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Chris Howell
Beethoven: Piano Works (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Schnabel’s “Diabelli” set interpretative and intellectual standards which are a daunting challenge to all that followed [CH]
Handel: Arias for mezzo soprano (Apex)
This music springs to life as Handel’s operatic music rarely does [CH]
Dvořák: Rusalka (Supraphon)
(Déjà Review) This is a recording which instilled in me a love of the opera which has so far not died; it will surely do the same for many new listeners [CH]
Beethoven: Symphony No 9 (Music & Arts)
(Déjà Review) Harshly recorded, but for some Toscanini enthusiasts it is the greatest of his preserved Ninths [CH]
Stanfordian Thoughts 27. A Recitation that was and a Ballet that wasn’t
by Christopher Howell
Stanfordian Thoughts 25. “East to West” in Chicago and Cincinnati
by Christopher Howell
Stanfordian Thoughts: 24. Stanford and the Irish Choral Society of Chicago
by Christopher Howell
Sibelius: Complete Symphonies and Selected Orchestral Works (EMI Classics)
(Déjà Review) One of the greatest symphonic cycles under a conductor who shows a deep understanding and profound identification with it [CH]
Stanfordian Thoughts: 23. Stanford & Chadwick’s Book of Choruses
by Christopher Howell
Offenbach: La Belle Hélène (Regis)
Not for nothing has this Offenbach been counted among the five all-time great recordings of French opera [CH]
Schubert: Mayrhofer-Lieder Volume 2 (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) An outstanding contribution to lieder on record [CH]
Brahms: Sextets No 1 & No 2 (EMI Classics)
(Déjà Review) The quite wonderful playing of No 1, in particular, makes this an essential disc [CH]
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerti (Hyperion)
(Déjà Review) Some fleet playing but 2 & 3 are too superficial to make the cycle recommendable as a whole [CH]
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos 5 & 7 (Warner Classics)
(Déjà Review) The stuff of legends, but what are legends made of? [CH]
Cherubini: Medea (Warner Classics)
(Déjà Review) The set should be heard for its documentation of an extraordinary musical meeting [CH]
Svendsen: Symphonies (Chandos)
(Déjà Review) Not quite masterpieces but they are more than just easy-listening and could be widely enjoyed [CH]
Stanford: Songs Vol. 2 (Hyperion)
(Déjà Review) A good representation of the strength and variety of the central, most important, part of Stanford’s career [CH]
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 (RCA)
A legendary, visionary version of the sonata, but don’t make this your only version of the concerto [CH]
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