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Ralph Moore
Mozart: Don Giovanni (Orfeo)
A re-issue of one of Karajan’s best live Mozart outings with a superb cast, in decent sound [RMo]
Bruckner: Symphony No 9 (Capriccio)
Poschner’s Bruckner cycle concludes with a typically inconsistent admixture of the very fine and the occasionally disappointing [RMo]
Bruckner: Symphonies Nos 7 & 8 (SWR Classic)
Flawless performances of Bruckner’s two finest symphonies by a master Brucknerian, in excellent sound [RMo]
Aigul Akhmetshina (mezzo-soprano): Aigul (Decca)
By far the best mezzo-soprano to emerge for a generation [RMo]
Bruckner: Symphony No 3 (Capriccio)
Three strikes and for me Herr Poschner is out … [RMo]
Zemlinsky: Eine florentinische Tragödie (Pentatone)
A gripping performance of a macabre, strangely compelling work [RMo]
Brahms: String Quintets (BIS)
Highly accomplished playing of two seminal Brahms chamber works in excellent sound [RMo]
Mahler: Symphony No.3 (BIS)
An excellent account, superb sound, but an emotionally cool finale [RMo]
Mozart: Orchestral Works (Dynamic)
A wonderfully played and very varied Mozart programme in extraordinarily vivid sound [RMo]
Schubert: String Quartets (Hyperion)
Vehement, concentrated playing of the highest quality in an attractive pairing [RMo]
Furtwängler conducts R Strauss (Pristine Audio)
Pristine opens up a new depth of sound for these wartime classics [RMo]
Bellini: Norma (Pristine Audio)
A classic ensemble recording further enhanced by Pristine’s remastering into gloriously full and detailed, if slightly over-reverberant, sound [RMo]
Elgar: Symphony No 1 (Decca)
Barenboim imposes his own conception upon this wonderful symphony [RMo]
Bruckner: Symphony No. 1 (Capriccio)
This brisk, nervy account pales in comparison with Schaller’s steadier, grander recording [RMo]
Mozart: Symphonies 34-36 (BIS)
Vivacious performances in crystalline sound with perfect balances among sections [RMo]
Strauss: Capriccio (Orfeo)
A good but hardly distinguished production, in terms of both performance and sound [RMo]
Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Pristine Audio)
A deeply touching Butterfly and a thrilling Pinkerton who are all the more striking in Pristine’s vivid remastering [RMo]
Donizetti: Dalinda (Oehms Classics)
Good, honest, open-throated singing in an intriguing and highly enjoyable reconstruction of a formerly lost work – and a star performance by the lead soprano [RMo]
Thomas Quasthoff (bass- baritone) Evening Star (Deutsche Grammophon)
A cunningly devised programme ideally showcasing Quasthoff’s vocal versatility and dramatic gifts [RMo]
Elgar: Symphonies Nos 1 & 2 (Hallé)
Elder’s later pair of Elgar symphonies is a fine achievement in beautiful sound – but not, perhaps, the last interpretative word [RMo]
Mercadante: Orazi e Curiazi (Opera Rara)
The best of a composer forever doomed to dwell in Verdi’s shadow, performed by a first-rate cast and starring the great Nelly Miricioiu [RMo]
Strauss: Die schweigsame Frau (BR Klassik)
A lovely supplement to the complete live recording in much better sound [RMo]