rmo
Ralph Moore
Donizetti: La favorita (Pristine Audio)
Superbly remastered, a second-rank Donizetti opera blighted by Poggi’s unattractive contribution [RMo]
Dowland: [Complete] Lachrimae (Alpha Classics)
A fine survey of the Lachrimae with rather more verve and better balance than other options [RMo]
Rachmaninov: Vespers (Delphian Records)
A fresh, well-drilled young choir has bitten off more than it can chew here [RMo]
Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail
A survey by Ralph Moore
Josephine Barstow (soprano) Final Scenes (Decca)
For me, the two outer tracks alone make this anthology of final scenes compulsory [RMo]
Schreker: Irrelohe (Sony Classical)
Exotically scored but melodically diffuse, this melodrama is given the best possible advocacy [RMo]
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 7 & 9 (Hyperion)
Vividly recorded and handsomely played accounts of two great, but challenging, symphonies [RMo]
Parallel Voices (Edizioni Bongiovanni)
A wide-ranging, highly individual, often wayward collection of observations from one of opera’s great characters [RMo]
Amadeus Quartet (Alto)
Deeply felt and beautifully played, flawless intonation and ensemble, but inferior balance and sound [RMo]
Schubert: Piano Sonatas (Hyperion)
Aesthetically wholly coherent and technically excellent accounts of the first complete and penultimate of Schubert’s sonatas that do not oust my favourites [RMo]
Brodsky Quartet – Golden Oldies (Chandos)
A highly diverting selection of lighter pieces to celebrate the Brodsky Quartet’s fifty-year anniversary [RMo]
Schubert: Piano Trios (Ondine)
Ideal performances of great works – and a fitting memorial to Lars Vogt [RMo]
Beethoven: The Late Quartets (Signum Classics)
Quartet playing of exceptional beauty, homogeneity and musicality [RMo]
Beethoven: Piano Concerti 3 & 4 (Naxos)
Virtuosic pianism somewhat undermined by reticent accompaniment and an unnatural recorded balance [RMo]
Byrd: The Golden Renaissance (Decca)
A beautifully sung medley of Byrd’s music interspersing the Mass with “sacred songs” [RMo]
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 (Chandos)
Beautiful playing compromised by excessive restraint in the final two movements [RMo]
Bruckner: Symphony No 8 (Capriccio)
Anyone wanting to hear the original version of Bruckner’s monumental Eighth Symphony given the best possible advocacy need look no further [RMo]
Strauss: Elektra (Sterling)
A thrilling piece of live theatre commemorating the career of a great singer, despite cuts [RMo]
Mozart’s Idomeneo
A survey by Ralph Moore
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (HDTT)
Another highly successful remastering of a classic recording from HDTT [RMo]
A guide to the best recordings of Gluck’s operas
by Ralph Moore
Carl Schuricht (conductor) (Forgotten Records)
Absolutely lovely live performances which must be heard through a veil of crumbly mono sound [RMo]
Mozart: Requiem (Rondeau)
A vivacious, thoroughly enjoyable, smaller-scale “period” account of Mozart’s inspired but incomplete liturgical masterpiece [RMo]
Dvořák: Symphony 6 (Sony)
An affectionately played trio of works by Dvořák at his most typically exuberant [RMo]
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