Classical Music CDs Round-Up 9 | reviews, news & interviews
Classical Music CDs Round-Up 9
Classical Music CDs Round-Up 9
This month's recommended releases
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Zoltan Kodály devised the hand signals which accompany the UFO's five-note signature in Close Encounters of the Third Kind
This month’s selection includes a flamboyant fin-de-siècle Italian symphony that could give you a nosebleed. A little-known American band provide a fresh take on a British 1930s warhorse, and classy Viennese musicians play some delectable Schumann symphonies. Everyone’s favourite Latin American youth orchestra give us a Stravinsky classic, coupled with a fascinating Mexican rarity. Contrast is provided by two wonderful discs of more intimate music-making - Zoltan Kodály’s magnificent solo cello sonata and some lesser-known songs by Britten. Finally we dip our toes into the world of opera, with a vintage Janáček rarity and a remarkable chunk of Wagner recorded last year in Manchester.
This month’s selection includes a flamboyant fin-de-siècle Italian symphony that could give you a nosebleed. A little-known American band provide a fresh take on a British 1930s warhorse, and classy Viennese musicians play some delectable Schumann symphonies. Everyone’s favourite Latin American youth orchestra give us a Stravinsky classic, coupled with a fascinating Mexican rarity. Contrast is provided by two wonderful discs of more intimate music-making - Zoltan Kodály’s magnificent solo cello sonata and some lesser-known songs by Britten. Finally we dip our toes into the world of opera, with a vintage Janáček rarity and a remarkable chunk of Wagner recorded last year in Manchester.
more Classical music
Queyras, Philharmonia, Suzuki, RFH review - Romantic journeys
Japan's Bach maestro flourishes in fresh fields
Classical CDs: Swans, hamlets and bossa nova
A promising young pianist's debut disc, plus Finnish mythology and a trio of neglected British composers
Christian Pierre La Marca, Yaman Okur, St Martin-in-The-Fields review - engagingly subversive pairing falls short
A collaboration between a cellist and a breakdancer doesn't achieve lift off
Ridout, Włoszczowska, Crawford, Lai, Posner, Wigmore Hall review - electrifying teamwork
High-voltage Mozart and Schoenberg, blended Brahms, in a fascinating programme
Sabine Devieilhe, Mathieu Pordoy, Wigmore Hall review - enchantment in Mozart and Strauss
Leading French soprano shines beyond diva excess
Špaček, BBC Philharmonic, Bihlmaier, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - three flavours of Vienna
Close attention, careful balancing, flowing phrasing and clear contrast
Watts, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Bignamini, Barbican review - blazing French masterpieces
Poulenc’s Gloria and Berlioz’s 'Symphonie fantastique' on fire
Bell, Perahia, ASMF Chamber Ensemble, Wigmore Hall review - joy in teamwork
A great pianist re-emerges in Schumann, but Beamish and Mendelssohn take the palm
First Persons: composers Colin Alexander and Héloïse Werner on fantasy in guided improvisation
On five new works allowing an element of freedom in the performance
First Person: Leeds Lieder Festival director and pianist Joseph Middleton on a beloved organisation back from the brink
Arts Council funding restored after the blow of 2023, new paths are being forged
Classical CDs: Nymphs, magots and buckgoats
Epic symphonies, popular music from 17th century London and an engrossing tribute to a great Spanish pianist
Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Philharmonia Chorus, RPO, Petrenko, RFH review - poetic cello, blazing chorus
Atmospheric Elgar and Weinberg, but Rachmaninov's 'The Bells' takes the palm
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