Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Richard Hickox directs a star-studded cast in this fantastic new recording of two early operettas by Arthur Sullivan. 'Cox and Box' was first performed in 1866, when the composer was just twenty-four. It shared the bill with another operetta by writer W. S. Gilbert, and it is highly likely that this was how Arthur Sullivan and william Gilbert met. 'Trial by Jury', written as a commission for Richard D'Oyly Carte, was their second collaboration, and it was this project that Gilbert and Sullivan discovered their joint creative voice. New and exciting, it took British musical theatre by storm. Premiere recording of the original orchestration of 'Cox and Box' which Arthur Sullivan approved for use at the Savoy performance in 1894.

Verdi: Overtures & Preludes, Vol. 2

Classical Music

This release is an interactive CD-ROM. Along with audio tracks, it includes a history of opera, biographical information and photographs of the artists and composers featured on the disc, and America Online sign-up software. A Macintosh or Windows compatible computer is necessary to utilize the multimedia material.
This disc contains both AAD and DDD recordings, and includes both mono and stereo selections. All tracks are excerpts of the selections listed.
Includes work(s) by various composers.

When orchestras became larger and larger, instrumentations more and more refined, and sound impressions louder and louder, Robert Fuchs composed . . . string quartets. Working in what is certainly the most intellectual musical genre, he had ears for intimate personal statements, while the music business had eyes mostly for showy spectacles. The Minguet Quartet, now a sought-after ensemble, once rescued Fuchs’s four quartets from decades of neglect when it was as aspiring young formation; the newly released special edition even today makes for true listening pleasure. The namesake of the Quartet is Pablo Minguet, a Spanish philosopher of the 18th century who attempted, in his writings, to facilitate access to the fine arts for all sectors of the population – and this idea is a chief artistic concern of the Minguet Quartet particularly while touring for concerts around the whole world. The passionate and intelligent interpretations of the Minguet Quartet always ensure inspiring listening experiences – “for the joy in sound and expression with which the ensemble makes the works speak enlivens even the smallest detail”. (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)

Classical Music

"...Recordings of a work like the Trout always have a problem due to the difficulties of balance between piano and a small string ensemble. In this instance the engineers have avoided the pitfalls and have come up with a good balance. A fresh sounding, lively performance appeals with the important piano part played tastefully by Emanuel Ax and a pleasing degree of shading and contrasts from the strings. Good ensemble playing from a highly regarded group... The String Quintet version of Eine Kleine Nachtsmusik makes a welcome second item. More normally heard in a chamber orchestra version, this minimised Mozart (an option from the time of its composition) is a refreshing change. To hear the five lines (two violin parts not a doubling) is a delight, and the 'authentic' movement of recent years must take some credit for the greater appreciation the reduction gives... [An] attractively compiled CD..." -- Harry Downey, MusicWeb International

This opera, so dependent on the wedding of text and music, is a natural candidate for Opera-in-English (I believe one of the first recordings of the work, with Jerome Hines and Rosalind Elias, was in English). The argument that Bartók carefully composed it to match the rises and falls of Hungarian remains valid, but understanding the text is just as important to listeners. The diction of both John Tomlinson and Sally Burgess is impeccable without being too stilted (read: British); of course the bass and mezzo-soprano voices are easier to understand than the higher ranges.

Both singers are superb here. If Tomlinson is sounding a bit old, he's certainly not sounding weak, and the pitch-darkness of his tone is just right for this enigma of a man. "Forbidding" is the word that comes to mind. (He also speaks the Prologue, and sounds properly dour.) Burgess does almost everything right (she drops the high-C at the fifth door too quickly for it to have the resounding effect it ought to) and she can sound genuinely frightened without overstating or exaggerating. Her performance is all-of-a-piece; she's thoroughly believable.

The score is a study in brightness and grief, chiaroscurically speaking, and the clarity of the recording, the elegance and excellence of the playing of Opera North's Orchestra, and the leadership of Richard Farnes lets us experience most of the contrasts. It's not as vivid as renditions by Solti or Kertesz, but it's fine nonetheless. After the Kertesz (with Ludwig and Berry), this set is a fine choice if the English language doesn't get in your way--or if it's exactly what you need.

--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Verdi: Il Trovatore

At the most recent production at the Vienna State Opera, the twins were sung by Nina Stemme and - for the first time in the role - Johan Botha. Since then both soloists have enjoyed international success in even more dramatic Wagner roles. This CD release of the live performance of the first act is ideal for all those who are curious to hear more, but perhaps hesitate to get to grips with complete, modern performances of the Ring.

J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus [Highlights]

Classical Music

To mark Britten's 100th birthday, Mariss Janson's conducted the composer's best-known and most moving work, War Requiem, in March 2013. In addition to the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the Tolz Boys' Choir can also be heard. An outstanding ensemble of soloists rounds off this remarkable recording.

Classical Music

Classical Music

MOZART The Magic Flute ? Wilhelm Furtwängler (cond); Irmgard Seefried ( Pamina ); Wilma Lipp ( Queen of the Night ); Walter Ludwig ( Tamino ); Karl Schmitt-Walter ( Papageno ); Josef Greindl ( Sarastro ); Vienna St Op Ch; Vienna PO ? ORFEO C 650 053 D, mono (3 CDs: 176:35) Live: Salzburg 7/27/1949)


This performance was first publicly issued on the Discocorp LP label, and then on CD by Arlecchino and Arkadia, the latter slightly better than the former. It was then sonically improved on by Music & Arts, and in Fanfare 19:5 I reviewed the Music & Arts release. Now, along comes an Orfeo issue that far surpasses both Music & Arts and Tahra (which is almost identical to Music & Arts). Orfeo?s is the first release that is officially sanctioned by the Salzburg Festival, and while the original master tapes have not survived, the Salzburg archives had at their disposal material superior to the off-the-air sources that have been the basis of prior releases. The sound here is far less harsh and strident, completely lacking the distortion found on all prior releases, and in fact even superior to EMI?s release of the slightly superior 1951 performance with a similar cast (EMI 65356).


From the chords that open the Overture, it is apparent that this is a weighty reading, one very far from today?s theories of how to perform Mozart. Those opening chords are arpeggiated (or, depending on your point of view, just sloppy), and have a significant mass about them. Throughout, Furtwängler?s performance is rooted in the 19th-century tradition?rich in color and texture, filled with tempo adjustments, and far weightier than we would encounter today. If you are open to this approach, it has probably never been done better. It is, as I said in my earlier review, a noble, humanistic Flute , one where the text has a strong impact on the conductor?s view of how to manage the music; it is a performance that smells of the theater. But if your idea of this music is that it must be light and fleeting, you will probably wish to avoid it.


The cast is very good, though not as good as the 1951 repeat of the production that is on EMI. There were two important cast changes between 1949 and 1951, and both are significant improvements (probably not a coincidence). The biggest difference is the 1951 Papageno, Erich Kunz, who is superb vocally and dramatically; Karl Schmitt-Walter here is limited by a dry timbre and what seems to be a lack of dramatic and comedic imagination. The other change is Tamino. Walter Ludwig here is sensitively phrased and dramatically inflected, but his tone is throaty; in 1951, Anton Dermota was a clear improvement.


Aside from that, the cast is the same in both, and is superb. Particularly noteworthy is Irmgard Seefried?s glowing Pamina. Wilma Lipp manages the second of the Queen?s two viciously difficult arias better than the first, but few have done better with both. Josef Greindl?s Sarastro is thrillingly dark-toned, though admittedly occasionally out of tune. The remainder of the cast is luxurious?in fact, only at a level possible in a festival setting like this.


Furtwängler collectors are going to want this?even if they have the Tahra or Music & Arts editions. The warm, clear sound here is such an improvement that it casts the performance in a new light. Helpful and interesting notes accompany the set, but (as is typical of historic reissues) no text or translation.


FANFARE: Henry Fogel

Classical Music

Triple Feature.