In early 2012, the Frankfurt Opera completed its cycle of the “Ring des Nibelungen” with Götterdämmerung. OehmsClassics is proud to now be releasing Siegfried from October 2011; Götterdämmerung will follow in June 2012. Both the audience and press were thoroughly impressed by the outstanding musical performance of the orchestra and singers under conductor Sebastian Weigle. This box set includes extensive texts by the Frankfurt dramatic advisors as well as the complete libretto in German and English.

REVIEWS:

The highlight of the drama is Susan Bullock’s Brünnhilde. The immolation scene is superb…[and she] sings with great assurance, control, and emotional power.

-- Classical Net

Sebastian Weigle’s sensitive grasp of the mammoth score’s multivalent moods ensures that the performance retains a powerful grip on the listener and the vividly characterised orchestral playing is well recorded in a restricted but not excessively dry acoustic. In addition, the tirelessly heroic Ryan is well complemented by the other singers, perhaps most strikingly Jochen Schmeckenbecher, whose Alberich initially sounds more like the soulful Wolfram in Tannhaüser than one of Wagner’s more malevolent villains. Schmeckenbecher proves far from lightweight in the role, however, and his vivid encounters with Wotan (Terje Stensvold) and Mime—the excellent Peter Marsh—show the Frankfurt ensemble working at its best.

-- Gramophone (Arnold Whittall)

Production values for the product itself are…of the first order, including full libretto and English translation, plus synopsis, interesting commentary…and the strangest, most wonderful genogram I have ever seen…

The set begins as it means to go on: purposefully. The opening is fast, but Weigle maintains tension, thanks to the orchestra’s tremendous rhythmic spring. That is not to imply he is relentless, though. He relaxes well into Siegfried’s “Vieles lehrtest du, Mime”…for example, and he sets up the dark atmosphere at the outset of the second act well. The recording ensures there is much to delight the ear. The lower strings at Mime’s “Mein Kind das lehrt dich kennen” are truly gorgeous…Weigle’s identification of the variety of textures available in Siegfried and his musical invocation of them is one of the set’s triumphs. Try his handling of the sparse scoring at the critical structural juncture of Mime’s recounting of Siegfried’s mother’s “death” (where Peter Marsh is himself excellent), or the way he delineates the different scorings for Mime and Wotan in their exchanges. He ensures proper dramatic thrust through the Wanderer/Siegfried scene of the final act. The result: gripping Wagner.

Peter Marsh has a typical Mime voice, and is blessed with great diction. When he opens out his voice, he reveals what a powerful singer he really is. Lance Ryan sounds like a proper Helden-Siegfried right from the start.

The Alberich of Jochen Schmeckenbecher is superb…The Brünnhilde is fresh and sounds young…Kateryna Kasper is a superbly light Woodbird. There is so much to enjoy here…Recommended.

-- Fanfare

Of all Hamburg Ring Cycle premieres, the third waystation, Siegfried, has received the most applause until now. Audience members were exuberant not only about the singers and orchestra under the direction of Simone Young, but about the production as well. The transparency of the orchestra allowed the singers to really sing, in contrast to many Wagner productions in which they are often in a pure struggle against waves of instrumental force. Director Claus Guth’s finely wrought protagonists were brilliantly brought to life on stage by the excellent cast of soloists. This Ring is lucid and transparent, even when only heard in the living room. The singers, who include experienced Wagner singers like Christian Franz, Falk Struckmann and Wolfgang Koch, guarantee first-class musical standards.

REVIEW:

We can always find room for another good Ring in the recorded archives. This is shaping up so far to be a fine example. The singing cast is altogether satisfactory, if not star-studded. Every member offers a reasonably forceful and vivid impersonation of his assigned role.

Christian Franz offers a fine Siegfried, the forging scenes in I going well, with vigorous singing and the metallic sound effects as good as they come. Did you know that Siegfried’s actions follow standard metallurgical procedures for forging, annealing, heat-treating and quenching, needed to produce a good weapon? It is true! Wagner wasn’t a metallurgist, but he knew what was needed to keep the action true to life. Falk Struckmann’s Wotan- Wanderer is also forceful and gives a fine rendering of the critical scene with Erda in III. His smooth, dark voice is most effective not only here but also as the Wanderer in I and the opening scenes of II.

I wish I could be as positive about Deborah Humble’s Erda, but to me she sounds wobbly and unsteady. I suppose she’s about par for the part by current standards, which isn’t saying much. Catherine Foster, on the other hand is a good, strong Brünnhilde, not quite in the class of Flagstad or Nilsson, but surely as fine as they come at present. Alberich, Mime, and Fafner are conventionally well performed, also. Finally, Ha Young Lee was a complete newcomer to me, but she sings the forest bird’s songs more clearly, sweetly, and convincingly than anyone I’ve ever heard. Something tells me that this is not the last we shall hear from her.

The Hamburg Philharmonic is absolutely perfect, flawless, indeed thrilling. Its tone is colorful, its ensemble flawless. Simone Young leads an unhurried performance that lasts over four hours. This is usually a recipe for dullness, but she somehow manages to conduct with gorgeous tone and unfailing presentation of detail, as well as flawless presentation of larger issues. I think this must be what Wagner had in mind when he employed the word gesamtkunstwerk. Moreover, Oehms offers sound that is totally realistic without undue intrusion of gimmicks like the ones in Solti’s Decca Rheingold. Finally, there is a 145 page booklet, giving full German texts with their English translations. The introductory notes are outstanding, exploring and explaining every action in detail and the motivations of everyone concerned, including the composer. It is original and thought-provoking—one of the best essays of this genre I’ve ever encountered.

In this booklet also, there are numerous illustrations of the stagecraft, which I would suggest you not even look at, if you can resist the temptation, for they depict the cheapest, most dreary, most totally irrelevant collection of garage-sale paraphernalia you could imagine—dirty, unkempt, randomly scattered about the stage. This isn’t staging; it is a treasonous, subversive, cheap refutation of everything Wagner stood for!

But of course, that is the advantage the CD has over DVD—there’s no temptation to look at it—indeed, there’s no way of doing so. But this little rant is irrelevant to the main point that, for an audio Siegfried, this is about as good as it gets.

-- American Record Guide

"Completed in Wahnfried on November 21, 1874. I say nothing further!!” With these words written at the bottom of his Götterdämmerung score, Wagner thus finished his composition of the entire Ring Cycle. The Frankfurt Opera also concluded Vera Nemirova’s highly praised production of the work in January, thus raising the bar.

REVIEWS:

Tempos and forward-movement are well-judged…The characters play off one another, diction is close to flawless; we can hear the sarcasm in Hagen as well as the craziness in Alberich…

The quiet evil with which the second act begins…is about as creepy as anything I’ve ever heard, with the high strings nervously stuttering and the winds and brass roiling—not to mention those trills on the Wagner tubas as the scene changes! Wagner’s solos for winds are as suddenly noticeable as Mozart’s. You are never bombarded by sound save for the truly big moments: the end of the prologue, the scene with the vassals, Siegfried’s Funeral March, and the final cataclysm, making these moments all the more powerful.

The cast is worthy. Lance Ryan…remains a bright-voiced hero…both of his high Cs are amazing…in general he is in solid voice. He is very moving in his death scene, phrasing handsomely and with a quiet resignation that is unbeatable on recordings.

Susan Bullock continues the Cycle as Brünnhilde…Every word counts: her conviction in the Waltraute scene; her horror when a stranger breaks through the fire; her reaction to Siegfried’s entrance for the Wedding Scene…and a fine Immolation Scene…suffice it to say that as far as wedding the words and music, she’s second to none, and her enunciation is spotless.

Gregory Frank[’s]…voice is big and dark enough…and he has an audible sneer that can send chills down the spine. His hatred, jealousy, and cunning are omnipresent, and he’s a fine phony in the first act.

Jochen Schmeckenbecher’s Alberich is about as unnerving as any you will ever hear in his scene with Hagen. Anja Fidelia Ulrich is a good, alluring Gutrune. The three Norns are excellent (Mahnke is the second; Meredith Arwady is the first; and the deliciously-named Angel Blue is the third); the Rhinemaidens are very expressive…

The chorus…is another of this set’s glories. Along with Weigle’s non-intrusive, clear-as-a-bell story-telling and the stunning playing of the Frankfurt Opera, this set is a winner. It’s among the most committed sets around. The sonics are spectacular.

-- ClassicsToday (Robert Levine)

Outstanding singers, conductors and directors come together in five diverse but compelling operas by Benjamin Britten. The turbulent, inward fishing community of Peter Grimes is transposed to a merciless 1980s society in Richard Jones' production. An 'outstanding' Sarah Connolly (Guardian) stars in The Rape of Lucretia, navigating the difficult tale with superb poise. Billy Budd is grippingly staged aboard the claustrophobic MS Indomitable, with Jacques Imbrailo portraying the troubled sailor in the 2010 Glyndebourne Festival Opera production by Michael Grandage. More light-hearted is the Royal Opera House staging of Gloriana, penned by Britten to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and featuring Susan Bullock as the monarch. Finally, Edward Gardner conducts the English National Opera in Deborah Warner's highly acclaimed production of Death in Venice, In which John Graham-Hall stars as the ageing Gustav von Aschenbach. These productions from some of the world's best opera houses offer five masterful performances that are an ideal way to experience Benjamin Britten's music. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true Surround Sound.

A BRITTEN COLLECTION
(7-DVD Box Set)

PETER GRIMES

Peter Grimes - John Graham Hall

Boy - Francesco Malvuccio
Ellen Orford - Susan Gritton
Captain Balstrode - Christopher Purves
Auntie - Felicity Palmer
First Niece - Ida Falk Winland
Second Niece - Simona Mihai
Bob Boles - Peter Hoare
Swallow - Daniel Okulitch
Mrs. Sedley - Catherine Wyn-Rogers
Rev. Horace Adams - Christopher Gillett
Ned Keene - George von Bergen

Milan La Scala Chorus and Orchestra
Robin Ticciati, conductor
Richard Jones, stage director

Recorded live at the Teatro alla Scala, June 2012

THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA

Lucretia - Sarah Connolly
Tarquinius - Christopher Maltman
Bianca - Catherine Wyn-Rogers
Lucia - Mary Nelson
Junius - Leigh Melrose
Collatinus - Clive Bayley
Female Chorus - Orla Boylan
Male Chorus - John Mark Ainsley

English National Opera Orchestra
Paul Daniel, conductor

David McVicar, stage director

Recorded live at the Aldeburgh Festival, The Maltings, Snape, 2001

BILLY BUDD

Captain Vere - John Mark Ainsley
Billy Budd - Jacques Imbrailo
Claggart - Phillip Ens
Mr. Redburn - Iain Paterson
Mr. Flint - Matthew Rose
Lieutenant Ratcliffe - Darren Jeffery
Red Whiskers - Alasdair Elliott
Donald - John Moore
Dansker - Jeremy White
Novice - Ben Johnson
Squeak - Colin Judson
Bosun - Richard Mosley-Evans

Glyndebourne Chorus
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Mark Elder, conductor
Michael Grandage, stage director

Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Opera House, 8 and 11 June 2010

GLORIANA

Queen Elizabeth I - Susan Bullock
Earl of Essex - Toby Spence
Countess of Essex - Patricia Bardon
Lord Mountjoy - Mark Stone
Lady Rich - Kate Royal
Sir Robert Cecil - Jeremy Carpenter
Sir Walter Raleigh - Clive Bayley
Ballad Singer - Brindley Sherratt

Royal Opera Chorus
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Paul Daniel, conductor
Richard Jones, stage director

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, June 2013

DEATH IN VENICE

Gustav von Aschenbach - John Graham Hall
Traveller / Elderly Fop / Gondolier / Barber / Hotel Manger / Player / Dionysus - Andrew Shore
Apollo - Tim Mead
Tadzio - Sam Zaldivar
The Polish Mother - Laura Caldow
Two Daughters - Mia Angelina Mather / Xhuliana Shehu
The Governess - Joyce Henderson
Jaschiu - Marcio Teixeira

English National Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Edward Gardner, conductor
Deborah Warner, stage director

Recorded live at the London Coliseum, June 2013

---

Bonus:
- Cast gallery (all)
- Introduction to the opera (Billy Budd, Gloriana)
- Introduction to the designs (Billy Budd)
- Interviews with the cast and crew (Peter Grimes)
- Comments from the director (The Rape of Lucretia)
- Britten’s Aldeburgh (Gloriana)

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: DTS 5.1 (all) / + LPCM 2.0 (The Rape of Lucretia, Billy Budd, Gloriana) / + Dolby Digital 2.0 (Peter Grimes, Death in Venice)
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Audio Language: English
Menu Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German (all) + Japanese (Peter Grimes, The Rape of Lucretia, Gloriana) + Korean (Death in Venice) / + Spanish (Billy Budd)
Running time: 13 hrs 10 mins (opera) + 27 mins (bonus)
No. of DVDs: 7 (DVD 9)

An extraordinary 4 DVD box set that brings together three of America's most lauded contemporary opera productions that collectively are a brilliant introduction to the astonishing diversity of 20th-century opera : John Adams' Dr. Atomic directed by librettist Peter Sellars, a riveting morality drama about the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer. Philip Glass', The Perfect American, like the book from which it is based, seeks to reveal an unvarnished Walt Disney, based on an imagined series of reflections and memories that might have occurred during the icon's dying months; and finally the 2001 cinematic film version of Trouble in Tahiti, Leonard Bernstein's satire on American suburban married life, with the characteristically jubilant conjoining of jazz and musical comedy; lyric art with popular entertainment. A marvelous collection of consummate direction, compelling designs, a collection of inspired musical performances by the Netherlands Philharmonic, Madrid's Orquesta de Teatro Real and City of London Sinfonia along with brilliant casting and stand-out performances - among them Gerald Finley's Oppenheimer and Christopher Purves' Walt Disney. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true Surround Sound.

R E V I E W S:

Die Fledermaus:
When a director and a production team have a concept for an opera production that alters the composer-librettist’s original vision, the results can vary from imaginative to hubristic expressions of a director trying to be unique—or just unusual. The concepts that work best are the ones that retain the integrity of the opera. Such is the case with this DVD of Die Fledermaus derived from performances at Glyndebourne. The action has been moved into the early 20th century, art deco simplicity has replaced 19th-century fussiness. The score remains intact, but the dialogue is new—yet it remains quite faithful to the story line. It was adapted by Stephen Lawless and Daniel Dooner, written in English, and then translated into German by Johanna Mayr. Purists are not likely to be offended by Glyndebourne’s updated Die Fledermaus, and most viewers will probably greatly enjoy this production.

The cast is a talented ensemble that excels not only as musicians but actors as well. Thomas Allen and Pamela Armstrong are wonderful as the Eisensteins. Their comic timing creates characterizations that are in equal measure sophisticated and droll. The act-II seduction with the watch is terrific. Lyubov Petrova makes the most out of Adele, the chambermaid with a mind of her own. Håkan Hagegård is an especially genial Dr. Falke, with intriguing glimpses of the anger prompting the Revenge of the Bat. Pär Lindskog makes a suitably lecherous Afredo. Special kudos to Malena Ernman in the trouser role of Prince Orlofsky. She does a convincing male impersonation complete with bushy mustache.

Udo Samel has the non-singing role of Frosch, the jailer. Frequently the role is assigned to the comedian of the day who pads the third act with a monologue of trademark shtick or topical humor. Mr. Samel introduces himself as Frosch — James Frosch. He admits his banter is intended to cover a scene change; however, this interplay with the audience has been edited from the operetta and appears as part of the Extras.

The biggest liability of Die Fledermaus is the third act. The first act lays the groundwork for the disguises and intrigues in act II. The third act serves as the dénouement, the unmasking after the splashy second-act party...Happily, this Glyndebourne production keeps affairs moving along nicely. The cast maintains the energy level from the first two acts. Quite a feat, since it appears the entire performance was done without intermissions.

Scene designer Benoit Dugardyn has created a clever set on a revolving stage...in this case the set is interesting and adapts quite well to the scenic demands of each act. A rather nifty scene change transforms the Eisenstein home into the Orlofsky ballroom. During the second act, the set frequently revolves, adding interesting dimensions and scenic interest.

Acts I and II and the Entr’acte to act III are on the first disc, act III is on the second disc, along with a number of interesting extra features and interviews. A compliment is due to television director Francesca Kemp and television producer Ross MacGibbon for the excellent transference of a stage production to home video. This video is respectful of the stage production without gimmicky distractions. There is very much a sense of being in the theater while watching....the new Glyndebourne production makes any evening New Years Eve.

David L. Kirk, FANFARE

La cenerentola
This is a conventional production of La cenerentola in most respects. The stage sets are sparsely suggestive rather than literal and detailed, but sufficient. Costumes are excellent, and Peter Hall gets superior comic acting from his principals. Timing and definition of gesture are especially good, with Di Pasquale and Alberghini making the most of their respective parts, minus any distracting add-on gags that all too often disrupt both the work’s rhythm and audience’s attention.


I have one reservation concerning Hall’s production, however: his treatment of the concertato . This Italian operatic convention completely stops the action and allows all characters on stage to express their thoughts simultaneously; which in Rossini’s comic operas invariably means stupefaction and derision. Hall exchanges conventional lighting at these instances for blue scrims, and sets his performers moving and weaving about in odd, slow motion patterns. In theory, this is interesting; in practice, I admittedly found it hard not to laugh at something Hall intended to be taken earnestly. I could only recall Eugene O’Neill’s pretentious 1929 play, Strange Interlude , with its characters given to occasional zombie-like speeches out of time, revealing their thoughts; or to Groucho Marx’s satire on it in the 1930 movie, Animal Crackers : “I see figures . . . strange figures . . . weird figures . . . Steel 186, Anaconda 74, American Can 138 . . .”. Hall’s desire to gussy up each concertato (and there are several, if you count smaller sections of otherwise standard ensembles, as Hall does) with a psychological dimension definitely raised a specter, but I don’t think Rossini had bushy eyebrows, a moustache, and a cigar. It’s possible to work up an academic thesis about the depth and seriousness of anything meant humorously, and the liner notes accompanying this release strive earnestly to accomplish this. But sometimes the light is just that—all light, no shadows; and this composer wasn’t a post-modernist.


Like most other Rossini operas, for many years La cenerentola went unperformed because of changing public tastes that in turn led to an absence of singers who could handle the parts. This was a vicious circle—for a lack of appropriate voices meant a lack of productions, and the absence of productions meant no need to train the voices. What are Rossini voices? They require the same qualities that can be found in other bel canto music: great agility, firm breath support, good enunciation, proper score-reading habits, and schooling in style. All of these qualities can be found in varying degrees in the seven performers who take a major stage part in this La cenerentola . Please note this; because if you ever doubted we’re entering a renewed age of bel canto , then a Rossini production that can boast of three basses, a tenor, two sopranos, and a mezzo, all reasonably fluent in coloratura, is surely as good an indication as any. However, I will single out only Ruxandra Donose for praise. Hers is a dusky mezzo, even in coloration, volume, and support across the registers. The voice is able to handle exacting coloratura without any aspiration or evidence of strain. Her forthright, focused attack in her final aria (“Non più mesta”) brought memories of Marilyn Horne in the 1970s; and like Horne, Donose builds her part from the text, not by working around it. A young singer with little as yet on CD or DVD, she clearly bears watching.


Jurowski is incisive, and alert to his singers’ needs. Sound is available in LPCM stereo and surround sound, while the video is offered in 16:9 anamorphic. Finally, there are subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian, as well as one of those bits-and-pieces interviews (entitled “Insights,” just in case you missed what it offered) that tries to sell a darker view of the opera. It doesn’t work, but it also doesn’t matter. This production of La cenerentola was a good one for Rossini, and the audience agreed. I think you will, too.


FANFARE: Barry Brenesal


Cosi Fan Tutte
Simply put, this widely praised Glyndebourne production is the Così we’ve been waiting for. Yes, there are plenty of alternatives. But little of the video competition has fared well on these pages. Sometimes the problems stem from the musical performance: the Pritchard-led Glyndebourne predecessor was dismissed as “largely routine” by David Kirk (29:5); the Östman was ruled out of court by Barry Brenesal, who said that the “conducting belonged to the then-new movement that found only three tempos in Mozart operas: fast, faster, fast forward” (30:4). Others were panned because of inadequate production values: Chereau’s “takes itself far too seriously,” according to Brian Robins (30:3); Bob Rose was less charitable still with Hermanns’ “simply rotten” production that, he said, “reveals the producers’ lack of understanding Mozart’s genius” (30:6). Only Muti’s Vienna production (Brenesal 32:3) and Harnoncourt’s from Zurich (Christopher Williams, 30:1) received passing grades.


So what makes this performance stand out? First, the singing of the young cast is uniformly excellent. Or perhaps not quite uniformly: as is the case with her new Susanna in Pappano’s Figaro , Miah Persson is even better than excellent, combining a gorgeous, flexible, and stunningly controlled voice (even in the most challenging coloratura passages) with her by-now familiar depth of dramatic insight. Just listen to (and watch) the solid scorn on “Come scoglio”—or, even better, the subtle variations in mood in her wrenching account of “Per pietà”—and you’ll understand why she’s my favorite Mozart soprano these days.


But the rest of the cast is nearly as good. Anke Vondung holds her own as Dorabella (certainly, a less rich part), and their voices blend extremely well. Topi Lehtipuu and Luca Pisaroni capture the emotional wobbles of the two self-deluded lovers—their ardor, their ungrounded confidence, their fury—with unerring security and luxurious tone. More than most performances, too, this one reveals a key social dynamic: the deception works in part because they’re so much sexier when their costumes allow them to abandon the constraining propriety imposed by the social conventions that normally govern their behavior. Ainhoa Garmendia is a pert, disdainful Despina who doesn’t over-camp the impersonations; and running the show tactfully is Nicholas Rivenq. An unusually attractive Don Alfonso, he’s younger and far more fit than most in this role (he looks as if he just came off the racquet-ball court), and he seems an intellectual without a trace of pedantry; you can really believe that he wants to educate these two naive friends. Iván Fischer conducts with more romantic flexibility than you often get with period-instrument orchestras—and balance (both among the singers and between stage and pit) is finely calibrated. Purely as an audio version, this would stand up to any I’ve heard.


Fortunately, Nicholas Hytner’s production is equally impressive—hardly a false step from beginning to end. In general, this staging takes the opera—arguably, Mozart’s most intellectually challenging—seriously. But the seriousness does not bring solemnity. Hytner may avoid extreme farce, but there’s plenty of wit, energy, and color throughout. More important, he doesn’t condescend to the characters: you can understand both why they’re so foolish and why they’re so torn, and the final shots (where the resolution is clearly only partial) create tremendous poignance. The sets and costumes—simple but far from austere—suggest the late 18th or early 19th century, without creating a very specific moment; and while the production doesn’t ostentatiously update the action, it stresses those aspects of character and situation that still ring true today. One point highlighted here is the bond between the sisters—indeed, one could argue that it’s really Dorabella who seduces Fiordiligi; and while there is nothing louche or tasteless in the presentation of their relationship, it’s obvious that they have a strong erotic link. Not that there’s any lack of heterosexual electricity—as a result, the final scene, where nearly every possible pairing seems highly charged, is as smoldering as any you’ll see. Yet aside from one or two moments, the sex is handled with tact: the performance is hardly prudish, but it’s never aggressive either.


The Blu-ray video quality is stunning: you can see each leaf on the salads that our heroines are eating in act I. The 5.0 channel PCM is excellent as well. And while the extras are nothing special, both the conductor and the director offer intelligent insights into the opera. Two numbers are omitted, No. 7 (the duet “Al fato dan legge”) and No. 24 (Ferrando’s “Ah, io veggio”), but that’s a minor issue. All in all, if this doesn’t make it to my next Want List, we’ve got quite a year in store for us.


FANFARE: Peter J. Rabinowitz

Joby Talbot
ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND

Ballet in 2 Acts

Alice – Lauren Cuthbertson
Jack / Knave of Hearts – Sergei Polunin
Lewis Carroll / White Rabbit – Edward Watson
Mother / Queen of Hearts – Zenaida Yanowsky
Father / King of Hearts – Christopher Saunders
Magician / Mad Hatter – Steven McRae
Duchess – Simon Russell Beale

Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Barry Wordsworth, conductor
Christopher Wheeldon, choreography

Bob Crowley, designs
Nicholas Wright, scenario
Natasha Katz, lighting design

Recorded live from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 9 March 2011.

Bonus:
- Cast Gallery
- Documentary – Being Alice

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Running time: 120 mins (ballet) + 30 mins (bonus)
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

R E V I E W:

A stimulating production.

It is a brave company that is prepared to take such a surrealist novel and turn it into a stage show. Where film can provide the visual trickery necessary to give visual magic, theatre machinery is cumbersome and pedantic in comparison. Yet the development of technical resources and video projection can help. With ballet, a large part of the stage must be kept free of obstructions to allow ballet routines to progress unimpeded.
To then faithfully transfer to a video medium without high level on-line visual trickery may not ideally help the viewer. So how then has Covent Garden fared in bringing about a stimulating production?

Very well, in fact. The prologue where Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) is taking photographs of the family group works excellently. It is set in a realistic deanery garden. Bob Crowley’s backdrop painting in faded Victorian hues is in keeping. In this opening scene we are introduced to the personalities that later appear as stereotypes in the fantasy world Alice uncovers. The only odd thing in a private deanery garden is having a nurse wheel a perambulator across the stage as if in a busy street.

Some of the settings contain more subtlety than might at first sight be noticed. Monotone backdrops, the Cheshire Cat and a paper boat are styled on the engravings found in Carroll’s first edition book. As the ballet progresses the settings become more flamboyant and graphically modern.

Particularly stunning is the Playing Cards scene. Choreography and costumes strike just the right note. A clever routine with a segmented Cheshire Cat allows believable animation.

As one might expect, the dancing is up to the exacting standards of the corps with a Covent Garden reputation. The problem of having Alice change size was well contrived and Lauren Cuthbertson’s acting is excellent. The character of the White Rabbit is extremely officious throughout I noticed, yet pales before the bombastic pomp of the Queen of Hearts (Zenaida Yanowsky).

The orchestra plays well under the secure direction of Barry Wordsworth, a conductor not seen enough of nowadays. Talbot’s music has facets of talent and although classical harmony is mainly maintained, it is heavy, strongly percussive and is often reminiscent of the fight scene of West Side Story. One could hardly call the music melodious which is a pity as it misses out in appealing to the younger generation for whom the story is intended. I find the scoring unnecessarily heavy and is an ill fit with the elegance of classical ballet choreography.

The DVD is divided into play chapters, and contains a gallery photographs of the key dancers. It has the bonus of a well compiled and informative BBC documentary ‘Being Alice’. In it we see the planning, realisation and execution of the staging through the eyes of the principal dancer, Lauren Cuthbertson. Subtitles are provided in English, French, German and Spanish. In-depth background production notes with synopsis by David Nice are written in English, French and German.

-- Raymond J Walker, MusicWeb International


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Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
THE NUTCRACKER

"One of the very best seasonal treats for children and adults alike, the Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker is a handsome, magical, thoroughly traditional rendering of ETA Hoffmann’s immortal if deeply strange story." -- Sunday Express

This all-time ballet favourite, in which young Clara is swept into a fantasy adventure when one of her Christmas presents comes to life, is at its most enchanting in Peter Wright’s glorious production – as fresh as ever in its 25th year. Tchaikovsky’s ravishing score, period designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman (including an ingenious magical Christmas tree), an exquisite Sugar Plum Fairy (Miyako Yoshida) and chivalrous Prince (Steven McRae), the mysterious Drosselmeyer (Gary Avis) and vibrant dancing by The Royal Ballet make for a captivating performance. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true surround sound.

The Sugar Plum Fairy – Miyako Yoshida
Nephew / Nutcracker – Ricardo Cervera / Steven McRae
The Prince – Steven McRae
Drosselmeyer – Gary Avis

The Royal Ballet
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Koen Kessels, conductor

Peter Wright, choreographer and director
(after Lev Ivanov)

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, November and December 2009.

Bonus:
- Cast gallery
- Rehearsing at White Lodge
- Peter Wright tells the story of The Nutcracker

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM Stereo 2.0 / DTS 5.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Running time: 127 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

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Peter and the Wolf, Prokofiev’s musical fairy tale, has been delighting children since 1936. Nearly 60 years later, in 1995, the young choreographer Matthew Hart created a witty choreographed version for the Royal Ballet School with designs by Ian Spurling. Described as ‘an utterly delightful ballet and a perfect showcase for the younger students,’ by the Royal Ballet’s Director, Monica Mason, it was staged again and recorded for this DVD.

"...Matthew Hart’s Peter and the Wolf is one of the most beguiling children’s ballets around.” - The Telegraph

Matthew Hart, choreographer
The Wolf – Sergei Polunin
Grandfather – Will Kemp
Peter – Kilian Smith
Duck – Charlotte Edmonds
Bird – Laurine Muccioli
Cat – Chisato Katsura

The Royal Ballet School
Royal Ballet Sinfonia
Paul Murphy, conductor

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, 16 and 18 December 2010.

Bonus:
- Cast gallery
- Documentary feature on rehearsing Peter and the Wolf

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Running time: 38 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

This enchanting DVD captures 2011’s Christmas performance from the students of the Royal Ballet Lower School. All of the cast seem to be of primary school age, with the adult dancers Sergei Polunin and Will Kemp brought in as the Wolf and Narrator. Matthew Hart’s realisation of Prokofiev’s score as a ballet had first been seen in 1995 and it works very well indeed. Hart says in a short extra film that one of his aims had been to get as many dancers as possible onto the stage. He provide roles not only for the principal characters but for the corps as the physical elements of the story: dancers embody the hunters, the grass of the meadow, the waves of the pond, the trees of the forest and the wall next to Peter’s house. The choreography is simple without being simplistic and Hart tells the story very well. The principals are all extraordinarily proficient for their age, particularly the three girls playing the bird, duck and cat, who have the flexible movement of their creatures down to a T. Kilian Smith’s Peter is brave and likeable, while Polunin’s wolf embodies the sinister characteristics of a pantomime villain with that extra bit of danger. Will Kemp doubles as on-stage narrator and as Grandfather. The bright primary colours of both set and costumes work very well, and the only piece of staging is a bulky frame which is used for the tree, covered in graffiti about the story. The orchestra plays very well and the 5.1 surround sound brings the story to life. The only thing I missed, compared to an audio only recording, is the sense of intimacy with the narrator, something necessarily lost in a production such as this one, but if you don’t mind that then you’ll enjoy this very much. If you know some children who enjoy dancing, or if you want to get some children interested in dance for the first time, then this is especially for you.

-- Simon Thompson, MusicWeb International

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Frederick Ashton (the other major choreographer of the second half of the 20th century) created his ballet Tales of Beatrix Potter for the camera in 1971 (still available on DVD). In 1992, Anthony Dowell created a stage version for the Royal Ballet, revived in 2007 and filmed during the subsequent performances. David Nice’s essay in the accompanying booklet tells us much about the score, “composed” by John Lanchberry using Victorian waltzes and ballads and excerpts from various 19th-century ballets (Minkus, Glazunov), as well as his own version of La fille mal gardée , to all of which Ashton choreographed a number of gems, at the same time parodying the 19th-century classics in solos and pas de deux.

It is difficult to comment extensively on the individual dancers, as the animal masks by Rostislav Dobujinsky entirely cover the dancers’ faces. But through movement, gesture, and even posture the individual roles are neatly characterized, from the footwork of Gemma Sykes’s Jemima Puddle-Duck to the exuberance of Zachary Faruque’s Jeremy Fisher or Steven McRae’s Squirrel Nutkin. Jonathan Howells has a difficult task, succeeding the choreographer himself as Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, but is almost as eloquent, although expanding Ashton’s few little movements into a full-length solo calls for too much repetition of the steps and attitudes. The adaptation was no simple task, as the film shows us Beatrix Potter herself in between the dance episodes, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle strolling through the English countryside before starting her solo; but Dowell has eliminated that aspect and gives us a pure dance spectacle that is a delight from start to finish. And it must be exhausting for the dancers who must perform in real time. The Royal Ballet Sinfonia under Paul Murphy offers a sparkling rendition of the composite score that equals Lanchberry’s version for the film or even the LP that was released in the 1970s. For those unfamiliar with the children’s classic, a brief synopsis will fill you in, but this is, in any event, an instant classic for the young at heart.

FANFARE: Joel Kasow

Mrs Tittlemouse: Victoria Hewitt
Johnny Town-Mouse: Ricardo Cervera
Mrs Tiggy-Winkle: Jonathan Howells
Jemima Puddle-Duck: Gemma Sykes
The Fox: Gary Avis
Pigling Bland: Bennet Gartside
Pig-Wig: Laura Morera
Aunt Pettitoes: David Pickering
Mr Jeremy Fisher: Zachary Faruque
Tom Thumb: Giacomo Ciriaci
Hunca Munca: Iohna Loots
Peter Rabbit: Joshua Tuifua
Squirrel Nutkin: Steven McRae

REGIONS: All
PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9
SOUND: 2.0 LPCM STEREO / 5.1 DTS SURROUND
SUBTITLES: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian

Richard Wagner
DIE WALKÜRE

Wotan – John Bröcheler
Siegmund – John Keyes
Hunding – Kurt Rydl
Sieglinde – Nadine Secunde
Brünnhilde – Jeannine Altmeyer
Fricka – Reinhild Runkel
Gerhilde – Irmgard Vilsmaier
Ortlinde – Annegeer Stumphius
Waltraute – Hanna Schaer
Schwertleite – Hebe Dijkstra
Helmwige – Kirsi Tiihonen
Siegrune – Catherine Keen
Grimgerde – Regina Mauel
Rossweise – Elzbieta Ardam

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra
Hartmut Haenchen, conductor

Pierre Audi, stage director
George Tsypin, set designer
Eiko Ishioka, costume designer
Wolfgang Göbbel, lighting designer

Recorded live from the Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam, 1999

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format; LPCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Japanese
Running time: 260 mins
No. of DVDs: 3

Also available on DVD

When the ORFEO label was established in Munich forty years ago, surely no one with the music scene back then would have predicted that the record company would develop into a firmly established player on the classical music market. One of the label’s main priorities in the early years was vocal music, with opera rarities top of the list and since the mid 1980s the re-use of historic tape recordings. Big names featured on the label’s own productions, while ORFEO also developed into a talent factory by discovering and nurturing young artist. This “Legendary Voices” 10 album set for the anniversary of 40 years of ORFEO label history features eleven singers, who at their times upheld the art of opera singing and still uphold it in the best interpretation of nostalgia.

Germany’s oldest Mozart festival celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2021. The present jubilee boxed set presents previously unpublished treasures from the archive of the Bavarian Broadcasting. All live recordings from the Baroque Imperial Hall at Würzburg Residence are digital remasters.

Even a quarter of a century after the end of his active career as a singer, nothing has changed concerning Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s preeminent status in the history of performing song. It is above all the Lied performer Fischer-Dieskau who set standards that have remained valid far beyond his time. The anthologies compiled in Vol. 3 of the Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Lied-Editon testify to the singer’s never-waning curiosity and to his responsibility towards the history of the present genre. In conjunction with Hartmut Höll, his favorite accompanist in later years, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau presents a highly attractive program to the songs by Maurice Ravel, which only sporadically appear in concert halls outside France. In the overall œuvre by German composer Paul Hindemith, too, the song does not play a dominant role. In this recording, a major role in the both natural and haunting interpretation of the songs is played by accompanist Aribert Reimann, who had composed the four-movement cantata Unrevealed for Fischer-Dieskau only a few years earlier. It was also in co-operation with Aribert Reimann, who headed a song class in Berlin, that the song anthologies devoted to Hermann Reutter and Wolfgang Fortner were compiled and that complete our edition.

Founded by Philippe Herreweghe at a time when the Baroque revival was still a matter for specialists, Collegium Vocale Gent has been at the heart of the rediscovery of Bach's sacred music. This ten-album set brings together some of his finest sacred vocal works, from a selection of Leipzig cantatas (Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Choc de Classica etc.) to the St John Passion (Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Trophée Radio Classique) by way of the Mass in B minor. Collegium Vocale Gent was one of the first ensembles to use new ideas about baroque performance practice in vocal music. Their authentic, text-oriented and rhetorical approach gave the ensemble the transparent sound with which it would acquire world fame. In recent years, Collegium Vocale Gent has grown organically into an extremely flexible ensemble whose wide repertoire encompasses the full range of different stylistic periods from Renaissance up to contemporary music. Besides its own baroque orchestra, Collegium Vocale Gent works together with several historically informed ensembles, including the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, Freiburger Barockorchester and Akademie fü r Alte Musik Berlin. It also works with prominent symphony orchestras such as the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouworkest. Since 2017 the ensemble runs its own summer festival, Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi, in Tuscany, Italy. Collegium Vocale Gent enjoys the financial support of the Flemish Community and the city of Ghent.

Jean Fournier (1911-2003) was a French violinist and professor of classical music. Fournier’s intonation, while lean, was gentle on the ear. He made an impressive career for himself. He was a soloist with some of the great French orchestras as well as with celebrated international ones. Concert tours took him to many of Europe’s centres of culture (Belgium, Germany, England, Italy, Ireland, Yugoslavia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Spain), as well as to North and South Africa, India and the Far East. In addition to his solo work, Fournier was above all an excellent chamber musician. Together with his wife, the French pianist Ginette Doyen (1921-2002), he performed duets for violin and piano. In the 1950s he founded a brilliant piano trio together with the Italian cellist Antonio Janigro (1918-1989) and the Austrian pianist Paul Badura-Skoda (1927-2019). In addition to his active concert activities Jean Fournier also made many recordings. This 10-album compilation is testament to the violinist’s diversity. It includes recordings such as the Sonatina No. 5 op. 32/1 for solo violin by Jean Martinon (1910-1976), and of course numerous duet works (many of them with his wife Ginette Doyen), piano trios (usually together with his trio partners Antonio Janigro and Paul Badura-Skoda) and violin concertos by Mozart or the Double Concerto op. 102 by Johannes Brahms with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra under Milan Horvat (Mozart) and Hermann Scherchen (Brahms).

Israeli violinist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Ivry Gitlis enjoyed a long and successful career performing alongside the world’s top orchestras including the London Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In his latest years, Ivry Gitlis listened to all our restored and remastered audio tracks via video-chats and over the phone, and being very pleased with the final result, he approved them for release, as his greatest wish was that his live legacy would never be forgotten. This present collection has been conceived as a double tribute to Ivry’s art: posthumous, in memoriam of his death, and, in perspective, as a celebration for the centenary of his birth.

The celebration of the Nativity has always been a source of inspiration for composers. The different elements of the evangelical narrative evoke numerous images: tender feelings before the Baby Jesus; the gentleness of his mother, the Virgin Mary; the procession of the three Wise Men; the angelic choirs in Heaven; and these shepherds gathered in the manger. All that appears in the musical repertoire linked to this holiday, as well as the presence of colourful instrumentations and themes connected to folk traditions. This set, released by Ricercar, brings together all these elements, drawn from the repertoires of the Renaissance and Baroque eras.

Classical Music

Lorin Maazel and the Philharmonia Orchestra perform Mahler’s Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies. This four-disc box is the second set in a series that will encompass Mahler’s Nine Symphonies, featuring live orchestral recordings from London’s Royal Festival Hall of Maazel and the Philharmonia’s much-lauded Mahler Cycle.

David Goode performs the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach on the renowned Metzler Söhne organ of Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge, in a new a set spanning 16 albums and over 17 hours and 40 minutes of music. Covering the multiplicity of genres and stylistic influences that typified Bach’s organ music, the set includes complete recordings of the Chorale preludes, the six Sonatas, and the many preludes, toccatas, fugues, fantasias, chorales and partitas. The accompanying 136-page booklet includes background information on each work by organist George Parsons, along with an introduction to the set by David Goode. As well as a tracklisting, the booklet includes indexes to the works by BWV number and alphabetical order. “This series is notable for the flair, clarity and spontaneity that Goode brings to this timeless music” (Gramophone)

REVIEW

This cycle of Bach's Complete Organ Works occupied David Goode between January 2015 and August 2016 and was originally issued as separate volumes, but now Signum Classics have released them as a 16 CD set. Centre stage is the magnificent Metzler organ of Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge, which ranks as one of the finest in the UK. The Signum engineers have done a sterling job with the sound quality. The cycle certainly stands shoulder to shoulder with some of my favorite traversals, including those by Christopher Herrick, Peter Hurford, Lionel Rogg and André Isoir.

--MusicWeb International

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)

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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 8 CD box set has more than 10 hours of Ben Webster's music including previously unreleased tracks. The sessions were recorded mainly during 1964-1973 in Europe, mostly in Scandinavia, and include live recordings from festivals, clubs and radio and television broadcasts. They feature Webster at Copenhagen's famous Montmartre club and other Danish locations as well as sessions from his renowned month-long residency at London's Ronnie Scott's. Completing the set are recordings from Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Germany and several tracks recorded before he left New York.

Claudio Merulo (1533–1604) enjoyed great renown in his time. +
His famous Toccate expresses most vividly his considerable skill in the practice of intavolare diminuito. + These world premiere recordings present the entire corpus of Merulo’s Toccate: the 9 Toccate contained in the First Book of Toccate d’intavolatvra d’organo (1598), the 10 Toccate contained in the Second Book of Toccate d’intavolatura d’organo (1604) and the 7 manuscript Toccate drawn from the Nuova intavolatura d’organo tedesca.

Classical Music

Classical Music

One of the most respected violinists of the 20th century! This set contains many items not previously available on CD, and some that have never been released at all. - Allegro

Featured Artists:
Oscar Shumsky: violin/Maureen Forrester: alto/Lois Marshall: soprano/Nadia Reisenberg piano/James Melton: tenor/Mario Bernardi: piano/Primrose String Quartet.

The 3 CD set also features arrangements of unspecified arias from Cantatas No. 120 & 132 by Bach and unspecified songs by Rachmaninov.