly little-known violin works [GF]
Mozart, Brahms: Clarinet Quintets (Tudor)
(Déjà Review) Beautifully played orthodox performances of a cultivated homogeneity [MG]
Hindemith: Tanzstücke, In einer Nacht, Piano Sonata No. 3 (cpo)
(Déjà Review) Seibert’s full tone and detailed and refined technique are given every chance to develop in cpo’s excellent recording [DC]
Lloyd: Piano Concertos (Lyrita)
Communicative and lyrical piano concertos reissued in the ‘Signature Edition’ [JW]
Price & Sowerby: String Quartets (Naxos)
A fine sampling of Florence Price’s music for string quartet [LW]
Schmidt: Symphony No 4 & The Book with Seven Seals (Somm Recordings)
Excellent restorations which capture the very essence of these recordings [SG]
Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms, Mass, Babel (Hänssler Classic)
Masterly choral works let down by aimless interpretations [NC]
Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagione & La Follia (Alpha Classics)
An electrifying rendition of the Four Seasons to set alongside Fabio Biondi’s [DJB]
Bingham: Choral Music (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Good to hear such a generous selection of her choral music in these fine performances [RH]
Haydn: The Creation (Oehms Classics)
(Déjà Review) A quality product that should give great pleasure to all lovers of this masterpiece [GF]
Elgar: Symphonies Nos 1 & 2 (Hallé)
Elder’s later pair of Elgar symphonies is a fine achievement in beautiful sound – but not, perhaps, the last interpretative word [RMo]
Alfano: Orchestral & Instrumental works (Naxos)
Fine, memorable music by the Italian composer who completed Puccini’s last opera [EJW]
Fasch: Concertos (Accent)
Performances that attest to the variety and quality of Fasch’s concertos [JV]
The Pre-Raphaelite Cello (Somm Recordings)
The Frankfurt Gang and Beatrice Harrison inspire a cellistic programme [JW]
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