jw
Jonathan Woolf
Sir Thomas Beecham (conductor) Complete Stereo Recordings on Warner Classics
Beecham’s stereo discography in a sturdy box albeit largely in pre-existing remasterings [JW]
Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas for Solo Violin (Oehms Classics)
Schmid brings youth, enterprise and occasional idiosyncrasy to these sonatas [JW]
Rudolph Ganz (conductor): Complete St. Louis Symphony Recordings (Pristine Audio)
Rudolph Ganz pilots the Spirit of St Louis and plays the piano in solos [JW]
Karel Ančerl (conductor): Live Recordings – Concertos (Supraphon)
Concertos from Prague in a 7-CD box of Ančerl-directed broadcasts [JW]
Postcards from Ukraine Vol 1 – Violin Miniatures (Toccata Classics)
Folklore predominates in a zesty Ukrainian selection, most sensitively performed [JW]
Improvisata: Sinfonie con titoli (Erato)
Authoritative, intelligent and entirely successful performances [JW]
Box of Delights: Light English Music (Lyrita)
Banish humdrum days with this delightful collection [JW]
Trio de la cour de Belgique
Discographic premières from a forgotten but elite inter-war Belgian Piano Trio [JW]
Smetana: Má vlast (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) For the Talich collector this 1954 set is glorious and the one that remains the most generally recommendable [JW]
Hába: Complete Piano Works (Supraphon)
A Czech pioneer of microtonal music heard in more traditional solo piano music [JW]
Lemba: Chamber Music Vol 1
The first Estonian symphonist’s charming but rather bloodless violin works [JW]
Saint-Saëns: Requiem and Organ Symphony (Cala Signum)
(Déjà Review) A worthwhile restoration [JW]
Unpublished! Spalding and Dohnányi in Concert (Parnassus)
Albert Spalding in the sunset of his career accompanied by Dohnányi in a sonata sequence [JW]
Röntgen: Cello Concertos (Etcetera)
This is a fine addition to the Röntgen discography – a fringe enthusiasm that encourages affection [JW]
Pitfield: Orchestral Music (Toccata Classics)
British Pastoralism from 1946 to 1988 – lyricism and (largely) unclouded sunshine [JW]
Handel: Music for the Chapel Royal (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) The Musicians Extra-ordinary sound like an expert group of specialists [JW]
Helen Charlston (mezzo-soprano) If the Fates Allow (BIS)
A recital of admirable expressive commitment but with question marks concerning the recording [JW]
Marie Hall: The Acoustic HMV recordings (Biddulph)
The complete recordings of a once-popular violinist restored in fine style [JW]
The Launy Grøndahl Legacy Vol. 9 (Danacord)
Conductor Launy Grøndahl marshals stage and choral works from Denmark’s past and present [JW]
Kalabis: Duettina, Chamber Music & Diptych (Hyperion)
Music that reflects both the bleakness but increasing vitality of Kalabis’s works for string ensemble [JW]
Ben-Haim: Orchestral & Chamber Music (cpo)
A thoughtfully assembled set [EJW]
Schumann: Piano Quintet & Brahms: Piano Quartet No 2 (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) This recording has been absent from the catalogues for too long [JW]
Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Grosse Fuge (Archipel)
It’s great that these performances are newly available, but sample before you buy [JW]
Jascha Heifetz (violin) Sonatas (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) No Heifetz admirer should be without this [JW]
