Classical CDs
Classical CDs Weekly: Bach, Morton Feldman, Maria MarchantSaturday, 14 October 2017
Bach: Keyboard Concertos, Italian Concerto Sonya Bach (piano), English Chamber Orchestra/John Mills and Stephanie Gonley (leaders) (Rubicon)There's no shortage of decent recordings of Bach concertos played on piano. I’d probably rescue my Murray... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Guy Johnston, Joyce El-Khoury, Michael Spyres, The ChanteuseSaturday, 07 October 2017
Guy Johnston: Tecchler’s Cello - From Cambridge to Rome (King’s College Cambridge)Acquiring a second-hand instrument always leads one to wonder what sort of a life it led before. Did said instrument enjoy a flourishing professional career, or was it... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Sibelius, Vivaldi, WeillSaturday, 30 September 2017
Sibelius: Piano Music Leif Ove Andsnes (Sony)Yes, Sibelius did write piano music, though not a lot of it gets heard. A recent BIS collection featured original pieces and transcriptions played on the composer's own piano, and Glenn Gould recorded a... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Antheil, Barsanti, Handel, LaksSaturday, 23 September 2017
Antheil: A Jazz Symphony, Piano Concerto No. 1, Capital of the Word, Archipelago “Rhumba” Frank Dupree (piano), Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz/Karl-Heinz Steffens (Capriccio)George Antheil’s worst move was probably calling his 1945... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Cage, Mahler, SatieSaturday, 16 September 2017
John Cage: Two4 Aisha Orazbayeva (violin), Naomi Sato (shō) (SN Variations)The shō is a Japanese wind instrument long associated with traditional court music. Looking like a bundle of sticks, its 17 pipes each plays a distinct pitch. Its sound... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Henze, Reicha, ShostakovichSaturday, 09 September 2017
Henze: Neue Volkslieder und Hirtengesänge, Kammermusik 1958 Scharoun Ensemble Berlin/Daniel Harding, with Andrew Staples (tenor), Markus Weidmann (bassoon) and Jürgen Ruck (guitar) (Tudor)Hans Werner Henze worked regularly with the Scharoun Ensemble... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Mansurian, Ristori, Duo van VlietSaturday, 02 September 2017
Mansurian: Requiem RIAS Kammerchor, Münchener Kammerorchester/Alexander Liebreich (ECM)Requiem mass settings commemorating historical events are effectively a musical sub-genre, and Tigran Mansurian’s absorbing 2011 Requiem is dedicated to the... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Dutilleux, Dvořák, Ravel, TchaikovskySaturday, 26 August 2017
Dvořák: Symphony No 9, Sibelius: Finlandia Chineke! Orchestra/Kevin John Edusei (Signum)These live performances mark the recording debut of the Chineke! Orchestra, an ensemble created by bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku to provide opportunities for BME... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Krenek, Belfiato Quintet, Bjarte Eike's BarokksolisteneSaturday, 19 August 2017
Krenek: Complete Piano Concertos, Volume 2 Mikhail Korzhev, Eric Huebner (pianos), Nurit Pacht (violin), Adrian Partington (organ), English Symphony Orchestra/Kenneth Woods (Toccata Classics)A cycle of piano concertos by Ernst Krenek won't be on... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Sean Shibe, Morten Gunnar Larsen and Leonard ElschenbroichSaturday, 12 August 2017
Dreams & Fancies – English music for solo guitar Sean Shibe (guitar) (Delphian)This is the best solo guitar disc I've heard. That it comes from a soloist in his twenties makes it all the more astounding. There's a funny quote in Lucy Walker’s... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Mompou, Schubert, Martinů, ShostakovichSaturday, 05 August 2017
Mompou: Fêtes Lointaines Steffen Schleiermacher (piano) (MDG)“I am not a composer and don't want to be regarded as one… somehow, I always have the feeling that it comes to me from outside.” There is indeed something otherworldly about Federico... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Prokofiev, Skempton, WaltonSaturday, 29 July 2017
Prokofiev: Piano Concertos 1&3, Overture on Hebrew Themes Simon Trpčeski (piano), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily Petrenko (Onyx)Good recordings can make you notice things you've never heard before. Like this one: Simon... Read more... |
