BEETHOVEN: Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8

Classical Music

Classical Music

Includes work(s) by various composers.

Classical Music

This great and popular series continues from Audite. This performance is taken from the Bavarian Broadcasting Company tape of a concert in Munich on October 8, 1982. Other titles in this series are Symphony No. 1 (Audite 95.467), #5, (Audite 95.465) and # 9, (Audite 95.471). This series will sell. Check now and make sure you have at least one in stock in each store.

Although the Fourth cannot be numbered among the best of the Bax symphonies (it is arguably the least concentrated and most hedonistic of the seven), Bryden Thomson's LP with the Ulster Orchestra must have already won it many friends and this CD will win it even more. It is quite simply one of the very best CDs I have heard so far, and has an altogether striking presence and vivid detail that does full justice to Bax's sumptuous orchestral textures and opulent sonorities.

Bryden Thomson and the Ulster Orchestra have earned much praise for their earlier Chandos recording of Bax tone poems—November Woods, The Garden of Fand, Summer Music and The Happy Forest—which in its CD form on CHAN8307 (1/84) collected golden opinions both in these columns and elsewhere. Discussing that Compact Disc, MEO wrote of the ''finely calculated and highly individual character of Bax's orchestration'' being ''more evident than I have ever heard it outside the concert hall''—though I must say opportunities of encountering it there are hardly legion! This CD of the Fourth Symphony and Tintagel deserves an enthusiastic welcome and is a demonstration disc, even by the high standards Chandos have established in this field.

-- Robert Layton, Gramophone [8/1984]

Telemann’s legacy is extremely extensive and comprises all the customary musical genres of the time. Typical of Telemann are cantablie melodies, inventively applied timbres and, especially in his late works, unusual harmonic effects. The instrumental works frequently reveal the strong influence of French and Italian music, and occasionally folkloristic Polish influences. Stefan Schilli, solo oboist of the Bavarian Radio Symphony, has strongly committed himself to this repertoire; this forms the basis for the creation of the present CD with Schilli’s “Accademia giocosa”.

Receiving great acclaim worldwide along with the most noteworthy triumphs, the Czech Chamber Orchestra, revived by Jozef Vlach, brings us Legendary Recordings. Josef Vlach is far from being as well known as he deserves to be. Vlach co-founded the orchestra at the age of 23 after Vaclav Talich was falsey accused of collaborating with the Nazis and was banned from working with the Czech Philharmonic. The maestro was known for requiring the utmost artistic quality, diligence and engagement from his musicians. Under his supervision, the orchestra performed in Osaka in 1960, the Salzburger Festpiele in 1962, toured in USA, Germany, the UK and many other countries.

Janácek was one of the most distinguished composers of the 20th century, with his operas enjoying particular renown all over the world. Yet he has bequeathed us precious few pieces for independent symphony orchestra. Hence, a number of conductors have striven to expand this limited repertoire by creating suites from his operas. This album features such treatments of his three major musical dramas. Jenufa was the first opera to be set to a prose text. The globally celebrated piece reflected the sorrow Janácek felt after the death of his two beloved children and gave rise to a deep person crisis. Similarly to Jenufa, it too met with rejection and would only be premiered thirty years after the composer's death. Katya Kabanova is one of the greatest Janácek works and one of the most beautiful lyric operas of the twentieth century and beyond.

PADEREWSKI Piano Concerto. Polish Fantasy • Kevin Kenner (pn); Marcin Na??cz-Niesio?owski, cond; Podlasie Op O • DUX 733 (55:40)


Well, I’ve certainly been immersed in Paderewski lately … at least, Paderewski at one or two removes, which is not the same thing as the real deal. First, there was the Homage to Paderewski set on Hyperion 67903, which I reviewed in Fanfare 35:4, and now this new recording of his concerto and Polish Fantasy. As I expected, the concerto is very much in the big, late-Romantic mold of Brahms, Rubinstein, and other composers, but it’s a solid piece built around native Polish rhythms and with an interesting and exciting development section in the first movement. (In fact, at one point a solo piano passage sounds a little bit like a Russian folk song.) Although it is said that the second theme is an evocation of Chopin, it is an original melody and not one borrowed from that composer. The slow movement is even more delicate than Chopin’s andantes , almost Debussyan in its sparse use of the piano in the beginning and actually built around a three-part tune. Eventually, this delicate melody becomes more energetic, but never so much that the initial impression is forgotten. The lively rondo finale, based on a krakowiak, is likewise contrasted with a stately chorale that eventually caps the piece.


I find the Polish Fantasy an even more interesting work, having a more melancholy cast and somewhat related to Liszt’s Hungarian fantasies. It can be divided into four sections, each with its own character, though they are bound together by a mazurka-like motif. It is very nearly a concerto in itself, running over 21 minutes. I suspect that the composer refrained from calling it one simply because the four sections are played without a break, and such works in his day were almost always relegated to the “fantasy” category.


Kevin Kenner, despite his American origins, proves himself to be fully up to the task of interpreting this Eastern European music. Like all modern pianists, he eschews the slightly out-of-synch coordination of hands favored by Paderewski and many other pianists of his generation, preferring to play in a clean, rhythmically consistent manner, but he certainly gets the feel of Polish music very well. Of course, having a Polish orchestra and conductor helps, and I am more than a little amused to see that the orchestra hails from Bia?ystok (known as the “Jerusalem of Poland” because of its heavy Jewish population and the birthplace of Dr. Albert Sabin, immortalized by Mel Brooks with the name of his principal character—Max Bialystock—in his zany comedy The Producers ). All concerned play beautifully on this CD, giving us about as convincing a reading of these works as can be imagined. One can find more visceral and exciting readings from Janina Fialkowska, supported by the great Antoni Wit, on Naxos 8554020, and by the late, great Earl Wild (the concerto on Elán 2266 with Arthur Fiedler and the London Symphony, the Fantasy on Ivory 72010 with conductor Massimo Freccia), but this recording meets the demands of the music with a more convincing nationalistic flavor than Wild and less clattery sound than we get from Fialkowska’s piano. Recommended without hesitation for both the unusual repertoire and its presentation.


FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

French Orchestral Selections

Classical Music

Crowning their series of recordings together for Ondine, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach are featured here with Peter Tchaikovsky's most popular orchestral pieces, Romeo and Juliet, String Serenade, and Francesca da Rimini. As an added bonus, the Orchestra's brass principals perform two brass quintets by Victor Ewald.

The Philadelphia Orchestra and the music of Peter Tchaikovsky form a relationship on which a legend was built. Enthusiastic press and success followed on the release of the previous recordings of the three final symphonies Nos. 4-6. Romeo and Juliet is Tchaikovsky's first acknowledged masterpiece and today one of the most popular orchestral compositions ever written. The swirling orchestral mastery of Francesca da Rimini makes this a true showpiece for the Orchestra with its legendary "Philadelphia Sound". The Mozart-like String Serenade remains one of the most beloved of all works for string orchestra. Both Tchaikovsky and Ewald were active composers in St. Petersburg's musical life during the same time and familiar with each other's work. Esteemed by all lovers of brass music, Ewald's Quintets are imbued with romantic Russian national feeling.

This is the ninth CD under the "formidable Ondine-Eschenbach-Philadelphia partnership" (Gramophone), which since 2005 has produced discs that have been honored with accolades including BBC Music Magazine's Disc of the Month, Gramophone's "Editor's Choice," The New York Times' "Top Ten Recordings of the Year," and the German Record Critics' Award, among others.

Helsinki–born Parisian Kaija Saariaho’s music sounds like little else, its kaleidoscopic magic evoking Debussy refracted into the twenty-first century. This album includes the ghostly Terra memoria for string orchestra, expanded from a chamber original for the Emerson String Quartet. The beautifully scored vocal suite from Emilie, a 2011 one-woman opera about pioneering eighteenth-century scientist Emilie du Châtelet, will appeal to those beguiled by Saariaho’s dazzling first opera, L’Amour de loin (the works share a librettist, too, French-Lebanese poet Amin Maalouf). One can’t imagine the high-flying vocal role’s originator, Finnish diva Karita Mattila, being much better than French soprano Karen Vourc’h is here, nor in the shimmering song cycle Quatre Instants, also written for Mattila.

– Bradley Bambarger, Listen Magazine

Includes work(s) by Ludwig Thuille. Ensemble: Bolzano-Trento Haydn Orchestra. Conductor: Alun Francis. Soloist: Oliver Triendl.

FALLA La vida breve • Lorin Maazel, cond; Cristina Gallardo-Domâs (Salud); Jorge de León (Paco); María Luisa Corbacho (Grandmother); Felipe Bou (Uncle Sarvaor); Sandra Ferrández (Flamenco Singer); Ode la Generalitat Valenciana • C MAJOR 710708 (DVD: 81:00) Live: Valencia Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia 4/17/2010

La vida breve is a gift to stage directors and design teams. Its deliberate ambiguities—where is the action taking place; is it all meant to be considered as occurring in reality; what do you do when so much of the music is orchestral only, even in sections that feature short vocal moments?—allow considerable leeway to interpretation, more so than in most operas. And stage directors typically enjoy having that kind of control over a production. In this 2010 production, everything is tied to the young Gypsy girl, Salud. The men working the forge and the girl selling baskets are never seen, but Salud hears them, walking around a nearly empty stage with a starkly towering, mottled red backdrop. It is in effect Salud’s head, and heart. It is only when the characters directly interact with her that we know we have moved back into something resembling a realistic frame.

Stage director and set designer Giancarlo del Monaco (and yes, in case you were wondering, it is Mario’s son) is consistently clever in integrating Salud everywhere in the opera. The interlude between acts is presented as a duet danced before Salud between two figures in wealthy wedding finery: Our heroine’s intuition, or fears, at work, as she believes Paco is being unfaithful. The chorus then enters while she watches, followed by Paco and his fiancée, all of it done slowly as in a dream; a fire blazes behind a life-sized cross, in front of which a woman stands, arms extended as though crucified. She moves away from the cross, turning into a singer who in folk tradition praises the soon-to-be married couple. All of this is ambiguous, and more is to follow. The singer has a gritty, guttural voice, unattractive but compelling: Perhaps to celebrate passion at its most dangerous and impersonal—or is her voice just being perceived this way by Salud, still viewing events as though in a vision?

With so much emphasis on Salud’s internal dialog, I suspect something more final than the written ending conclusion to La vida breve—willing herself to death as a supreme insult to her former lover who has publicly denied any affair—was felt necessary at the opera’s conclusion. In del Monaco’s staging she feigns severe hurt, and as Paco approaches, reaches out her hand to grasp his, forcing her concealed dagger into it. She then thrusts herself upon the weapon, and dies. This production foregoes props, aside from chairs. The costumes are period-effective without attracting undo attention, mainly underscoring the class and wealth differences that drive Paco away from Salud with white lace against black linen.

It would take a fine singer and actress to make this conception of La vida breve work, one who was expected to be on stage the entire time, moving and reacting when she wasn’t the center of attention. Cristina Gallardo-Domâs is fortunately up to the task. The Chilean soprano’s dark chest register and soaring, lyrical top encompass the vocal requirements, and she is a strong enough actor to remain expressively in character the rest of the time for this emotionally draining role. Jorge de León acts well, too, but his bright lyric tenor is tight with pressure, and he has a regular wobble when singing above piano. María Luisa Corbacho also shows a loosening of vibrato, but that’s not unexpected as the grandmother, while Felipe Bou brings firmness of tone to his small part. Lorin Maazel plays to the score’s color, rhythmic bite, and acute dissonances. His firm tempos and solid grasp of the drama are welcome.

The camerawork is first-rate, both varying distances, and holding shots for as long as they’re important. There are no DVD extras, unless you consider trailers for other operatic DVDs (including a very strange-looking Theodora) as useful content. Subtitles are in Spanish, English, French, and German, with PCM stereo and DTS 5.1 as the sound options. The video format is 16:9. The booklet contains good cut listings and some brief, useful history on the opera, but reproduces a short synopsis that doesn’t reflect the changes (such as the ending) in the current production. This would still be a viable recommendation had the production been less considered, and the performers less able. After all, where else are you going to turn? But as good as this is, I have no hesitation in recommending it heartily.

FANFARE: Barry Brenesal

This set contains 1 blu-ray audio disc playable only on blu-ray players and 1 Hybrid SACD playable on all CD players.

DIABOLO presents music at its finest, as one has come to expect from MDG, with a unique cast featuring the crème de la crème of the classical world: Elisabeth Leonskaja, Christian Zacharias, Hariolf Schlichtig, the Beethoven Orchestra of Bonn, the Mozart Piano Quartet, Jin Ju, Frank Bungarten, the Norddeutscher Figuralchor, and many others promise you a top—class musical fireworks. Seventy-eight minutes of performance joy from Bruckner to Beethoven, from Chopin to Shostakovich, and from Scheidemann to Schönberg recreate MDG’s legendary recording venues in all their facets right in your own living room and with a breathtaking you - are - there feeling never experienced before.

RUSSIAN TRUMPET CONCERTOS • Reinhold Friedrich (tpt); Christoph-Mathias Mueller, cond; Göttinger SO • MDG 901 1770-6 (SACD: 61:26)


SHAKHOV Romantic Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra. ARUTIUNIAN Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra. O. BÖHME La Napolitaine. Tarantelle. VASILENKO Concerto for Trumpet “Concert-Poem.” GOEDICKE Concert Etude


The title of this disc is something of a misnomer. Out of the five composers represented here, one is an Armenian (Arutiunian), one a German immigrant to Russia (Böhme), and one a descendant of German immigrants to Russia (Goedicke). As it is, none of the works featured here—all unabashedly tonal and written in a popular vein—sound particularly “Russian” in any way.


Information on most of these composers is hard to come by, especially regarding Ilya Emmanuilovich Shakhov (1925–1986), who has no entry in any of the multiple online and print sources I consulted. According to the booklet notes, he was a pupil in violin at the Moscow Conservatory but had no formal training in composition. His studies were interrupted at age 16 with the Nazi invasion of Russia, at which point he entered military service and endured various hardships before returning to musical activities upon the war’s end. His Concerto, dating from 1955 and cast in the traditional fast-slow-fast three-movement form, is, at 22: 20, the longest work on this disc. It is a pleasantly upbeat and entertaining piece that sounds a bit like a cross of Rimsky-Korsakov with Francis Poulenc or William Walton in one of their cheekier, unbuttoned moods. The slow movement is quite lovely, and the entire piece is colorfully orchestrated in a manner that suggests the composer was intimately familiar with concert band repertoire.


Alexander Arutiunian (1920–2012) is easily the most famous figure represented on this release, with his Trumpet Concerto from 1950 being perhaps his most frequently performed composition. While conforming to the confines of Soviet Socialist Realism folkloric composition, it is of much higher quality of inspiration and compositional craft than most such works. Although traces of the influences of Rimsky-Korsakov, Shostakovich, and Prokofiev are present (though remarkably not of Khatchaturian), the work also draws upon Armenian folk melody influences, particularly that of the ashug , an 18th-century minstrel that is an Armenian counterpart of the medieval troubadour or Meistersinger . A somewhat contrasting slow movement sounds more like French café music from one of the members of Les Six . As with the Shakhov concerto, the whole is brilliantly orchestrated.


In 36:3 I reviewed a CD featuring French trumpeter Thierry Gervais that included the Vasilenko “Concert-Poem,” and so I will refer readers there for notes on the composer and piece. While I slightly prefer Friedrich as a trumpeter due to his more mellow sound, the Gervais performance is better overall due to a superior conductor on the podium knowing how to shape the piece more effectively.


Oskar Böhme (1870–1938?) and Alexander Goedicke (1877–1957) are each represented by a brief and lively encore piece, the latter having its original piano part orchestrated by Gene Mullins. As its title indicates, La Napolitaine , dating from about 1900, is a brief tarantelle that sounds like something Rossini or Donizetti would have tossed off in a spare moment. The Concert Etude from 1936 sounds like a side piece from the desk of Glazunov, although at moments it also brings to mind the Scherzo from Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.


Since both composers wrote trumpet concertos, I wish that one of those had been included instead—particularly in the case of Böhme, whose life ended horribly. Born in Dresden, he first established a reputation as a trumpet virtuoso there with tours beginning in 1885. In 1897 he migrated to Russia, where he played in the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra in St. Petersburg until 1921 and also taught at a music school. After the Bolshevik Revolution, he was assigned by the government to teach at a music school on Vasilievsky Island in the harbor of Petrograd (as St. Petersburg was then named) from 1921 to 1930, and then played in the Leningrad Drama Theater Orchestra from 1930 to 1934. At that point, being suspected as a foreign national of German extraction, he was arrested by the KGB in one of Stalin’s waves of mass purges and banished to a music school in Chkalovsk, a provincial administrative center on the Volga River in an area where the so-called Volga Germans lived. After teaching there from 1936 to 1938, he was re-arrested and vanished; there is one unconfirmed report of him being seen in 1941, at age 71, working as a slave laborer on construction of the Turkmen Channel Canal in Turkmenistan.


For his part, Alexander Goedicke (a first cousin to Nikolai Medtner) was far more fortunate. The son of a piano teacher at the Moscow Conservatory, he received his initial musical training there as a piano and organ virtuoso, where he was awarded the gold medal in 1898, followed in 1900 by first prize in the Anton Rubinstein Competition in Vienna. Despite having no formal training in composition, he also won the conservatory’s Rubinstein Prize for Composition at age 23. He was appointed a professor of piano there in 1909 and also of organ in 1923; his performing repertoire included the complete organ works of Bach.


Reinhold Friedrich, a pupil of Edward Tarr, has been professor of trumpet at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik (State Music Conservatory) in Karlsruhe since 1989. He is a widely traveled soloist, and has been principal trumpet of the Lucerne Festival Orchestral under Claudio Abbado since its founding in 2002. His discography includes over 50 LPs and CDs, several of which have been reviewed to approval in these pages. His is a tone that is more sweet than piercing, which happens to be how I like trumpets to sound, and in any case it is most appropriate for the present program. The Göttinger Symphony does justice to its part of the proceedings; conductor Christoph-Mathias Mueller is sound but not exceptional, as he could do more with bringing out inner voices and shaping phrases than he does. The SACD recorded sounded matches Friedrich perfectly, having an exceptionally pleasant mellowness. In sum, while there is nothing profound here, it is one of the most delightfully entertaining anthologies of trumpet music ever to come my way, and thus receives my hearty endorsement.


FANFARE: James A. Altena

ROSETTI Violin Concertos: in D (C6/III:9); in d (C9/III:5). Symphonies: in G (A39/1:16); in B? (A45/1:14) ? Johannes Moesus, cond; Anton Steck (vn); Kurpfälzisches CO ? cpo 777 028 (76:08)


Francesco Antonio Rosetti (c. 1750?1792) was born Anton Rössler. He was but one of numerous exceptional musicians and composers whose homeland was Bohemia, a region that produced more than its fair share of talent (including Vanhal, Stamic, and Jirovec) in the 18th century. While in his twenties, Rössler turned his back upon the clergy, embraced music, and chose the Italian spelling of his name.


After obtaining a post at the court of Oettingen-Wallerstein, Rosetti?s reputation as a composer began to spread far afield. In his early thirties, Rosetti, in Paris, writes that most of the symphonies performed in the French capital were either his or those of Haydn. And it was Haydn who suggested that Rosetti?s symphonies be included in the London concerts managed by Johann Peter Salomon. Rosetti?s catalog, while not as extensive as that of Haydn or Mozart, contains over 400 items (symphonies, concertos, chamber music, and vocal works), and more than half of these were published during the composer?s lifetime. This serves to strengthen a 1784 comment by Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart in Ideen zu einer Ästhetik der Tonkunst that Rosetti ?was one of the most beloved composers of our time . . . something easier, fuller of light, and more honey-sweet than the pieces of this man can hardly be imagined.?


Indeed, Rosetti?s toolbox was well stocked; it included an exceptional grasp of technique, not to mention extraordinary contrapuntal skill. He was also inventive in his use of the orchestral winds and liberally employed chromaticism, which doubtless raised more than an isolated eyebrow in the audiences of the era. Rosetti was one of the darlings of Classicism and many critics and performers were not shy about mentioning Rosetti in the same phrase as Haydn and Mozart. However, musical tastes, call them fads if you like, can and do change with the rapidity of the speed and direction of the wind, and by the end of the 18th century, Rosetti?s music was old hat.


Rosetti?s extensive catalog?already noted?included 44 symphonies and more than 60 concertos, including half a dozen for violin. The recipient of these works is unknown, but speculation is that they were composed for Johann Anton Hutti, who joined the Oettingen-Wallerstein musical establishment not long after Rosetti. We know a bit about Hutti?s musical ability as his violin concertos?published in the 1780s by Breitkopf & Härtel?indicate he was a ?well versed and capable performer.? Both the violin concertos and symphonies on this recent arrival from cpo are exceptional in content. The former are on a high level of inspiration; they include all of the virtuoso?s tricks of the trade and augur well for Rosetti?s contemporary reputation. The latter?though less substantial than the symphonies of either Haydn or Mozart?offer taut but never truncated structure and memorable melodic material. It?s easy to see why the Parisian musical public and Haydn respected Rosetti?s abilities.


One of the finest Baroque violinists active today, Anton Steck has recorded with Reinhard Goebel?s Musica Antiqua Köln, Marc Minkowski?s Les Musiciens du Louvre, and in 1997 became the leader of the Handel Festival Orchestra in Hallé. Since period instruments are not the domain of the Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester, Steck has put aside his gut-strung violin and opted for a Tilman Muthesius instrument copied from a 1741 Guarneri del Gesù.


Exhumed from the shadowy recesses of oblivion, Rosetti?s concertos receive passionate and well-deserved advocacy on this release. Steck?s execution is flawless, his tone secure, and his sense of musicianship unfailing from first note to last. Johannes Moesus and his band prove they are more than equal to the task, both in the concertos and the symphonies, exhibiting model musicianship and many other qualities indigenous to many of the orchestra?s better-known competitors. As for the sound, it?s up to the usual high standards that we have come to expect from Burkhard Schmilgun and his colleagues at cpo.


This is an exceptional release, holding extraordinary music that is presented with enviable and commanding feel for the repertoire. If you like Mozart and Haydn, there?s no doubt you?ll quickly warm to this beautifully recorded and well-executed release.


FANFARE: Michael Carter

BERCEUSE - MUSIC OF PEACE AND CALM

The second and final release in this series of Rossini's complete overtures. Works include L'Italiana in Algeri, La Cenerentola, among others. The Prague Sinfonia Orchestra is led by conductor Christian Benda.

This is an audio-only (i.e., with no video content) Blu-ray disc playable only on Blu-ray players.

Nebolsin is the real thing, a genuine virtuoso who can interpret Chopin with imagination and style.

Most long-time admirers of Chopin’s First Piano Concerto are well aware of Artur Rubinstein’s classic 1961 recording, available now on an RCA CD. Other eminently worthy recordings include Argerich, on both DG (1968) and EMI (1999), Ax, on Sony (using a period-instrument piano), and Perahia, also Sony.

Young Uzbek-born, Spain-based pianist Eldar Nebolsin enters the ring. On no count is he ever less than thoroughly compelling in the concerto, from his dramatic and stormy entrance in the first movement to the brilliant but always tasteful virtuosity of his finale. His articulation is clear without sounding brittle, his phrasing elegant and warm, and his technique all-encompassing. Notice how deftly he captures Chopin’s lyrical side in the way he imparts delicate mystery to the first movement’s main theme or how he floats the main theme to the ensuing Romanza in lovely singing tones. In Nebolsin’s hands inner voices often emerge to impart greater impetus to the music: try the coda to his first movement where the left-hand figures - often buried in other performances - convey a sense of agitation and drive as the music hurtles nervously toward the ending. And if he doesn’t quite match the effervescence of Rubinstein’s finale coda, he comes very close.

In the end, Nebolsin makes the decision between him and the others a tough one. However, what tilts the scales in favor of Naxos is the clear and powerful sound and the incisive conducting of Antoni Wit, a conductor who, in an oxymoronic irony, is famous for being unknown. His extraordinary talents were overlooked for years, as critic after critic lobbied in the wilderness on his behalf. Now, owing to their persistence and Wit’s numerous acclaimed recordings on Naxos, he has earned much justly deserved recognition. Wit makes the most of Chopin’s generally bland scoring, often giving it weight and muscle, or pointing up inner detail, or simply letting the music sing where appropriate.

In the accompanying works, Nebolsin is just as compelling: the Fantasia on Polish Airs sounds fresh and vital despite its somewhat less inspired music. Krakowiak comes across with brilliant colors and chipper moods, Nebolsin’s fingers seeming to negotiate the thorniest passages with utter ease. Again, the sound is vivid. The Warsaw Philharmonic play with spirit and accuracy in all works. Notes by Keith Anderson are informative, as usual.

I must point out, as is noted in the heading, that this Blu-ray disc is an audio-only, high-definition production. Also, there is a blurb on the album cover stating that this is the, “First recording to use the new Polish National Chopin Edition.” However, I noticed nothing different in the scores from other performances, and whatever differences there might be are probably negligible. On the whole, this is a splendid release and augurs well for a second DVD from these same forces shortly, presenting the Second Concerto and other Chopin works. In sum, Nebolsin is the real thing, a genuine virtuoso who can interpret Chopin with imagination and style.

-- Robert Cummings, MusicWeb International

Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Malcolm Arnold's music is so well crafted and effectively scored that it seldom fails to make a good impression, as fine recent recordings of the symphonies from Vernon Handley (Conifer) and Richard Hickox (Chandos) have convincingly demonstrated. Naxos' ongoing cycle, recorded in the presence of the composer, equals them, and in this case takes the palm pretty convincingly. Credit for this rests squarely with conductor Andrew Penny. The National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland plays very well, but it doesn't have quite the bravura of Hickox's London Symphony. It's the interpretations that make the difference. In the Fifth Symphony, for instance, both Hickox and Handley fly through the first movement, then linger over the second. Penny takes a bit more time at the opening, allowing the delicate sonorities of the second subject the necessary room to blossom, and he doesn't linger quite so much over the Andante con moto, enhancing its oddly disturbing mixture of tackiness and despair.


This approach also works very well in Symphony No. 6's Lento, with its pop music inflections, while in the same work Penny's ever-so-slightly deliberate finale (shades of Shostakovich!) perfectly realizes the ironic hollowness of its ultimate victory. These aren't huge differences, but the opportunity to make comparisons among various versions not only increases admiration for the viability of Arnold's symphonic achievement, but it offers convincing proof of Penny's ultimate superiority. Nor does Naxos have to take second place in the sonic sweepstakes: this is one of the label's best sounding recordings from this source. Superb.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

This is an audio-only (i.e., with no video content) Blu-ray disc playable only on Blu-ray players.

Also available on standard CD

George Gershwin fired up the New York music scene with his mélange of alluring tunes and refinement of the jazz vibe. His Strike up the Band Overture opened a flashy broadway hit and, inspired by a train ride, the composer heard his masterpiece Rhapsody in Blue as a “musical kaleidoscope of America”. Promenade was reconstructed from a 1937 film score, and Catfish Row was Gershwin’s concert suite from the opera Porgy and Bess. Acclaimed as a “bold, gutsy performance with plenty of pizzazz” and with “impressive brilliance and depth”, JoAnn Falletta’s previous Gershwin volume can be found on 8.559705 or Blu-ray NBD0025.