Classical CDs
Classical CDs: Chorales, cathedrals and hardwood floorsSaturday, 20 July 2024
Beethoven: Diabelli Variations, Debussy: Préludes George Lepauw (piano) (Orchid Classics)Beethoven and Debussy don’t often share column space, but listening to these albums in succession proved to be an enjoyable experience. George Lepauw... Read more... |
Classical CDs: Ballades, barcarolles and hammer blowsSaturday, 13 July 2024
Fauré: Complete Music for Solo Piano Lucas Debargue (Sony)In lots of ways I was ready to like this boxset of the complete Fauré music for solo piano, having long seen it as an extraordinary strand of the piano’s literature. But also perhaps I... Read more... |
Classical CDs: Bare feet, hardback books and giant snailsSaturday, 22 June 2024
Allan Pettersson: Complete Edition Various artists (BIS)That this hefty anthology (17 CDs and 4 DVDs) has been with me for several months shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s encountered the work of Swedish composer Allan Pettersson (1911-1980);... Read more... |
Classical CDs: Sailors, serenades and slaverySaturday, 08 June 2024
ECHOES: Duets by Schumann Brahms, Saint-Saëns et al Katharina Konradi (soprano), Catriona Morison (mezzo), Ammiel Bushakevitz (piano)(CAvi/SWR/DG)For my first taste of this new disc of soprano/mezzo duets, I couldn't resist skipping the first... Read more... |
Classical CDs: Cowhorns, gloves and marching drumsSaturday, 25 May 2024
Britten: Spring Symphony, Sinfonia da Requiem, Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle (LSO Live)Here’s as good a Britten sampler as you’ll find, opening with a truly terrifying account of the early... Read more... |
Classical CDs: Coffee, peppercorns and puppetsSaturday, 11 May 2024
Sir Neville Marriner: The Complete Warner Classics Recordings (Warner)Assembling Sir Neville Marriner’s complete discography would probably require a crate; this weighty but compact box (80 CDs), released to celebrate his centenary, collects... Read more... |
Classical CDs: Swans, hamlets and bossa novaSaturday, 27 April 2024
Chopin: Études op.10 & op.25 Yunchan Lim (Decca)Chopin Nicolas van Poucke (Night Dreamer)I’m reviewing these two Chopin discs by a pair of young men together, even though there are lots of differences between their playing, and the way the... Read more... |
Classical CDs: Nymphs, magots and buckgoatsSaturday, 13 April 2024
Beethoven: Symphonies 1-9 National Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda (NSO)I’m old enough to remember the BBC offering free downloads of the complete Beethoven Symphonies under their then Principal Conductor Gianandrea Noseda. Back in 2005,... Read more... |
Classical CDs: Fog, overdubs and broken glassSaturday, 30 March 2024
Brahms arr. Reger: Song Transcriptions Rudolf Buchbinder (piano) (Deutsche Grammophon)Max Reger said that, for him, “the Brahms fog will remain – I prefer it to the blazing heat of Wagner.” This collection of twenty-eight song transcriptions... Read more... |
Classical CDs: Cigars, cognac and tarantulasSaturday, 16 March 2024
Bloch: Schelomo, Bruch: Kol Nidrei, Dohnányi: Konzertstück Tim Posner (cello), Berner Symphonieorchester/Katharina Müllner (Claves)You know that some releases will be good within just seconds of pressing play. Here, the seductive, rich tone of... Read more... |
Classical CDs: Toccatas, taxi horns and tortoisesSaturday, 02 March 2024
William Steinberg: Complete Command Classics Recordings (DG)It’s hard to find a bad word said against conductor William Steinberg, cited by one critic as combining the best attributes of Toscanini and Klemperer. Born in Cologne in 1899,... Read more... |
Classical CDs: Herd girls, mojitos and mariachiSaturday, 10 February 2024
Paavo Berglund: The Warner Edition (Warner Classics)Jean Sibelius’s presence looms over this box like a friendly giant. Paavo Berglund (interestingly, one of the few left-handed conductors to have achieved international fame) recorded the... Read more... |
