(Krimmel was recently named as Male Artist of the Year at the Opus Klassik Awards, in recognition of another Schubert recording - an account of Die schöne Müllerin with Daniel Heide, which Shirley described back in October as 'among the most satisfying and quietly moving to come my way for a long time').
Recording of the Month
Mythos: Schubert & Loewe
Konstantin Krimmel (baritone), Ammiel Bushakevitz (piano)
'An enchanting, engrossing and impeccably recorded album. With it, Krimmel takes another big step towards quietly establishing himself as one of the most compelling lieder interpreters performing today. A gem.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Editor's Choices
Schoenberg & Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
'All credit to Järvi’s Frankfurt orchestra for their total immersion into two such stylistically different sound worlds – a reminder, if such were needed, of music’s ability to move us in mysterious ways with the same story from different storytellers.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 34-36
Philharmonia Orchestra, Michael Collins
'As a poetic exponent of Mozart’s music for clarinet, Collins, unsurprisingly, shapes all three slow movements with a natural feeling for Mozartian line. His flowing tempos sound spot on.'
Available Format: CD
Gabriela Ortiz: Revolución diamantina
María Dueñas (violin), Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Gustavo Dudamel
'The LA Phil play all three works with tremendous commitment and finesse, and Platoon’s recorded sound is spectacular. Urgently recommended.'
Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Robert Saxton: Scenes from the Epic of Gilgamesh & The Resurrection of the Soldiers
English Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Woods
'It is full of captivating music-making, two remarkable and compelling compositions, magnificently played...another thoroughly gripping, intriguing album, strongly recommended, as are its five predecessors.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Tempus omnia vincit
Protean Quartet
'The quartet sound itself combines a lovely rich sonority with a tremendous span of weight, timbre and attack...Beautiful stuff, while also being something you can get your intellectual teeth into.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Weinberg: String Quartets, Vol. 4
Arcadia Quartet
'Their underlying technical finesse and emotional commitment duly reinforce this music’s stature...The Arcadia go a long way to conveying the essence of what could seem oblique or intractable.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Movements: Schumann, Ravel, Stravinsky
George Li (piano)
'I can’t think of another pianist who portrays Ravel’s aesthetic with greater relish or sympathy. The subtlest rhythmic impulses are given their due, even as the colour and dynamic spectra seem almost incalculably wide.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
African Pianism, Vol. 2
Rebeca Omordia (piano)
'The second volume of Rebeca Omordia’s 'African Pianism’ proves as much of a revelation as the first...Omordia’s shapely and nuanced interpretation makes a compelling case for the music.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Rossini: Ermione
Serena Farnocchia (Ermione), Aurora Faggioli (Andromacha), Moisés Marín (Pirro), Patrick Kabongo (Oreste), Chuan Wang (Pilade); Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra, Antonino Fogliani
'Fogliani holds the whole drama powerfully on course, as does the Ermione, Serena Farnocchia. Every inch the tigress at her first appearance, she, like Antonacci, sustains the role through the great 35-minute denouement.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
DVD/Blu-ray of the Month
Donizetti: Alfredo Il Grande
Antonino Siragusa (Alfredo), Gilda Fiume (Amalia), Lodovico Filippo Ravizza (Eduardo), Adolfo Corrado (Atkins); Orchestra Donizetti Opera, Corrado Rovaris, Stefano Simone Pintor
'Donizetti’s score is a fully worked-through composition, painted in military colours, swift-moving where necessary...Rovaris directs it with point and precision.'
Available Format: Blu-ray
Reissue/Archive Issue of the Month
Havergal Brian: The Cenci
Helen Field (Beatrice Cenci), David Wilson-Johnson (Count Cenci), Ingveldur Yr Jonsdóttir (Lucretia), Justin Lavender (Orsino/Bernardo), Stuart Kale (Cardinal Camillo); Millennium Sinfonia, James Kelleher
'Brianophiles will, no doubt, acquire this set, but so should anyone with the slightest interest in 20th-century opera. Strongly recommended.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
