rmo
Ralph Moore
Puccini: Le Villi (BR Klassik)
As satisfying an account of the youthful Puccini’s first success as one could wish to encounter [RMo]
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé (Warner Classics)
A delicate, subtle, very Gallic account, beautifully engineered [RMo]
Gary Bertini’s (almost) complete Mahler symphonies
by Ralph Moore
Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer (Decca)
A fine Dutchman whose focus is firmly centred upon Lise Davidsen’s radiant Senta [RMo]
Verdi: Il trovatore (Pristine Audio)
Pristine elevates the sonic experience of hearing two great artists in their Met debuts [RMo]
The less-well-known operas of Richard Strauss
by Ralph Moore
Mahler: Symphony 5 (SWR Music)
A pacier, more refined Mahler Fifth, beautifully balanced but rather too restrained in parts [RMo]
Strauss: Don Juan, Ein Heldenleben (Gramola)
On the evidence of flabby playing and murky sound, the conductor should stick to Bruckner [RMo]
Bach: Keyboard Concertos (Warner Classics)
Spectacularly virtuosic playing of some of Bach’s most joyously inventive music [RMo]
Verdi: Simon Boccanegra (Opera Rara)
This must now become first choice for the original version [RMo]
Lovro von Matačić (conductor) (Supraphon)
A tribute to a great and versatile conductor containing some superb and some less successful performances [RMo]
Bruckner: Symphony No 9 (Hallé)
A performance of two halves: the first subject to vagaries in tempo which impede coherence, but the second triumphant [RMo]
Mozart: The Great Symphonies 21-41 (Decca)
Classic accounts from a Mozart specialist, full of life and spirit [RMo]
Samsara – Schumann & Fauré (Alpha Classics)
An absorbing and enterprising programme, impeccably performed by a stellar partnership [RMo]
Bruckner: Symphony 8 (Profil)
Gerd Schaller is determined to exploit the mighty instrument’s full potential to maximum effect [RMo]
Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On (Signum Classics)
A highly successful, satisfying anthology recital by a vocal ensemble at the top of its game [RMo]
Eleonora Buratto (soprano) Indomita (Pentatone)
Committed, full-throated bel canto singing – but it must be measured against formidable competition [RMo]
Bach: The Art of the Fugue (Aparté)
An interesting take on this contrapuntal masterpiece – but the sound engineering is peculiar [RMo]
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé (LSO Live)
As fine a modern, live account of this most pictorial of ballets as you could wish [RMo]
Smetana: String Quartets No 1 & 2 (Evil Penguin Classic)
A beautiful warm timbre but too relaxed and urbane compared with more energised accounts [RMo]
Bach: The Six Cello Suites (Reference Recordings)
A fine account on period cellos in excellent sound, beautifully played if without quite the character of David Watkin’s version [RMo]
From Byrd (Seulétoile)
A thoroughly enjoyable tribute to English Elizabethan composers from a gifted, highly musical, French ensemble [RMo]
Bruckner: Symphony 7 (Janus Classics)
The first two movements here of Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony are mostly fine and measured – but the Scherzo and finale are erratic [RMo]
Shostakovich: Symphony 10 (Signum Classics)
Very well played and engineered, but only intermittently achieving the drive and intensity of Barshai, Shipway and Karajan [RMo]
