October 2024
Ponchielli: La Gioconda (Pristine Audio)
Pristine’s splendid enhancement of this recording into Ambient Stereo further minimises the differences between this and Callas’ recording seven years later [RMo]
Emily Sun (violin): Film Fantasia (ABC Classic)
Glorious works, born of the cinema but perfect for the concert hall [PRJ]
Langgaard: Antikrist (Naxos)
Langgaard’s richly iconoclastic opera undermined and subverted by an over-rich iconoclastic staging [PCG]
Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin Suite and String Quartet No 3 (The Cleveland Orchestra)
Stunning playing reveals there’s more to the Mandarin than brutality [DMD]
Martin: Symphonies (Chandos)
A welcome reissue of Martin orchestral works [LW]
Saxton: Orchestral Works (Nimbus Records)
Robert Saxton’s two recent substantial works, well played and recorded [HC]
Splendid Tears: Settings of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (EM Records)
Uneven performances of two British song cycles but there’s a world première of another [JW]
Schumann: Symphonies Nos 1-4 (Sony Classical)
(Déjà Review) Unassuming, confident, middle of the road performances very well recorded [RB]
Pierrot Portraits (Onyx)
Ensemble 360 and Claire Booth bring Pierrot to life on this superb disc [PTh]
Penderecki: Paradise Lost (Dux)
A valuable Penderecki rediscovery undermined by problems of preparation and presentation [PCG]
Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann (Erato)
Alagna and van Dam are very fine, but the Bonynge recording retains its place in the affections of collectors [RMo]
Madeleine de Valmaléte & Monique Haas (piano) The Swiss Piano Recitals (Meloclassic)
It is wonderful to hear these pianists who have been undeservedly forgotten and in new works to their discography [RCh]
Strohl: Songs (La Boîte à Pépites)
Many fine songs, all presented in first-rate performances [JQ]
Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Pristine Audio)
De los Ángeles is a winning Butterfly in this classic set, now reissued by Pristine [PT]
Borgstrøm: Symphonic Poems (cpo)
Cosmic space and Jesus – two tone poems from the baffling Hjalmar Borgstrøm [JW]
Handel: Arias (Linn)
(Déjà Review) I will treasure this disc as a record of a fine singer at a wonderful peak in her career [RH]
Smetana: Orchestral music (SOMM Ariadne)
George Szell’s Smetana in live American performances [JW]
Joseph Szigeti (violin): European Columbia Records Volume 2 (Pristine Audio)
An evergreen Beethoven Concerto with delightful encores as a bonus [RMas]
Tal, Kaufmann and Rubin: Orchestral Works (Avie)
Three works by unfamiliar composers, with much to commend them [DJB]
Dean: Rooms of Elsinore (BIS)
Fascinating companion pieces to a stunning opera [PRJ]
Wagner: The Wagner Project (CAvi-Music)
Once again, I find myself questioning the validity and purpose of such arrangements [RMo]
In terra aliena: 15th/16th Century Spanish music (Cobra Records)
Something special: the subject, the music it illustrates, and the performance [JV]
Williams: Songs (Naxos)
A most welcome addition to the catalogue [PCG]
Farrenc: Chamber music (Naïve)
(Déjà Review) Entices me to seek out more music by this fine and unjustly neglected composer [KS]
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