SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONIES 12 &15, John Storgårds/Chandos There have been highly impressive complete cycles of the Shostakovich symphonies before, but this latest one by John Storgårds is proving to be one of the most competitive, not least for the jawdroppingly realistic surround sound recording technique utilised by Chandos. In fact, Storgårds’ performance grants the greatest possible advocacy to two symphonies that are not as popular as some of the composer’s earlier works. I remember the first performance in the UK are Shostakovich’s 15th with the composer in attendance. He sat in the Royal box, looking nervous and unhappy, and it was impossible not to read in his demeanour his sufferings under the repressive Stalinist regime. Was this reflected in his final Symphony? Certainly the cheeky quotations from such things as Rossini’s William Tell overture give the lie to the symphony being a tragic final testimony. All of the elements are present and correct in this wonderful performance, and with an excellent 12th as well, the disc is nigh unmissable.
BEETHOVEN: VIOLIN CONCERTO, Veronika Eberle, Simon Rattle/LSO Live Has there ever been a violin Concerto more oft-recorded than that of Beethoven? The catalogue may be crowded with a host of rival entries, but this fresh and vigorous performance is very competitive. The disc is the much-anticipated debut album of violinist Veronika Eberle, and the Beethoven concerto has been a key piece in her career – particularly in the company of Sir Simon Rattle, long the violinist’s cheerleader and collaborator. This latest interpretation of the piece features new cadenzas by composer Jörg Widmann.
TCHAIKOVSKY ON THE PIANO,Yevgeny Sudbin, piano/BIS The Ukrainian Minister of culture has instructed us not to listen to the composer Tchaikovsky while his country is under siege from an aggressive Russia . Apart from the fact that this plays into the hands of a despotic regime which wants to present itself as victimised, many feel that art should be above such strictures – as this disc reminds us. Pianist Yevgeny Sudbin presents a collection of piano pieces and arrangements for piano, solo and four hands, of orchestral works by the great Russian composer, preceding it with a curtain raiser much-loved by Tchaikovsky himself: Mikhail Glinka‘s Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila..
BACEWICZ: COMPLETE SYMPHONIC WORKS, VOL. 1 – SYMPHONIES NOS. 3 & 4, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Lukasz Borowicz /CPO If you are overfamiliar with the standard repertoire, it is perhaps time to start reaching out for new discoveries – and the orchestral works of the Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz are proving to be immensely rewarding; this is a voyage of discovery that it is well worth making. Her music has never before been recorded in its entirety ‘from one source’, so that the series beginning here represents a pioneering act. The Third Symphony for large symphony orchestra was written in early 1952 and is strikingly interpreted by the WDR Symphony Orchestra and the Polish conductor Lukasz Borowicz.
MAHLER: SYMPHONY NO. 9 (1910),Concerto Budapest, András Keller/Tacet If the immersive recording techniques of the Tacet label were all that the company had to offer (in other words, placing the list the in the centre of the orchestra with every channel fully utilised), that would be an intriguing enticement for the audiophile. Fortunately, however, the company is wont to match its exhilarating recordings with performances that do justice to the masterpieces they have recorded. This take on of Mahler’s monumental Ninth Symphony is a good example – while the performance under András Keller may not reach the Olympian heights of some other classic examples, it’s still a remarkably committed and passionate reading, distinguished by that breathtaking multi-channel recording.
PALUMBO: WOVEN LIGHTS: VIOLIN CONCERTO, CHACONNE, Francesco D’Orazio, London Symphony Orchestra, Lee Reynolds/BIS The Italian composer Vito Palumbo (who was born in 1972) has enjoyed performances of his music throughout the world, with close attention paid by many of the great orchestras – and in this ambitious disc from the always adventurous label BIS, it’s the London Symphony Orchestra doing justice to do his complex and unusual scores. While the human voice is a particular preoccupation of Palumbo’s, his music shows an affection for (and mastery of) the demands of the violin, with the composer’s concerto – a notably challenging piece – dispatched with real élan by Francesco D’Orazio. The piece is constructed in a large single movement with a core of astronomical feeling. Italian composers in the modern era are rarer than one would think, but Palumbo does committed service to his profession.
RICHARD STRAUSS: ARIADNE AUF NAXOS & PUCCINI: TOSCA, Soloists, Orchestra Del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino/Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Gatti, Kosky/Dynamic/Naxos When one considers how murky looking (and sounding) the first appearances of many operas were on home cinema – even after the fuzzy days of VHS tapes – it’s still a cause for celebration how impressive new recordings look in Blu-ray with widescreen picture and wide-ranging surround sound. Take, for instance, these masterpieces by Richard Strauss and Puccini, both given performances in which the dramatic and musical values are held in perfect balance. Both sets stand or fall by their key sopranos, and (as Ariadne) Rassimira Soyanova delivers a beautifully rounded performance, while Malin Bystrom’s Tosca is equally impressive. Both operas have many consequential recordings available on silver disc, but these are among the best.
SAMCAN: A MUSICAL TRIBUTE, BBC Philharmonic, Bavouzet, Tortelier/Chandos The Chandos label is noted for a variety of commendable aspects, not least its immensely sympathetic and balanced sound recording techniques. But the label is particularly famous for sprucing up unjustly neglected composers, and here is a classic example of that. Pierre Sancan is virtually unknown even to the more adventurous music lovers, but his value as a teacher is matched by his inventiveness and accessibility as a composer, as these very winning pieces prove. The Commedia dell’arte overture, for instance, will win over the listener within the first few bars.
VENABLES/VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: PORTRAIT OF A MIND, Navarra Quartet , Alessandra Fisher/Albion Records It’s an audacious move, coupling Vaughan Williams’ magnificent song cycle On Wenlock Edge with a new piece, Ian Venables’ Portrait of a Mind, but the results have proven very successful. The Vaughan Williams piece is given an exemplary reading with every nuance of Housman’s texts delivered with maximum sympathy, and the Venables vocal work, written in the idiom of RVW, repays repeated listenings. Performances are top-notch.
RACHMANINOV: SYMPHONY NO. 2, etc.: Sinfonia of London/Jon Wilson/Chandos it would appear that nothing can hold back John Wilson’s progress to the top of the ladder in the ranks of utterly reliable recording artists, as this splendid new take on Rachmaninov’s all-embracing Second Symphony proves. The recent run of releases by Wilson – moving from his métier (the best orchestral film music) to many corners of the symphonic repertoire — is proving immensely successful (a particular winner was the disc of the complete Respighi Roman Trilogy). If Ivan Fischer’s equally impressive performance (also in impactful surround sound) is not unseated by this new challenger, it still becomes one of the most competitive versions around today. And it goes without saying that the Chandos recording engineers have done the fullest of justice to the piece.
KAPUSTIN: CONCERTO FOR 2 PIANOS AND PERCUSSION, ETC., Rundfunk Sinfonieorcheter Berlin, Dupree, Beykirch/Capriccio From the days when such composers as Gershwin, Copland and Milhaud utilised jazz techniques to invigorate their works, there have been many such initiatives over the years. Sometimes the influence is subtle and peripheral, sometimes full-on, and the latter is very much the case with the music of Kapustin. Here we have his Concerto for 2 Pianos and Percussion, the more symphonic Fifth Piano Concerto, and the lively Sinfonietta.
HINDEMITH, HABBESTAD, LUND, IBERG; Trio Brax/LAWO The selling point here is the unusual selection of instruments, but the music itself is intriguing – and not just the composition by the most familiar name, Hindemith. Frustrated by a lack of repertoire for their unique combination of instruments, the trio approached three contemporary Norwegian composers to create new music for the trio and inspire subsequent generations of musicians. The result? World premiere recordings of these three new pieces by Kjell Habbestad, Håvard Lund and Helge Iberg, alongside Hindemith’s Trio, the only (previously) existing work for piano, viola & tenor saxophone.
SURINACH: BALLETS FOR MARTHA GRAHAM, BMOP/sound If you’re looking for colourful dynamic 20th-century music that will be largely unfamiliar, look no further this disc of a neglected composer, Surinach is well worth the attention of adventurous listeners, particularly in the kind of wide-ranging SACD sound it is accorded here. This follows another BMOP/sound release of ballets by Elliott Carter in 2021 and is even more beguiling.
RESPIGHI :GLI UCCELLI; ANTICHE DANZE ED ARIE, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege, John Neschling/BIS This Respighi series by Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege under John Neschling has been one of the glories of the modern recorded repertoire, and it’s a source of regret that this is the final contribution to the series – the complete orchestral music for the remarkable Belkis: Queen of Sheba would have been welcome (minus the narration, of course). This disc, though, is another triumph — see Graham Williams’ review oppose.
KORNGOLD STRING QUARTETS NOS. 1-3, Tippett Quartet/Naxos Those who (like this listener) first became familiar with the music of Korngold when his splendidly ebullient film scores began to be recorded are probably now sporting a host of discs of his more serious music, and all of it is immensely enjoyable and inventive. The three string quartets are yet to make their mark, but they are well worth the attention of those who have admired earlier discs of Korngold music – particularly performances as committed as these.
BADINGS: SYMPHONY NO. No. 9 etc., Orchestre D’Auverne, Van Beek/Plyminie The symphonies of Henk Badings can divide opinions even among those who are well disposed to the composer’s music. Some of the symphonies are tonal, others are more challenging — which is the case for his ninth Symphony – a work that demands much from the listener. Nevertheless, for those prepared to make the effort, this is as persuasive an advocacy under Arie van Beek as it is likely to, receive
WEILL: SYMPHONIES NOS. 1 & 2; DER SILBERSEE (EXCERPTS), Swedish Chamber Orchestra, HK Gruber/BIS This is a disc full of highly diverting music by Kurt Weill. If you’re only familiar with his Broadway scores such as Lady in the Dark, you need to remedy that immediately – and this disc is as good a place as any to start. Weill’s two symphonies were written just over a decade apart, and they demonstrate his skill at working in a variety of styles. Performances here are top-notch.
NOVÁK: ORCHESTRAL WORKS, VOL. 2 – MORAVIAN-SLOVAK SUITE; TWO WALLACHIAN DANCES; DE PROFUNDIS, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Pavel Svoboda, Marek Štilec/Naxos The pieces recorded here are among the lighter, less substantial works by Novak, but have great charm and accessibility perfectly enhanced by the sympathetic performances they are given here. Vitĕzslav Novák was one of the key Czech composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the Moravian-Slovak Suite is one of his most popular works, evoking an eventful and romance-filled day in a Slovakian village.