Beethoven

Beethoven: Violin Concerto (LSO Live)

A good performance of the concerto, fatally undermined by completely unsuitable cadenzas [JQ]

busch guild mendelssohn

Fritz Busch (conductor) (Guild)

(Déjà Review) A welcome addition to Guild’s Fritz Busch series [BBr]

beethoven solemnis testament mozart

Beethoven: Missa solemnis (Testament)

(Déjà Review) Another historical package that really sweeps the board [GFe]

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Beethoven: Christus am Ölberge (PHI)

A rewarding version of Beethoven’s only oratorio [SB]

beethoven violin sonatas 1 to 7 plocek palenicek forgotten fr2023-4

Beethoven: Violin Sonatas (Forgotten Records)

A variably attractive Beethoven cycle from two eloquent Czech musicians [JW]

Pruwer forgotten maestro Pristine PASC674

Julius Prüwer (conductor) Forgotten Maestro (Pristine Audio)

A welcome restoration of the recordings of a largely overlooked German conductor [JW]

Yvonne Lefébure (piano): Inédits 5 (Solstice)

Solstice’s au revoir to a great artist [SG]

Humour and Classical Music: Monty Python

by David Barker

Beethoven: Egmont (BR Klassik)

A decent performance but no text for the narration is a hindrance [SB]

Grondahl legacy DACOCD887

Launy Grøndahl (conductor) Legacy Vol. 7 (Danacord)

The Grøndahl legacy series reaches volume 7 with a question mark or two [JW]

Nelson Freire (piano): The Unreleased Recordings (Decca)

Previously unreleased Nelson Freire recordings enrich the catalogue [JW]

Eugene Ormandy (conductor) (Testament)

An interesting document, but only the Emperor adds significantly to the discography [SV]

Humour and Classical Music: Mozart & Beethoven

by David Barker

Boult prewar PASC670

Sir Adrian Boult: BBC SO Pre-war Vol. 1 (Pristine)

An very fine release of Boult’s early recordings of Bach and Viennese masters [GT]

Lefebure inedits SOCD398

Yvonne Lefébure (piano) Inédits 5 (Solstice)

The final Solstice salute to a great piano stylist [JW]

Jacob Lateiner (piano) Lost Art Of (Parnassus)

More live Lateiner; a pianist of probity, directness and high gifts [JW]

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Gina Bachauer: Mercury Masters (Eloquence)

Gina Bachauer’s powerful Mercury legacy, collated in its entirety for the first time in a single box [JW]

Casals Philips Legacy Eloquence ELQ4842348

Pablo Casals: Philips Legacy (Eloquence)

Late Casals in imperfect recordings, attractively remastered and presented [JW]

Pruwer forgotten maestro Pristine PASC674

Julius Prüwer (conductor) Forgotten maestro (Pristine)

A welcome to a neglected conductor from the early electrical recording period in Berlin [GT]

Aaron Rosand (violin) The First Recordings (Biddulph)

Rosand’s first Vox recordings are restored for a new generation [JW]

Beethoven & Mozart: Piano Transcriptions (BIS)

Sensational pianism, inspiration, and exuberant pianism in every track [MM]

Heifetz New York RH025

Jascha Heifetz (violin) New York Concerts (Rhine Classics)

Heifetz fans, of which I’m one, shouldn’t hesitate [SG]

Gieseking graphophone 902962455

Walter Gieseking (piano) His Columbia Graphophone Recordings (Warner Classics)

A splendid collection [SG]

Beethoven concertos BIS2581

Beethoven: Piano Concertos (BIS)

Astonishing virtuoso playing in a highly empathic partnership – the best modern accounts I know [RMo]