jw
Jonathan Woolf
Michael Rabin (violin) Unpublished (Parnassus)
An unpublished live Beethoven Concerto spearheads this Michael Rabin release [JW]
Earliest French Piano Recordings (APR)
A splendidly remastered and historically important tranche of piano recordings [JW]
Jascha Heifetz (violin) ‘Live’ Recordings (Biddulph)
Heifetz caught live in broadcasts playing some discographic novelties into the bargain [JW]
Dett: Piano Works
Well prepared and affectionate, rhythmically sprung performances of Dett’s piano music [JW]
So Fragile, So Blue (National Symphony Orchestra)
From Canadian waterways to a sub-orbital space flight, nature’s fragility is explored by the irrepressible William Shatner [JW]
David Oistrakh (violin): The Warner Remastered Edition (Warner Classics)
A massive celebratory David Oistrakh box features strikingly good remasterings of his HMV legacy and a vast array of live and broadcast material [JW]
Mischa Elman (violin): Complete HMV Recordings (Biddulph)
Elman in glowing pre-war Concerto recordings in London [JW]
Busch: Chamber Music (Lyrita)
Lyrical and traditional but invigorating chamber works [JW]
Fauré: The Complete Works (Erato)
Erato marks the centenary of Fauré’s death with a big box that mines his discography in all its richness [JW]
Holmboe: Symphonies Nos 11-13 (BIS)
(Déjà Review) Drama and skill, production values of the highest … a major voice in the symphonic canon of the twentieth century [JW]
György Cziffra (piano) Live in Concert (Solstice)
Nothing new to his discography but Cziffra is heard in previously unreleased, energising performances [JW]
Lutosławski: Symphony No 3 & 4 (Sony Classical)
(Déjà Review) If you missed the earlier opportunities to acquaint yourself with these towering statements you should do so now, without delay [JW]
Kapustin: Orchestral works (Capriccio)
Notated Jazz from the master of the art, Nikolai Kapustin, performed by his leading exponent [JW]
Songs from the North of Ireland (Delphian)
Wholesome songs from two Ulsterwomen of lyric, and folkloric, gifts [JW]
Bowen & Walton: Viola Concertos (SWR Music)
A near-hit and a miss; a good Bowen Concerto and an ordinary Walton [JW]
Doráti: Piano Concerto; Seiber: Suites (Hänssler Classic)
An all-Hungarian disc of real pleasures – Doráti’s approachable Concerto and Seiber’s orchestral music in splendid performances [JW]
Martinů: The Six Symphonies (BIS)
(Déjà Review) A well documented, brilliantly recorded, excellently played and broadly sympathetic set of readings [JW]
Encircling: Works for Viola (Acis)
A viola-fanciers’ delight with a well-balanced recital offering two sonatas and two smaller, but compelling, pieces [JW]
Kolisch Quartet: Mozart, Schubert & Schumann (Biddulph)
Fine transfers of the Kolisch Quartet’s 1930s discography [JW]
Howells & Wood: String Quartets (SOMM Recordings)
Splendid performances of an early version of a Howells quartet and a jaunty, attractive work by Charles Wood [JW]
Holmboe: Symphonies Nos 4 and 5 (BIS)
(Déjà Review) Densely coiled and symphonically argued with the highest of skill … charts a grim and determined course [JW]
Edwin Fischer (piano) The 1949 and 1951 Salzburg Concerts (Maestro Editions)
The humane art of Edwin Fischer, heard live at the Salzburg Festival [JW]
Delvincourt: String Quartet, Piano Quintet (Ciar Classics)
Delvincourt’s bracing chamber music, from a quixotic early work to his last [JW]
Invisibles – French Cello Sonatas (Alpha Classics)
A finely played trio of characterful French cello sonatas [JW]
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