jw
Jonathan Woolf
Sinigaglia: Works for String Quartet Vol 2 (Naxos)
Generously light-hearted and romantically ripe works [JW]
d’Ambrosio: Violin Concertos (Soupir Editions)
Rather underwhelming performances of rare repertoire [JW]
Arthur Grumiaux (violin) The Boston Recordings (Parnassus)
(Déjà Review) Some of the most lofty and beautiful playing; I shall return to this disc with equal excitement and pleasure [JW]
Christian Ferras (violin) Edition (Eloquence)
A handsomely produced salute to the tragically short-lived Christian Ferras [JW]
Beethoven: Cello Sonatas & Variations (MPS Records)
An excellent remastering of the Hoelscher-Demus Beethoven cello cycle [JW]
Smethergell: Overtures (cpo)
A colourful and vibrant collection of overtures by a little-known composer [JW]
Winterberg: Chamber Music Vol. 2 (Toccata Classics)
Complex, sometimes evanescent but sombre quartets from a Czech Jew [JW]
Nathan Milstein (violin) Concertos (Urania)
Tried and tested staples from Milstein’s discography [JW]
Senfter: Complete works for viola & piano (Hänssler Classic)
Regerian inheritances haunt Johanna Senfter’s unsettled and largely melancholic viola works [JW]
Bronisław Gimpel (violin) Violin Concertos (Biddulph)
Gimpel’s Vox concertos: rich in virtuosity, glamour and colour [JW]
Kapustin: Piano Concerto 5 (Capriccio)
Kapustin’s jazz-based music brought to life in brilliant fashion [JW]
Ida Haendel & Josef Hassid (violins) (Parnassus)
Polish contemporaries – violinistic brilliance [JW]
Edwin Fischer (piano): Concert in Strasbourg, 1953 (Maestro Editions)
Edwin Fischer’s elevated live Mozart performances in imperfect sound [JW]
Jörg Demus (piano): The Bach Recordings on Westminster (Eloquence)
The cultured art of Jörg Demus in Bach [JW]
Their Voices (Dux)
A Polish-Jewish chamber programme focusing on the 1930s [JW]
Ysaÿe: Légende norvégienne (Simax)
A raft of previously unrecorded works – or adaptations – by Ysaÿe [JW]
The Stuyvesant String Quartet (Bridge)
(Déjà Review) A worthy salute to a fine quartet [JW]
Chasins: Complete Music for Solo Piano (Toccata Classics)
Numerous premiere recordings in an Abram Chasins twofer [JW]
Joseph Szigeti (violin) European Columbia Recordings Vol. 3 (Pristine Audio)
Concertos and duos from Szigeti’s peak [JW]
Joseph Szigeti (violin): The Mercury Masters (Eloquence)
Szigeti’s final, catastrophic sessions for Mercury [JW]
Brahms: Piano Works (Maestro Editions)
A rare Lyrichord session for an obscure pianist [JW]
Caplet: Le Miroir de Jésus (BR Klassik)
The refinement and lucid beauty of Caplet heard in a loving performance [JW]
Harpsichord Concertos (Hyperion)
Communicative powers to the fore, Esfahani breathes life into three Czech harpsichord works [JW]
Primrose String Quartet: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (Biddulph)
William Primrose’s elite string quartet recordings back after 30 years [JW]
