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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Brahms Works for Viola II

“Rysanov demonstrates yet again his sensitivity and empathy with these pieces. The rich warmth of his tone complements the melancholic autumnal feel which pervades this collection of late works, particularly in the compelling songs, with Alice Coote's beautiful emotive vocal phrasing.” --Classic FM Magazine, May 2011 *****

“Viola discs are flooding the market currently...but this Brahms chamber music CD from Maxim Rysanov steals the limelight...It's addictive.” --The Observer, 27th February 2011

“In the rhapsodic musings of the slow movement Rysanov becomes the idealised incarnation of the gypsy fiddler that Brahms surely had in mind when composing that uniquely florid part. The whole work recieves a performance of such intensity and expressive unanimity that I'm convinced this version was worth disinterring.” --BBC Music Magazine, April 2011 ****

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Hummel, Dussek & Onslow: Piano Quintets

The Dutch classical music magazine 'Luister' (March 2007) awarded this CD with top marks: 10

"This disc presents major piano quintets of three central European composers: Hummel, Dussek, and Onslow. Their work is situated in the transition period from the Classical to the early Romantic. All three composers made their way up to the courts of Vienna, Paris, or London, and were very successful at the time.

The sound of this recording is quite impressive too; the level of detail is amazing, and the spatial depth is compelling. The engineers at Brilliant know their job very well. This is a very valuable release. Presented with an interesting booklet (with pictures), this disc will be very hard to beat if you’re looking for an original performance of some great music." FANFARE: Bart Verhaeghe

Brahms: Serenades Nos. 1 & 2

Capella Augustina (performed on historical instruments), Andreas Spering

Brahms composed the works early on in his career. The first serenade has symphonic proportions while the second is on a much smaller scale, both in length and instrumental scoring. In it Brahms does entirely without the violins and relies on the wind instruments to take the melodic leads.

"I have not compared them with the various alternatives currently available, but in general these are fresh performances making the most of the music’s youthful qualities. The disc is well recorded, has good notes by Silke Schloen, and is well filled, albeit at the expense of the first movement repeat in the First Serenade. I strongly recommend it, either as a sole recording of these works, or as an interesting alternative to performances in a more autumnal vein on modern instruments." --John Sheppard, MusicWeb International

Monday, June 3, 2013

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Moonlight, Pathétique & Waldstein

INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW 'OUTSTANDING' AWARD

'Performances of exceptional quality … and real stature … This is an outstanding disc' --International Record Review

'In the ‘Moonlight’ Sonata, Osborne casts a spell from the very opening, suggesting improvisation yet also a searching harmonic rigour and beguiling the ear with subtle colour and touch' --ClassicalSource.com

'Instantly recommends itself as an important addition to the catalogue … This Beethoven disc similarly makes one marvel at the way Osborne's own personality seems able to ally itself with the composer's, in the way he illuminates aspects of style, structure and substance with clarity, subtlety and dynamism' (The Daily Telegraph)

'The Moonlight, Op 27 No 2 , receives a particularly satisfying performance, from the first movement's magically limpid, unhurried mysteries, through the allegretto's sprightly curtseys, to the finale, so deservedly marked presto agitato. It's in this movement that Osborne really hits the heights. He drives the notes forward, stirring excitement without succumbing to the melodramatic … The Pathetique and Waldstein sonatas receive equally refreshing and sensitive accounts. And all are recorded with Hyperion's usual finesse' (The Times) itupoker.com Agen Poker Online Indonesia Terpercaya

'Osborne … has that special ability to make music that you thought you knew inside out seem fresh and totally alive' (The Guardian)

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Bloch: Violin Sonatas

'Hagai Shaham…(compared to Isaac Stern's recording of the first sonata) plays with similar intensity if not with equally ecstatic frenzy … Hagai Shaham, who has championed the music of violinist-composers Joseph Achron and, more recently, Jenö Hubay, produces a steely rather than a sumptuous tone. His grandiloquent oratorical flourishes, as well as his edgy technical display, therefore flash like tempered steel, however, leaving the least trace of coldness … So another disc or so from Shaham could encompass everything Bloch wrote for the violin (and perhaps even include the concerto). Given the strong appeal of this initial offering, that's a consummation devoutly to be wished. Highly recommended' --Fanfare Magazine

'With fine engineering, realistically balanced, and excellent annotation, this is a digital front-runner' (Gramophone)

'Played with lean intensity and dead-centre intonation reminiscent of the young Heifetz, these neglected works come fizzing off the page to mesmerising effect' (Classic FM Magazine)

'Mix Bartok, Debussy and a dash of Lisztian bravado and you'll get something very close to Bloch's folksong-inflected, post-Romantic sound-world. Intoxicating performances guaranteed to set the pulse racing' (BBC Music Magazine)

'Shaham impresses in all aspects of these sonatas. His manner is fiery, his tone is full-bodied from a top of great purity to a bottom deep and resonant, and he tosses off the virtuoso passages with aplomb. Erez is a full partner, sometimes coming close to usurping the lead, which can be all to the good here. He roams the keyboard with assurance, playing with crisp exactitude and full-bodied tone' (Classicstoday.com)

Karłowicz: Rebirth Symphony in E minor

“The handful of [Karlowicz's] works that survive would do credit to any major late Romantic composer...Wit has proved his mettle in fine recordings of Karlowicz's symphonic poems and does not disappoint here. He has a genuine feel for the structure of the Symphony and handles the bright colours in the two pieces of incidental music to the White Dove superbly.” --BBC Music Magazine, August 2011 ****

"This is the fourth Naxos Karlowicz recording. This symphony, with the title, Rebirth, has been recorded at least four times…This is the best recording. The Chandos, led by Noseda, is also very good—and also has The White Dove. But the Warsaw Philharmonic sounds wonderful—and idiomatic. One would assume that Polish musicians are more familiar with the composer, whose music has not been played much outside of Poland. Also, Mr Wit is a terrific conductor." --American Record Guide, July 2011

"Antoni Wit is unquestionably one of the great, unsung conductors currently working, and he has a terrific orchestra at his disposal. What a difference a sympathetic performance makes in the case of the “Rebirth” Symphony. Chandos issued a perfectly competent version (BBC Philharmonic/Noseda) that also was perfectly forgettable. True, the symphony still promises more than it delivers; it sounds far more conservative than the colorful incidental music to Bianca da Molena. But in Wit’s hands the piece unfolds with a purposeful sense of drama.

What makes Wit’s performance so telling is the fact that even though it’s slower than Noseda’s, it cheats the clock. The difference stems largely from committed string playing, which energizes the substantial first movement and projects its long lyrical lines in a way that justifies its length. The result is a very satisfying performance of a work that ultimately still lacks the last ounce of personality. The engineering is ripe and resonant, and very well suited to the music’s harmonic opulence. If you want this music, this is the disc to get." --ClassicsToday.com, April 2011

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Walton: The Symphonies

“The French players seem perfectly drilled in the intricate rhythmic complexities of Walton's often jagged writing in these highly enjoyable performances, which also bring out the lyrical warmth of Walton's endlessly memorable melodies” --Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2010

“One readily sees Walton’s music as a native, untransplantable growth, but here is a French orchestra relishing his symphonies... Hughes is an old hand with British music, and secures persuasive accounts of both” --Sunday Times, August 2010 ***

Orchestre National de Lille, Owain Arwel Hughes

Rarely appearing together on disc, William Walton’s two symphonies are separated by some 25 years. The First Symphony was composed after his dazzling early success, beginning with Façade and culminating in two scores written before Walton reached the age of thirty: the Viola Concerto and the oratorio Belshazzar’s Feast. After this, composition became more difficult, and progress on the symphony was tortuous and protracted. Nevertheless, the work has a strikingly positive tone – perhaps in celebration of the victory over the many demons and difficulties that had attended its creation.

22 years later, in 1957, the musical world was a very different place, but Walton’s response was not to seek solace in reflective nostalgia. It is rather as if he conceived the Second Symphony as a follow-up to his terse and bubbly Partita for orchestra, building on the confidence that the success of that score had given the always self-doubting composer. Owain Arwel Hughes, who conducts the present recording, first made his name with an electrifying televised performance of Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast which received a notable accolade from the composer. On this recording he brings Walton across the English Channel and conducts one of the leading French orchestras, Orchestre national de Lille, for their first appearance on the BIS label.