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Cyril Rootham: Symphony No. 2; Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity

Lyrita

$20.99 Mar 11, 2016

This two disc set contains two of Cyril Rootham’s most prolific works: Symphony No. 2, and Ode on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity. This recording of Symphony No. 2 is from a BBC Broadcast on January 28, 1984 featuring the Scottish Philharmonic Singers, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and conductor Vernon Handley. This recording of Ode on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity is from a BBC Broadcast on December 18, 1975 featuring soloists Teresa Cahill, Philip Langridge, and Michael Rippon, the Trinity Boys Choir, the BBC Singers, the BBC Concert Orchestra, and conductor Vernon Handley.

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Cyril Rootham: Symphony No. 2; Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity
Lyrita Mar 2016
CD
$20.99

Turkish Bellydance-Nasrah
ARC Music May 2012
CD
$13.99

Molvaer: Ibsen's Hedda Gabler / Norwegian National Ballet [Blu-ray]

BelAir Classiques

Blu-Ray

$36.99 Jun 14, 2019

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

The Norwegian National Ballet’s Hedda Gabler is Henrik Ibsen’s drama retold in a way you’ve never seen it before. After the premiere in 2017, both Norwegian and international critics praised director Marit Moum Aune’s dance production, set to music by Nils Petter Molvær. Hedda is furious, on the verge of being consumed with disappointment. After a six-month honeymoon in Europe she has returned home to set up home with her husband, Jørgen – but nothing has turned out the way she intended. And when her former lover Eilert Løvborg enters the picture, she reacts in a way that proves perilous for everyone – including herself. Hedda Gabler is one of world theatre’s most well-known characters – an icon created by Henrik Ibsen. Is she cowardly or brave? Spoilt or stuck? Wicked or desperate? Our greatest actors have always found new ways to interpret this psychologically complex role. Now the talented dancers of the Norwegian National Ballet provide their own interpretation, adding another dimension to the drama. While the original play is an intense chamber play in which a lot is left unsaid, Moum Aune paints with a broad brush. Hedda’s world opens up as we delve deeper into her relationships and background. We get to see major scenes that are only hinted at in Ibsen’s text. The dancers in the eight central roles have all contributed to their own choreography, with each movement crucial in the telling of this intense story. Hedda Gabler is the follow-up to Moum Aune’s first success with Ibsen as dance, in which she directed and choreographed Ibsen’s Ghosts together with Cina Espejord. Both productions are among the Norwegian National Ballet’s greatest successes, and are in high demand around the world. BONUS : Hedda Gabler, The Other Side A 52 min. Documentary behind the scenes of the Norwegian National Opera

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Molvaer: Ibsen's Hedda Gabler / Norwegian National Ballet [Blu-ray]
BelAir Classiques Jun 2019
Blu-Ray
$36.99

Piano Works by the Mighty Handful / Fisher

Chandos

$21.99 May 31, 2011

"The Mighty Handful, or Mighty Five as they are sometimes called, are Mussorgsky, Balakirev, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and César Cui. Together they embody the nationalist tradition in 19th-century Russian music. They are rarely programmed as a group, so Philip Edward Fisher's decision to fashion a recital from the works of all five has considerable appeal...Borodin's Petite Suite comes over as a work of exquisite grace and melodic charm that deserves to be much better known. It suits Fisher's refined style rather well, too..."

- The Guardian, London

On his first solo recital disc for Chandos, Philip Edward Fisher performs piano works by members of the so-called ‘Mighty Handful’, a group of five Russian composers – César Cui, Alexander Borodin, Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov – who in the 1860s banded together in an attempt to create a truly national school of Russian music, free of the perceived stifling influences of Italian opera, German lieder, and other western European forms.

The Mighty Handful were all self-trained amateurs. Borodin combined composing with a career in chemistry; Rimsky-Korsakov was a naval officer; and Mussorgsky had been in the Guards, then in the civil service, before taking up music. They tried to incorporate in their music what they heard in village songs, in Cossack dances, in church chants, and the tolling of church bells; in short, the music of the Mighty Handful was brimming with sounds that echoed Russian life. From the more traditional, Chopin-esque Nocturne by Cui through to the technical innovations and strong Caucasus folk elements of Balakirev’s Islamey, the works here all show the composers’ strong connections with the past and the compositional innovations that would come to influence the likes of Prokofiev and Stravinsky, and help change the course of Russian music for years to come.

A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and The Juilliard School, the pianist Philip Edward Fisher is widely recognised as a unique performer of refined style and exceptional versatility. He has performed across Europe, Africa, and North America where he made his New York debut at Alice Tully Hall in 2002, performing Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto, and has also appeared at the Merkin Concert Hall and the Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center.

At home he has given performances at the Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, and Royal Festival Hall in London, Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and Symphony Hall in Birmingham. He has appeared as a soloist with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Toledo Symphony Orchestra, and Juilliard Symphony Orchestra, and worked with performers such as exclusive Chandos artist bassoonist Karen Geoghegan, the tenor Robert White, pianist Sara Buechner, and violinists Elmar Oliveira, Philippe Graffin, and Augustin Hadelich. In 2001, Philip Edward Fisher received the Julius Isserlis Award from The Royal Philharmonic Society in London. - Chandos

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Piano Works by the Mighty Handful / Fisher
Chandos May 2011
CD
$21.99

Mendelssohn: Symphonies 3 & 5 / Litton, Bergen Philharmonic

BIS

SACD

$21.99 Dec 01, 2009

If you are looking for ‘perfect’ symphonic Mendelssohn then this disc has to come somewhere near, if not at the very top of the list.

I am new to this series of recordings, but this disc represents the last in a set of three which covers all of Mendelssohn’s symphonies, celebrating the 200th anniversary of his birth in 1809.

Both of these works have an easy-sounding and relatively sunny disposition, which hides considerable difficulties in their genesis. Started in 1829 in Scotland, the cover image for this disc is an engraving of the Grass Market in Edinburgh, one of the places Mendelssohn stayed during his trip through what was then considered a romantic wilderness suitable for artistic reflection. The symphony was only completed by 1842 however; some 12 years after the Reformation symphony. The reason for its lower opus number is that Mendelssohn was dissatisfied with the latter work, and refused to allow its publication during his lifetime. As has been stated already, the lightness of touch which has made Mendelssohn such a refreshingly attractive voice among composers of this period is very much in evidence with these symphonies, and Andrew Litton gets excellent results from the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.

We have heard a few ‘period’ recordings of these pieces in recent years, and a trend towards smaller orchestral footprints from bands such as the Swedish Chamber Orchestra in their Schumann symphonic cycle with Thomas Dausgaard. This recording from BIS does not fall into these categories by any means. This is not to say that Litton’s approach is anything less than supple and idiomatically appropriate, and I know of several quarters which will welcome the warmly expressive strings in the playing here. Vibrato is also a quality in the woodwind, but my hat goes off to all of the Bergen players for impeccable intonation, and to the flute and other woodwinds for their expressive and thankfully non wide-and-wobbly vibrato. The weight of voicing is also very accurately placed at all times, and a superlatively good balance provides both detail and an overall orchestral texture in the tutti sections. This transparency of texture is an inherent quality in Mendelssohn’s orchestral writing, but I also have the feeling that we might owe a debt of gratitude to the kind of clarity obtained by Roger Norrington for his early 1990s recordings on Virgin Classics with the London Classical Players. In this way, Litton’s readings of these pieces fall somewhere between Norrington’s lithe cleanliness and Claudio Abbado’s more emotionally communicative performances captured through the London Symphony Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon. Yes, Litton is clarity, dynamism and expressively warm playing personified, but he does tend to enhance the classical origins and early romantic context of these pieces. He draws superb results from the Bergen orchestra and brings out all of the rugged Beethovenian character in the Reformation symphony, but does steer an uncontroversial path which while wonderful for repeated listening and reference, may not have you in palpitations of excitement on first hearing.

I’ve read dismissive remarks on these performances as ‘middle of the road’, but extremes of interpretative license are not what we are likely to be looking for in Mendelssohn. He has his pious moments, and high octane passion and emotional hubris are not really ‘hot’ elements in this music, at least not to today’s jaundiced ears. There are some intriguing forward-looking moments as well. Listen to those calm string passages between 2:22 and 3:05 in the first movement of the Symphony No.5: Charles Ives’s The Unanswered Question? Not far off, and to my mind such spine-tingling moments lift this recording above the run-of-the-mill. Add the sheer quality of the playing into the mix, and we have a winning combination. The SACD qualities of the recording are a nice enhancement, as usual opening out the aural picture and giving a real sense of location and involvement. Still attempting to put my finger on some marginal reservations, I suppose it might come down to these performances being very much ‘studio’ in nature. Looking at the booklet, I don’t get the feeling that the impassioned photo of Andrew Litton in full action on the back is taken from these sessions or this music. One has a sense that the players might respond with just that extra ‘edge’ with a live audience rather than just the familiar if marvellous acoustic of the Bergen Philharmonic’s home concert hall, but this might as well just be my imagination looking for weaknesses which aren’t really there at all. Conductors and record producers just can’t win can they? Anything other than highly polished performances and we reviewers start moaning about blemishes; and the closer things come to perfection the more we’re likely to hit on a lack of that last nth of emotional content and excitement. Fear not in this case however: if you are looking for ‘perfect’ symphonic Mendelssohn then this disc has to come somewhere near, if not at the very top of the list.

Dominy Clements, MusicWeb International

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3362430.az_MENDELSSOHN_Symphonies_3_Scottish.html

MENDELSSOHN Symphonies: No. 3, “ Scottish”; No. 5, “ Reformation” • Andrew Litton, cond; Bergen PO • BIS 1604 (SACD: 70:15)

I did not find Andrew Litton’s traversal of the “Lobegesang” symphony as convincing as I had hoped, so when this arrived in the mail I was full of concern. Mendelssohn’s works deserve the full-frontal SACD treatment, and Litton I had hoped was the man to do it, but the “Lobgesang” foretold that a successful complete series this was not to be. However, surprise of surprises, this new installment turns out to be all I had hoped for and more. The sound, to get that out of the way, is stunning, as are the performances by the Bergen players. They leave nothing to be desired.

But this is well-tread ground and needs groundbreaking readings to make a dent in almost anyone’s pantheon. Mendelssohn never really liked the “Reformation” Symphony, and to tell you the truth, I understand why. The thing is a hodgepodge of overblown Protestant sentimentality, uses the Dresden “Amen” in a way that is most artificial, and Luther’s well-worn “Mighty Fortress” easily degenerates into something pompous and bloated. Structurally this is one of the composer’s weakest works, and it takes a conductor with a great deal of sympathetic understanding to glue all the parts together. There are some exciting things here, and Mendelssohn’s symphonic skill is obvious, but his materials can grate when in the wrong hands.

Bernard Haitink is a conductor who understands this and was able to turn in a remarkably fluent performance on Philips years ago; it remains my favorite, at least did until a few weeks ago when I first heard this Litton. Everything is as right in this reading as it can be, and Litton presents the populist music in a manner that refuses to dwell on it as if it is populist music. The results are wonderful, and this one races to the top of the list.

The “Scottish” is Mendelssohn’s last and greatest symphony, though there have been very few really outstanding performances of the piece on record. Haitink coupled his “Reformation” with this work, and it is very well done. Leonard Bernstein knew his way around the work, though his sonics are a bit thin, and Christoph von Dohnányi also turned in a very fine reading on Telarc with his Clevelanders. Peter Maag has owned the piece for ages in my opinion, his also rather thin-sounding recording on Decca holding the fort until this Litton came along. Maag’s reading still reigns—his Decca is a classic. But this one is also extremely close to Maag’s, and the sound is simply not comparable in any way to the aged Decca. Litton’s grandeur and joyous verve in this work guarantees a place in the one-to-choose top five list, and BIS is to be congratulated for signing him and the Bergen folks to record this. Easily and somewhat urgently recommended.

FANFARE: Steven E. Ritter

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Mendelssohn: Symphonies 3 & 5 / Litton, Bergen Philharmonic
BIS Dec 2009
SACD
$21.99

20 Best Irish Songs

ARC Music

$20.99 Jan 27, 2015

Noel McLoughlin the Limerick, Ireland-born singer, guitarist and string player spent his early years in Ireland playing traditional folk music with various groups in countless sessions, festivals, concerts, etc. In the 1970s he joined several Irish folk bands, among others Cromlach (later Celtic Tradition) with whom he recorded his first album in 1984. Afterwards, he concentrated on performing mainly as a soloist, playing guitar and singing Irish and Scottish folk songs, touring throughout Europe and the USA. Since 1989 he has recorded numerous albums of the most popular Irish and Scottish songs and ballads. After many international tours and broadcasts as a soloist, he now prefers to tour with a small group, with occasional solo performances. The incredible success of his recordings is due to Noel’s impressive but soft voice. A best-selling ARC Music artist, this is the long awaited brand new recording of old and new Irish songs by one of the most acclaimed singers of Irish and Scottish folk.

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20 Best Irish Songs
ARC Music Jan 2015
CD
$20.99

Musgrave: Concerto For Orchestra, Clarinet Concerto, Etc / De Peyer, Tuckwell

Lyrita

$20.99 Jun 01, 2007

This is a generous CD of reissues of classic new music from the 1960s, later recordings of which exist only for the Clarinet Concerto (Clarinet Classics, 35), Excursions (Campion 1353) and Monologue (Capstone 8714). They are played by performers then at the height of their powers and with flair and surety that makes this a landmark disc and one to be bought without hesitation by anyone interested in the development of post-war British music in general and Thea Musgrave’s mellow, steady and always inventive style in particular.

Born in Scotland but now resident in the United States, Musgrave’s career and output have always matched breadth with a rather single-minded determination to work as she has wanted to, and not as fad or fashion might have suggested. An example would be her adherence to the dramatic qualities of her music in their conscious rejection of tonality while at the same time avoiding the formality of serialism. Thus the concerto as a genre proved a suitable vehicle for the resultant exploration of structure with gusto. Particularly since, for Musgrave, her music’s performers are more actors than conveyors of a pre-existing score. That’s very evident in the orchestral pieces here.

The Concerto for Orchestra is a work full of tension, tonal and temporal. Indeed, it explores the notion of instruments ‘in revolt’ against the conductor. There is a certain liberality of interpretation (freedom to repeat, with rubato) which is designed to strain the very fabric of the music. For this to be effective the playing has to be impeccable; every note has to be heard; every attack and decay controlled; every timbre distinct. And so it is on this landmark recording by another provincial orchestra (the Scottish National Orchestra) than that to which the work was dedicated (the CBSO). The playing is crisp, vibrant, rounded, tuneful; yet it fully conveys the apparent waywardness of line which is in fact the very essence of the concerto. The supremacy of the clarinet before, throughout and after the stunning tutti and crescendi is key to the work and emerges with great effect here. Exemplary.

Musgrave’s Clarinet Concerto has the distinction of requiring the soloist to promenade through the orchestra. It’s a logical progression after the Concerto for Orchestra - again exploring aural space. Musgrave was (and has remained) fascinated by the way sounds group in space as well as time and ways in which (orchestral) soloists can wrest the lead from the conventional director of events, the conductor. Once again there are extremes of volume and texture. Once again, the forces of - this time - the LSO are more than up to the task, playing with a certainty and conviction that carry the work as far, surely, as Musgrave intended it to go: these were the days before sounds were savoured exclusively for their own sake with emphasis on massed percussion or aleatoric devices. Notable (as was the case with the Concerto for Orchestra) is a major part for harp; there is also a prominent accordion part.

The Horn Concerto also builds upon Musgrave’s concept of ‘Space music’: in this piece members of the horn section themselves move around the hall. There are also ‘prepared’ instruments – a piano with screws, a book and a metal bar; and a harp with paper threaded through some of its strings. This is not a frenetic or self-conscious work; rather a virtuosic and lyrical concerto, although the extent to which the leading role of the horn soloist is established yet undermined confers an iconoclastic quality on the piece. As de Peyer’s in the Clarinet Concerto, Tuckwell’s (the work’s dedicatee) articulation and phrasing in this concerto are outstanding.

Monologue is the earliest (and shortest) piece on this disc; it does experiment with serialism. Again, this is a piece of contrasts and music distinguished by Musgrave’s characteristic ‘tumultuoso’ marking, it still lives in the world of contrasts and the sort of subdued rhetoric which was to interest Musgrave later on in her career when composing vocal and operatic works. Again, beautifully played by Musgrave herself.

Excursions is interesting in that it was written for four hands on one piano also as a teaching piece: one ‘easy part’ for pupils to play with their teachers literally close at hand. In the first four of the eight pieces the easy part is the lower one; in the second four the top one. Miniatures they are – but with a substantial impact. Although they do have descriptive (of car journey) titles, these are only printed in small type at the end of each piece. Inasmuch as the material in Excursions is intended to emphasise learning, composer clearly has much respect for pupil. She is joined by Malcolm Williamson.

This is a disc whose primary interest will certainly be historic: it makes available again music that made waves in the early 70s, but music that has clung to a place in the repertoire – and justly so. Played with conviction and delight by the Scottish National and London Symphony orchestras under Gibson, Del Mar and Musgrave herself, it rightly acts as testament to just how significant and appealing her works were then. Perhaps it will revive interest in them now.

-- Mark Sealey, MusicWeb International

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Musgrave: Concerto For Orchestra, Clarinet Concerto, Etc / De Peyer, Tuckwell
Lyrita Jun 2007
CD
$20.99

The Rediscovered RCA Victor Recordings / José Iturbi

Sony Masterworks

$62.96 ~~$125.98~~ Save 50% Mar 03, 2023

This collection stands as a valuable time capsule from which one comes away with a fuller understanding of Iturbi’s prominence in American wartime and postwar culture.

The complete RCA Victor Recordings by José Iturbi from 1933 to 1953, include his piano duo recordings with sister Amparo Iturbi as well as Amparo Iturbi’s solo recordings on 16 CDs, restored and remastered from the original lacquer discs and analogue tapes using high-resolution 24 bit/192 kHz mastering technology with about 95% of the recordings appearing on CD for the first time and 23 pieces previously unreleased. As well as a new, captivating essay by Grammy-nominated singer, pianist, and music anthropologist Michael Feinstein on the life and work of José Iturbi and a photo book with previously unseen photos and facsimiles from the Iturbi Archives in Hollywood.

There was a time when classical music was a natural part of Hollywood. From the moments with Jascha Heifetz in They Shall Have Music (1939) to the unrivaled performances of Oscar Levant and Isaac Stern in Humoresque (1946). In its Golden Era, Hollywood adorned itself with the Who's Who of classical music. Today, alongside icons such as Marylin Monroe and James Dean, the names of Leonard Bernstein, Maria Callas and Arturo Toscanini, as well as Rudolf Serkin, Joseph Szigeti, or José Iturbi were immortalized on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. This edition is a loving homage to Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s, made possible through the generous support of the José Iturbi Foundation and the Hollywood Museum Board of Directors, who contributed to the lavish restoration of many previously lost unpublished recordings. The publication was also made possible by contributions of singer, pianist, and music archivist Michael Feinstein, the Ambassador for the Great American Songbook.

REVIEW:

During the 1940s and 1950s the “World’s Most Popular Classical Pianist” mantle fell comfortably upon José Iturbi (1895-1980). His recognition as a radio personality led to a movie career that yielded ten feature films between 1943 and 1951 where the pianist mostly starred as himself. Yet for all of Iturbi’s renown, he was hardly a poseur. He worked with Wanda Landowska in Paris, and gave Stravinsky’s Piano Rag Music its world premiere, as well as the first complete Carnegie Hall performance of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes.

He also conducted. When Eugene Ormandy assumed the Philadelphia Orchestra’s music directorship in 1936, his chief rival for the position was Iturbi, who wound up taking charge of the Rochester Philharmonic that same year. Once Hollywood beckoned, however, Iturbi became the brunt of intellectual critics, who basically wrote him off as a sell-out and an artistic lightweight.

Time, of course, brings perspective, and Sony/BMG’s lavishly produced 16-CD collection containing Iturbi’s complete RCA Victor recordings invites a fairly thorough examination of the musician behind the personality, plus an opportunity to reassess a largely forgotten body of recorded work. A 188-page coffee table book contains photos in abundance, with all original-jacket artwork represented, including the most politically incorrect cover art ever to grace Dvorák’s “New World” symphony. We get complete session and release discographies, an Iturbi filmography, plus a brilliant in-depth biographical essay by Michael Feinstein, who co-produced this collection with Robert Russ.

It’s a pity that the session discography is not cross-referenced to corresponding CD tracks, not to mention the absence of a discography by composer. This makes it difficult to navigate the contents with ease, especially in works that Iturbi recorded more than once. For example, it took some sleuthing on my part to discover that Discs 5 and 11 each contained the Liszt Liebestraum No. 3, Schumann Arabeske, Debussy Reverie, and Chopin Polonaise in A-flat Op. 53, and that the performances were not identical.

With few notable exceptions, Iturbi’s solo recordings mostly consist of short, encore-length pieces. He’s especially at home in Spanish music: Iturbi’s accentuation, phrasing, and timing throughout Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance define perfection, while he shapes Granados’ Spanish Dance No. 2 (“Oriental’) with sensitivity and tenderness. Classical selections also stand out for Iturbi’s bracing articulation. True, the outer movements of his Mozart K. 331 and 332 sonata recordings are overly facile and insufficiently inflected when measured alongside contemporaneous Mozartean rivals like Schnabel, Gieseking, Fischer, and Haskil. Yet the sheer evenness and poised symmetry of Iturbi’s finger-work easily explains why pianists like Julius Katchen and William Kapell praised his Mozart.

Iturbi also revels in the Haydn C major Theme and Variations’ sly wit. By contrast, introspection and sobriety characterize Iturbi’s measured unfolding of Beethoven’s Andante favori. Similar gravitas elevates Paderewski’s Minuet in G to near-masterpiece status. Iturbi’s virtuosic glitter befits his dashing Saint-Saëns Allegro appassionato more than in his glib Liszt Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este.

Iturbi’s Chopin hits and misses. His Mazurkas lack the ardency and rhythmic snap that distinguishes a Second Scherzo that gets better as it progresses. Also note the pianist’s dotting the duple rhythms in the A-flat Polonaise’s main theme that Horowitz, Rubinstein, and Lhevinne play straight on their rival RCA versions.

The later recordings reveal Iturbi’s pianism losing some of its erstwhile luster and subtlety, possibly exaggerated by the close microphone placement and twangy patina typical of late 1940s/early 1950s piano recordings stemming from RCA’s Hollywood recording studio. For example, the two Debussy Arabesques recorded in New York in 1939 have a supple elegance missing in their glassy-sounding 1950 Hollywood counterparts (sound clips). The blustery, hard-toned, and harshly engineered Liszt Concerto No. 1, Mendelssohn Concerto No. 1, and Beethoven Concerto No. 3 were non-starters in their day, with the piano way up in the mix, relegating the crackerjack RCA Symphony musicians to doormat status. Still, the Mendelssohn’s outer movements feature some of Iturbi’s most scintillating pianism on disc.

While Iturbi’s two-piano distribution of the solo part of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is surprisingly effective and discreet, he and his pianist sister Amparo turn in a crass, alternately whipped up, and sappily sentimentalized interpretation. Works of Mozart, Debussy, and Milhaud better represent their dazzling ensemble rapport, but again, the boxy, claustrophobic engineering undermines their efforts. Similar dryness typifies Amparo’s idiomatic solo recordings of Spanish repertoire. Still, it’s nice to have her rare 1954 Granados Goyescas back in circulation, although it pales alongside Alicia de Larrocha’s far more nuanced and texturally differentiated interpretation from the following year.

The collection also showcases Iturbi’s work on the podium. His 1940 Rochester Philharmonic versions of the Mozart D minor and Beethoven C minor concertos are more judiciously balanced than his orchestrally superior 1952 RCA Victor Symphony remakes. Each contains lively and engaging outer movements that flank wooden, hard-toned slow movements.

Iturbi’s 1951 Liszt Hungarian Fantasy with the Valencia Symphony Orchestra has a snarling rawness that differs from the sheen and suavity of the 1952 Arrau/Ormandy and late 1940s Solomon and Moiseiwitsch editions. As with many second-tier American orchestras in the 1940s, the Rochester Philharmonic boasted strong strings but less proficient winds and brass. Consequently, Iturbi’s Mendelssohn “Scottish” Symphony took a back seat to Mitropoulos’ powerful 1941 Minneapolis version, while the aforementioned Dvorák New World lacked the Szell/Czech Philharmonic recording’s flavorful ensemble discipline.

The prize of Iturbi’s Rochester discography is a snazzy and brilliantly turned-out Morton Gould “Latin American” Symphonette, which is surprisingly well-engineered for its 1944 vintage. Another delightful curiosity is William J. Reddick’s Espanharlem, a brief orchestral work whose quick changing moods and jazzy underpinnings wouldn’t be out of place in a Carl Stalling Bugs Bunny cartoon soundtrack. There’s also a previously unpublished recording conducted by Werner Janssen of Iturbi’s orchestral composition Soliloquy. The piece amounts to 14 and a half minutes’ worth of rambling 1940s film music clichés filtered through third-rate Lecuona. Why Iturbi is credited as piano soloist when there’s no piano to be heard is anyone’s guess!

Notwithstanding the artistic unevenness of Iturbi’s recorded output he always had the self-respect to keep his technique in world-class repair, unlike his rival classical pianist turned media personality Oscar Levant. Still, music lovers who don’t want to go the whole hog, so to speak, are directed to APR’s 2016 three-disc solo Iturbi compilation. I also hope to see Iturbi’s post-cinema EMI recordings restored. However, beyond purely musical considerations, Sony/BMG’s collection stands as a valuable time capsule from which one comes away with a fuller understanding of Iturbi’s prominence in American wartime and postwar culture.

-- ClassicsToday.com (Jed Distler)

CONTENTS:

Mozart: Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra No. 10 in E flat, K365
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K466
Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, S124
Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Chambers, J C: All American
Gould, M: Symphonette No. 4 'Latin-American'
Reddick: Espanharlem
Iturbi: Soliloquy
Mozart: Sonata for 2 pianos in D major, K448
Chabrier: Trois Valses Romantiques
Iturbi: Spanish Dance
Debussy: En blanc et noir
Milhaud: Scaramouche, suite for two pianos, Op. 165b
Nepomuceno: La siesta
Infante: Guadalquivir
Infante: Sevillana
Debussy: Suite bergamasque: Clair de lune
Liszt: Liebestraum, S541 No. 3 (Nocturne in A flat major)
Debussy: Rêverie
Beethoven: Für Elise (Bagatelle in A minor, WoO59)
Schumann: Arabeske in C major, Op. 18
Debussy: Deux arabesques, L. 66
Falla: Dance of Terror (from El amor brujo)
Rachmaninoff: Prelude Op. 3 No. 2 in C sharp minor
Liszt: Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este, S. 163 No. 4)
Falla: Ritual Fire Dance (from El amor brujo)
Saint-Saëns: Allegro appassionato, Op. 70
Albéniz: Malagueña (No. 3 from Espana, Op. 165)
Chopin: Étude Op. 10 No. 12 in C minor ‘Revolutionary'
Chopin: Polonaise No. 6 in A flat major, Op. 53 'Héroïque'
Debussy: Estampe No. 3 - Jardins sous la pluie
Schumann: Romance in F sharp major, Op. 28 No. 2
Chopin: Prelude Op. 28 No. 9 in E major
Chopin: Prelude Op. 28 No. 10 in C sharp minor
Chopin: Prelude Op. 28 No. 15 in D flat major ‘Raindrop'
Chopin: Nocturne No. 9 in B major, Op. 32 No. 1
López-Chavarri: El viejo castillo moro
Iturbi: Cancion de cuna
Granados: Orientale (No. 2 from 12 Danzas españolas)
Chopin: Mazurka No. 6 in A minor, Op. 7 No. 2
Chopin: Mazurka No. 7 in F minor, Op. 7 No. 3
Chopin: Mazurka No. 24 in C major, Op. 33 No. 3
Chopin: Mazurka No. 27 in E minor, Op. 41 No. 2
Chopin: Mazurka No. 25 in B minor, Op. 33 No. 4
Chopin: Scherzo No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 31
Debussy: Children's Corner
Ravel: Jeux d'eau
Guastavino: Gato
Mozart: Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra No. 10 in E flat, K365
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K466
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte
Bach, J S: Passacaglia in C minor, BWV582
Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K331 'Alla Turca'
Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 12 in F major, K332
Chopin: Impromptu No. 4 in C sharp minor, Op. 66 'Fantaisie-Impromptu'
Chopin: Waltz No. 6 in D flat major, Op. 64 No. 1 'Minute Waltz'
Chopin: Waltz No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2
Chopin: Mazurka No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 7 No. 1
Albéniz: Sevilla (from Suite Española, Op. 47)
Granados: Goyescas: Quejas ó La Maja y el Ruiseñor
Scarlatti, D: Keyboard Sonata K27 in B minor
Scarlatti, D: Keyboard Sonata K159 in C major 'La caccia'
Paradies: Toccata in A
Iturbi: Pequena danza espanola
Beethoven: Andante Favori in F, WoO 57
Albéniz: Cantos de España (5), Op. 232, No. 4
Lazăr, F: Piano Sonata No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 15: III Tempo di Marcia funebre
Saint-Saëns: Caprice arabe, Op. 96
Debussy: L'isle joyeuse
Infante: Danze andaluse (for 2 pianos): No. 2 Sentimento
Debussy: Deux arabesques, L. 66
Bach, J S: Fantasia in C minor, BWV906
Granados: Danza española, Op. 37 No. 10 'Melancólica'
Gould, M: Boogie Woogie Etude
Gould, M: Blues
Falla: Ritual Fire Dance (from El amor brujo)
Falla: Dance of Terror (from El amor brujo)
Debussy: Suite bergamasque: Clair de lune
Liszt: Liebestraum, S541 No. 3 (Nocturne in A flat major)
Chopin: Polonaise No. 6 in A flat major, Op. 53 'Héroïque'
Schumann: Arabeske in C major, Op. 18
Debussy: Rêverie
Haydn: Theme and Variations in C major, Hob.XVII:5
Paderewski: Minuet in G major, Op. 14 No. 1
Beethoven: Für Elise (Bagatelle in A minor, WoO59)
Schumann: Träumerei (from Kinderszenen, Op. 15)
Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte
Rachmaninoff: Humoresque in G major, Op. 10 No. 5
Infante: Danses andalouses
Tchaikovsky: The Seasons, Op. 37b: June (Barcarolle)
Tchaikovsky: The Seasons, Op. 37b: November (Troika)
Mussorgsky: Une Larme (A Tear)
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56 'Scottish'
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 'From the New World'
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody, S244 No. 14 in F minor
Falla: El sombrero de tres picos: Dance of the Neighbours (Seguidillas)
Falla: El sombrero de tres picos: Danza del molinero (farruca)
Falla: El sombrero de tres picos: Final Dance (Jota)
Palau Boix: Marche burlesque
Palau Boix: Hommage a Debussy
Iturbi: Seguidillas
Cuesta: Danza valenciana in A major
Falla: Siete Canciones populares españolas
Turina: Homenaje a Lope de Vega, Op. 90: I. Cuando tan hermosa os miro
Granados: Danza española, Op. 37 No. 8 'Sardana'
Granados: Danza española, Op. 37 No. 12 'Arabesca'
Granados: Danza española, Op. 37 No. 9 'Romántica'
Turina: Mujeres Españolas, Series 1, Op. 17: 2. La andaluza sentimental
Turina: Mujeres Españolas, Series 1, Op. 17: 3. La morena coqueta
Infante: Pochades andalouses: Canto flamenco
Infante: ochades andalouses: Danse gitane
Infante: Pochades andalouses: Aniers sur la route de Seville
Infante: Pochades andalouses: Tientos
Albéniz: Granada (from Suite española No. 1, Op. 47)
Albéniz: Córdoba (No. 4 from Cantos de España, Op. 232)
Cuesta: Danza valenciana in G major
Lecuona: Malagueña
Griffes: The White Peacock
Infante: Guadalquivir
Infante: Pochades andalouses: Ritmo
Mozart: Sonata for 2 pianos in D major, K448: Allegro molto
Granados: El Pelele
Granados: Goyescas (piano suite)
Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales
Chabrier: Scherzo-valse (No. 10 from Pièces pittoresques)
Chabrier: Idylle (No. 6 from Pièces pittoresques)
Chabrier: Bourrée Fantasque
Schubert: Valses Sentimentales, D 779 Op. 50 (Excerpts)
Schubert: 12 Valses Nobles, D 969 Op. 77: selection
López-Chavarri: Danza de las labradoras Valencianas
Shostakovich: Prelude for piano, Op. 34 No. 2 in A minor
Shostakovich: Prelude for piano, Op. 34 No. 14 in E flat minor
Shostakovich: Prelude for piano, Op. 34 No. 24 in D minor
Fauré: Impromptu No. 3 in A flat major Op. 34
Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 13 in B flat major, K333

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Sale

The Rediscovered RCA Victor Recordings / José Iturbi
Sony Masterworks Mar 2023
CD
~~$125.98~~ $62.96

Strauss: Ein Heldenleben & Der Rosenkavalier Suite / Sondergaard, RSNO

Linn Records

$20.99 Apr 12, 2019

This recording is the first in a new series with Thomas Søndergård and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. The programme features music by Richard Strauss: the concert suite from Der Rosenkavalier and Ein Heldenleben, a work they have performed together in concert to critical acclaim. The tone poem tells the epic story of an imaginary hero and offers a stirring introduction to the world of the German Romantics. Strauss demands uncompromising virtuosity from both the orchestra and the horn player who is tasked with portraying the bold hero. Following a concert performance of Ein Heldenleben in March 2018 The Scotsman stated: “From the swaggering confidence of Strauss’s bounding heroic theme to the gleefully grotesque carpings of his critics, Søndergård delivered a bold, utterly committed account – this is clearly music that matters to him.” Closing the recording is the concert suite from Der Rosenkavalier in which Strauss’s colourful and evocative orchestration recalls many favourite moments from his most popular opera.

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Strauss: Ein Heldenleben & Der Rosenkavalier Suite / Sondergaard, RSNO
Linn Records Apr 2019
CD
$20.99

The Glass Menagerie - A ballet by John Neumeier

C Major Entertainment

DVD

$51.99 Apr 18, 2025

Discover the brilliance of the iconic John Neumeier in this captivating double feature. The Glass Menagerie, inspired by Tennessee Williams' poignant drama, showcases Neumeier's extraordinary talent for storytelling through movement. At the center of this production is renowned ballet dancer Alina Cojocaru, who inspired John Neumeier to create the piece. Together with the acclaimed Hamburg Ballet, she delivers a performance that dances on the heartstrings and lingers in the soul. Complementing this masterpiece is John Neumeier - A Life for Dance, Andreas Morell's intimate documentary that offers a glimpse into the passion and vision of one of the greatest choreographers of our time. This edition is a must-have for dance enthusiasts and lovers of profound artistic expression.

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The Glass Menagerie - A ballet by John Neumeier
C Major Entertainment Apr 2025
DVD
$51.99

Mendelssohn: Symphonies 3 & 4 / Munch, Boston Symphony

ICA Classics

DVD

$26.99 Oct 25, 2011

Recorded at Sanders Theatre, Harvard University, on 1 December 1959 (Symphony No. 3), 4 February 1958 (Symphony No. 4) and 7 April 1959 (Mozart)

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: Ambient Mastering
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German
Running time: 70 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

There should be really a collective noun for the plethora of WGBH telecasts featuring Charles Munch now emerging on ICA Classics. The series, covering the years 1958-60 and largely taped at Harvard, has proved highly impressive, albeit sometimes interpretatively inconsistent – and occasionally unreliable in filmic terms.

This one focuses on two Mendelssohn Symphonies. The Scottish was taped in December 1959 and is of good quality. As is often the case in this series the camera panning shots are sometimes jerky – I wonder what kind of mount was used, as there is occasionally slippage during shots. Clearly editorial work went into the chosen shots but again things didn’t always go right on the night; it’s fine to concentrate on the hard working percussionist, but only if he’s actually playing – and then playing something of significance. As often in this series sectional shots are favoured, though sometimes they are apt to be cumbersome. But when one sees Munch one observes the rapt concentration that so often produced an extra quotient of excitement during these performances. The proximity of the audience must have helped spark something of that added level of adrenalin. It’s only late in the symphony that I noticed that, presumably because of space shortages at the hall, the piano is visible actually in the body of the orchestra. What was the concerto, one wonders, and who was the soloist? I commend retrospectively the director, David M Davis, for managing (almost) to obscure this detail.

The Italian Symphony suffers from a much grainier picture, though it was recorded only a couple of years or so earlier in February 1958. This is another feature of the series – varying quality of footage within discs. It results in some lines running across the screen. The sound is decent enough mono, but the visual element lacks the clarity of the Scottish. Shame though this is, it doesn’t obscure Munch’s vigorous take, almost Toscaninian in places. The director for this was Whitney Thompson and he preferred more static shots, bedding the image solidly, reluctant to keep things moving too much - he was less of a visual contrapuntalist than Davis. When there are panning shots, the image degrades somewhat. There are also a couple of poor edits. Personally, I find this doesn’t matter to me. These are artefacts of their time. I did wonder, though, if the ‘hair on the lens’ problem could have been mitigated in post-production and remastering. Maybe not. It doesn’t last too long, nor do the smudge marks on the print. I mention these things not to suggest that you are in for a disastrous viewing, but to make you aware of the imperfections inherent, or seemingly inherent, in the production.

We also have a ‘bonus’ of Mozart’s Masonic Funeral Music, from April 1959. It too is rather grainy. And yet again I wonder rhetorically how a DVD that lasts 73 minutes can include a ‘bonus’. Is anyone fooled?

That apart, and with the spirit of caveat emptor in the air for those unfamiliar with these telecasts, I ought to end by saying that these Mendelssohn performances are terrific.

-- Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International

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Mendelssohn: Symphonies 3 & 4 / Munch, Boston Symphony
ICA Classics Oct 2011
DVD
$26.99

Milestones

PENTATONE

$19.99 Apr 04, 2025

On Milestones, violinist Philippe Quint offers a deeply personal exploration featuring works by trailblazing women composers who have shaped his personal and artistic journey. This recording includes concertos written especially for Quint by Errollyn Wallen and Lera Auerbach, as well as a new work by Lora Kvint - Quint's mother, marking their first collaboration. With each composer bringing a unique perspective and distinct voice to the album, Milestones focuses on life's pivotal moments such as Wallen's second movement of the concerto inspired by a Yiddish Lullaby sung to young Philippe by his grandfather and Auerbach's multilayered violin concerto reflecting the distortion of memory by future experience. Multiple Grammy Award nominee Philippe Quint is recognized as one of America's leading violinists. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, with a distinguished history spanning over 125 years, ranks among Europe's finest ensembles. Andrew Litton, one of the most celebrated American conductors and a renowned pianist, joins this remarkable collaboration. This release marks the PENTATONE debut for all artists.

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Milestones
PENTATONE Apr 2025
CD
$19.99

Bartok: Bluebeard's Castle / Salonen, Stevenson, DeYoung, Tomlinson, Philharmonia

Signum Classics

$19.99 Apr 29, 2014

An unforgettable live-concert recording, selected from the Philharmonia Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen's season of works by Béla Bartok - 'Infernal Dance'. Reviews of the concert from which this recording was taken: "John Tomlinson and Michelle DeYoung were vocally so commanding as to render "choreography" entirely superfluous. Tomlinson's cavernous voice seemed to embody the very interior world of his castle - its sadness, darkness, emptiness - his Hungarian so vivid and expressive in itself that it became another sonority in Bartók's aural palette. He was quite extraordinary. Musically stunning ..." The Arts Desk "The part of Judith was well taken by Michelle DeYoung but it was the portrayal of Tomlinson that stole the show. At first predatory and prowling - no one can prowl like John Tomlinson - he visibly collapsed into himself as his secrets were exposed. And never was that magnificently gnarled tone put to better use." The Evening Standard

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Bartok: Bluebeard's Castle / Salonen, Stevenson, DeYoung, Tomlinson, Philharmonia
Signum Classics Apr 2014
CD
$19.99

Dvorak: Orchestral Works & Concertos

Supraphon

$75.99 Apr 30, 2013

Collectors and admirers of Dvorak’s music bearing the hallmark of the Czech performance tradition can now add another comprehensive album to put alongside the previous complete Supraphon CDs mapping his chamber, piano, and symphonic works. The acclaimed recording of the symphonies, conducted by Vaclav Neumann, is now followed by Supraphon’s 8-CD box set featuring Dvorak’s orchestral pieces and concertos. In addition to the celebrated Slavonic Dances, it contains a number of rarely recorded symphonic works (the Hussite Overture, My Home, A Hero’s Song), as well as splendid compositions for chamber and string orchestras. Besides recordings made under the baton of Neumann, it provides scope to other great Dvorak conductors – Mackerras, Belohlavek and the rising star Jakub Hruša. The set of orchestral works is rounded off by recordings of concertos, ranging from the virtually unknown Cello Concerto in A major, written by the young Dvorak, to the most frequently performed, the Cello Concerto in B minor. Supraphon has again carefully put together top-quality and time-honoured recordings of works performed by world-renowned soloists.

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Dvorak: Orchestral Works & Concertos
Supraphon Apr 2013
CD
$75.99

Postcards from Ukraine, Vol. 3 – Folk Dialogues

Toccata

$20.99 Apr 10, 2026

The first album of Postcards from Ukraine gave a potted history of Ukrainian music in the form of a series of miniatures for piano and violin, and the second presented four outstanding chamber works by important Ukrainian composers. This third instalment brings six new arrangements of Ukrainian folksongs, for violin and piano, by Markiyan Melnychenko, integrating them into a programme of folksong- and dance arrangements by some of his best-known virtuoso predecessors.

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Postcards from Ukraine, Vol. 3 – Folk Dialogues
Toccata Apr 2026
CD
$20.99

Mix & Match

Romance / Brio

Sono Luminus

$18.99 May 05, 2007

This unique collaboration of some of early music's most esteemed artists performing with period instruments and featuring the beautiful young Brazilian countertenor, José Lemos, truly showcases the exquisite melodies and exciting dance pieces that define the Sephardic culture of early Spain.

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Romance / Brio
Sono Luminus May 2007
CD
$18.99

Geminiani: Good Taste in the Art of Musick, Music for Violin

Brilliant Classics

$12.99 Oct 10, 2025

Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762), son of the violinist Giuliano Geminiani. After a season at the Teatro dei Fiorentini in Naples and a two-year spell at the Cappella Palatina in Lucca, Francesco left his homeland for good in 1714 to pursue a career in London, Dublin and Paris. The flourishing public concert life and optimal publishing conditions in London were attracting a great many Italian musicians, who were adored by the English public, achieving cult-like status - Arcangelo Corelli most of all. As a pupil of Corelli's, Geminiani inherited that legacy, while at the same time promoting an independent development in violin playing. Geminiani not only skilfully used the cult of Corelli and his own privileged position as an Italian musician to market himself; he also cultivated close contacts with powerful patrons, made a name for himself as an event organiser and painting dealer, and published several treatises. Among those, his The Art of Playing on the Violin, which he published at his own expense in 1751, was pioneering. He was responding to a pronounced culture of violin enthusiasts, whose great demand caused a proliferation of amateur schools and rudimentary music compendiums in England. Geminiani's treatise, however, was one of the first in Europe meeting professional standards. It differs significantly in scope and conception from other treatises of the mid-18th century from German-speaking countries, focusing intently on seeking the true nature of musical expression as the highest purpose of music. This is also reflected in the term 'Ornaments of Expression' coined by Geminiani to describe ornaments. He lists a rich selection of ornaments in another method, Treatise of good taste in the Art of Musick, published in 1749, designed to help the musician practise the art of ornamentation and variation. This treatise, along with his Rules for Playing in a true Taste published in 1746, include arrangements and variations based on well-known Scots tunes. The fashion of choosing simple folk songs as the basis for compositions was also utilised by other Italian composers in order to meet the needs and preferences of the English public. Geminiani's variations uniquely combine the Italian art of variation, inspired by the example of Arcangelo Corelli, with the simple grace of Scottish folk songs and ornamentation techniques developed under the influence of many years spent in Paris. The compositions contained in Geminiani's treatises go far beyond mere didactic use. His skilful, idiosyncratic use of harmony, rhythm and ornamentation tells the story of a highly trained, experimental and unconventional artist moving between nations and compositional styles. Other information: - Recorded April 2021 in Gartensaal, Germany - Bilingual booklet in English and German contains liner notes and profiles of the musicians - Francesco Saverio Geminiani was born in Lucca. He began his study at an early age with his father, but his most important lessons followed in his years with the great Roman Master, Arcangelo Corelli. Composition lessons with Alessandro Scarlatti helped inspire and solidify his craft. In 1714 Geminiani settled in London, where he quickly gained fame as an ensemble player, concert violinist, and teacher. Here he became friends with Handel and led the orchestra during many performances together. Geminiani enjoyed great success not only in London, but also in Ireland where he spent a considerable amount of time, settling in Dublin in 1760. - Geminiani's playing was distinguished by it's great expressiveness, richness of dynamic coloring, extraordinary liveliness, and a strong temperament. Tartini called Geminiani "il furibondo" - the furious one! - One of Geminiani's most enduring legacies is his treatise The Art of Playing on the Violin, published in 1751. This influential work is one of the earliest comprehensive guides on violin technique and interpretation. Unlike previous violin tutors, which often focused on basic fingering and bowing, Geminiani's treatise provided detailed insights into expressive playing, ornamentation, and the subtleties of articulation. It reflects the evolving style of violin playing in the 18th century, emphasizing musicality over mere technical proficiency. It covers topics such as bowing techniques, left-hand positioning, and vibrato, offering exercises to develop precision and expressiveness. He also stresses the importance of dynamic contrast and phrasing, essential elements in Baroque performance practice. - Played on period instruments by Anna Kaiser (violin), Johannes Berger (cello) and Solrun Franzdottir Wechner (harpsichord).

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Geminiani: Good Taste in the Art of Musick, Music for Violin
Brilliant Classics Oct 2025
CD
$12.99

Mix & Match

Handel: Almira / Mealy, Stubbs, Boston Early Music Festival

CPO

$66.99 Jan 03, 2020

Handel’s Almira with the BEMF. The Boston Early Music Festival has recorded George Frideric Handel’s very first opera, Almira, Queen of Castile, with a superlatively sumptuous ensemble. For its previous recordings of Baroque operas this successful ensemble has won prizes such as the Grammy, the German Record Critics Annual Prize, and the Echo Klassik. The Hungarian soprano Emoke Baráth sings the role of Almira with a choice ensemble of singers, all of whom have performed in the world’s most renowned concert halls and opera houses. Handel’s Almira is based on a freely invented plot featuring fine entertainment in the form of love and marriage schemes among the nobility, infidelity and mistaken identities, and a happy ending brought about by a court servant’s negotiations. This work was presented at the Hamburg Opera House in 1705 about twenty times and with great success. At the time Reinhard Keiser was the director of the Hamburg Opera, and he merits great praise for giving the young Handel, who then was earning his livelihood as a second tutti violinist in the orchestra pit, to compose and present an opera under his supervision. Handel’s Almira would as a work not be imaginable apart from the special circumstances prevailing at the Hamburg Opera: various styles and various languages are mixed, and it includes German and Italian arias, vocal dance numbers and da capo pieces, as well as instrumental ballet inserts of larger format. The result is indeed a colorful mixture, and the melodic signature so typical of Handel is already omnipresent and creates a fascinating unity – now heard with a top-quality ensemble!

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Handel: Almira / Mealy, Stubbs, Boston Early Music Festival
CPO Jan 2020
CD
$66.99

Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 31, 70 & 101

Linn Records

SACD

$21.99 Sep 11, 2015

The first of two Haydn recordings from Robin Ticciati and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra presents a “D Major” overview of Franz Joseph Haydn’s symphonic repertoire. From Haydn’s early period the Baroque influenced Symphony No. 31, ‘Horn Signal’ has an almost Gothic tinged feel with highly contrapuntal elements. Counterpoint is found in abundance throughout Symphony No. 70, a work written in the devastating aftermath of a fire on the Esterházy grounds, destroying buildings, instruments and consuming music scores. One of the famous ‘London Symphonies’, No. 101, ‘The Clock’ has its focus firmly on the future. Robin Ticciati is in his fifth season as Principal Conductor of the SCO. Gramophone named Robin one of the top ten young ‘conductors on the verge of greatness’ and one of 'Tomorrow's Icons'. “[an] exhilaratingly free performance of The Clock…the tick-tock Andante had a fragile grandeur that was disarming and poignant.” (The Guardian)

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Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 31, 70 & 101
Linn Records Sep 2015
SACD
$21.99

Maria Stuarda

Naxos AudioVisual

Blu-Ray

$37.99 Jul 10, 2026

Gaetano Donizetti's tragic opera Maria Stuarda depicts the merciless rivalry between Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots, who is seen as a martyr facing up to the illegitimate Queen of England. The opera was a victim of censorship at it's premiere and was beset by problems during rehearsals but is now seen as one of Donizetti's great operatic masterpieces. From the flamboyantly lyrical royal confrontations to the poignant final execution scene, this widely acclaimed production by David McVicar features monumental sets and sumptuous Elizabethan costumes, bringing the majesty and stark brutality of Elizabeth I's reign vividly to life.

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Maria Stuarda
Naxos AudioVisual Jul 2026
Blu-Ray
$37.99

IN CONCERT
VIDEO ARTISTS INT'L May 2005
DVD
$24.99

A Musical Journey: The Four Seasons - Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Scotland

Naxos AudioVisual

DVD

$13.99 Jun 25, 2013

Our journey takes US to places in Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Scotland, largely following the order of the seasons, from the hope of spring to the snows of winter. Violinist, priest and highly prolific composer, Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice in 1678 and spent most of his life there. The most popular of his 500 or more concertos, then and now, has been the Four Seasons, eventually published in 1725, each concerto accompanied by an explanatory sonnet.

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A Musical Journey: The Four Seasons - Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Scotland
Naxos AudioVisual Jun 2013
DVD
$13.99

Gibbons at the Chapel Royal

Resonus Classics

$16.99 Jan 16, 2026

Commemorating the quatercentenary of Chapel Royal composer Orlando Gibbons's death in 1625, The Choir of HM Chapel Royal, Hampton Court and The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble join forces to present a programme that surveys the wide range of Gibbons's output. Featuring the entire Second Service, plus verse & full anthems alongside hymns, fantasias and dance tunes, this recording celebrates not only the composer's legacy but also the continuing historical unity in performance of voices and instruments at the Chapel Royal over several hundred years.

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Gibbons at the Chapel Royal
Resonus Classics Jan 2026
CD
$16.99

Mix & Match

American Classics - Anderson: Orchestral Music Vol 4 / Slatkin, Criswell, Dazeley

Naxos

$19.99 Sep 30, 2008

It's usual to say, somewhat condescendingly, that Leroy Anderson was a great "light music" composer, but the fact is that he was a great composer. Period. The ability to write a memorable tune is priceless, as Brahms (no slouch in the tune department) recognized in speaking of Dvorák, and it more than compensates for any amount of failings in other departments. Anderson had remarkably few of those: his orchestrations are masterly, his craftsmanship always top-notch. The three suites included here (Scottish, Irish, and Alma Mater) are beautifully put together and incredibly catchy.

The vocal items (see work list above) are fetchingly sung by Kim Criswell and William Dazeley, and here receive their world premiere recordings. The program ends with one of Anderson's larger works, the dazzling Christmas Festival. Leonard Slatkin, an old hand in this music, conducts with unassuming mastery, and the BBC Concert Orchestra sounds entirely at home in the idiom. Very good engineering completes this delectable package. Like the rest of this series, this is definitely worth collecting.

– David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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American Classics - Anderson: Orchestral Music Vol 4 / Slatkin, Criswell, Dazeley
Naxos Sep 2008
CD
$19.99

Enescu, Ravel & Scott: Correspondances

Antarctica

$16.99 May 05, 2023

Antarctica label launches a new series named Spring and focused on debut recordings by a selection of compelling musicians whose talents and creativity are characterised by noteworthy essence and individuality. The first release is by Romanian pianist Cristian Sandrin who chose an original and engaging programme of music by Enescu, Ravel and Scott, highlighting the mutual influences of three composers of three different countries, all working in Paris. The recording took place in highly reputed Potton Hall under the technical responsability of Ben Connellan. Produced by Rachel Smith.

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Enescu, Ravel & Scott: Correspondances
Antarctica May 2023
CD
$16.99