rmo

Ralph Moore

berlioz fantastique pentatone

Berlioz: Le carnaval romain, Symphonie fantastique (Pentatone)

Finally, a Symphonie fantastique to rival the vintage versions in superb, vivid, beautifully balanced digital sound [RMo]

Mozart Brahms NI6463

Brahms: Double Concerto & Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante (Nimbus)

A delightful disc, offering an intriguing twist on the Mozart and a grand, virtuosic account of the Brahms, in superb sound [RMo]

strauss derrosenkavalier pristineaudio

Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (Pristine Audio)

Once again, Pristine breathes new life into an imperishable classic of the gramophone [RMo]

Vidimus Gloriam Eius (Hymnus)

A joyous traditional Christmas service, beautifully sung [RMo]

gluck orfeo harmoniamundi

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice (Harmonia Mundi)

The beauty of Fink’s singing and the sonorities of the period band are the main attractions here; other elements are more ordinary [RMo]

Ravel & Fauré: String Quartets (Brilliant Classics)

An interesting pairing, somewhat let down by edgy sound engineering and excessive lingering in the Ravel [RMo]

Castor Alpha 1148

Rameau: Castor et Pollux (Alpha Classics)

An accomplished and stylistically faithful account of Rameau’s third opera [RMo]

Mahler SymphonyNo2 Halle

Mahler: Symphony 2 (Hallé)

A fine, grand performance, beautifully engineered but slightly let down by the vocal soloists [RMo]

saintsaens ancetre bruzane

Saint-Saëns: L’Ancêtre (Bru Zane)

A fine, dramatic late opera by Saint-Saëns, melodically elusive but highly atmospheric and beautifully performed [RMo]

Haydn: The Seven Last Words of Christ (Brilliant Classics)

Interpretatively cohesive and consistent but rather driven and unvaried [RMo]

Strauss: Ein Heldenleben (Signum Classics)

A grand, more leisurely and reflective Ein Heldenleben which is wholly successful on its own terms [RMo]

belle epoque alpha classics

Adèle Charvet (mezzo-soprano) Belle époque! (Alpha Classics)

An elegant, sophisticated mélange of mélodies, beautifully sung and played, incorporating some pleasing surprises and novelties [RMo]

Bruckner: Symphonies 4 & 7 (Pristine Audio)

Somewhat puzzling, even erratic, performances, alternately captivating and disappointing, recorded in Walter’s Indian Summer [RMo]

Bizet/Gounod/Saint-Saëns: Premières symphonies (Alpha Classics)

A charming trio of French first symphonies – not major music, but beautifully played and exuding good humour [RMo]

mauriceravelII lauditori

Ravel: Orchestral Works & Song Cycles (L’Auditori)

A mixed bag of excellent orchestral works and less satisfying song cycles [RMo]

Mahler: Four Movements (Erato)

(Déjà Review) I can find little to praise [RMo]

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique; Lili Boulanger: D’un soir triste (Avi-Music)

A competent, somewhat episodic account of no special distinction [RMo]

Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer (Naxos)

Vocally flawed and dramatically inert; you can do much better with either a vintage recording or the recent Decca issue [RMo]

Handel alex A585

Handel: Alexander’s Feast (Arcana)

Apart from the tenor’s contribution and spritelier tempi here, nothing else about this new recording sways my loyalty to the old Ledger recording [RMo]

Bruckner: Symphony No.8 (Profil)

A thoroughly invigorating, newly conceived approach to this greatest of symphonies [RMo]

Ravel: L’Enfant et les sortilèges & L’heure Espagnole (Deutsche Grammophon)

A sparkling pair of Ravel’s contrasting operas, justifying their status as “gramophone classics” [RMo]

Feastof the assumption hymnus

Music for the Feast of the Assumption (Hymnus)

An artfully devised and beautifully performed double programme, melding liturgical music for the Catholic Mass and the Anglican Choral Evensong [RMo]

Monteux conducts Ravel Vol. 2 (Pristine Audio)

These three works present a perfect summation of both Ravel’s and Monteux’s art, now sonically enhanced by Pristine [RMo]

Sacred Treasures of Rome (Hyperion)

A celebration of Palestrina on his quincentenary supplemented with works by eight Roman contemporaries [RMo]