May 2024

recording british music foreman

Recording British Music (Vocalion Books)

A ready source of rare information, insight and record – and a great read [GHu]

state fair dutton

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]

jensen legacy danacord

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 balsam bridge

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 naive

Monteverdi: Madrigals (Naïve)

(Déjà Review) A glorious, theatrical recording of Monteverdi’s final collection of madrigals [GPu]

mahler horenstein symphony hdtt

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]

Grieg: Symphonic Dances (Chandos)

Exemplary performances of some rare Grieg [SB]

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 somm

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 syms CDHLD7564

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 romantica 8574533

Alfano: Orchestral & Instrumental works (Naxos)

Fine, memorable music by the Italian composer who completed Puccini’s last opera [EJW]

Fasch concertos ACC24399

Fasch: Concertos (Accent)

Performances that attest to the variety and quality of Fasch’s concertos [JV]

Cello SOMMCD0685

The Pre-Raphaelite Cello (Somm Recordings)

The Frankfurt Gang and Beatrice Harrison inspire a cellistic programme [JW]