The incomparable flutist James Galway celebrates Christmas in Bavaria. Newly reissued by ArkivMusic and originally released in 1991, this wonderful release features the Munich Radio Orchestra with the Regenburger Domspatzen.

"Gilels made two recordings of this concerto. The later version was made for DG in the early 1970s with Eugen Jochum and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and has earned a high reputation over the years. This earlier version, made in January 1958, is no less remarkable and very different. Perhaps it was the temporary transatlantic influence of Reiner and his orchestra which persuaded Gilels to see the concerto as a vehicle for a display of brilliant virtuoso playing, with fast tempos and little relaxation except in the third movement. certainly the playing in the overture has the same characteristics. But when this approach was harnessed to Gilel's intellectual strength the result was a performance of great power." -- The Gramophone

...an abundantly characterful, often exquisitely observant reading of the Enigma Variations set down at Walthamstow towards the end of 1954... Beecham sifts Elgar’s textures with rare mastery, and there are some delectable sounds throughout from his RPO wind principals (above all, Jack Brymer’s wonderfully hushed solos in the ‘Romanza’). Elsewhere, ‘Troyte’ fairly tears out of the blocks (distinctive, gun-shot timpani), and the finale struts with an irresistible physicality and unbuttoned thrust. By contrast, ‘Dorabella’ skips along in a more leisurely fashion than usual, and I love the tender intimacy Beecham imparts to ‘Ysobel’. A pity about the botched opening of ‘RPA’; otherwise, an Enigma to savour, if not quite ousting such legendary near-contemporaries as the evergreen Monteux or Barbirolli’s inspirational 1956 Halle account from the head of a very long list. It’s preceded by a terrific, swaggeringly exuberant Cockaigne (whose ripe coda heralds a startling change in both ambience and perspective) and a wholly disarming, gently affectionate reading of the Serenade for Strings.

-- Gramophone [8/2001]

"The gem of this disc is the Wieniawski concerto, with which Heifetz not only created a sensation on his American debut at the age of 16 but which he was the first to record. A virtuoso work par excellence, it affords him infinite opportunities to display his phenomenal brilliance, impeccable intonation and (in the Romanze) beautiful phrasing and soulfully emotional tone—which, as all violinists observe with fascination, owes much to his individual fingerings. The tuttis in this work have been somewhat cut, but that is of little consequence in a purely solo vehicle like this. The perfection of his rapid spiccato bowing in the finale is enough to make mere mortal string players despair. The recording still sounds well after nearly 40 years."

-- Lionel Salter, Gramophone [11/1992]

Classical Music

This installment of the William Kapell Edition charts but one more corner of the Russian piano repertory for which the pianist achieved an early fame. Kapell's 1946 recording of the appealing Khachaturian Concerto was the work's premiere recording, and the pianist immediately became associated with what became a jukebox favorite.
The gem of this disc, however, is Kapell's 1949 recording of Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto. In the explosive Allegro of the opening movement, Kapell moves between rippling pianissimo passages to lashing sforzando chords with consummate ease. A greater testament to Kapell's musical and technical skills comes in the variations of the second movement. His shifts from the mood of one variation to the mood of the next are immediate, passionate, and thoroughly convincing. He moves from the lush chordal lyricism of the first variation to the breathless abandon of the second, flying across the keyboard and never losing his way. The entire performance sizzles with a nervous energy that will most likely captivate any listener.

HOROWITZ PLAYS SCRIABIN

Love Song

V10: RUBINSTEIN COLLECTION

Rubinstein Collection, Vol 21 - Brahms: Sonata No. 3 in F M

MICHELANGELI IN LONDON - THE J

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 24: Mendelssohn: Piano Trio, Op.

Includes work(s) by Wadada Leo Smith.

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 73: Brahms Piano Trio No. 3; Sch

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 54: All Schubert: Sonata, D. 960

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 65: Brahms: Piano Quartets Nos.

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 55

"Today Rubinstein is best remembered as the ideal Chopin interpreter. He recorded much of the composer’s output several times over, first for EMI in the 1930s, in recordings many still treasure for their spontaneity and verve. For RCA, his monophonic Chopin recordings from the 1940s and their stereo remakes remain the standards by which other pianists are judged. And yet despite that identification with Chopin, Rubinstein always claimed Brahms was his favorite composer, and his golden-toned RCA recordings of the Op. 5 Sonata, the Ballades, and selected samples of Brahms’ autumnal late works retain their primacy, as do his Brahms recordings in partnership with chamber groups and outstanding soloists like Heifetz and Henryk Szeryng."

-- Dan Davis, Listen Magazine [5, 2009]

CHRISTMAS WITH MOZART

Kissin, one of the most well known and best selling pianist performs one of the piano's most popular works, Mussorgsky's Picture at an Exhibition.

MOZART: 7 PIANO CONCERTOS, RON

REVIEWS:
The Wire (p.63) - "[T]he nostalgic aura of old-time electronics, and the beauty of the playing and the pieces, has its own special appeal."

Classical Music

Non-keyboardists increasingly lay claim to Bach's Goldberg Variations on disc, from string trios and cimbalom duos, to guitar renditions and synthesizer blowouts. The challenge to both performers and arrangers is to render Bach's keyboard-specific textures with results that are technically plausible and musically convincing. A brass quintet arrangement by Arthur Frackenpohl, newly recorded by the Canadian Brass, succeeds on both counts--for the most part. The slower variations acquire an attractive ceremonial dimension in this medium, benefiting from a brass player's ability to change dynamics on a single note (which of course you can't do on piano or harpsichord). I also like how the double keyboard cross-handed variations are deployed to splendid antiphonal effect although the neccesarily slower tempos weaken Bach's original bravura intentions. Repeats are observed in each half of the opening Aria and a few select "A" sections elsewhere. "A" and "B" section da capos are respectively assigned to higher and lower instruments. The Canadian Brass achieve a blend that's akin to the dark smoothness of aged Scotch whisky, purring out rounded legato lines in which no breath seems to transpire. An electric blanket of resonance reinforces the ensemble's slick perfectionism, which probably will appeal more to brass fanciers than Bach lovers.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

This selection contains both ADD and DDD recordings.
ROMANTIC CELLO is a greatest-hits collection that offers several much-beloved nineteenth-and early twentieth-century cello works of a soaring melodic nature, performed by a veritable all-star team of cellists. There is quite a lot of variety here. The past is evoked fancifully by Peter Tchaikovsky in the courtly 'Rococo Variations' and with bittersweet nostalgia by Edward Elgar in the first movement of his moody Cello Concerto. An intense prayer is offered by Max Bruch in his 'Kol Nidrei,' and good old-fashioned heroics are supplied by Antonin Dvorak in the finale to his Cello Concerto. Doing the playing chores are Yo-Yo Ma (heard live in Saint Petersburg), Janos Starker, Ofra Harnoy, Steven Isserlis and Gregor Piatigorsky, so you know you're in good hands throughout.