Classical Music CDs Round-Up 9

Classical Music CDs Round-Up 9 | reviews, news & interviews

Classical Music CDs Round-Up 9

This month's recommended releases

by Graham RicksonSaturday, 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.

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more Classical music

Mahan Esfahani, Wigmore Hall review - shimmering poise and radical brilliance Magnificent demonstration of a lifelong dedication to the harpsichord

Gromes, Hallé, Chauhan, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - new concerto and music of triumph Spirit of Germany in the 1930s captured in Herz’s tense and despondent work

Helen Charlston, Sholto Kynoch, Temple Church review - fine singing, powerful stage presence Coups de théâtre in a well-constructed programme

Ridout, 12 Ensemble, Wigmore Hall review - brilliant Britten and bombastic Brahms Dazzling solo and ensemble playing in pieces inspired by music of the past

Argerich, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Papadopoulos, Barbican review - the great pianist as life and soul Her delivery of the Beethoven made it clear that she still merits legend status

Jessica Duchen: Myra Hess - National Treasure review - well-told life of a pioneering musician Biography of the groundbreaking British pianist who was a hero of the Blitz

Chamayou, BBC Philharmonic, Morlot, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - blasts of Boulez, magical Ravel Celebration of the two French masters continues in big bangs and gentleness

Classical CDs: Snow, shards and swinging oars Contemporary choral works, revamped lieder plus piano music from Ireland and Scotland

Bach's Mass in B minor, The English Concert, Bezuidenhout, St Martin-in-the-Fields review - solemnity and splendour The greatest of choral anthologies smoulders, then flies

Sidorova, Philharmonia, Alsop, Royal Festival Hall review - ladies of the dance Vitality, virtuosity and sensuality on a pan-American trip

MacMillan's Ordo Virtutum, BBC Singers, Jeannin, Milton Court review - dramatic journey of a medieval soul Choral music's finest advocate runs the gamut in an epic battle of heaven and hell

Gilliver, Liverman, Rangwanasha, LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - a rainbow of British music Poetic Maconchy and Walton, surging Vaughan Williams bursting its confines

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