As one of the finest pianists of his era and an improviser of genius, Ludwig van Beethoven’s preferred vehicle for musical exploration was the piano. His earliest composition, from 1782, was a set of piano variations and he continued to compose for solo piano until the last years of his life. His interest in the concerto form diminished as his deafness forced him to retire from performing. Nonetheless, with his five piano concertos composed between 1788 and 1809, Beethoven not only achieved a brilliant conclusion to the Classical piano concerto, but also established a new model for the Romantic era: a sort of symphony with obbligato piano which remained a reference point well into the beginning of the twentieth. Ronald Brautigam has already recorded these seminal works with the Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra, in acclaimed performances released between 2008 and 2010. Since then he has also released all of Beethoven’s solo piano music on the fortepiano to universal praise. When Brautigam now returns to the concertos, it is in the company of conductor Michael Alexander Willens and Die Kolner Akademie playing on period instruments. The same team has previously partnered him in an 11-album survey of Mozart’s piano concertos and it is plain to hear that all involved clearly relish the opportunity to congratulate Beethoven on the eve of his 250th anniversary.

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REVIEW:

Textures are bracingly lean, with a lightness and transparency that seems airborne. There’s nothing pompous or heavyhanded in these readings. Both Brautigam and Willens are alive to Beethoven’s every indication on the page, and that most precious of all commodities in music, the life of the phrase, is sacrosanct. Original, stylish and authoritative, this concerto set is a worthy and thought-provoking contribution to the recordings marking the Beethoven year.

– Gramophone

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

Henk de Vlieger's orchestral arrangement of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle boils down this monumental music drama in four parts to a symphonic poem with a duration of a fifteenth of the original score. Unlike certain other arrangements, de Vlieger's follows the chronology of the operas so that the irrevocable process towards the twilight of the gods is clearly delineated. His method has been to select and link together the most important orchestral passages in the score, already closely interconnected as a result of Wagner’s leitmotif technique The excerpts have in most cases been taken over without alterations; only occasionally has an essential vocal line been replaced by wind instruments. Quite possibly, Wagner himself would have objected to the undertaking, but in fact one of his own strongly held convictions was that the text – or rather its content – should be continuously present, by means of the hidden-away orchestra exploring the dramatic background to the action presented on stage. With this orchestral arangement the turn has thus come for the Royal Swedish Orchestra to take its place on centre stage, in music which has been part of its repertoire for close to 120 years at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm. (Some of that impressive history is reflected in the CD booklet through images from Ring productions past and present.) The conductor Lawrence Renes, recently named music director at the Royal Swedish Opera, has admired de Vlieger's arrangement since it was premièred, in 1991, by his own mentor, the conductor Edo de Waart. The arrangement has been recorded previously, but never before by a bona fide opera orchestra. The result is indeed an adventure, as well as a sonic spectacular, and an excellent calling card for a fine orchestra all too often relegated to the shadows.

There have been more than a few excellent recent releases of Grieg’s music for string orchestra, notably on Naxos, including orchestrations of his String Quartet in G minor. The Quartet took a lot of heat when it first came out on account of its acres of double-stops and consequent “orchestral” sound, and truth is that it makes an absolutely terrific piece for larger ensemble, losing very little in translation. Tognetti’s arrangement really is as good as any, and as you can well imagine he has his crack ensemble playing the piece to a fare-thee-well, with all of the passion and drive that one could possibly ask for.

The Naxos releases divided discs between the quartet arrangements (including Grieg’s incomplete Quartet in F major) and all of the remaining works for string orchestra. Tognetti presents a mixture. His arrangement of Erotikk, from the Lyric Pieces, is charming and effective, and rather more sensual than the keyboard original. The Two Elegiac Melodies are touching, fluid, and less heavy in these performances than when played by larger forces; but the highlight of the disc must be the performance of the Holberg Suite.

Even though it has been done to death, this version stands out for the vivacious charm and witty phrasing of its Praeludium (sound sample attached), and for the rustic brilliance of the concluding Rigaudon. In between, the Gavotte also has a welcome spring to its step, and as with the Elegiac Melodies the two slower movements never bog down in excessive sentiment. Mind you, sentiment in this music, and plenty of it, isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if you are going to use smaller forces, this is surely the way to do it. Sonically, this is absolutely state of the art: clear, pure, and tactile in the best way. If the coupling appeals, go for it.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Victorian carols and music. An old fashioned programme of Christmas songs and carols that children will love to listen to. From the story of 'Cock Robin' to well known Christmas carols, with a fascinating mix of sounds - bells, music boxes, accordions and piano.

REVIEW:

This is not only one of the best sounding violin and orchestra recordings ever made, but the entire concept is so smart, so well executed, and so thoughtfully planned that even if it were not so musically stupendous it still would be worthy of your attention. As it is, this is one of those rare productions in which absolutely everything goes right. Consider, for example, the problems attendant upon releasing yet another recording of the Brahms Concerto. You have a small independent label with excellent musical credentials but limited resources, a soloist of great musical gifts (Rachel Barton's previous discs have all been top-notch) but who isn't a "big name", and a work that virtually every other violinist with access to a microphone has recorded, sometimes more than once. Given the fact that on musical evidence Barton's Brahms certainly deserves to be heard, what's a label to do?

First, secure the services of a world-class orchestra under a fine conductor (Carlos Kalmar, music director of the Oregon Symphony and Chicago's Grant Park Festival, fills that bill nicely). Amazing, isn't it, that when major labels are screaming about how they can't afford to record major American orchestras Cedille has found the resources to do just that? Second, instead of simply offering the Brahms, you find an interesting coupling. And let's not kid ourselves: Joseph Joachim's Hungarian Concerto isn't just an "interesting coupling"; it is the Holy Grail of Romantic violin concertos, a work so lengthy (47-plus minutes, about the same as the Elgar concerto), so difficult, yet so deliberately symphonic and, in a sense, anti-virtuoso in conception that it has never once received even a merely adequate recording. Take that coupling, play it to a fare-thee-well (demonstrating once and for all that the work is indeed a brilliant and neglected masterpiece), and then toss in an equally fine Brahms Concerto, all offered at a two-for-one price. If that isn't a recipe for success, then nothing is.

Indeed, Joachim's youthful Hungarian Concerto is so beautiful and full of life, its Gypsy-tinged melodies so entrancing, that only its inordinate difficulty accounts for its rarity. In concert it would be a show-stopper, and Rachel Barton has its full measure. The heavily symphonic first movement requires the soloist to engage in genuine chamber-music dialog with the orchestra, especially the principal winds. Joachim's orchestration must stand with the finest ever achieved in a concerto; there are no dead spots and no balance problems as long as the soloist has the taste and musicianship to know when to cede the spotlight and when to take command.

Take the remarkable cadenza as a typical example: there's no barnstorming sawing and scraping, but instead a densely flowing river of lyricism joined now and then by solo flute and oboe. It's one of the most purely gorgeous passages ever written for the violin, and Barton plays it for all it's worth (and finishes up with some devastating descending chromatic octaves that actually sound like musical notes and not a rusty hinge).

The slow movement features another very attractive principal theme, and when it returns at the movement's conclusion in the cellos, decorated by garlands of ornamentation from the soloist, the result sounds like some lost work of Dvorák at his most melodically characterful. Barton's electrifying attack on the finale, a dazzling "Rondo from hell" with a whiplash perpetual motion principal subject, sets the seal on this remarkable performance. Her double-stops (and there are tons of them: check out from 2:30 into the movement) are as sweetly tuned and richly voiced as her legato is smooth and her sense of rhythm acute. Even after this long work I wouldn't be surprised if you went right back and played the finale over again. It's that much fun.

The word that most succinctly sums up Barton's Brahms is "aristocratic". Among recent recordings, she plays Milstein to Hilary Hahn's Heifetz. The timings are identical to Perlman and Giulini's celebrated performance with this same orchestra, but for my money Barton achieves an even finer balance between poise and virtuosity (and shows far greater dynamic sensitivity, especially in the finale). With opening-movement tempos relaxed but never slack, Barton's warm, round sound allows her to really dig into the music where necessary (witness that famous fanfare-like motive, or Joachim's first-movement cadenza)--but she never emits a raw or unlovely note. The second movement, with a gorgeous oboe solo at the start, is just heavenly, and the finale reveals plenty of high-spirited energy but also numerous delightfully phrased touches in its various episodes. At the very end Barton and conductor Kalmar produce a wind-down coda simply perfect in its timing and wit. She even includes her own eminently musical and enjoyable cadenza on a separate track. Simply jump ahead when the orchestra stops (the balance of the coda is also included, so you don't have to skip backward to get the ending).

As noted above, the sonics are sensational. The opening of the Brahms, with dark-hued strings answered by the winds like a gleam of sun breaking through the clouds, will take your breath away. Although Barton deserves much of the credit for emitting such attractive sounds, it certainly helps that Cedille's engineers capture her shining tone with nary a trace of shrillness, even in the highest positions. Barton herself writes an excellent set of notes (surely indebted to Tovey in discussing the Joachim, but none the worse for that), and to put the icing on the cake she plays a 1742 Guarneri "del Gesu" violin, the "ex-Soldat", selected by Brahms himself for his friend and colleague, violin virtuoso Marie Soldat. Recordings don't get any better than this. Rachel Barton, conductor Carlos Kalmar, and Cedille deserve your enthusiastic support for putting this project together and executing it with such perfectionist zeal and consummate musicianship. There's also a lesson here that the whole industry should take to heart: Where there's a will, there's a way, and it's OK to make fewer recordings, especially if you make great ones. Astounding!

--David Hurwitz

Opus 18 needs little introduction and is often revered as demonstrating Beethoven's total mastery of the Classical String Quartet. The Eybler Quartet completes it's exploration of these iconic quartets in an album that showcases radiantly Beethoven's fiendishly difficult tempi and his genius for finding contrast within a single pulse as well as highlighting the depths of his humour, wit and irony. The Eybler Quartet came together in 2004 to explore the works of the first century -and-a-half of the string quartet and plays on instruments appropriate to the period of the music it performs. The Toronto-based ensemble's live performances have consistently garnered praise as "glowing and committed", "spirited" and "lively and energizing". The Eybler Quartet harnesses a unique combination of talents and skills: razor-sharp ensemble skills, technical prowess, expertise in period instrument performance and an unquenchable passion for the repertoire. The group's five other recordings feature world premieres of Eybler's Opus 1, world premieres of Backofen quintets coupled with Mozart's clarinet quintet featuring Jane Booth, Haydn's six quartets Op. 33, the world premiere of Johann Baptist Vanhal's op. 6 on period instruments and volume one of Beethoven's Opus 18 the companion to the present album.

Riemuitkaamme! is an imaginative and unconventional selection of choral music associated with Christmas as it is celebrated in Finland. Several of the pieces are by Finnish composers – Sibelius, Rautavaara and Madetoja, to name a few – while others have become part of the Christmas traditions of the country despite their international background. Among these Berlioz’ The Shepherds’ Farewell and Tchaikovsky’s Christ, when a Child… are quite late additions compared to the medieval hymns Puer natus in Bethlehem, Ecce novum gaudium and Angelus emittitur. All three of these were included in the collection Piae cantiones from 1582, the oldest Finnish music publication. Here, they are performed in settings by various composers from different countries and eras – forming a kind of soundtrack of Christmases past and present, distant and close. Contemporary music forms an important part of the activities of the Helsinki Chamber Choir and Nils Schweckendiek, and true to form, the team includes a world premiere recording in their celebrations: Aattoilta, by the Canadian-born composer Matthew Whittall.

Classical Music

The Munich-based (Germany) taschenphilharmonie (Pocket Philharmonic Orchestra) is dedicated to chamber symphonic performances based on Arnold Schoenberg’s “Verein fur musikalische Privatauffu¨hrungen” (Society for Private Musical Performances), established in Vienna during the 1920’s. Therefore, this ensemble performs big scale orchestral works from Mozart/Mahler/Beethoven to contemporary compositions with just 12-20 high-profile musicians. The result is a refreshing crystal clear sound combined with multifaceted colors and the vitality from outstanding musicianship to produce the resonance of a much bigger orchestra. The Pocket Philharmonic Orchestra and its conductor Peter Stangel have received several awards for their innovative concert formats and their educational work.

Favourite songs and carols a beautiful compilation of Christmas music - from orchestral to instrumental, from carols to songs, from medieval to 'Messiah'. Great variety - something for all the family round the tree on Christmas Eve.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, "Choral"

PIANO DREAMS - Most Popular Melodies (The)

In 2005 it was over 30 years since the Zurich Opera House had seen a performance of probably the world’s best-loved ballet, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. The Zurich Ballet, which has become one of the world’s leading dance ensembles under Heinz Spoerli’s direction, raised this famed work from its slumber with a dream team to tackle this classic anew. Zurich Ballet Director and choreographer Spoerli has long been confirmed as a master storyteller and an imaginative renewer of the genre: with the support of set designer Erich Wonder and costumier Florence von Gerkan he has devised a new and contemporary version of this classic dance tale that has been eagerly awaited by ballet enthusiasts all over the world, in this his third production of Swan Lake. Top Russian conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev ensures an evening of musical excellence, too.

Region: All

Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem is presented along pieces by Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) which might have inspired its composition, giving the listener a new insight into the composer’s mind and music making. Deeply moving, profound, and powerful, the Requiem is central to our understanding of Brahms’ compositional personality and inner spiritual life. Behind its dramatic gestures and 19th century grandeur, it reveals Brahms’ obsessions with folk-songs and the music of the past. The libretto, assembled by Brahms himself based on the Lutheran Bible, makes it a definitive personal statement of his position in matters of religion. The booklet includes a note by composer Hugh Wood, explaining how the pieces relate to each other and giving a moving account of Brahms as a composer and as a man.

John Eliot Gardiner's fresh take on Brahms' Symphony No. 2 is only partially about performing forces. The Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique's period-based proportions yield impressive ensemble clarity along with bracing instrumental timbres, most notably in the strings, which play sans vibrato. This has a curious effect in Brahms--compared to the accustomed buttery warmth produced by the Vienna Philharmonic or the Chicago Symphony, Gardiner's spare-sounding string band lends a certain curtness to the musical expression, especially so at the start of the slow movement, which here sounds more baroque than romantic. But this quality fits Gardiner's interpretation, with its moderately quick tempos and crisp phrasing. The orchestra's lively playing, most notably the woodwinds, makes Brahms' harmonies sing quite beautifully and makes you listen to the music with fresh ears. Only the finale breaks the spell--Gardiner's rather deliberate coda keeps the grand conclusion firmly on the ground.

The coupled Schubert choral works, of interest primarily to choral music aficionados, really don't add much to the program, although they do set the stage for Brahms' Alto Rhapsody, the opening of which interestingly has stylistic similarities to the Schubert pieces. Nathalie Stutzmann's dark, true-alto voice rings powerfully in the Rhapsody, while the Monteverdi Choir gives compelling performances throughout. Completing the package is recorded sound that's clear and detailed (with a slight emphasis on the high frequencies), fully complementing Gardiner's interpretive approach (especially that decidedly different Brahms Second!). A most welcome release.

--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Schubert: Mass No. 6, D. 950

Also available on Blu-ray

Although posthumous, 'The Tales of Hoffmann' is considered as the masterpiece of Jacques Offenbach’s work and mixes love, pain and whim. The intrigue settles around three stories about a broken love. Told by Hoffmann, narrator and hero, these tales paint a portrait of three feminine figures: Olympia the automaton, Antonia the dying opera singer and Giulietta the courtesan. This triptych allows the development of very different universes, and colour. It’s also a declension of the image of woman and of evil.

Christoph Marthaler signed this creation for the Teatro Real. This was Gerard Mortier’s last commission for this stage: the Swiss director has proven his ease in many different registers. An essential capacity needed for a work as rich and subtle as 'The Tales of Hoffmann'. Music is conducted by Sylvain Cambreling and the cast includes Eric Cutler, Anne Sofie von Otter, Measha Brueggergosman and Jean-Philippe Lafont.

Running time: 193 minutes
Subtitles: French, German, English, Spanish
Format: 16/9, NTSC, Sound Dolby digital 2.0/5.1

Classical Music

Classical Music

José Serebrier's distinctive conceptions and nimble conducting imbue the familiar Marche slave, Capriccio italien, and 1812 Overture with a freshness that belies their long-held "warhorse" status. By employing lighter sonorities and crystal-clear balances (all rendered with spectacular fidelity and dynamism by BIS's remarkably vivid recording) that expose Tchaikovsky's gorgeous woodwind writing and inner harmonic detail, Serebrier brings a vibrant youthful quality even to the overplayed 1812. Listen to how the bracing opening, with its cleanly phrased, rhythmically taut string playing fosters ever-increasing tension. Later, in the grand coda, the dramatic brass-and-strings interplay genuinely excites while cannons roar away in the distance (the opposite approach to Telarc's cannon-down-your-throat technique).


Serebrier's light and balletic rendition of the rarely heard Fatum is in marked contrast to the heavier variety offered by Slatkin, yet it nonetheless doesn't shy away from the raucous percussion that makes this rather naïve piece a real kick (just what does all that booming and crashing have to do with an inexorable "fate" anyway?).


Tchaikovsky's elegant and sweetly melancholy Élégie, and Serebrier's own arrangement of the Andante cantabile from the String Quartet No. 1, come as relaxingly gentle interludes between the noisier selections on the disc, all of which receive probing and polished performances by the Bamberg Symphony. Even if you think you've heard this music one too many times, you'll likely find this disc a rewarding listening experience.
--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

On this disc one of the world's finest pianists encounters one of the world's greatest wind quintets, performing two very special works: Mozart's and Beethoven's quintets for piano and winds. While the Beethoven Quintet is a new recording, the Mozart works on this disc have been previously released, on BIS-CD-1332. On its release in 2000 that disc was highly praised, for instance in Gramophone, which called it 'a real Mozartian experience' and in American Record Guide: 'The best recording of Mozart's Quintet I have ever heard.' According to Le Monde de la Musique, 'by the clarity, the subtly applied abundance of inflexions and a very real inner power' the musicians proved themselves 'true Mozartians'. As this disc will show, they are no less true Beethovenians!

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

This is the best Liszt orchestral recital to come along in many a moon, and it's all the more enjoyable given the involvement of Rafael Frübeck de Burgos, a fine conductor and a real trooper who has not received much attention since he ended his association with EMI several decades ago. Hopefully, this release signals an extensive new partnership with BIS, because Frübeck has the potential to become a major musical voice given half a chance. My, but this man knows his Liszt! Les préludes has grandeur, athletic vigor, and a genuine rush of excitement in the closing pages, with nary a trace of gratuitous bombast. Anyone who knows these works understands just what an achievement this represents. Take, for example, the concluding phrases for lower strings and trombones at the end of Tasso's allegro sections: Frübeck conjures an ideally rich, dark sound, perfectly balanced, never crude. Similarly, the much-maligned Festklänge displays nobility without excessive weight or rhythmic ponderousness. Best of all, Orpheus' sweetness avoids any hint of tackiness, thanks in large part to sensitive phrasing applied to warm, cultivated string sonorities.

Frübeck secures marvelous playing from the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, of which he has been Music Director since 1994. The solo winds sport fresh timbres and excellent intonation, the brass cut nicely but never overpower, and the strings attack their parts with great confidence and rhythmic security. Add to these qualities first class recorded sound, which gives the percussion excellent impact without undue spotlighting, and if you have ever doubted the quality of this music, here's a disc that should dispel any qualms. Incidentally, Festklänge sports a tune that sounds remarkably like the Canadian national anthem, which I always thought was stolen from the opening of Act 2 of Mozart's Magic Flute. Go figure. Recordings such as this are all too likely to be dismissed because of the repertoire, or lost in a torrent of new releases arriving monthly in the shops, particularly as Frübeck isn't the "name" he once was. So don't make the mistake of passing this one by.

– David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Includes christmas song(s) by various composers.
Includes traditional hymn(s). Ensemble: Joculatores Upsalienses. Soloists: Roland Pöntinen, Hans Fagius, Peter Mattei.

RUBINSTEIN Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 94. Caprice russe, Op. 102. Der Thurm zu Babel, Op. 80: Overture • Grigorios Zamparas (pn); Jon Ceander Mitchell, cond; Bohuslav Martin? PO • CENTAUR 3204 (74:55)


The fifth and last of Anton Rubinstein’s piano concertos was composed in 1874. Dedicated to the French pianist and composer Charles-Valentin Alkan (misspelled “Arkan” in Centaur’s notes), it is by far the longest of Rubinstein’s works in this genre, comparable in duration if not stature to the concertos of Brahms. The first movement alone lasts over 22 minutes in this performance, with a total timing of 50 minutes. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that Rubinstein chose the same key for this work, E?-Major, as did Beethoven for his “Emperor” Concerto. That lengthy first movement is a grand, expansive, often rhapsodic statement, although as is usual with Rubinstein, there is too much repetition. The slow movement strikes me as rather perfunctory, but the brilliant, exuberant finale, at 17 minutes nearly as long as the first movement, offers considerable pleasure. The performance by Grigorios Zamparas is straightforward, crisp, fluent, and technically proficient. He does not quite match the brilliance, forcefulness, and spontaneity that pianists such as Joseph Banowetz and Marc-André Hamelin have brought to other Rubinstein concertos, although he does contribute some pretty impressive rapid passagework. Hamelin, however, has not recorded this concerto, and the Banowetz reading, on Marco Polo, is currently available only as an MP3 download. I have not heard it, but the Marco Polo catalog is gradually being transferred to Naxos, so Banowetz may eventually be available again on CD. On the other hand, the Centaur recording, although a bit dry and unreverberant, is better focused and balanced and more realistic than the Marco Polo series, and the piano sound is solid and well defined. Peaks have plenty of impact and are free from strain or harshness. No other recordings of this concerto are currently available.


The Caprice russe , an appealing 20-minute fantasy for piano and orchestra on three folk or folk-like themes, was written in 1878. Zamparas once again offers a straightforward and proficient performance, perhaps lacking a degree of the flamboyance that Rubinstein’s music seems to demand. The only other recording of this piece in the catalog is that of Banowetz, also coupled with his performance of the Fifth Concerto and therefore available only as an MP3. Rubinstein’s “sacred opera” Der Thurm zu Babel (The Tower of Babel), one of several he wrote on biblical themes and to German librettos, dates from 1869. Its brief overture is deliberate and brooding but uneventful. No other recordings of the overture and none of the opera itself are available.


Under Jon Ceander Mitchell, the Bohuslav Martin? Philharmonic shows itself to be a capable and proficient ensemble, although lacking the tonal opulence of some more famous orchestras. The violins, at least as recorded here, can sometimes seem thin and steely, but the winds are reliable, more so than in the Slovak orchestra used in the Banowetz recordings of the first four concertos. (A different Slovak orchestra performs in the Fifth Concerto.)


In the absence of any current competition on CD, I can recommend these accomplished and well-recorded performances to anyone interested in Rubinstein’s music.


FANFARE: Daniel Morrison

A new addition to Centaur's Complete Recordings of Anton Rubinstein Piano Concertos, this release features Grigorios Zamparas, Jon Caender Mitchell and the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra. Anton Rubinstein was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor where he ranked among the besth 19th-century pianists. Grigorios Zamparas has received worldwide acclaim for his astounding musicianship and versatile performances. He has performed with prestigious orchestras such as the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra, Indiana University Symphony Orchestra and many others.

Those who’ve followed Marco Polo’s Louis Spohr string quartet cycle from its inception will know what to expect from this final installment. Both the A major and B minor quartets are extremely well written for the medium, contain lovely tunes all around with lots of chromatic surprises, and feature the first violin working overtime in the virtuosity department. Some of the Op. 61 Allegretto finale’s modulations are as fancifully discursive as Schubert’s, while the Op. 30 Adagio owes more than a little to Mozart’s K. 428 quartet.

However, original touches leap out, such as the Op. 30 Menuetto’s full-bodied pizzicato accompaniments, and the D minor Variations’ ingenuous yet formidably difficult figurations. In fact, the long Op. 61 opening Allegro might be described as a violin concerto that gives no respite whatsoever to the soloist! The Moscow Concertino Quartet doles out plenty of warmth and expressive nuance in the way of vibrato and portamento, although the rather grainy sonics exaggerate the ensemble’s timbral stridency in loud passages and occasional intonation problems. Still, the performances’ virtues largely outweigh the drawbacks: sample the well-controlled transitions and sustained soft playing in the lengthy yet consistently interesting Op. 30 finale to hear the Moscow musicians at their best. Self-recommending to Spohr fans.

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com