Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Berg: Lulu

Rautavaara, E.: Symphonies Nos. 1-3

Classical Music

SIBELIUS, J.: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 6 (Helsinki Philharmonic

Organ Recital: Crozier, Catharine - MENDELSSOHN, Felix / SCH

Classical Music

Busoni: Arlecchino

WEILL, K.: Jasager (Der) [Opera]

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

21 tracks recorded in the Chapel of New College, Oxford, under the direction of Edward Higginbottom. Tracks include "Out of Your Sleep," "Wassail Carol," "A Virgin Most Pure," "Once in David's Royal City," "Sussex Carol (On Christmas Night)," "There is a Rose of Such Virtue," Alleluya, a New Work is Come on Hand," and more. (CRD)

Includes work(s) by various composers.

This disc was Gramophone's "Recording of the Month" for May 1999.
William Walton's 'Spitfire' Prelude and Fugue resulted from a commission for a 1942 film that paid tribute to the designer of the Spitfire plane. Appropriately and exuberantly patriotic, this piece is particularly memorable for the passage for solo violin that rises above a single-note rhythm played by double basses.
Walton's Sinfonia Concertante is a mercurial and stately work that occasionally brings Prokofiev to mind, especially the sparkling final movement, which recalls that composer's third piano concerto. The Andante con modo, an exceptionally beautiful movement, features a lyrical string section against the falling figures of the piano.
Variations on a Theme by Hindemith (drawn from Hindemith's Cello Concerto) was written as a return favor to Paul Hindemith who helped bring about the first performance of Walton's Violin Concerto. The Scherzando is memorable for its percussion while the skittery Vivacissimo is a delight for its carefree spirit. The March was originally intended for the 1959 television series, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. Although this piece (so obviously rooted in Walton's 'Crown Imperial' mode) never made it into the series, it has survived as an occasional concert filler. The English Northern Philharmonia gives it a rousing performance.

Is Heitor Villa-Lobos the last great 20th century composer to be rediscovered? Because he wrote so much, it's easier to sidestep rather than face his overwhelming catalog point by point. The folks at Naxos, though, are tackling his Amazonian output, starting with the piano music. Brazilian pianist Sonia Rubinsky controls the undulating chordal syncopations in the wonderful Book One of A Prole do Bebê with a left hand propelled by an imaginary, rock-steady rhythm section, and never lets the pungent dissonances overshadow the melodies. Rarely heard, the delightful Cirandas are virtually the Brazilian equivalant of Bartok's folk-inspired character pieces. The improvisatory Hommage à Chopin evokes the Polish master's decorative syntax, filtered through Villa-Lobos' more lush keyboard deployment. Rubinsky is both on top and inside of the Brazilian composer's idiom, and her vivid playing is beautifully reproduced. As they say in Portuguese: "um CD sensacional."

– Jed Distler

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Szymanowski: King Roger