jw
Jonathan Woolf
Gibbs: Sonatas for Violin and Basso Continuo (First Hand Records)
A little-known East Anglian with a flair for synthesising violin sonatas, played with energy and finesse [JW]
Dvořák: Slavonic Dances (Pentatone)
A disappointing, generalized survey of what should be infectious music-making [JW]
Sir Thomas Beecham (conductor) The Complete Acoustics 1910-18
Characterful examples of Beecham’s first recordings performed by his zestful orchestra [JW]
Piotr Anderszewski at Carnegie Hall (Erato)
(Déjà Review) Something of a mixed bag for me [JW]
Martinů: Violin Concertos 1 & 2 (Supraphon)
Another top-class exploration of Martinů’s Violin Concertos [JW]
Weinberg: String Quartets Vol. 2 (cpo)
(Déjà Review) Weinberg managed with assurance and complete appreciation [JW]
Swain: Music for Violin and Piano (Dutton)
Traditionalism served with a dose of acerbity [JW]
Purcell: Hail! Bright Cecilia (Château de Versailles)
A misconceived performance of a great Purcell ode [JW]
Bowen: Music for organ, viola, violin and harp (Dutton)
Four musicians explore York Bowen’s more recherché compositions in some style [JW]
Sir Charles Mackerras (conductor): The Complete Warner Classics Edition (Warner Classics)
A solid chunk of Mackerras, spanning half a century of recordings for the Warner group [JW]
Clarke: Complete Songs (Signum Classics)
The twists and turns of Rebecca Clarke’s songs, presented in full for the first time in stylish, perceptive performances [JW]
Bruch & Paganini: Violin Concertos (Claves)
A serious entrant … Romantic affiliations and technical armoury [JW]
Beecham: The Mono Era on HMV and Columbia Graphophone 1926-1959 (Warner Classics)
Beecham’s monos minus the acoustics (demerit) but with some previously unissued material in a well-compiled 53-CD box [JW]
The New Winter Songbook (Convivium Records)
Twenty-one new songs by a diverse selection of British composers [JW]
Fanny Davies and Adela Verne (piano): Complete Recordings (APR)
A leading Clara Schumann pupil excels in the studio, coupled with brilliant, rare recordings from a more shadowy performer [JW]
Posa: Lieder, Violin Sonata & String Quartet (Voilà Records)
A huge and superbly compiled book-format release devoted to a now unknown progressive Viennese contemporary of Schoenberg and Zemlinsky [JW]
Martinů: String Quartets (Supraphon)
A bristling, incisive look at four Martinů string quartets [JW]
Robert Bennett & Duke: Violin Concerti (Chandos)
Not just Samuel Barber – the American Violin Concerto, School of 1941-1943, revived with élan [JW]
Bloch: Schelomo; Strauss: Don Quixote (Pristine Audio)
(Déjà Review) A deserved classic [JW]
Leopold Stokowski (conductor): Great Recordings, Vol 2 (ICA Classics)
A second tranche of Stokowski from ICA contains the known and issued and some novelties [JW]
Bliss: Miracle in the Gorbals & Metamorphic Variations (Chandos)
Mid and late period Bliss contrasts an underappreciated ballet with a curious orchestral work [JW]
Sir Adrian Boult: The Warner Classics Edition (Warner Classics)
A 36-CD remastered box that restores (almost) all Boult’s mono legacy for the Warner umbrella of labels [JW]
Bériot: Violin Concertos 2, 3 & 5 (Naxos)
Fireworks and songful concertos [JW]
Clarke: Music for violin, viola and piano (Brilliant Classics)
Compact, youthful interpretations of Rebecca Clarke’s works for strings with piano [JW]
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