Editor's Choices include celebrations of Ravel's 150th birthday from Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Malcolm Martineau & friends, 'ego-free and egalitarian' Brahms from Krystian Zimerman, Maria Nowak, Katarzyna Budnik and Yuya Okamoto, and an account of Bach's Mass in B minor which is 'up there with the very best' from Pygmalion and Raphaël Pichon.
Recording of the Month
Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer
Lise Davidsen (Senta), Gerald Finley (The Dutchman), Brindley Sherratt (Daland), Stanislas de Barbeyrac (Erik), Anna Kissjudit (Mary), Eirik Grøtvedt (Steersman); Orchestra and Chorus of Norwegian National Opera, Edward Gardner
'Overall, this is an alert, cohesive, significant addition to the discography...Gardner conducts an electrifying account from Norwegian National Opera, the chorus deftly adapting to the drama, a Chicagoan edge to the brass, and well-cast leads.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Editor's Choices
Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Suite No. 3 - Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol - Tcherepnin: La Princesse Lointaine
NDR Radiophilharmonie, Stanislav Kochanovsky
'Stanislav Kochanovsky is a seriously good conductor...This is his debut disc. Playing to his strengths, it’s all Russian repertoire but, apart from Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol, ebulliently dispatched with flamboyant solos from leader Sarah Christian, the works are a little off the beaten track.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Brahms: Piano Quartets Nos. 2 & 3
Krystian Zimerman (piano), Maria Nowak (violin), Katarzyna Budnik (viola), Yuya Okamoto (cello)
'This outstanding recording of Brahms’s two later piano quartets (minus the more often-heard G minor) is as ego-free and egalitarian as they come: not an ounce of gratuitous showmanship, either from Zimerman or from his colleagues.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Ravel: Complete Works For Solo Piano
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano)
'Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s new Chandos Ravel cycle markedly differs from his 2003 MDG recordings of the composer’s complete solo piano works...Yet Bavouzet’s seasoned mastery, stylish perception and caring commitment to this repertoire is never in doubt. Highly recommended.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Colouring Book
George Xiaoyuan Fu (piano)
'As for the Debussy Études, Fu’s recordings contain some of the most enchantingly characterised interpretations I’ve heard since those of Ju-Ying Song, Florent Boffard, Mitsuko Uchida and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. Yes, they’re that good!'
Available Formats: Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
JS Bach: Mass in B Minor
Julie Roset (soprano), Beth Taylor (mezzo). Lucile Richardot (alto), Emiliano Gonzalez Toro (tenor), Christian Immler (bass), Raphaël Pichon, Pygmalion
'As the starting point, the music is taken entirely on its own terms – essentially Pichon’s personal vision – and so the well-rehearsed tropes of established ‘period’ vocabulary are quietly jettisoned for the freshly minted...This B minor Mass is really up there with the very best.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works
Leif Ove Andsnes (piano), The Norwegian Soloists' Choir, Grete Pedersen
'No other pianist (or organist) has taken on this repertoire with such depth and understanding...The chorus – and the soloists in the Stabat mater passages – sing with remarkable purity and focus, even in the more extreme passages; and the sound, especially on the high-resolution version, is superior. All in all, a new benchmark for Via Crucis.'
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
The Complete Songs of Ravel
Lorna Anderson, Sarah Dufresne (sopranos), Julie Boulianne, Paula Murrihy (mezzos), Dafydd Jones, Nicky Spence (tenors), John Chest, Simon Keenlyside (baritones), William Thomas (bass), Malcolm Martineau (piano)
'Martineau, as one might expect, is the most wonderfully accomplished guide through musical and emotional landscapes in which the piano, more often than not, carries equal weight with the voice, deploying a vast range of dynamics and colour.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Michael Tippett: New Year
Rhian Lois (Jo Ann), Ross Ramgobin (Donny), Susan Bickley (Nan), Roland Wood (Merlin), Robert Murray (Pelegrin), Rachel Nicholls (Regan), Alan Oke (The Presenter); BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
'With such a kaleidoscopic score to capture – in instrumental, vocal and electronic terms – the very feat of recording all its multifarious layers so transparently is triumphantly achieved by producer Andrew Keener and engineer Dave Rowell...If I had stars to award, I would give all five in glowing gold!'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Verdi: Simon Boccanegra (Original 1857 version)
Germán Enrique Alcántara (Simon Boccanegra), Eri Nakamura (Maria/Amelia), William Thomas (Fiesco), Iván Ayón-Rivas (Gabriele Adorno), Sergio Vitale (Paolo Albiani); The Hallé, Chorus of Opera North, RNCM Opera Chorus, Sir Mark Elder
'It is the Hallé that is as much of a star of the show as any of the principals. Any regret that the opportunity was not taken of employing a period orchestra is swept away by the magnificence of the playing.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
DVD/Blu-ray of the Month
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
Bamberger Symphoniker, Herbert Blomstedt
'This live performance of Bruckner’s last symphony filmed in the basilica of St Florian provides a memorable epilogue to last year’s bicentenary celebrations, noble and life-affirming...Taken all in all, Bruckner could not have asked for a more moving tribute to his life and art than this.'
Available Format: Blu-ray
Reissue/Archive Issue of the Month
Boult’s Elgar: The Forgotten Recordings
Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Adrian Boult
'Broadcast live on March 23, 1944, from the Corn Exchange in Bedford (the BBC SO’s wartime base), In the South enjoys blisteringly eloquent advocacy from Boult and his magnificent orchestra. Right from the start, there’s a swaggering confidence, thrusting energy and eager dedication that take the breath away.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
