Classical Music

Idil Biret' new Liszt album prompts a reappraisal of her extraordinary talent... in her Liszt Sonata... you will hear playing of a formidable power and assurance... There is no mistaking her lightning reflexes in the second of the Paganini Etudes and her vi. 747313128778 IBRA8571287.2 16136342 .00 14.99 .19 IDIL BIRET ARCHIVE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/4/2/8/1908240.jpg 26 1 N MARTIN,CLAIRE / WHEN LIGHTS ARE LOW WHEN LIGHTS ARE LOW 691062039222 LINN392.2 16136441 .00 20.99 .20 LINN RECORDS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/5/2/8/1908257.jpg 21 1 N MATTHEWS / VANDEWALLE PRELUDES & BAGATELLES 670541841228 RAVL7819.2 16183216 .00 13.99 .14 RAVELLO COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/5/2/8/1908258.jpg 11 1 N SOLLSCHER,GORAN GORAN SOLLSCHER 7391782215144 CRE21514.2 01991246 .00 20.99 .23 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 11/19/1996 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/5/0/5/1465050.jpg 1 1 N ELLINGTON,DUKE / BABS,ALICE IN SWEDEN 1973 7391782215991 CRE21599.2 06473136 .00 20.99 .24 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 08/24/1999 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/5/0/5/1465054.jpg 2 1 N MITCHELL,RED HOME SUITE 7391782213133 CRE21313.2 01990065 .00 20.99 .25 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 09/27/1994 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/8/0/5/1465085.jpg 0 1 N RIEDEL,GEORG / ALFREDSON,HANS / DAHLGREN,EVA NU SJUNGER NAKTERGALEN 7391782213560 CRE21356.2 01990232 .00 20.99 .21 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC CHILDRENS 01/24/1995 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/8/0/5/1465086.jpg 7 1 N RIEDEL,GEORG / JANSON,CLAES / WILLEMARK,LENA LILLA UNGEN MIN 7391782214109 CRE21410.2 01990577 .00 20.99 .21 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC CHILDRENS 01/24/1995 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/8/0/5/1465088.jpg 15 1 N BRUMEL / HUELGAS ENSEMBLE / VAN NEVEL MISSA ET ECCE TERRAE MOTUS / SEQUENTIA 8718247710928 NWTC8802092.2 16182745 .00 12.99 .22 NEWTON CLASSICS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/8/1/8/1908184.jpg 0 1 N DONIZETTI / PUCCINI / PCO OF ZABRZE / CHRZANOWSKI THREE POLISH TENORS 5902547003115 DUX311.2 21314315 .00 21.99 .15 DUX RECORDING PROD. COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 01/01/2001 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/5/0/0/2190053.jpg 10 1 N POLISH CHRISTMAS CAROLS / VARIOUS POLISH CHRISTMAS CAROLS / VARIOUS 5902547003467 DUX346.2 23302730 .00 21.99 .17 DUX RECORDING PROD. COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 01/01/2002 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/6/0/0/2190060.jpg 87 1 N ANON / CRACOW / BACH / MENDELSSOHN / CHOROSINSKI ANDRZEJ CHOROSINSKI PLAYS 5902547004129 DUX412.2 10264409 .00 21.99 .21 DUX RECORDING PROD. COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 08/23/2004 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/6/0/0/2190067.jpg 7 1 N ARENSKY / DOHNANYI / BAILEY / HARRELL LIVE FROM EL PASO PRO-MUSICA 013491104027 DLS1040.2 12073078 .00 13.99 .22 DELOS RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 02/06/2007 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/2/2/1/1031228.jpg 2 1 N COPLAND,MARC TIME WITHIN TIME 752156061922 HAHT619.2 21982545 .00 20.99 .24 HATHUT RECORDS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 01/30/2007 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/2/5/1/1031520.jpg 3 1 N JOHANSSON,SVEN-AKE BARCELONA SERIES 752156055921 HAHT559.2 16583405 .00 20.99 .10 HATHUT RECORDS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 01/09/2007 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/3/5/1/1031536.jpg 4 1 N TRIO X 3 NEW JAZZ MEETING 752156060727 HAHT607.2 16583573 .00 29.99 .24 HATHUT RECORDS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 01/09/2007 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/7/5/1/1031578.jpg 4 2 N HAYDN / HEARD PIANO SONATAS Franz Joseph Haydn's surviving 52 keyboard sonatas were written during a time of important changes to both keyboard instruments and the structure of sonata form. The harpsichord, for which Haydn wrote his earlier sonatas, was being replaced by the fortepiano with it's more expressive hammer action, which in turn evolved into the robust pianoforte. The sonatas presented here show Haydn exploring the dynamic possibilities of the new instrument. 747313296828 NXS8557968.2 11695752 .00 19.99 .19 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 07/13/2006 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/6/4/7/1077461.jpg 2 1 N GOSPEL: 26 GRANDS CLASSIQUES / VARIOUS GOSPEL: 26 GRANDS CLASSIQUES / VARIOUS 329849502620 INE145026.2 11956754 .00 14.99 .25 INEDIT COMPACT DISCS POP GOSPEL V/A COMPILATIONS 10/19/2004 07/12/2012 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/34/935634.jpg 2 1 N KERKEZOS,THEODORE / NURNBERGER SYM / TSIALIS DINOS CONSTANTINIDE 044747287126 CAV2871.2 12288298 .00 18.99 .22 CENTAUR COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 05/29/2007 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/7/0/3/1083073.jpg 5 1 N AMBROSE,ARI UNITED 716043151820 SPS31518.2 08663412 .00 22.99 .20 STEEPLECHASE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 06/11/2002 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/95/938295-3297036.jpg 6 1 N BALLOU,DAVE ON THIS DAY 716043150427 SPS31504.2 08224194 .00 22.99 .27 STEEPLECHASE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 09/25/2001 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/01/938301-3297020.jpg 8 1 N COCHRANE,MICHAEL CUTTING EDGE 716043143023 SPS31430.2 07720468 .00 22.99 .26 STEEPLECHASE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 01/01/2000 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/14/938314-3296937.jpg 21 1 N COCHRANE,MICHAEL MINOR MATRIX 716043149421 SPS31494.2 07920011 .00 22.99 .22 STEEPLECHASE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 05/22/2001 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/15/938315-3297007.jpg 10 1 N COWELL,STANLEY GAMES 716043129324 SPS31293.2 04996439 .00 22.99 .25 STEEPLECHASE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 08/01/1994 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/23/938323-3296798.jpg 6 1 N JAM SESSION 14 / VARIOUS JAM SESSION 14 / VARIOUS 716043157525 SPS31575.2 10889183 .00 22.99 .28 STEEPLECHASE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ V/A COMPILATIONS 07/05/2005 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/90/938390-3297093.jpg 7 1 N JAM SESSION 7 / VARIOUS JAM SESSION 7 / VARIOUS 716043154623 SPS31546.2 09716339 .00 22.99 .22 STEEPLECHASE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ V/A COMPILATIONS 10/01/2003 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/95/938395-3297064.jpg 6 1 N JORDAN,CLIFFORD HALF NOTE 716043119820 SPS31198.2 04995487 .00 22.99 .25 STEEPLECHASE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 07/18/1995 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/98/938398-3296670.jpg 3 1 N KONITZ,LEE / WILSON,MATT GONG WITH THE WIND SUITE 716043152827 SPS31528.2 08989673 .00 22.99 .21 STEEPLECHASE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 11/15/2002 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/07/938407-3297046.jpg 7 1 N MCLEAN,JACKIE / GORDON,DEXTER MONTMARTRE SUMMIT 1973 716043700127 SPS37001.2 04998082 .00 38.99 .23 STEEPLECHASE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 09/19/1995 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/32/938432-3298017.jpg 6 2 N BARTZ,GARY ODE TO SUPER 716043100927 SPS31009.2 04993636 .00 22.99 .24 STEEPLECHASE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 07/27/1994 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/36/938436-3296407.jpg 0 1 N NEILS-HENNING CAYALONIAN FIRE 716043101726 SPS31017.2 04993711 .00 22.99 .20 STEEPLECHASE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 09/27/1994 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/41/938441-3296418.jpg 2 1 N BEETHOVEN / NEW ZEALAND PIANO QUARTET PIANO QUARTETS From the pen of the fifteen-year-old Beethoven, these three piano quartets are among the earliest examples of a chamber music genre that would not reach full maturity until the time of Brahms. 747313099870 NXS8570998.2 14433184 .00 19.99 .23 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/26/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/9/9/2/1512991.jpg 7 1 N ADAM / COJOCARU / KOBBORG / NUNEZ / PETIPA GISELLE Alina Cojocatu, Johan Kobborg, Marianela Nunez, and Martin Harvey perform in this Royal Ballet production of the Adam ballet conducted by Boris Gruzin. 809478070306 BOPU7030BR 14471902 .00 39.99 .25 BBC / OPUS ARTE BLU-RAY CLASSICAL OPERA / OPERETTA / ORATORIO 05/26/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/7/0/3/1513071.jpg 0 1 N VIVALDI / DEUTER / HARMONIE UNIVERSELLE VIOLIN CONCERTOS 3760107400154 ELOQ815.2 13784300 .00 29.99 .20 ELOQUENTIA FRANCE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 08/12/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/4/2/1/1381245.jpg 0 2 N FREITAS / RTE NAT'L SO / CASSUTO SYMPHONY NO. 1 / SUITE ALENTEJANA Luis de Freitas Branco was a pre-eminent figure in Portuguese music of the first half of the twentieth century. This first disc of a four volume series of Freitas Branco' orchestral works features the First Symphony in which the influence of Cesar Franc. 747313076574 NXS8570765.2 13802110 .00 19.99 .22 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 07/29/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/1/2/9/1379214.jpg 14 1 N HAYDN / BABANOV / SCHUSTER / DASKALAKIS TRUMPET CONCERTO / HORN CONCERTO NO. 1 Haydn' popular Trumpet Concerto is best known for it's thrilling first movement cadenza and brilliant and inventive Rondo finale. The Horn Concerto No. 1 is also notable for the technical demands made on the soloist, not least the large octave leaps. 747313048274 NXS8570482.2 13787165 .00 19.99 .20 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 07/29/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/2/2/9/1379220.jpg 3 1 N IRELAND / LENEHAN PIANO WORKS 3 John Ireland' piano music, some of the most appealing British piano music of the twentieth century, reflects the composer' many interests: his love of literature, his interest in paganism and Celtic mysticism. 747313046171 NXS8570461.2 13786939 .00 19.99 .20 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 07/29/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/2/2/9/1379224.jpg 105 1 N BELLINI / CORELLI / NERI / CALLAS / SANTINI NORMA: ACT 1 8014399501514 MYT151.2 13699697 .00 10.99 .21 MYTO RECORDS ITALY COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL OPERA / OPERETTA / ORATORIO 06/24/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/3/4/9/1379439.jpg 4 1 N SMETANA / BEETHOVEN / ANCERL MA VLAST (MY COUNTRY) / VIOLIN CTO IN D MAJOR The recording of the opening concert of Prague Spring 1968 captures conductor Karel Ancerl's performance of Smetana's My Country with the Czech Philharmonic. 099925701598 SPP7015DVD 13688196 .00 33.99 .27 SUPRAPHON DIGITAL VIDEO DISC CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 06/24/2008 07/29/2024 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/1/7/4/1374719.jpg 1 1 N BELLOMY,DAN BACK TO BROOKLYN 021475011087 CMB1108.2 06410759 .00 18.99 .20 CAMBRIA RECORDS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 06/29/1999 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/6/4/2/1552468.jpg 0 N KING'S SINGERS COLLECTION / VARIOUS KING'S SINGERS COLLECTION / VARIOUS 635212012024 SGUK120.2 13688608 .00 58.99 1.11 SIGNUM CLASSICS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC V/A COMPILATIONS 06/24/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/3/7/4/1374732.jpg 12 5 Y EWAZEN / TELEMANN / DOPPLER / MULLER / BACH SOUVENIRS: CHAMBER MUSIC HORN FLUTE & PIANO Souvenirs: Chamber Music for Horn, Flute and Piano by Peter Green 044747294421 CAV2944.2 13696504 .00 18.99 .18 CENTAUR COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 06/24/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/5/7/4/1374755.jpg 4 1 N WOLF-FERRARI / RODRIGUES / RLPO / PETRENKO SUSANNA'S SECRET 822252219326 AVIE2193.2 15133885 .00 19.99 .34 AVIE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 08/10/2010 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/2/6/4/1674621.jpg 8 1 N MY FIRST MOZART ALBUM / VARIOUS MY FIRST MOZART ALBUM / VARIOUS If you listen carefully to this CD, you will get to know one of the best composers in the world. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived 250 years ago but he carries on being famous-so he must have been special. He giggled a lot. 747313820474 NXS8578204.2 16182974 .00 19.99 .21 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC V/A COMPILATIONS 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/7/2/8/1908270.jpg 2 1 N HAAS / ENSEMBLE COSMEDIN ANIMA MEA: SACRED MUSIC OF THE MIDDLE AGES Anima mea explores the Christian concept of the soul through these masterpieces of medieval Sacred Music. Hildegard of Bingen' beautifully exalted harmonies represent God' order in the music of the spheres. 747313263271 NXS8572632.2 16182882 .00 19.99 .23 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/3/3/8/1908333.jpg 0 1 N WAGNER / YOUNG / PHILHARMONIKER HAMBURG / POLASKI GOTTERDAMMERUNG 4260034869288 OEHM928.2 16183056 .00 47.99 .77 OEHMS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/5/3/8/1908350.jpg 5 4 Y WETZ / ZUMBUELT / DOMBERGCHOR ERFURT CHRISTMAS ORATORIO 53 761203763825 CPO777638.2 16136182 .00 18.99 .25 CPO RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS / CHANUKKAH 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/6/3/8/1908360.jpg 18 1 N PORTSMOUTH CHAMBER CHOIR / BEAMISH / MOLDOVEANU SONG MORE SILENT 822252214727 AVIE2147.2 14159244 .00 19.99 .16 AVIE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHILDRENS 11/25/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/7/2/3/1443278.jpg 12 1 N PLACE / HICKEY / LINELL MUSIC FOR SHAKESPEARE'S THEATRE Music played an important role in the Renaissance theatre and Shakespeare brought new subtlety to it's use. In a theatre without lights and sets, it fell to music to underline mood, whether for magic, comedy, feasting or pathos. 747313070879 NXS8570708.2 20566654 .00 19.99 .21 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 04/29/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/2/5/2/1482524.jpg 3 1 N KORNGOLD / STRAUSS / PRAGUE SYM ORCH / KOUT CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN & ORCHESTRA 099925396220 SPP3962.2 14737381 .00 14.99 .20 SUPRAPHON COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 10/27/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/5/4/1/1571451.jpg 0 1 N KOVACS / DONATONI / BASSETT / KOMIVES / HARTIG CHALUMEAU 044747296524 CAV2965.2 14737640 .00 18.99 .20 CENTAUR COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 10/27/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/6/4/1/1571462.jpg 12 1 N VIVALDI / MCMURTRY / HUHTANEN / MCLEOD / MALLON SACRED MUSIC -MAGNIFICAT 3 / NISI DOMINUS Vivaldi' sacred music occupies a place of honour in his vast output, dovetailing passages of great tenderness and sombre beauty, rich in cantabile expressiveness, with highly operatic movements of colourful and exciting virtuosity. 747313044573 NXS8570445.2 13956387 .00 19.99 .25 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 09/30/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/4/8/1/1411848.jpg 29 1 N HAYDN / OELZE / WEIR / LIKA / NORRINGTON / COE CREATION HOBXXI:2 881488707458 PROL7074.2 13959890 .00 24.99 .25 PROFIL - G HAENSSLER COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 09/30/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/5/8/1/1411854.jpg 7 2 N CLASSICAL DREAMS / VARIOUS CLASSICAL DREAMS / VARIOUS 881488806557 PROL8065.2 13960827 .00 54.99 .25 PROFIL - G HAENSSLER COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL V/A COMPILATIONS 09/30/2008 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/38/1308038.jpg 9 3 N RAVEL / SAINT-SAENS / FOURNET / BILKENT SO / BIRET IDIL BIRET RAVEL EDITION 3 - PIANO CONCERTOS The Turkish pianist Idil Biret was one of the greatest child prodigies of the 20th century. Her recital at the Boston Conservatory demonstrated that she is no less prodigious today. She played a long and demanding program with the power, concentration.

The Persian composer, Reza Vali, began his music studies at the Tehran Conservatory of Music, finally settling in the United States. His compositions include pieces for orchestra, string quartet, piano and voice, and chamber ensemble.

Edmund Rubbra (1901?1986) waited a long time for the recognition that was his due. Although he found his voice and manner by the late 1930s, securing occasional performances and radio broadcasts of quality, it wasn?t until the 1970s that many of his symphonies achieved their premieres on LP?and the first recorded edition of his 11 symphonies had to wait until 2001. Many reasons have been attested for this neglect over the years, but the most convincing argument I?ve read is that he was too complex and ?un-English? for the old guard, while remaining far too conservative tonally and structurally for the Young Turks of the period.


Rubbra?s style certainly would fit into this uneasy zone that lay outside the accepted boundaries of the conventional and the conventionally unconventional. There is a curious amalgam in his compositions of Sibelian transformative development with complex, linear textures, and vocally inflected thematic lines that derive from Renaissance polyphony. Even more than Vaughan Williams, Rubbra frequently envisioned his more ambitious works as reactions to a moral battleground; and the length of his religious convictions can be taken by noting his conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1948. But although Rubbra used a musical language that was determinedly consonant and tonal, it didn?t possess any of the trappings of the folk nationalist school. When members of the avant-garde were latching onto the latest techniques to prove their individuality, Rubbra made good, traditional music, yet sounded like no one at any time save himself.


The Violin Concerto of 1959 is an excellent example of this. The allegro ?s uneasy thematic line is characteristic, as is its grave sweetness, delicate orchestration, and propulsive rhythms. The slow movement is among the most beautiful things ever penned by this composer who had little regard for surface beauty?an intensely meditative study that ranges between serenity and lyrical exaltation. As for the allegro giacoso that rounds off this work, extroverted finales were never that difficult for Rubbra. Unlike Lloyd and Finzi, he never sought to conclude anything composed in a serious manner and elegiac tone with a forced ?jolly celebration.? His finale here is on the minor side of several modes, but with bounding rhythms and brief, figurative allusions to folk drones (so very much like Rubbra?s favorite symphonic pedal points). The effect is not unlike Baroque dances in minor keys, exhilarating and with a twinkle in the eye that belies the grim set of the mouth.


The Improvisation for Violin and Orchestra was originally a Fantasia composed in the mid 1930s, then substantially recomposed in 1956 for a commission by the Louisville Orchestra. The lengthy, plaintive solo for violin with only occasional ominous rumblings from the timpani set the basic tone for the piece, whose ruminations cover the ground from self-lacerating doubt to momentary epiphany. Like the Violin Concerto?s slow movement, this Improvisation is a seemingly spontaneous but carefully wrought work.


The third composition on the program represents a departure, not only from the rest of the album, but from most of the composer?s ?uvre . I first encountered the Improvisation on Virginal Pieces by Giles Farnaby 30 years ago on a British RCA LP, where Rubbra wrote that a lighthearted piece was sought by Universal Edition to offset the cost of engraving and printing his First Symphony. (The LP was part of a series underwritten by Harveys of Bristol, manufacturers of Harveys Bristol Cream. Anyone want to suggest to Peter Coors that he sponsor a new recorded series of the works of William Schuman?) The result was this work, wherein Rubbra re-orchestrated and lightly but amusingly retouched five of Farnaby?s delightfully folk-inflected keyboard pieces. It?s a charmer.


Yuasa takes a relaxed but firm hand to all three pieces; too relaxed, perhaps, in the Violin Concerto?s opening movement, compared to a now-deleted Unicorn LP that featured David Measham leading the Melbourne SO, with soloist Carl Pini. I?ve never enjoyed Pini?s acidulous if bracing tone, but that same movement took roughly two minutes less on that release, and gained in the process. Elsewhere, Yuasa articulates the many lines of the finale so well that he conveys a sense of blithe activity without great speed. The slow movement and the Improvisation for Violin and Orchestra benefit from his considered approach. Osostowicz displays a warm tone, seamless legato, strong technique, and commanding personality. The Farnaby pieces could use more energy, but focus is never lacking, and Schönzeler did worse on my old LP. The Ulster Orchestra is bright, rich, and well blended, but that?s hardly news.


Sound is forward and effectively balanced, while Malcolm MacDonald supplies attractive liner notes. The timings are a bit slim, but with performances and music such as we find here, offered at a budget price, who can complain? Definitely recommended.


FANFARE: Barry Brenesal

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco considered the 1924 Concerto Italiano to be his first truly symphonic venture. This tuneful, fresh and transparently scored concerto here receives its world première recording. It was admired by the great violinist Jascha Heifetz, for whom the composer wrote his Concerto No. 2 ‘I Profeti’ (The Prophets), an impassioned work ‘of biblical character and inspiration’ with an almost cinematic sweep. The recipient of the coveted Echo Klassik award for her album of Mendelssohn’s two Violin Concertos [8.572662], Tianwa Yang is widely recognized as one of the outstanding rising stars on the world classical music scene.

REVIEWS:

This recording of Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s early (1924) Concerto Italiano purports to be a world premiere, and while you can never really tell these days, this is certainly the first time that I have seen the work on disc. It’s very enjoyable, and very Italian–in a good way. The thematic material has character, even in the long opening Allegro moderato e maestoso, while the central Arioso sets the seal on the music’s Italianate lyricism. Yang plays the work very confidently; she has no technical limitations at all, and she captures the warmth of those romantic tunes with unfailing aplomb. Certainly she deserves credit for learning a big, unfamiliar piece that she’ll probably never be asked to play in concert.

The Concerto Italiano also makes ideal sense as the coupling to the slightly better known Violin Concerto No. 2 “I Profeti” (“The Prophets”). Composed in 1931, it was taken up by Heifetz, no less, who made a stunning recording that has popped up in various incarnations (coupled to the Walton Concerto on Naxos Historical). The modern reference version has been Perlman’s hard to find outing with Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic on EMI, in tandem with Ben-Haim’s Violin Concerto. The piece is interesting in that it really does sound like a (good) soundtrack to a Hollywood bible epic, although it predates both the genre and the composer’s American period by more than half a decade. If you like, say, Respighi’s exotic tone poems or Bloch’s Schelomo, then you’ll enjoy this well-wrought and colorful work similarly.

Again, Tianwa Yang plays with unflagging gusto and, in music that can turn kitschy, taste. Now is usually the time we get to say something condescending, like “She’s no Heifetz, or Perlman,” but the truth is that she doesn’t suffer at all from the comparison. She’s an excellent artist, one whose musicality and passion speak for themselves, and she can hold her own against anyone. The only caveat stems from the proficient but somewhat too polite accompaniments provided by the SWR ensemble under Pieter-Jelle de Boer, as well as the less than glittering sonics. Not bad, mind you, and probably as good as we have right to expect for such rare repertoire, but it could have been better still. If you don’t know this music, you should hear this.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

The Concerto Italiano is not the breezy, pseudo-Victorian piece that its title might suggest; indeed, it is rather a melancholic work. I profeti is a rather more lively and colorful work, its glittering, singing lines certainly bring a resonant response both from soloist Tianwa Yang and the SWR Symphony Orchestra.

-- Gramophone

Of Ukrainian origin, Boris Pigovat (b. 1953) is now based in Israel where he has won several distinguished national awards. His Holocaust Requiem received the ACUM (Israeli ASCAP) prize in 1995, and was premi�red at a concert dedicated to the massacre of Jews at Babi Yar. Each movement is named after the Latin Mass text, the emotional symbols of sorrow, suffering and hope expressed purely instrumentally but led by the 'human' voice of the viola. The deliberately Russian Romantic style of Poem of Dawn was especially chosen by the composer for the work's dedicatee, acclaimed violist Anna Serova. "I'm sure that the Holocaust Requiem has a great future. Boris Pigovat's composition is very sophisticated, but it isn't flowery or pretentious. It is simple but not primitive, it is frank and heartfelt, an outstanding work." ('The Day' - Ukrainian daily newspaper)

An important marker in Debussy’s compositional development, the Fantaisie reflects something of the influence of César Franck’s Symphonic Variations yet embodies his own new aesthetic. Unpublished in Debussy’s lifetime, it is heard here in its 1968 revision. The delicately evocative Rapsodie for saxophone is an exotic work with an ‘oriental’ atmosphere and Spanish or Moorish associations. Although composed as a Conservatoire test piece, the Première Rapsodie for Clarinet has long since entered the repertoire as an important addition for the instrument. The glittering Danses for harp and strings recall Satie’s Gymnopédies, with the Danse profane in particular calling for a degree of virtuosity. Volume 6 of this much-admired series (Naxos 8.572583) was praised for its ‘subtle and sensitive readings’. (Gramophone)

"We've reached Volume 7 in Naxos's superb Lyonnaise exploration of Debussy's orchestral works with the thrilling Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra, superbly played here by Jean-Yves Thibaudet. It's a grand showpiece, reminiscent of César Franck's Symphonic Variations but painted in Debussy's inimitable palette."

-- Stephen Pritchard, The Observer [11/19/2011]

Glazunov, A.K.: Orchestral Works, Vol. 14 - Piano Concertos

In the summer of 1781 Mozart described his new home Vienna as 'the land of the piano'. He soon set about presenting his own subscription concerts, offering the three newly-composed concertos on this disc for publication 'either with a large orchestra.

VIVALDI “Paris” Concertos: No. 2 in e, RV 133; No. 8 in d, RV 127; No. 11 in G, RV 150. Concerto in F for Violin and Oboe, RV 543. Flute Concertos: in a, RV 440; in d, RV 431a, “Il Gran Mogol.” Concerto for Flute, 2 Violins, and Bassoon, RV 104, “La note.” Bassoon Concerto in C, RV 473. Violin Concerto in B?, RV 365 • Adrian Chandler (vn, cond); Katy Bircher (fl); Gail Hennessy (ob); Peter Whelan (bn); La Serenissima (period instruments) • AVIE 2218 (79:03)


Titled The French Connection 2 , this is La Serenissima’s second collection devoted to concertos by Vivaldi composed for a French nobleman, or with stylistic elements typical of French music from that period. (RV 431a was written on French paper!) If you’re having déjà vu all over again, it’s because I reviewed the first collection (Avie 2178) almost exactly two years ago in Fanfare 33:2. As I remarked last time, France had a strong appetite for the music of Vivaldi and his fellow Italians during the 1720s and ’30s, and so it is not surprising that Vivaldi, on occasion, “spoke French.” Adrian Chandler’s excellent booklet note discusses this in greater detail than it is possible to do here.


Two CD premieres are claimed here, that of RV 431a and RV 365. The former was discovered in April 2010 in the National Archives of Scotland. Unfortunately, a second violin part was missing, but Andrew Woolley reconstructed it, using RV 431 (a simplified version of RV 431a) as a guide. A “Mogol,” by the way, is a representative of the Mughal Empire, part of the Indian subcontinent during Vivaldi’s lifetime. Some of the music on this CD is unfamiliar, then, and some of it will have the average Baroque enthusiast nodding and saying, “I’ve heard this one before.” All of it is of high quality, and there are, as always, some surprises. Chief among these is RV 473, which concludes with a lengthy Menuet en Rondeau . Longer than the first two movements combined, this movement would unbalance the concerto were it not so enjoyable, and were its increasingly ornate variations not so inventive.


Compared to other period-instrument ensembles, La Serenissima’s performances are well mannered, yet they are lively when they need to be, and gently introspective when they are not. The soloists are members of the ensemble. Last time I singled out bassoonist Peter Whelan, and I am moved to do so again. His joyful and virtuosic quacking in RV 473 is the sound that lingers most tenaciously in my ears after this CD has stopped spinning. Like many English ensembles of this sort, La Serenissima is a touch too proper to do full justice to Vivaldi’s Mediterranean temperament. Its name is an allusion to Venice, I assume, but it also describes its musicianship, for better or worse. (Mostly better.)


FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle



Vivaldi is one of the most frequently-recorded composers these days. If you want to record his music and want to avoid the beaten path, what do you do? The answer from Adrian Chandler and La Serenissima is to look at Vivaldi's music from a thematic angle. The booklet for this CD lists the discs they have made over the years. One of the themes was "Vivaldi in Arcadia", and another "Music for the Chapel of the Pietà". This disc is the second devoted to "The French Connection". This title has to be taken with a grain of salt as there is no formal connection between Vivaldi and France. He was never in the service of a French court and never wrote music at the request of any French aristocrat. Chandler rather wants to shed light on French elements in Vivaldi's music.
 
Everyone knows how strongly French composers of the early 18th century were under the influence of the Italian style. Music by Italian composers, and in particular by Vivaldi, was frequently performed in France, for instance in the Concert Spirituel. The influence of the French style in Italy is far less known. In his liner-notes Chandler refers to several traces of French influence in Italy, and especially in the oeuvre of Vivaldi. If there is a 'French connection' it could be a collection of concertos for strings and basso continuo which are referred to as the 'Paris' concertos. Chandler suggests that these could have been intended as a presentation set for a French nobleman.
 
In the booklet the French elements of every piece on the programme are listed. In particular aspects of the French overture style are traceable. The second movement of the Concerto in F (RV 543) is entitled 'allegro alla francese'. The finale of this concerto is a minuet, and the Concerto in C (RV 473) even ends with a 'menuet en rondeau'. That is all very interesting, and Chandler could be right that these are deliberate references to the French style. At the same time it is quite possible that these elements had become so generally accepted that they were not experienced as specifically 'French'. How many music-lovers or even composers of today think of Poland when they hear or play a polonaise? In the early 17th century Italian keyboard composers also wrote pieces 'alla francese'. But scholars can't identify exactly what is so French about them. Sometimes the connection seems rather far-fetched. According to the list the 'French connection' of the Concerto in d minor (RV 431a) is that the manuscript was written on French paper. Well ...
 
That concerto, with the nickname Il Gran Mogol, is one of the main attractions of this disc. It was only recently discovered in Edinburgh, of all places. Not that it was entirely new. Scholars knew that it had been written, and a reworking is listed as RV 431. This version also allowed the reconstruction of the missing second violin part of the first version, which is catalogued as RV 431a and is recorded here. It was part of a series of concertos devoted to various nationalities. This one referred to the Mughal Empire (India). Other concertos have disappeared. Those with a more than average knowledge of Vivaldi's oeuvre will immediately think of another concerto, this time for violin, with the title 'Il Grosso Mogul'. But that is an entirely different piece and has nothing in common with this flute concerto.
 
This piece has been recorded for the first time, and that is also the case with the Concerto in B flat (RV 365). It exists in two versions, the first of which is played here. The liner-notes don't say whether this concerto has been recorded before in its second version. The main difference regards the last movement of which there are two; here the oldest is played. Notable in the programme is also the Concerto in F (RV 543): the French elements in the titles of the various movements have already been mentioned. It needs to be added that the two solo instruments largely play unisono, which could be a reference to the French habit of oboes playing colla parte with the violins. It is also remarkable that there is no slow movement: there are three allegros and a closing minuet.
 
The most virtuosic piece is definitely the Concerto in C (RV 473) with many wide leaps and some very low notes. Vivaldi must have had a particularly skilled soloist in mind. It is remarkable anyway how many bassoon concertos he wrote and they are all quite demanding. Peter Whelan delivers a brilliant performance. The closing 'menuet en rondeau' is especially impressive. It is one of the disc’s highlights. The performances are generally quite good, though I find them at times too restrained. The fast movements come off fairly well, but the slow ones are often too static, especially as long notes are mostly devoid of dynamic shading. Katy Bircher gives a fine performance of one of Vivaldi's most popular pieces, the Concerto La Notte (RV 104). She is equally convincing in the two flute concertos.
 
On balance, the concept of this disc, the choice of music and the performances make this an interesting contribution to the growing Vivaldi discography.
 
-- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International

Classical Music

The playing throughout is sensitive and glowing in this meditative and glistening work that recalls Vaughan Williams and Hovhaness.

The composer Jon Lord rose to fame in the 1970s as a member of Deep Purple. Celebrity collaborations between the group and Malcolm Arnold included Concerto for Group and Orchestra written and scored by John Lord and conducted by Malcolm Arnold. Lord has over the intervening years increasingly extended his reputation into the classical field. The Durham Concerto is the latest and most ambitious example to date. In this he is not alone, witness the various classical pieces by Paul McCartney - the latest being Ecce Cor Meum and the orchestral work Seven by Tony Banks of Genesis – a work recorded on Naxos. All are individual in their own way but a sign that some musicians with a rock-popular reputation felt the siren call of classical eternity even if we ignore the blurring of ‘boundaries’ represented by the work of Frank Zappa, Soft Machine and Tangerine Dream.

At the most meagre level this is a beautifully packaged delightful musical souvenir of Durham University's 175th anniversary in 2007. The concept might remind you of John Scott’s Colchester Symphony but this is in fact a seriously-intentioned extended orchestral suite of six movements grouped in pairs.

At the start long-held Tallis-like string chords speak out of the mists of antiquity. This is music that takes a slow-shifting shading from Hovhaness. The glistening murmur forms a backdrop to meditative solos from the wind instruments. Then at 3.10 comes Ruth Palmer's Lark-like violin solo speaking as a fragile human voice against the downward remorseless tread of time. Given the accent of this first movement it is some surprise that Lord was not among those pop-contemporary world musicians interviewed for Tony Palmer’s recent RVW film-biography. As this movement, entitled Cathedral at Dawn, rises to its peak it is the notable ecstasy of Vaughan Williams that is most closely echoed.

The composer's Hammond organ is featured in four of the six movements. It ushers in the second (Durham Awakes) with its atmospheric solo for Northumbrian Pipes. The pipes are played by that doyenne of the instrument Kathryn Tickell. Matthew Barley's solo cello acts as orator and encourager in this Copland-inflected music but ancient and melancholically serene voices from the Pipes – unable to escape celtic connections - and the solo violin are there too. The Hammond also intercedes at several points. This movement proves a fine example of the successful interweave of pipes, cello and violin.

Those first two movements form Part 1: Morning. Then comes Afternoon in the shape of another two movements. The first reflects the spiritual journey of St Cuthbert and the physical journey of his mortal remains to interment in the Cathedral. It communicates as a slow revelatory sunset much in the same atmosphere as the Dawn. This is followed by the equally introspective, cello-led From Prebends Bridge. Here the composer had in mind the view from the Bridge and the innumerable people who have stood and taken in that view down a thousand years.

The cello solo once or twice seems rather meandering before it gathers itself for a more direct and emotionally hard-hitting address. The music here reminded me of the Elgar concerto, Rubbra's Soliloquy and Holst's Invocation. Then comes a much needed rowdy movement in which students on a rag day and a miners gala meet head on. The brassy whoops here reminded me of Arnold. Again Lord's Hammond is to the fore, lending dynamism to its usual watery discourse - it's the nature of the instrument. There's plenty of forward pulse here and the orchestra have fun with the pizzicato writing. The Arnold accent appears strongly at 4:12 onwards with something of the Commonwealth Christmas Overture to be heard as well as a nicely burred and brassy Gaudeamus Igitur at 6:21. History takes hold again at the end of the movement and those sustained string chords reassert the long view. The Pipes invoke the sorrowing melancholy of heritage morphing without break into the long meditative finale: Durham Nocturne.

I hope we will hear more of Lord's classical compositions including the suite for strings, Disguises (2004) and the piano concerto Boom of the Tingling Strings (2003). Both are due out from EMI later in 2008. What else remains to be recorded?

The concept of the present piece and the use of an 'ethnic' instrument recall, as an idea, Shaun Davey's works – especially The Relief of Derry Symphony and The Brendan Voyage.

The playing throughout the Durham Concerto is sensitive and glowing with much accomplished and thoughtful work for the solo instruments. The recording produces an almost tangible effect without embracing an in-your-face pop balance.

Here is an extended work of continuity across six substantial movements. The predominant meditative character will instantly mesh with those who love John Barry’s Beyondness of Things, Tavener and Vaughan Williams.

-- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International

The concertos for two violins by Vivaldi are a lesser-known part of his oeuvre. He composed a considerable number of them, though. The 28 concertos for this scoring span almost his entire career. The first examples were included in his collection of 12 concertos which was printed as his op. 3 in 1711 under the title L'Estro Armonico. The latest concerto which can be dated is from 1740. It is not entirely clear for whom these works were intended. Some may have been written as part of Vivaldi's activities as teacher in the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. The character of the solo parts is various, and in many cases they are so demanding that they can only be played by real virtuosos. Vivaldi was such a virtuoso himself. In his liner-notes Fabrizio Ammetto comes up with the suggestion that Vivaldi could have played them with his father, Giovanni Battista, a skilled professional violinist and probably his only formal teacher.

The roles of the two violins can greatly differ. Sometimes they play in parallel thirds, elsewhere they are involved in a contrapuntal texture with imitation. There are also episodes in which the second violin accompanies the first or vice versa. Lastly they can develop a dialogue which can take the character of cooperation or rather confrontation. The roles of the violins can change within a single concerto or even movement. That is part of the attraction of these concertos for both performers and listeners.

The programme starts with the Concerto in D (RV 513). It is one of the most virtuosic pieces and the only one which was printed - apart from the op. 3 concertos. The edition dates from 1736 but the concerto was probably written about ten years earlier. Particularly remarkable is the written-out cadenza for both violins in the last movement which includes various modulations.

The Concertos in B flat (RV 526) and in A (RV 520) belong to a collection of twelve which Vivaldi offered to the Habsburg emperor Charles VI. Unfortunately the parts of the first solo violin are missing. These have been reconstructed by Fabrizio Ammetto. The features of the violin parts in the double concertos mentioned above are helpful in the process of reconstruction. This has resulted in two beautiful concertos with a nice interplay of the two solo violins.

The Concerto in B flat (RV 764) is a reworking of a concerto for oboe and violin (RV 548). The largo is especially beautiful, with the two violins involved in an engaging dialogue supported by the basso continuo alone. The Concerto in A (RV 521) is a case of literal imitation between the two violins, and is described by Fabrizio Ammetto as "probably the result of an experiment in polychoral composition". He suggests that Vivaldi may have placed the soloists and even the tutti violins in different locations. It is a most intriguing concerto, with demanding solo parts.

The Concerto in B flat (RV 528), another reconstruction, is also known from Bach's transcription for harpsichord (BWV 980). It exists in another version, with one solo part (RV 381). It seems not quite clear which was the original version. In this version for two violins the second plays a subordinate role; in the slow movement it doesn't participate at all. The liner-notes fail to make clear what exactly has been reconstructed here. The disc ends with the Concerto in F (RV 765) which also exists in a version with violin and organ as solo instruments (RV 767). The technical demands of the soloists are limited here.

This disc is very interesting in regard to the repertoire. No fewer than three concertos (RV 528, 764 and 765) are recorded here for the first time. The fact that some concertos needed to be reconstructed makes this disc even more valuable as such pieces are obviously not often played. Fortunately the interpreters are fully up to the job; their playing is technically sound and they grasp the character of the various concertos well.

Often this kind of music is played with one instrument per part. That is not the case here: the tutti comprises four violins, two violas and two cellos; one of the latter also participates in the basso continuo. The result is a more robust sound and a larger contrast between soli and tutti. It is impossible to say which number of players is closer to the historical truth. It seems that it could vary from one place to another or from one occasion to another. I would have liked a more intimate acoustic, but that in no way diminishes my appreciation for this disc.

-- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International

Annie Fischer enjoys a singular reputation within the great tradition of Hungarian pianists due to her deeply moving and romantically intimate performances. She became famous and admired on account of her uncompromising spiritually absorbing interpretations. Like many other musicians, Fischer only left behind a few studio recordings however the few that were left became benchmark interpretations.

There is only a limited number of works for two or more solo instruments with orchestra. One reason may be that the concerto genre in the 19th century became the stomping ground of the great virtuosi of the day, and the works themselves vehicles for the great and unique talent of one, special performer - not two, or three. Mozart, however, was evidently attracted by the sinfonia concertante genre and created some of the finest examples of it, such as the works recorded on this disc. Manfred Huss, artistic director of the eminent Haydn Sinfonietta Wien, make their first appearance on BIS. They are joined by alexei Lubimov and Ronald Brautigam, two of today's finest performers on the fortepiano.

Classical Music

Almost nothing to fault and everything to enjoy here.

This excellent pair of CDs follows hard on the heels of Divine Art’s release of the Avison Ensemble’s recording of their eponymous composer’s Opp. 9 and 10 Concertos (DDA 21211), which I so recently recommended. If anything, this is finer music than those concertos – hardly surprising when the originals were sonatas by none other than Domenico Scarlatti – and the performances and recording are equally fine.

The London publication in 1739 of 42 Scarlatti sonatas provided Avison’s inspiration in arranging movements from several of those as concerti grossi. His excuse, if one were needed, was the difficulty of performance of the music in its keyboard original state, but he couldn’t help also preening himself on having "tak[en] off the Mask which concealed their natural Beauty and Expression". I beg leave not to get into the thorny question of the adequacy or otherwise of the originals – performances of the calibre of those of Richard Lester on his complete Nimbus cycle would suggest that there was little amiss – but the music certainly sounds more varied and probably more amenable to most modern ears in its orchestral dress. More recently, Tommasini had the same idea in his arrangement as a ballet for Diaghilev of Scarlatti’s music in The Good-humoured Ladies.v Avison didn’t orchestrate whole concertos; some, like No.1 are from just two sonatas (Kk91a/d and Kk24), others from four different originals, like No.2, from KK 91c, 13, 4 and 2. The Divine Art booklet makes the provenance of each movement clear, also indicating with an asterisk movements transposed to a different key, with a dagger where the movement has been shortened or altered, and with two asterisks where the source is unknown.

Most of those unknowns, mainly slow movements, were probably Avison’s own compositions – sounding in no way out of place in the company of the Scarlatti-derived movements. Everything, original or not, is very skilfully arranged – preferable to the Sinfonie di Concerto Grosso of the elder Scarlatti, Alessandro, as least as performed, slightly heavily, by I Musici on Philips 400 017 2 – one of the first batch of CDs in 1983, but no longer available. (For all my reservations, this is worth reissuing, but there are alternatives on Tactus TCC661906 and 661907 and CPO 999 8562.)

Hitherto my benchmark recording has been that of the Academy of St Martin under Neville Marriner (Philips Duo 438 806-2, no longer available). It was, indeed, from the ASMF on a long-deleted Oiseau-Lyre LP that I first came across the music of Avison and his contemporary Boyce and discovered thereby that English music between Purcell and Elgar had not been quite the desert that it had been portrayed as.

This new recording is ample compensation for the deletion of the ASMF set. It doesn’t exactly wipe the floor with the earlier version, which is still worth considering if you find it as a remainder or second-hand at a reasonable price. Surprisingly, some of the tempi on the new set are slightly broader than on the Philips. No.1/iv, for example, takes 4:43 at Beznosiuk’s hands, 4:01 at Marriner’s. On CD2, No.7/iv now takes 4:17 against Marriner’s 3:33. I compared the two versions of these movements and found, as is often the case, that both make perfect sense in their own context. Perhaps I lean slightly to Marriner in 7/iv – he stresses the allegro part of the marking, Beznosiuk the affettuoso part – but I don’t want to make a big issue of it.

I shall still want to hear the ASMF versions – I couldn’t resist listening to the two CDs straight through for comparison – but the new versions are likely to make for more frequent listening. It’s a tribute to the music and to both performances that I could listen to four well-filled CDs in one session without becoming sated.

The ASMF version employs modern instruments, though with cognisance of period practice; the Avison Ensemble employ period instruments, as itemised in the booklet. There is a rival period-performance from the Brandenburg Consort and Roy Goodman on Hyperion Dyad CDD22060 (2 CDs for the price of one). I haven’t heard this version but it has been described in some quarters as likely to sound a little rough and ready to those not fully attuned to early instruments. Mark Sealey certainly didn’t in general share that opinion in his review of this set, and I find it a little surprising in view of the excellence of their performances of the Handel Op.3 concertos which I have recommended here on Musicweb.

You certainly won’t find anything of the sort about the playing of the Avison Ensemble on the new set – this is early music without the rough edges, by which I don’t mean to imply that it’s dull or over-polished: this isn’t the early-music equivalent of the Berlin Phil under Karajan. I’m still hard put to hear the continuo, though, as I was with the earlier Op.9/10 set – I don’t want to hear a monster harpsichord clattering away, but I’d like to hear a little more of it. Otherwise, the recorded sound is first-rate.

The Avison Ensemble have already recorded the music of their namesake for Naxos and Divine Art. Their 2-CD recording of the Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 on Naxos 8.557553-4 was welcomed by Jonathan Woolf and Johan van Veen as doing Avison proud – see JW’s review and JV’s review. Robert Hugill was equally appreciative of their later recording of Opp. 3 and 4 (8.557905-6 – see review). I hope to include an appreciation of the Naxos recording of the Op.6 works in my November, 2008, Download Roundup: this is Avison’s finest music with the possible exception of the Scarlatti-based concertos.

Having switched to the Divine Art label, the Ensemble recently recorded the newly-discovered set of Concertos after Geminiani’s Op.1, to the satisfaction of JV again, though he had some reservations about the recorded sound – (DDA21210, see review). All these recordings are very worthy of your consideration but the Naxos Op.6 and the new Divine Art sets are probably the best places to start. With the new set offered at two-for-one, it’s very little dearer than the Naxos, so why not get both?

The only black mark that I can place against this whole enterprise is the failure to provide Avison’s dates, which is all the more surprising when Divine Art include such a wealth of detail about the provenance of each movement.

-- Brian Wilson, MusicWeb International

Twelve years younger than Bach and Handel, Giovanni Benedetto Platti left us a collection of nine Concerti per il cembalo obligato which rank not only among the very early examples of composition for keyboard instrument and strings, but also and above all, the first specimens especially conceived for the fortepiano, the new instrument invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori. Brilliant soloist and regular keyboard player of Zefiro, Luca Guglielmi offers us, for the first time on period instruments three brilliant and foreseeing piano concertos, interspersed with the large-­--scale Piano Sonata in C minor, a very widespread composition at the time, and the baroque Sonata for oboe, with a special appearance by Paolo Grazzi. An astonishing music from a composer who deserves to be recognized as one of the greatest of his time.

The Rodrigo concerto (double woodwind, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and strings) needs real virtuoso playing—it is one of those works which are harder than they sound—but is most skilfully written. The cheerful first movement, starting up with typical Iberian belatedness from apparently idle introductory strumming, may make the most immediate effect, but undoubtedly the finest part of the work is the introspective Adagio, which shows that in the right hands even such seemingly cliché-bound elements as melancholy cor anglais solos and quasi-flamenco fiorilure can still be moving. Williams's reading differs somewhat from Bream's (which I still think superb): he takes the first movement a thought slower and just misses Bream's élan, but gives the finale actually more bite: he plays the slow movement sensitively, less dramatically and more dreamily than Bream (and incidentally changes the notes of the final arpeggio). It is a throughly musical performance, a worthy rival to that by his distinguished fellow-countryman.

-- Gramophone [7/1966, reviewing Concierto de Aranjuez on LP]

Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 4 & 5

Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467 "Elvira Mad

Comparable to the likes of Prokofiev, Shoenberg, Bartok and Shostakovich, the piano concertos of Ernst Krenek (1900-1991) are important contributions to twentieth century piano repertoire. The first three piano concertos, featured here, were written between 1923 and 1946. Krenek displays an impressive use of twelve-tone technique. Pianist Mikhail Korzhev is active as an orchestral soloist, solo recitalist, and chamber musician. He has been a faculty member at Beverly Hills International Music Festival since 2008.

The performance of Duruflé's transcription for 2 organs of Handel's 8th Organ Concerto is a tour de force. Mere words become woefully irrelevant.

Originally recorded in 1967 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, this release projects, among other virtues, a tangible sense of occasion. The shrine's two organs had been installed and dedicated in 1965, but the Duruflés' recital of two years later was the first to utilize both instruments simultaneously, in Marcel Duruflé's transcription for two organs of the eighth of Handel's 16 concertos for organ and orchestra. That was, by the evidence on this release, a performance tour de force. The two instruments (the great and the chancel organ) are separated by a distance of some 300 feet, a virtual city block. The Duruflés overcame that vast and vastly disorienting sonic space by resorting to the sounds transmitted via telephone headsets rather than those of the acoustic surround. The result is a breathtaking synchronici-ty of attack and release, not merely of purely technical precision, but of musical affect as well.

Clarity and precision, not merely that of getting the right fingers to the right keys and pedals in a timely fashion, but of going, straightaway, to the heart of the musical discourse at hand, inform each track on this release. The little Schumann Canon in B Minor projects a playfulness that underscores its inherent irony. The Tournemire piece (a vast improvisation by that composer subsequently reconstituted by her husband) becomes, appropriately, César Franck on speed. Mme. Duruflé's clear-eyed realization of its every Easter-chant-derived iota converts it into a grippingly human drama, at once horrifying and consoling.

Of the incense-tinged Prelude and Fugue of Marcel Duruflé, I will say nothing. Mere words become woefully irrelevant.

If you've been lulled to sleep by my verbosity, wake up and get this one before it becomes, as is so much of the best that music has to offer, unavailable.

-- William Zagorski, FANFARE [1/2000]

Rudolf Serkin's gaunt tone and impassioned phrasing, along with Eugene Ormandy's robust, alert support, have long distinguished this 1964 recording of Schumann's A minor concerto as one of the catalog's finest.

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com [reviewing Sony 93908]