As pianist Andrei Hoteev puts it, Vladimir Sofronitzki's interpretations included an "improvisatory style", which corresponds with what musicologist Sigfried Schibli has noted as a characteristic of Scriabin's own playing, going on to say Scriabin "developed his own style of playing the piano" with "alertly varied rhythms and dynamics...combined with a delicate touch and spontaneous agogics." Indeed, Sofronitzki's Scriabin performances have often been praised for their idiomatic, "poetic" rubato together with a flair for musical architecture and rhythmic precision. In his desire for fidelity to the original, Sofronitzki's highly sensitive use of the pedal reflects his striving to abide by the composer's expressive markings as closely as possible. His affinity with Scriabin's oeuvre may derive from the fact that both the composer and the pianist himself were influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Having spent his childhood in Warsaw, where his family had settled when he was two years old, Sofronitzki came to be regarded as setting new standards for Chopin interpretation - an artistic focus that goes back to his first piano tuition in the Polish capital. In 1949, the centenary of Chopin's death, Sofronitzki performed all his piano works on five successive days at the great hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.

REVIEWS:

The flow of melody and the highest transparency of musical events were top priorities for Vladimir Sofronitzky, whom Emil Gilels called the greatest piano player in the world and of whom the famous Heinrich Neuhaus said, « He plays like a god and looks like a god. » Let’s look closely at these two statements: Gilels speaks of the piano player not of the pianist. Consciously or unconsciously? And Neuhaus speaks of the god. God, is that power? Mightiness? Because Sofronitzky’s playing is powerful. It is dramatic and sonorous. This is Sofronitzky’s individualism: his feelings are those of sovereignty, of control. Poetry and tenderness are not his thing. And so the recordings of this edition impress me more than they touch me.

However, those who are intoxicated by consummate piano technique will be happy with this. In addition to the Etudes, Mazurkas, Preludes, Impromptus, Nocturnes and Poèmes, this box includes the legendary near-complete recording of the piano sonatas with Vladimir Sofronitzky. Only the first three movements of the 1st Sonata and the 9th Sonata, which the pianist never recorded out of respect for Scriabin, are missing and replaced by recordings by other pianists. Sofronitzky’s interpretations are phenomenal: he literally chisels the music into sculptures, relentless, accented, yet often very restrained and labored for nuance. Nevertheless, it is the enormously powerful playing that dominates and captivates the listener[.]

-- Pizzicato

These are historical recordings from 1946 to 1962, played primarily by Sofronitski; all the others are listed as guests. Profil celebrates Scriabin’s 150th birthday with a nearly complete collection of his solo piano works. This remastered collection has cleaned things up to today’s standards.

"Historical Recordings 1946-1962" is correct for all the recordings here except Scriabin’s tracks. There is not a bad performance in this collection. A few choices were made that I didn’t agree with, but, by and large, this is spectacular Scriabin...I was amazed at the musical concentration Sofronitsky summoned to play such beautifully shaped phrases on such an instrument. Anyone who enjoys Scriabin’s piano music will find exceptional performances on each disc here.

-- American Record Guide

Modernity in Russian music emerged despite its struggles with the Soviet regime in the early 20th century, with the mystical vision of Scriabin’s musical legacy providing a foundation on which to build. In these acclaimed albums we discover Medtner’s life affirming Sonatas, and hear Lourié’s journey from Impressionism to pioneering Cubist conceptions. Mosolov’s works are bold and complex, while Roslavets new tonal system brings ‘fi re and ice’, and Stanchinsky’s sophisticated virtuosity anticipates many aspects of 20th-century style. These remarkable works represent a time of profound change in Russian culture that is still being discovered and assessed today.

Past praise for previously released volumes included in this set:

Mosolov: Complete Works for Solo Piano / Andryushchenko

These are outstanding performances of works that deserve to be heard. The sonatas, in particular, are impressive and, though Scriabin’s spirit runs through much of these compositions they are fine works in their own right.

-- The Classical Reviewer

Louriè: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 1 / Koukl

Arthur Lourie turns out to be a pretty darn good composer—too good to have been left in the attic trunk all these years. The Five Fragile Preludes, Op. 1, have a natural flow to them, and an inevitability that is both rhythmically and harmonically arresting in an impressionism somewhat redolent of Debussy mixed with early Scriabin. While exceedingly brief, they are lovely, perfect jewels. All of this is well described in Anthony Short’s notes, a recording of demonstration quality, and a pianist totally in tune with the music.

-- American Record Guide

Medtner: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 2 / Stewart

Paul Stewart’s love and admiration for Medtner’s music come through strongly in these performances, which require a great range of treatment from the gentlest of touches, sometimes merely brushing the keys, whilst at others displaying a towering emotional intensity. His ability to bring out the poetry in Medtner is impressive and the recording is crisp, which combination makes for a hugely satisfying experience.

-- MusicWeb International

Roslavets: Complete Piano Works / Andryushchenko

For those listeners yet to encounter this fascinating figure, please fear not—Roslavets’ work is appealing on a number of levels and you will find much to enjoy on this terrific pair of discs.

-- MusicWeb International

Louriè: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 2 / Koukl

I am glad to have had the opportunity to hear so much of Lourié’s music which is so interesting and so tuneful and so varied it seems he was a chameleon in more than just his assumed persona but in his music as well and it’s all the better for it; variety is the spice of music as well as of life itself. Giorgio Koukl is nothing if not a consistently impressive advocate of whichever composer’s music he takes it upon himself to focus on and I thoroughly recommend this disc to all lovers of solo piano music.

-- MusicWeb International

Stanchinsky: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 1 / Solovieva

The short-lived Alexey Stanchinsky (1888-1914) has shown up on my Want Lists before, but despite devoted advocacy by a few pianists, his Scriabin-inspired music hasn’t caught on. It’s not clear why: His works are wildly inventive in their treatment of rhythm, harmony, and counterpoint—and while he died before he got to solidify his style, the dizzying sense of adventure in even his earliest works is palpable. May this new release by Olga Solovieva (the first volume of a complete cycle) be the one that turns the tide.

-- Fanfare

This set consists of previously released recordings. - ArkivMusic

Heitor Villa-Lobos once confessed that he loved to write string quartets, stating ‘one could say that it is a mania.’ His 17 quartets form a substantial part of his chamber music output, covering a long career that embraced national pride and musical experimentation leading to the rarefied atmosphere of the final masterpieces. Often drawing on the musical folklore of Brazil, these quartets are an outpouring of spontaneous and daring invention. Ranging from austere polyphony to compelling expressiveness and virtuosity, they represent one of the most distinctive bodies of chamber works in 20th-century music.

REVIEWS:

Villa-Lobos once confessed that he loved to write string quartets, stating ‘one could say that it is a mania.’ His 17 quartets form a substantial part of his chamber music output, covering a long career that embraced national pride and musical experimentation leading to the rarefied atmosphere of the final masterpieces. Often drawing on the musical folklore of Brazil, these quartets are an outpouring of spontaneous and daring invention. Ranging from austere polyphony to compelling expressiveness and virtuosity, they represent one of the most distinctive bodies of chamber works in 20th-century music. 6 CDs. Danubius Quartet. Original 1992–1994 Marco Polo releases.

-- Records International

Established in 1983, the Danubius Quartet was a Hungarian group – this set was recorded in Budapest – so while they may lack the Latinamericanlo’s Brazilian ‘accent’, they nevertheless hail from Europe’s great centre of string playing. Their brightly projected sound is ideal for Villa-Lobos’s life-affirming music.

-- Limelight

4 CDs of award-winning performances, the great Russian baritone Sergei Leiferkus sings the songs of his compatriot Mussorgsky. “Absolutely riveting,” wrote Gramophone’s reviewer, praising the singer’s “amazing variety of tone colour and textual inflexion” and pianist Semion Skigin “a wonderfully responsive partner.”

REVIEW:

Although Sergei Leiferkus does not have the most powerful baritone in the world, his insight, intelligence, intuition, authority, and soulfulness more than compensate. And in the Russian art song repertoire, he hardly has any competitors. His recordings of Glinka and Tchaikovsky are flat out magnificent. But decades from now, when art song aficionados speak of Leiferkus, it will be his recordings of the songs of Mussorgsky that are mentioned in hushed whispers and reverential tones.

Not since Boris Chirstoff's sublime survey of the complete Mussorgsky songs has another singer of comparable stature scaled the heights Leiferkus reaches in the first volume of the songs. His The Songs and Dances of Death are among the most terrifying, moving, and truthful ever recorded. His The Puppet-Show is dreadfully, nastily witty and his Forgotten is heartbreaking. His Darling Savishna is drop-dead funny. And his concluding Mephistopheles' Song of the Flea is grotesquely hilarious. In all ways, this is one of the best art song recitals in years. Except for one thing. There is not much good to say about his recording of The Nursery. Sung throughout in his head voice, as Mussorgsky requires, Leiferkus' interpretation of the songs through his tone is frankly agonizing to hear. He minces, he mutters, he mumbles, he does everything except chew the scenery. This is still a highly recommend recording, but just skip Leiferkus' The Nursery.

-- AllMusic.com (James Leonard)

Sony Classical is pleased to announce a new batch of reissues from the CBS/Sony and RCA Victor/BMG back catalogs. This latest installment of the popular series showcases Mozart and Chopin along with conductor Robert Craft’s pioneering Webern recordings and the global journeys of that irrepressible musical explorer Yo-Yo Ma.

The Tunisian-born French pianist Jean-Marc Luisada, a prize-winner at the 1985 Warsaw Chopin Competition, has earned an international reputation as a distinctive Chopin interpreter. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Luisada made a series of recordings for RCA: the complete Mazurkas, Waltzes and Ballades, the B minor Sonata and a chamber arrangement of the First Concerto (joined by the Talich Quartet), among numerous other works. MusicWeb International wrote that “the most stunning aspect of his artistry is his exploratory approach to Chopin. He uses every phrase to probe into Chopin’s sound-world and psyche, also displaying a total command of the keyboard’s resources.” As ClassicsToday wrote about Luisada’s Chopin: “The pianist compels you to listen.” All his RCA Chopin recordings are now reissued in a 6-album Sony Classical box.

REVIEW:

Sony/BMG has gathered together nearly all of Jean-Marc Luisada’s RCA Chopin recordings in a budget box. The set includes Luisada’s RCA cycles of the 14 “standard” Waltzes, the Mazurkas, and the four Ballades, along with some of these works in alternate recorded versions.

Luisada’s Chopin B minor sonata flies all over the place metrically, yet his bottomless pit of local details and ravishing legato hold your attention. My comments about Luisada’s Chopin B minor sonata apply to other larger-scaled works like the aforementioned Ballades, the Scherzos Nos. 2 and 4, the Barcarolle, the F minor Fantasie, and the Polonaise-Fantasie.

Luisada’s creative juices and refined fingers thoughtfully coalesce when collaborating with the Talich Quartet and double bassist Benjamin Berlioz in the most musically satisfying chamber edition of the Concerto No. 1 in E minor I’ve heard on disc.

--ClassicsToday.com (Jed Distler)

Stéphane Denève, triple winner of the Diapason d’Or of the Year, produced many outstanding recordings as chief conductor of the SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart from 2011 until 2016 when the orchestra merged with its sister orchestra from Baden-Baden and Freiburg to form the SWR Symphony Orchestra. They are now reissued as a five album boxed set including the ballet Daphnis et Chloé, Ravel's longest work, written for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, and the operas L'Heure espagnole and L'Enfant et les sortileges. Although the two operas cannot be strictly considered orchestral works, they are essential to understanding the œuvre of a composer who had a great predilection for fantasy worlds and the exotic. As a student Ravel composed the Ouverture de Shéhérazade and, several years leter, three poems for voice and orchestra on the same topic – both works form part of this set. Throughout his entire career, from Une barque sur l'ocean to Ma mère L'Oye Ravel created magical soundscapes in a highly original manner and with great stylistic freedom. A big inspiration for him was American operetta but also jazz and fairy tales. The formal structure of his works has the clarity of crystal and the elegance of mathematics. The SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart and the cast of young singers selected by Denève give thrilling interpretations.

REVIEWS:

Denève was the final Chief Conductor of this orchestra, from 2011-2016, after which they merged with the South West German Radio Orchestra for budgetary reasons. Their timbre is mellow and warm, akin to that of the Boston Symphony, but their ensemble playing and attack are tight.

The set is a highly worthwhile investment if you want a single collection of Ravel’s orchestral music. The sound is warm, clear, and spacious. Highly recommended.

-- Limelight (Australia)

Denève is very consistent in his meticulously prepared if slightly detached style. The playing and engineering is consistently very good indeed. The price of this box set is attractive. The song cycle and the two operas engaged me the most.

-- MusicWeb International

This collection spotlights six legendary pianist-composers from the 19th and 20th centuries. Adolf von Henselt’s ferocious technical studies and Romantic salon pieces led Schumann to dub him ‘the Chopin of the North’. Polish virtuoso Ignaz Friedman’s works offer delightful melodic beauty and harmonic inventiveness set alongside works by his countryman, Józef Hofmann, renowned as a poet of the keyboard. The French master musician Alfred Cortot is represented here with a selection of stylish piano arrangements of works by great composers. As one of Finland’s most respected musicians during the early 20th century, Selim Palmgren displays a wide variety of technical and stylistic challenges with music that is both traditional and visionary; while music by the exiled Russian composer Nikolay Medtner is highly Romantic and spiritually charged. These six towering superstars represent the summit of the piano’s Romantic golden age, heard here in critically acclaimed performances by award-winning pianists.

REVIEWS:

Sergio Gallo's playing of the pleasantly melodic, cantabile salon pieces by the 19th century German-born piano virtuoso, composer, and pedagogue Adolph Henselt (1814-1889) is lively and attractive. He planned this program intelligently to present the listener with variety and contrast as well as the flavor of this composer’s lovely music.

-- American Record Guide

The legendary Swiss pianist Alfred Cortot's (1877-1962) arrangement for solo piano of César Franck’s Violin Sonata, the centerpiece of this program, is a finger-buster, but He Yue doesn’t make a big deal out of it. His reading is very effective, and even exciting. Given the unusual nature of this program, whose contents are much more than adequately presented by the pianist, I’d rate this CD as of more than average interest.

-- Fanfare

Paul Stewart, a long-time champion of Medtner’s music, plays a restored period Steinway actually performed on by the composer himself in 1929 in Montreal. Its tone is well worth hearing, especially in the fine audio on offer here, and Stewart’s even more so: he gives an authoritative, expressive and thoroughly listener-friendly reading of the Medtner works presented here.

-- MusicWeb International

The second CD is dedicated to Ignaz Friedman. Joseph Banowetz plays the original, often somewhat melancholy miniatures with great charm. He succeeds in fine changes of mood and a pleasant depth of feeling.

The third CD contains original compositions by the Pole Jozef Kasimierz Hofmann (1876-1957), whom Rachmaninoff considered the best pianist next to him. His compositions are more characteristic than Henselt’s and technically challenging. Artem Yasynskyy plays them with great commitment and technically at a high level.

Selim Palmgren (1878-1951) was a Finnish concert pianist and conductor of international standing. He was a student of Busoni and composed extensively. Jouni Somero has put together a beautiful program of small pieces that show Palmgren’s art in all its range very well. Somero plays sensitively and with beautiful clarity.

-- Pizzicato

The range and variety of French piano music in the 19th and 20th centuries is exemplified in these critically acclaimed albums bringing together rarely encountered pieces, a number of which are performed on period instruments. Théodore Gouvy’s little-known sonatas and Benjamin Godard’s fragrant lyricism are part of a lineage that includes the masterful large-scale Piano Sonata of Vincent d’Indy, the virtuosic rarities – many in première recordings – of Saint-Saëns, Satie’s tenderness and wit, and unknown piano versions of some of Debussy’s greatest orchestral masterpieces.

Review excerpts of previously released volumes included in this set:

Gouvy: Sonatas for Piano 4 Hands / Naoumoff, Yau Cheng

Their ensemble and musicality allow these works to be heard in their best light. The sound is excellent and the booklet notes are quite well written.

-- American Record Guide

Saint-Saëns: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 5 / Burleson

Burleson proves to be a fine advocate for this music: He balances just the right amount of elegance and grace with the fieriness that this music requires. And he is a virtuoso par excellence, easily handling the numerous difficulties one finds in this music.

-- Fanfare

Godard: Piano Works, Vol. 2 / Reyes

Reyes’s second volume of Godard’s piano works is as well played and brimming with new discoveries as her first volume. Here we get four nocturnes, two of which look back to Chopin, One (Op 139) looks forward to Poulenc, and the last (Op. 150) looks towards Fauré. The opening work, ‘Reve Vecu’ (Living a Dream) could easily be classified as a nocturne as well. All give Reyes the opportunity to make use of her wonderful legato touch.

-- American Record Guide

Giovanni Battista Martini (1706-1784) was born in Bologna, in that era part of the Papal States. His father, Antonio Maria Martini, a violinist, taught him the elements of music and the violin and he later learned singing and harpsichord playing and the art of counterpoint from Giacomo Antonio Perti. Having received his education in classics from the priests of the "Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri”, he became a priest himself in 1722. In 1725, though only nineteen years old, he received the appointment of chapel-master at the Basilica of San Francesco in Bologna, where his compositions attracted attention. At the invitation of amateurs and professional friends he opened a school of composition at which several celebrated musicians were trained; as a teacher he consistently declared his preference for the traditions of the old Roman school of composition. Martini was a zealous collector of musical literature, and possessed an extensive musical library, estimated at 17,000 volumes. Among his many students was…Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who held him in high regard and always spoke fondly of him. “Padre” Martini, as he was called, wrote an immense oeuvre of more than 2500 works, many of them sacred vocal works. His keyboard works include more than 100 sonatas.

This new recording presents the complete organ works of Martini, consisting mainly of Sonatas, but also shorter pieces like fugues, toccatas and preludes. In his earlier works Martini adopted the style of his illustrious predecessors, the masters of Baroque counterpoint, later he wrote in a less learned, more elegant and “pleasant” style, according to the demands of his audience. Played on a variety of historic Italian organs from the 18th century by Manuel Tomadin, one of the foremost Italian organists of today, a scholar and passionate musician, with an impressive discography to his name.

REVIEW:

Scholar, bibliophile, musicologist, teacher, composer: the life of Giovanni Battista Martini was divided between faith and scores. After brilliant studies, he was admitted to orders at the Monastery of San Francesco in his native Bologna. He became chapel master at just nineteen years old. It was from there that he corresponded with luminaries of the time, where he taught for five decades without asking for remuneration, to students from all over Europe. A certain W.A. Mozart took lessons (a CD by Stefano Molardi from Divox paid tribute to this meeting). A selfless, affable, modest person - revered as such. And prolific: sacred music of course, but also symphonies, and numerous keyboard pages.

Until now, however, the discography had not panicked around the organ work of Padre Martini, sporadically included in the 18th century anthologies of gallant style. Few albums are entirely dedicated to him...As in his box sets covering works by Johann Ludwig Krebs, Hans Leo Hassler and Christian Erbach on the same label, Manuel Tomadin sees broad and dares long-distance running, total immersion: nothing less than an announced complete works edition, here a dozen hours on the clock; a treasure hunt. We do not know according to what criteria the works were distributed over the nine discs, but the fact remains that the allocation optimizes the timings (78'47, 75'15, 77'42, 79'32, 77'41 , 79'09, 75'23, 78'36, 75'41).

The two large collections of sonatas [Op. 2 and Op. 3] are there, except that the fifth of opus 3, dedicated to the harpsichord, does not appear...The rest provides a harvest of sweet Sonata sui flauti, Toccatas, Elevazioni, (simili) solemn Pieni, but also liturgical contributions...

...the exhaustive discovery turns out to be addictive...The recipes never tire (we salute here a certain genius for loquacity), the delicacies are renewed, especially as Manuel Tomadin chooses the registrations masterfully. Another incentive for immoderation in listening: the box set alternates locations from one disc to another. No less than nine historic organs from Northern Italy, including five by Gabriel Callido, all built at the end of the settecento except that of Val di Zoldo (1812, the last of this maker), and the Pescetti of Polcenigo, a bit earlier (1732). The distinguished plenitude of the Principals, the enchanting Flutes, the luscious basses, the verbose reeds which take us to the theater: we swoon, especially when the sound recordings flatter the ear like this.

...the desire for completeness did not compromise the care of the production, carried out over only sixteen months. Manuel Tomadin, who is known to be an expert in the less luminous and more austere regions of Northern Germany, here demonstrates a sonic imagination and a Latin volubility which do more than convince...his marathon approach does not prevent perfectionism or preciousness. In this regard, note that the last page of the booklet details the temperature and humidity of each session.

For this great euphonious work and its lively and colorful interpretation, this inexhaustible candy box erects a powerful bulwark against all gloom.

-- Crescendo

Brilliant Classics proudly presents the 5-album sets series: QUINTESSENCE, attractively priced compact box sets containing essential core classical repertoire in outstanding performances. Aimed at attracting both the discerning classical connoisseur and the classical newcomer it presents the pillars of classical music freshly packaged with eye-catching colorful and booklets containing liner notes in English. A new series at an unbeatable price!

The present installment features Mozart’s complete piano sonatas, performed by pianist Klara Würtz.

Excerpt from a review of a previously released edition of this set:

The Hungarian pianist Klára Würtz's Mozart performances here are, in a word, miraculous. Listening to this set left me almost speechless. By the time I finished auditioning just the first six sonatas, I knew that Würtz’s Mozart was something special. Highest recommendation.

-- Jeffrey J. Lipscomb, FANFARE

This collection brings together Globe Theatre productions dating from 2009 to 2015 – during the artistic directorship of Dominic Dromgoole – of twelve of Shakespeare’s most celebrated Comedies. Featuring the finest actors and leading directors, it is part of a project committed to creating ever wider access to this rich cultural heritage. The films in this set capture the unique atmosphere and theatrical space of the Globe Theatre. The exhilarating sense of interaction between the actors on stage and the audience in live performances is exquisitely maintained on screen.

REVIEWS:

"Dominic Dromgoole's zesty production succeeds in captivating the audience to a degree that I would not have thought possible...It's a treat." (The Independent on Love's Labour's Lost)

"This is a crowd-pleasing production...and the laughs come thick and fast" (Evening Standard on The Taming of the Shrew)

"Eve Best and Charles Edwards are gorgeously well-matched and sublimely ridiculous." (Time Out on Much Ado About Nothing)

"Naomi Frederick's superb Rosalind is a woman of wit and intelligence...Laskey's Orlando is equally bewitched, bothered and bewildered, and the playfulness between the two is a pleasure." (The Guardian on As You Like It)

The young John Barbirolli was hardly known in America when the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra chose him to be Arturo Toscanini’s successor starting in 1937. The 36-year-old Londoner’s first season was a triumph with both players and audiences, and although his years in New York would be increasingly marred by unfair rivalry with Toscanini – lured back to lead a specially created NBC Symphony – and by partisan hostility from two influential critics, Barbirolli’s tenure can now be looked back on as a real success.

From 1938 until 1943, when he returned to the UK to take over Manchester’s Hallé Orchestra, Sir John made a series of recordings in New York for American Columbia and RCA Victor which are still essential for a full appreciation of this revered conductor’s career, “performances that are as competitive today as they were when initially released” (Fanfare). Sony Classical is pleased to reissue them in a newly remastered six-CD set.

Among the treasures here are Debussy’s Iberia and Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini (both recorded in 1938) and the first-ever recording of Schubert’s Fourth (“Tragic”) Symphony (from 1939), together cited by Gramophone as “a demonstration that the Philharmonic-Symphony had few rivals in the world at the time as a recording orchestra … A forceful, high-powered reading [of the symphony] which yet has a Schubertian smile … The crisp attack in the Tchaikovsky, even tauter than in Barbirolli’s superb 1969 HMV New Philharmonia version, is thrillingly caught. The Debussy brings the most vivid sound of all, weighty and full of presence, with castanets and brass leaping out from the speakers. This is a white-hot performance, every bit as exciting as those of Toscanini, and with a moving vein of tenderness in the slow second movement.”

There are several works by Mozart, among them the Clarinet Concerto with Benny Goodman (from 1940) and the Symphony No. 25 and Piano Concerto No. 27 with Robert Casadesus (both from 1941). The Piano Concerto’s opening Allegro “is beautifully shaped with an almost palpable sense of wonder in the music and the pianist is definitely having a ball of time,” said Classical Net. “The final Allegro is also very commendable for its grand sense of pomp and majesty … The exquisite symphony also receives wonderful attention and care from Barbirolli and the NYPSO. Here one can sense the conductor's love for Mozart’s inspired melodies … Benny Goodman is a characterful interpreter of the Clarinet Concerto.”

“The generous flavor of Barbirolli’s Brahms comes through in the Academic Festival Overture and the Second Symphony [both from 1940],” wrote Audiophile Audition’s reviewer. “The Overture is rife with ceremonial grandeur and jolly spirits. The D major Symphony has a debonair airiness and bucolic relaxation about it.” And Sibelius’s First Symphony (from 1942) “should delight fans of Barbirolli’s 1960s complete traversal of the symphonies … The conductor’s warmth, vision, and emotional urgency has lost none of its appeal in the more than half century that has passed” (Fanfare).

Also from 1942 is Nathan Milstein playing the Bruch Concerto with “the Philharmonic-Symphony in tremendous form,” exclaimed MusicWeb International’s critic. “Barbirolli opens powerfully and Milstein responds in kind; not over emoted and with vibrato perfectly scaled to the demands of the music. He is really quite withdrawn and introspective in the Adagio, powerfully so indeed, and Barbirolli brings out the horn harmonies in a way that seems to reveal them for the first time. There is romantic fervour but also passagework clarity and digital cleanliness in the finale … a model of concerto accompaniment and creative collaboration.”

CONTENTS

DISC 1:
Purcell (arr. Barbirolli): Suite for Strings, Woodwind and Horns (Remastered)
Debussy: Images pour orchestre, L. 122: No. 2, Iberia (Remastered)
Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32 (Remastered)
Respighi: Antiche danze et arie per liuto, Suite No.3 (Remastered)
Respighi: Fontane di Roma (Remastered)

DISC 2:
Schubert: Symphony No. 4 in C Minor, D. 417, "Tragic" (Remastered)
Schubert: 5 German Dances, D. 89 (Remastered)
Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 (Remastered)

DISC 3:
Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39 (Remastered)
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43 (Remastered)

DISC 4:
Smetana: The Bartered Bride, JB 1:100: Overture (Remastered)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34 (Remastered) with Mishel Piastro, violin & Joseph Schuster, cello
Ravel: La valse, M. 72 (Remastered)
Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9 (Remastered)
Brahms: Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80 (Remastered)
Debussy: Petite Suite, L. 65, No. 4 "Ballet" (Remastered)
Debussy: Première rhapsodie, L. 116 (Remastered) with Benny Goodman, clarinet
Bach, J.S. (arr. Barbirolli): Sheep May Safely Graze, BWV 208, No. 9 (Remastered)

DISC 5:
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622 with Benny Goodman, clarinet
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-Flat Major, K. 595 (Remastered) with Robert Casadesus, piano
Mozart: Symphony No. 25 in G Minor, K. 183 (Remastered)

DISC 6:
Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26 (Remastered) with Nathan Milstein, violin
Tchaikovsky: Suite No. 3 in G Major, Op. 55: IV. Tema con variazioni. Andante con moto (Remastered)
Various (arr. Barbirolli): An Elizabethan Suite (Remastered)

-----

REVIEW:

It is surely no coincidence that this retrospective set is released in the 50th anniversary year of Sir John Barbirolli’s death. It focuses on almost all – but not quite all – of Barbirolli’s recordings with his Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York, here updated to ‘New York Philharmonic’. The missing item is the Schumann Violin Concerto with Menuhin, the rights of which now lie with Warner. The inclusion of Bach's Sheep May Safely Graze is very welcome here, and as Leonard Slatkin showed in his Bach ‘Conductors’ Transcriptions’ album, it’s a most effective and affecting piece of work.

The first of the six well-filled discs disinters Barbirolli’s arrangements of Purcell. The six-movement Suite proves memorably sonorous and full bloodied with highlights being Fairest Isle and When I am Laid in Earth. This is followed by a splendidly recorded and vividly played Iberia with the Victor engineers on top form, and Francesca da Rimini. Respighi’s The Fountains of Rome and the Arie di corte from the Ancient Airs and Dances are similarly charged.

The Schubert Fourth on Disc 2 - the first recording of the work ever made - is tremendously impressive: powerful, lyrical, excellently controlled. Brahms’ Second Symphony however is exceptionally fast – not a criticism that could ever be levelled at the older JB – and if one thinks that Monteux in San Francisco in 1945 was fleetness itself that would be to reckon without Barbirolli. The Allegretto is uncomfortable to listen to and in fact the whole performance is unconvincing on a number of levels.

Sibelius comes to the rescue in disc three where there are memorable recordings of the First Symphony (1942) and the Second (1940). Sibelius was a known Barbirolli strength but his tempi in the 1950s with the Hallé are predictably more driven than those he took in the following decade. If sound quality is king then the Hallé recordings from the 60s are preferable but interpretively the 1957 First and the 1952 Second – along with the famous RPO Second – are indispensable, along with these two New York recordings.

The fourth CD is a bits-and-pieces affair. There’s lusty Smetana, a brightly recorded but idiomatically played Rimsky Capriccio espagnole, and La Valse which faced predictably strong competition on disc from Munch and Monteux. If the string tone in Le Carnaval romain is a touch acidic, the Academic Festival Overture is more rounded, and the performance a strong B plus. Benny Goodman joins for a timbrally distinctive Debussy First Rhapsody. There’s more Goodman in the penultimate disc where he plays Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. Casadesus and Barbirolli make a fine team in Mozart’s Concerto No. 27. Symphony No.25 completes this all-Mozart disc; athletic, youthful and vibrant.

Nathan Milstein’s excellent Bruch G minor heads the final disc and whilst the recording is not top-drawer, Milstein’s playing is. Tchaikovsky’s Tema con variazioni from the Orchestral Suite No.3 is slightly cut. Finally, we end with Barbirolli’s An Elizabethan Suite, his arrangements of Byrd, Farnaby, and Bull, a synchronous way to end given that the first piece of the first disc was his Purcell arrangement.

Each disc is housed in a retro, 78rpm album sleeve and the booklet is filled with 78 and subsequent LP sleeves – very colourful and tactile – as well as job and recording sheets from the sessions and black and white photographs of Barbirolli.

This box is a finely produced and concentrated focus on Barbirolli’s New York shellac years and comes with a fair-minded, level-headed booklet note from James H North.

– MusicWeb International (Jonathan Woolf)

This six album boxed set comprises Tanya Ekanayaka’s Twelve Piano Prisms performed by the composer (GP785); works by Valentin Silvestrov performed by Elisaveta Blumina (GP639); Philip Glass’ piano music played by Nicholas Horvath (GP692); and Haro Stepanian’s Preludes (GP760) and Baal HaSulam’s Melodies of the Upper Worlds (GP808) performed by Mikael Ayrapetyan, alongside the pianist’s own A Whole in 12 (GP809). These contemplative contemporary piano miniatures have been expertly curated from the Grand Piano discography, and are sure to leave listeners and critics alike extremely satisfied.

Past praise for previously released volumes included in this set:

Stepanian: 26 Preludes for Piano / Ayrapetyan

Haro Stepanian was a fellow student of Aram Khachaturian. Stepanian himself was certainly a fine composer, based on this collection of preludes written between 1947 and 1965. There are three sets of eight here, completed in 1947, 1948, and 1956, plus two individual preludes written near the end of his life. His style is consistently folk derived, nothing one could call revelatory, but simply well-crafted work across a broad spectrum of emotional expression. The young Armenian pianist Mikael Ayrapetyan is a very fine advocate for this decidedly obscure music.

-- Fanfare

Ekanayaka: 12 Piano Prisms

Tanya Ekanayaka certainly hits her musical mark with these piano pieces. At times contemplative, sometimes raucous, these works have been injected generously with beauty and Rachmaninoff-like technique and drama. These works are certainly recommended to pianists to program for recitals: not only do they take the audience on a lovely, dark journey through the music of different cultures via the lens of a classically-trained pianist, but they sound enjoyable to play.

-- American Record Guide

Silvestrov: Piano Works / Blumina

Silvestrov seems well served by pianist Elisaveta Blumina. All is played and recorded with close and calmingly fervent engagement. Silvestrov’s surprising but pleasing commitment is to a vocabulary chronologically distant from the predominance of the twentieth century, let alone the twenty-first. If he occasionally sounds briefly like Einaudi it is only to remind us that once we listen for more than a couple of minutes Silvestrov is not a minimalist. In this context he is just a composer, one strand of whose creativity is inextricably in thrall to a style that, while familiar, serves his expressive needs better than any other. It is one dimension of the man.

-- MusicWeb International

Sergey Prokofiev’s seven symphonies are acknowledged as one of the major cycles of the 20th century, and these recordings with Marin Alsop and the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra have received widespread critical acclaim. From the crisp vitality of the youthful ‘Classical’ Symphony to the viscerally exciting Third, the Fifth Symphony which for Prokofiev represented ‘the grandeur of the human spirit’ and the deeply moving and heartfelt Sixth Symphony, this is an unforgettable collection crowned by the bittersweet Seventh Symphony, the composer’s final significant work.

Past praise of previously released volumes included in this set:

Prokofiev: Symphonies No 1 "Classical" & 2 / Alsop

Without minimizing the Second’s violent energy, Alsop plays the piece with a vivid sense of its long melodic lines. The first movement, in particular, has plenty of excitement but also a certain lyrical emphasis that gives the music something to be excited about. It’s very convincing.

As for the Classical Symphony, well, just about everyone does it well, and while I can imagine a first movement with a touch more snap to its rhythms, the performance picks up steam as it goes, culminating in a delightfully crisp account of the finale. The early tone poem “Dreams” drifts about prettily for ten minutes, sounding like Debussy or Scriabin or basically anyone but Prokofiev. Does it deserve greater exposure? Perhaps not, but this lovely performance makes as strong a case for it as you might imagine possible. Vivid sonics make this the best release in this series so far.

– David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 7 & Other Orchestral Works / Alsop

Alsop captures the lyrical aspects of the Seventh work really well. She also has the advantage of a superior recording in the acoustically friendlier Sala São Paulo. The orchestra is superb throughout, but special mention should be made of the woodwinds that have notable solos in the work.

– MusicWeb International

Joseph Haydn is regarded as the "father of the symphony" and the "father of the string quartet" for his more than 100 symphonies and almost 70 string quartets. Haydn also produced numerous operas, masses, concertos, piano sonatas and other compositions. His oratorios The Creation and The Seasons, both composed in the last decade of Haydn’s active compositional life, are his most widely known and admired choral compositions today, just as they were in his lifetime. Recordings from some of Haydn’s most formidable interpreters are showcased on this extensive release, including the Bach Collegium Stuttgart, Kammerchor Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling, and more.

REVIEW:

For this set Hänssler have grouped together three major choral works of Haydn from their back catalogue of the many recordings made by the noted German choral conductor Helmuth Rilling. Rilling was the founder of The Oregon Bach Festival, and such musical ensembles as the Gächinger Kantorei and the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, both of whom appear on these recordings. As filler, some works recorded by the lesser-known Frieder Bernius have also been included.

The first two discs contain Rilling’s 1993 Die Schöpfung. With Rilling this great work proceeds naturally with no hint of forcing the music to wring more drama out of it. He provides tempi that are very solicitous towards his singers. His approach presents the work with a more smiling aspect than one usually encounters. In this aspect Rilling comes closer than anyone else to Leonard Bernstein’s earlier recording of the work with the New York Philharmonic. Rilling’s soloists are a fine team topped by Christiane Schäfer’s exquisitely shapely tones. She makes a lively Gabriel, molding the lines of her recitatives with grace. She provides a heavenly account of “Nun beut die flur” and manages to avoid sounding tweety in the process. Michael Schade is a sunny-sounding Uriel, as he was in the John Eliot Gardiner recording two years later. He is especially good at enunciating his text and producing his sound to evolve from the words, a rare achievement these days. His coloratura is perfectly executed, which makes me place him among the most successful portrayals of Uriel in the catalogue. Andreas Schmidt is a fine Rapaehel. His voice sounds warm and pleasing, yet he suffuses his music with sufficient gravitas for an ideal balance. He manages the awkward intervals of “Rollend in schäumenden” with ease. The choir and orchestra play splendidly and there is a decent sense of ambience to the recording.

The fifth disc brings the oratorio version of The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross. Maestro Rilling is definitely back on best form here and he leads a really good team of soloists. The disc is rounded off by two shorter items as filler, which proved to be among the real highlights of the set. Both the Responsoria de Venerabili and the Ave Regina Coelorum are bright and fresh-sounding, led by the sure hand of the accomplished Frieder Bernius. The Württemberg ensemble is wonderfully responsive to his lead with a standout solo by Inga Nielsen in the Ave Regina. Nielsen was still in the coloratura phase of her career when this was recorded and her voice exhibits a glow that would lessen as she started heading into more dramatic roles a few years later. This is a superb example of her voice at its zenith. Hearing it makes me want to search out a copy of the Nelson Mass which accompanied these two works on its original release.

--MusicWeb International