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Ralph Moore
Portraits and Serenades (Pixaudio)
A delightfully eclectic programme of string music and song, beautifully played and united by a prevailingly elegiac mood [RMo]
Lassus: Requiem (Ricercar)
Expert singing of de Lassus’ sinuous polyphonic writing in two contrasting funeral masses, but marred throughout by growling basses [RMo]
Beethoven: Complete Symphonies (Arts)
Warm, lyrical, natural playing, slightly soft-edged in manner and acoustic but so very musical [RMo]
Leonard Bernstein Conducts Wagner (Gala)
Extended extracts from three Wagner operas showcasing Bernstein and a trio of great American Wagner singers in top form [RMo]
Victor de Sabata: New York Broadcasts 1951 (Pristine Audio)
A rare souvenir of a hugely under-recorded conductor in the company of two legendary artists, rendered into acceptable sound [RMo]
Giordano: Marina (Decca)
A taut, highly dramatic and skilfully crafted verismo melodrama, which certainly justifies its revival [RMo]
Richard Strauss: Orchestral Works (Warner)
The integrity and sheer musicianship of Kempe’s Strauss recordings demand their place in every serious Straussian’s collection [RMo]
Schubert: Lieder (Avie)
A pleasant recital of no special distinction [RMo]
Vaughan Williams: Riders to the Sea (EMI Classics)
RVW’s dark, atmospheric Irish tragedy and two works lamenting and celebrating the power of love [RMo]
Bruckner: Symphony No 9 (Gramola)
Ballot’s somewhat pacier re-make of the Ninth combines grandeur with a certain deliberateness, while the finale fragments provide scholarly interest [RMo]
Bach: Water Through Ice (Diversions)
Crudely played and recorded, this simply cannot be recommended [RMo]
JS Bach: The Cello Suites · Guitar Transcriptions (IBS Classical)
A thoroughly convincing, beautifully played, and sensitively transcribed version of these masterworks [RMo]
Bruckner: Symphony 4 (Warner Classics)
A loving, dedicated performance which combines drama, mystery and, ultimately, triumph [RMo]
Sibelius: Symphonies 1-7 (Ondine)
Lean and lovely Sibelius, consistent and convincing throughout [RMo]
Beethoven: Symphony 5 & Strauss: Ein Heldenleben (BR Klassik)
First releases of the second of only two appearances by Ozawa with the BRSO in satisfying, if unremarkable, performances [RMo]
Dvořák: Symphony 9 (Reference Recording)
A vivid, thrilling account of a warhorse symphony as the main course, enough to reinvigorate any jaded palate – followed by a piquant dessert [RMo]
Bruckner: Symphony 8 (Hänssler Profil)
Schaller concludes his BRUCKNER2024 project with a magnificent, driven performance [RMo]
Mendelssohn: Symphonies 3 and 4 (Deutsche Grammophon)
Exuberant, big-boned, Romantic readings, far from the light classicality of other interpreters [RMo]
Bruckner: Symphony No.9 (Hänssler Profil)
A swift, driven, thrilling and cohesive live performance of Schaller’s completion of Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony [RMo]
Montserrat Caballé (soprano): Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi: Rarities (RCA)
A classic recording which as a collection represents a repository of all that was best about Caballé’s art [RMo]
Mahler: Symphony No.5 (Reference Recordings)
A splendid first recording of a Mahler symphony by Runnicles, in exceptionally fine sound [RMo]
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto, Piano Concerti No.1, 27 (Alpha Classics)
A prevailingly cheerful and upbeat recital, aptly programmed and joyfully executed [RMo]
Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 (Recursive Classics)
A daring and innovative performance of one of the most sheerly enjoyable works in the High Romantic repertoire [RMo]
