jw
Jonathan Woolf
The Launy Grøndahl Legacy, Volume 11 (Danacord)
The final Grøndahl Legacy disc from Danacord embraces radio opera as well as the restaurant band pleasures of his rare 1923 Pathés [JW]
Elgar: Premiere Recordings Remastered (SOMM Ariadne)
Elgarian discographic firsts from the immediate post-war period, with competing Enigma Variations [JW]
Renée Chemet (violin): The HMV Recordings (Biddulph)
The ‘French Kreisler’ Renée Chemet proves a characterful, idiosyncratic and anachronistic stylist [JW]
Novák: Piano Concerto, Orchestral suites (cpo)
Another recording of Novák’s youthful Piano Concerto coupled with two ballet pantomimes [JW]
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]
