rb
Rob Barnett
Mozart: Serenades (Nimbus Records)
Fresh as a daisy: beguiling playing and a big sound [RB]
Bax, Delius & Bridge: English Spring (Hallé)
Déjà Review: A winner on all counts [RB]
Kerem: Orchestral Music, Vol 2 (Toccata Classics)
Northern climes … taiga and tundra … laconic … not dazzle and drama [RB]
Chronos, Kairos et Aiôn (Mnémosyne)
Far out along the modernistic promontory [RB]
Fribbins: Cello Concerto (First Hand Records)
Folk Songs is a treasure in the resilient tradition of English tonal music [RB]
Shostakovich 8 & Bruckner 8 (Le Palais des Dégustateurs)
A startlingly good Bruckner 8 [RB]
Showtime – 25 years of BBC Concert Orchestra (Dutton)
You might well find this mix irresistible whether as a guilty pleasure or a delight without any guilt at all [RB]
Trandafilovski: Polychromy (Métier)
Deliciously balanced on the edge of the void [RB]
Stevenson: Piano Music, Vol 8 (Toccata Classics)
Awed drama, noble affirmation and endearing clangour [RB]
Tinoco: Kokyuu (Artway)
Sensuous music which coils, uncoils and recoils in slow gyration [RB]
Vaughan Williams, Debussy & Dvorak (Pristine Audio)
Godfrey, the precisian, refreshes in these spick and span transfers [RB]
Brahms: Symphonies 3 & 4 (Pristine Audio)
Across the passage of time these recordings retain their pleasures and satisfactions [RB]
Sainsbury & Wood: Violin Concertos (Dutton Epoch)
(Déjà Review) Two strong works written in captivating romantic idioms that while not identical have more in common than you might expect [RB]
Martinů: Le Jour de Bonté (Arco Diva)
(Déjà Review) Charming and interesting, and leaves you hungry for more [ST] One of the highlights and discoveries of the Martinů celebrations [RB]
Gruber: Piano Works (Capriccio)
Gruber comes over as a civilised flâneur at large in a so-civilised society [RB]
Chamouard: Les Concertos (Indesens)
No circus displays for Chamouard [RB]
The Antal Doráti Centenary Society
by Rob Barnett
Canteloube: Songs of the Auvergne (Vanguard Classics)
One of the last century’s greatest recordings [RB]
Herrmann: Hangover Square & Citizen Kane (Chandos)
(Déjà Review) A most rewarding and desirable issue [BBr][RB]
Toldra, Casals & Montsalvatge: Music for String Orchestra (Nimbus)
(Déjà Review) An original and completely unhackneyed collection of Catalan music for string orchestra [RB]
Tippett: Ritual Dances & Sosostris’s Aria (Nimbus)
The first and brilliant fruit of Nimbus’s joint project with the 84 year old composer [RB]
Tcherepnin: The Symphonies and Piano Concertos (BIS)
(Déjà Review) A fascinating and sometimes very engaging insight into the unfamiliar world of Alexander Tcherepnin [RB]
Vaughan Williams: String Quartets, Phantasy Quintet (Nimbus Records)
(Déjà Review) A popular grouping of RVW’s chamber works played with emotional fervour [RB]
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring & Petrushka suite (Alto)
Voluptuous, elemental … an orchestra caught in headlong flight [RB]
