jw

Jonathan Woolf

Faure Complete Works Erato 5054197947490

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 Symphs 11-13 Hughes BIS CD728

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]

Cziffra live SOCD41112

György Cziffra (piano) Live in Concert (Solstice)

Nothing new to his discography but Cziffra is heard in previously unreleased, energising performances [JW]

Deja Review Lutoslawski Symphs 3 & 4 Salonen Sony SBK90480

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 Northern Ireland Delphian DCD34329

Songs from the North of Ireland (Delphian)

Wholesome songs from two Ulsterwomen of lyric, and folkloric, gifts [JW]

Bowen Walton SWR19158CD

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 qt3 SOMMCD0692

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]

Deja Review Holmboe Symphs 4-5 BIS CD572

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]

fischer salzburg maestro

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]

Grieg sibelius PACM126

Grieg & Sibelius: String quartets (Pristine Audio)

More pre-war classics from the Budapest Quartet [JW]

Dvorak Legends Slavonic Rhapsodies Netopil Pentatone PTC5187221

Dvořák: Legends & Slavonic Rhapsodies (Pentatone)

Nepotil works better on longer-term planning than in short-form [JW]

stock chicago pristine

Frederick Stock (conductor) Chicago Symphony Vol. 4 (Pristine Audio)

An absorbing study of an unjustly neglected body of recordings continues [JW]

Silenced – Unsung Voices of the 20th Century (Cedille)

A splendid selection of songs by composers cut short before their time [JW]

Kreisler: String Quartet; Korngold: String Quartet No.3 (Alto)

Admirable reissues still hold their own [JW]

block chamber chandos

Block: Chamber Works (Chandos)

Another laudable composer emerges in the ‘Music in Exile’ series [JW]

evening songs PTC5187219

Evening Songs (Pentatone)

Varied and contrasting Czech song cycles that resist the lure of the crepuscular [JW]

Pergament Vol 1 Toccata TOCC0728

Pergament: Vol. 1 – A Musical Miscellany (Toccata Classics)

Authoritative premiere recordings of a semi-forgotten Jewish-Lithuanian-Swedish composer [JW]