Ormandy pioneered the recording of the three Rachmaninov symphonies in stereo, and in many ways his performances remain unsurpassed... The Second Symphony has great intensity of feeling and passion. The First Symphony was the work's first stereo version, an exceptionally strong performances it is too. Ormandy's thrustful view of the outer movements is supported by superbly committed Philadelphia playing, with the orchestra on top form... In some ways the Third Symphony is even more distinguished... The playing itself is marvellous, and this warmth of feeling carries over in the touchingly shaped Vocalise which acts as a final encore. ...[N]ot to be missed, even if you have more modern version so these splendid works.

-- The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs & DVDs [2003/4 edition]

After recordings of Schubert Lieder (on Orfeo) and Brahms Lieder and Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder (Sony), Lipovsek now turns her artistry to two of Schumann’s great song cycles, separated on this disc by half a dozen well-known Schumann songs. The warmth and richness of sound from this Slovenian mezzo-soprano rings out from the first few bars of the Op. 39 Liederkreis. She is now making an international impact: her unique, grainy timbre and a powerful personality offer new dimensions to mainstream repertoire.

In the Liederkreis Lipovsek’s ability to utilise her vocal colouring and delve into contemplative sequences is particularly well illustrated in ‘Mondnacht’, ‘Auf einer Burg’ and ‘Zwielicht’. The haunting poignancy of Schumann’s musical lines in Frauenliebe und -leben are beautifully captured by Lipovsek and Johnson. This is a deep, reflective and rewarding performance with only an occasional vocal strain for some notes. The three central songs, ‘Du Ring an meinem Finger’, ‘Helft mir, ihr Schwestern’ and ‘Süsser Freund, du blickest’, contain wonderful expressive moments. Two minor quibbles: the sound is rather too roomy and spacious for these intimate works, and, for once, although artistically and musically faultless as ever, Johnson does not always sound as technically assured as usual.

-- Elise McDougall, BBC Music Magazine

REVIEWS:
BBC Music (3/98, p.74) - Performance: 4 (out of 5), Sound: 3 (out of 5) - "...the minuets...are rarely played by a professional, and in Tureck's hands they are like tiny pieces of fine, transparent crystal....Rosen's powerful intelligence allows [The Art of the Fugue's] ingenuity to shine through with marvellous clarity. Unusual repertoire played by textual experts."

This disc also contains lyrics for the final eight carols: "O come all ye Faithful", "Angels we have heard on high", "Silent Night", "Joy to the World", "O little town of Bethlehem", "The First Nowell", "Lo, how a rose e'er blooming", and "Hark the herald angels sing". To encourage sing-along participation, these pieces are recorded with instrumental accompaniment only.

Music composed by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II.
Principal cast: John Raitt (Curly); Florence Henderson (Laurey); Phyllis Newman (Ado Annie Carnes); Jack Elliott (Will Parker); Irene Carroll (Aunt Eller); Ara Berberian (Jud Fry); Leonard Stokes (Andrew Carnes).
Recorded at Columbia 30th St. Studios, New York, New York between March 16 & 24, 1964. Originally released on Columbia (2610). Includes liner notes by Richard Ridge.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Charles Neidich, a Pied Piper of the clarinet whose eminence among young practitioners of that instrument was ratified with a victory in the Naumburg Clarinet Competition. - New York Times

Track Listing
1. Uncertain Future (Main Title)
2. Shelby & Percy
3. Hannah's Fall
4. Mystery of Night, The
5. Open for Business
6. Remembering Eli
7. Trees, The
8. Gift from the Forest, A
9. Reading the Letters
10. Healing Balm, A
11. New Life for Gilead, A
12. Wrongful Blame
13. Desperate Decision, A
14. Care of the Spitfire Grill

Original score written by James Horner.

Audio Mixer: Shawn Murphy.

Recording information: Todd-AO Scoring Stage, Studio City, CA.

The soundtrack to the popular independent film The Spitfire Grill contains James Horner's subtle, moving score that works as an individual piece of music, not just as pleasant sonic wallpaper. It's a lovely score and one that proves that Horner, who has also written the music for Braveheart, Field of Dreams, and Alien, is one of the finest film composers of his era. ~ Rodney Batdorf

Aria

The Creation is potentially the most life-enhancing work in the choral repertoire but it hasn’t been particularly well served on record, partly because it is difficult to sustain the necessary fervour in studio conditions. Sony has found performers who are both able and willing: Tafelmusik’s playing is predictably immaculate, and the Tölz Boys Choir (with fresh-voiced tenors and basses) is radically more accomplished than many all-male groups.

The big, set-piece choruses are very exciting, though some may find Weil’s speeds shockingly fast, and the impact would have been greater had the balance favoured the choir just a touch more. He is not afraid of greater expression in slower numbers (such as the introduction to Part 3), though on occasion the result is, I fear, too pretty for its own good.

All three soloists have something to offer: Ann Monoyios boasts a light, clear soprano ideally suited to her decorative arias in Parts 1 and 2; Jörg Hering’s warm tenor brings fluent musicality throughout; and Harry van der Kamp’s distinctive low-vibrato bass is deployed with great intelligence.

The overall style of performance is relatively intimate, so it’s a shame that the engineers give us quite so much resonant church acoustic; but the well-articulated German text is never under threat. Anyone not allergic to period-instrument Haydn will find much to enjoy here.

-- Stephen Maddock, BBC Music Magazine

Bach’s D minor Harpsichord Concerto BWV 1052 stands as a landmark both in Bach’s own output and in the history of the keyboard concerto. While J.S. Bach is often given credit for “inventing” the keyboard concerto, the fact is that during the period when he was in charge of the Leipzig Collegium Musicum, two of his oldest sons (W.F and C.P.E.) were also involved both as performers and composers. C.P.E. Bach’s Harpsichord Concerto Wq. 1 was likely composed for the Collegium, and it is in any event exactly contemporaneous with the elder Bach’s works in the form. The invention, then, of the keyboard concerto was very much a family affair, and it is probably correct to say that the two sons were at least as responsible for this innovation as was their father.

BWV 1052 held a special place in the heart of C.P.E. Bach, who knew it intimately and made his own manuscript copy. This disc, featuring the younger Bach’s D minor Concerto, composed at Potsdam in 1748, offers a splendid opportunity to compare the music of father and son. J.S. Bach’s concerto begins with a famously compact ritornello full of pregnant musical figures, lasting only about fifteen seconds. C.P.E.’s ritornello lasts more than a minute, and is full of those dissonant jagged phrases alternating with more lyrical ideas typical of this composer particularly, and of the Sturm und Drang ethos more generally. It sounds decidedly more modern, but the fact is that both works are masterpieces and it’s a joy to be able to hear them paired together.

Gustav Leonhardt recorded BWV 1052 at least three times, if not more, but this version from around 1981, featuring an unidentified string ensemble (The Cantus Germanicus Academica Anonymous?), remains perhaps his finest for the playing of the ensemble, the rich timbre of the harpsichord, and the warmth of the recorded sound. Leonhardt finds an especially natural, flowing pace in each movement, one that never turns mechanical. Hardly the most flamboyant of artists, he also doesn’t put on his monk’s robe of austerity here to the point where the music loses its natural brilliance. This is particularly important in the C.P.E. Bach concerto, with its strong contrasts between solo and orchestra.

This current reissue contains no notes, no recording information–in short, nothing but the disc. In fact, you’d be just as was well off downloading the performances for less money, but however you source them you owe it to yourself to listen, and listen often, to these two magnificent works as played here, so splendidly.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

MOZART: SYMPHONIES NO 29, 30,

"Sony's new transfer boasts greater definition in the treble and bass, with extra bloom in the strings. What's more, the finale no longer spills over to a second disc, enabling the listener to hear Bruno Walter's Bruckner 7th uninterrupted on one CD...Walter communicates his kinder, gentler vision of this music with love, authority, and conviction." -- Jed Distler

REVIEWS:
American Record Guide (11-12/97, p.93) - "...Weil leads his band in sinewy, alert accompaniments. Immerseel and Weil especially capture the grandeur and mystery of [concerto no.] 4; they project much of the cumulative exultation found in the greatest readings of this marvel..."

Rost comes with good credentials; she has already won her spurs at the Vienna State Opera, La Scala and Covent Garden as, variously, Lucia, Gilda and Violetta, all represented on this disc. She sings here with a consistent sense of line, considered phrasing, and musicality – perhaps under Mackerras’s influence, she opts for both verses of Violetta’s arias. I like the way in the second verse of “Ah! fors e lui” she takes the word “dolcissimo” in a suitably dolce tone and, in the recitative before “Addio del passato” goes up to the E at the end of the phrase “ogni speranza e morta” with proper delicacy and feeling. Her singing throughout is filled with that kind of intelligence. There’s also vocal agility of a youthfully engaging kind, not least in Norina’s credo... Mackerras provides just the sympathetic, experienced support a young singer needs. The recording is true and well-balanced.

-- Gramophone [1/1998]

GREGORIAN CHANT - SEQUENCES C