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Reinecke: Orchestral Works
Dynamic Feb 2016
CD
$18.99

Tcherepnin: My Flowering Staff

Toccata

$20.99 May 01, 2020

In 1925-26 the French publisher Heugel brought out three volumes of 24 songs by the young Russian composer Alexander Tcherepnin (1899-1977), all setting poems by the 'Acmeist' Russian poet, Sergei Gorodetsky (1884-1967) - Tcherepnin's Opp. 15, 16 and 17. Not until 2014, when Tatyana Kebuladze, the pianist on this recording, examined the composer's manuscript in the archives of the Sacher Foundation in Basel was it realized that those three recueils were the tips of a much larger iceberg: a cycle of 35 settings of the 37 poems in Gorodetsky's collection My Flowering Staff, plus an anonymous epilogue - one of the most extensive song-cycles in musical history. The songs themselves are audibly in the tradition of Tchaikovsky and other such Romantic Russian composers, but with a degree of psychological insight conveyed through the harmonic piquancy typical of the new century.

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Tcherepnin: My Flowering Staff
Toccata May 2020
CD
$20.99

Brusa: Orchestral Works, Vol 3 / Rustioni, RSNO

Naxos

$9.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 50% Apr 14, 2015

This is the third volume in the series of orchestral music by Milanese-born Elisabetta Brusa (b. 1954). Sharing its neo-tonal language with her Nittemero Symphony, which can be heard here, the imposing, vividly immediate and approachable Symphony No. 1 is her first work for large orchestra. The symphonic poem Merlin evokes the great magician of legend through rich orchestral colors and powerful rhythms. Volume 2, described by Gramophone magazine as ‘a collection not to be missed’, can be heard here.

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Brusa: Orchestral Works, Vol 3 / Rustioni, RSNO
Naxos Apr 2015
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99

Brahms: Symphonies 1 & 4 / Jansons, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

BR Klassik

$29.99 Jun 26, 2012

Impressive Brahmsians.

This disc follows close on the heels of these artists’ recording of the Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 on BR Klassik (SACD) 900111. Both Symphonies were recorded in the splendid acoustic of the Herkulessaal and audience applause has been retained at the conclusion of each symphony. In May 2011 I experienced at first hand just how empathetic the relationship is between Jansons and the Bavarian RSO. I eagerly await the opportunity to attend one of their Munich concerts.

Brahms was aware that by writing symphonies he was encroaching on the territory ruled by Beethoven. In fact Brahms had written to Hermann Levi that he could feel the presence of Beethoven marching behind him. Many Brahms supporters, notably Eduard Hanslick, were happy to acknowledge the close relationship of the First Symphony to the music of Beethoven. Hans von Bülow went further, referring to the C minor symphony as “Beethoven’s tenth”. Brahms was 43 and at the height of his maturity when his Symphony No. 1 was completed in 1876 although the gestation period had been protracted, making sketches for the score, it seems, over twenty years earlier.

The grave and leaden thuds of the threatening drums that open the first movement Un poco sostenuto - Allegro are implacably convincing. Impressive too is the beautiful oboe playing of the rising motif at 2:16. Throughout this movement an assured Jansons successfully provides generous quantities of beauty, sadness and even menace. Compared to many rivals it took me a while to get used to his rather measured pace. One senses that he is rather holding back his forces. Although Rattle comes close with the BPO in truth no one I have heard on record has managed to provide an opening of such raw power. It approaches that of Klemperer and the Philharmonia. There is a burnished autumnal countryside feel to the E major Andante sostenuto. One could imagine walking at the edge of an eerily tranquil and shadowy forest whilst anticipating the ominous onset of severe weather. In the midst of such glorious playing I was struck how much the rising melody for solo violin at 6:05 reminded me of a section in Brahms’ Violin Concerto. Warm and magnificently lyrical melodies abound in the short Un poco allegretto e grazioso right from the swaying opening measures. Its manner is reminiscent of Mendelssohn. This is fresh music of the great outdoors and is evocative of cool early morning dew over a backdrop of wonderful Alpine scenery. Jansons conveys a sense of intense activity in the closing Adagio - Allegro non troppo ma con brio as if lying on a verdant grassy bank gazing up at the tones and shapes of a swiftly changing sky. I loved the inspiring and highly memorable chorale melody. The writing really evokes the finale to Beethoven's ‘Choral’ Symphony.

It was in 1884 and 1885 that Brahms worked on his Symphony No. 4 at the Austrian summer resort of Mürzzuschlag in the Styrian Alps. Hans von Bülow, who had conducted a rehearsal of the score enthused that the symphony was “stupendous, quite original, individual, and rock-like. Incomparable strength from start to finish.” It’s esteem has endured and remains for many Brahms’s most popular symphony. Walter Niemann found an intense degree of sadness in the fourth movement and wanted to describe the score as Brahms’s ‘Elegiac’ symphony.

A comforting mood of warm serenity and joy suffuses the swaying opening Allegro non troppo. In splendid performances such as this I am reminded of the verse, “perfectly cultivated earth. Honey of dawn, sun in bloom” from the poem Glimmer by Paul Éluard (1895-1952). Commencing with a striking horn-call in Jansons’s hands the E major Andante moderato feels like a dreamscape attaining beguiling heights of fantasy and grandeur. I love the good humour and vigour of the Scherzo as Jansons takes the music forward with majestic strides. In the dark key of E minor the final movement marked Allegro energico e passionato is a heroic drama constructed out of a theme and variations in the form of a chaconne often described as a passacaglia. Here Brahms introduces contrasts of the broadest imagination including chorale-style variations featuring horns and trombones. I especially enjoyed the lovely and moving passage for solo flute at 3:05-3:56 as well as the following woodwind interplay and the fierce and defiant hammer-blows.

Jansons and the Bavarian RSO provide highly accomplished performances even if they are unable to match the pervasive aura of heart-searching and the strong sense of excitement provided by Klemperer/Philharmonia and Rattle/BPO. The warm and well balanced sound quality from live concerts at the Herkulessaal, Munich is impressive.

It has been a ‘rite of passage’ for conductors to record a complete cycle of the Brahms symphonies and I have several splendid sets in my collection. My benchmark is the set of evergreen performances from Otto Klemperer and the Philharmonia. These are aristocratic, powerful and expressive. They were recorded with the great producer Walter Legge at his favoured venue: London’s Kingsway Hall in 1956/57 and can be heard on EMI Classics 5 62742 2 (c/w ‘Haydn’ Variations; Alto Rhapsody with Christa Ludwig, mezzo-; Academic Festival and Tragic Overtures). The digitally re-mastered sound is quite superb. With impeccable credentials Klemperer is a marvellous and experienced Brahmsian who made a studio recording of the Brahms First Symphony with the Staatskapelle Berlin as early as 1928. I often play the sterling performances of the Symphonies 1-3 conducted by Eugen Jochum with the London Philharmonic Orchestra from the Kingsway Hall, London in 1956 on EMI Classics 5 69515 2. Re-mastered at the Abbey Road studios, for its age, Jochum’s sound is excellent too. For an accompanying single version of the fourth symphony I would add Carlos Kleiber’s commanding 1980 Musikverein, Vienna reading with the Vienna Philharmonic digitally recorded on Deutsche Grammophon 457 706-2. Of the modern digital sets I greatly admire the 2008 accounts from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle on EMI Classics 2672542. They were recorded live in the Philharmonie at single concert performances with some additional patching. In my review I described them as, “urgently spontaneous performances conveying a Romantic power of immense intensity.”

Jansons and his Bavarian Radio colleagues are impressive Brahmsians. Any serious collector should be happy to hold this set of Brahms’ symphonies.

-- Michael Cookson, MusicWeb International

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Brahms: Symphonies 1 & 4 / Jansons, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
BR Klassik Jun 2012
CD
$29.99

Massenet: Songs with Orchestra, Vol. 2

Bru Zane

$20.99 Feb 06, 2026

If Massenet is best-known as the champion of French opera, his contribution to the genre of the mélodie merits reassessment - as is demonstrated by this programme of exquisitely orchestrated songs, all of which have remained in manuscript form. The Expressions lyriques form the pinnacle of these experiments, blending speech and song. The cycle Chansons des bois d'Amaranthe is also notable for the originality of it's scoring: a quartet of singers in dialogue with an orchestra animated by a voluble piano part.

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Massenet: Songs with Orchestra, Vol. 2
Bru Zane Feb 2026
CD
$20.99

Mix & Match

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 / Vänskä, Minnesota Orchestra

BIS

SACD

$21.99 Feb 01, 2019

Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony started life as a single-movement tone poem called Todtenfeier (‘Funeral Rites’). Completed in 1888 – one year before Richard Strauss's Death and Transfiguration – it echoed the composer's vision of seeing himself lying dead in a funeral bier surrounded by flowers. Deciding to use it as his opening movement, Mahler didn't finish the complete five-movement symphony until more than six years later, the longest time he spent on any work. The huge scale of the work apart, its weighty subject matter may well have contributed to the slow progress: Mahler himself outlined a scenario making references to the ultimate meaning of life and death (first movement), recollections of lost innocence and the desperation of unbelief (second and third movements), the return to naïve faith (fourth movement) and final redemption from the last judgement (finale). To convey this he took recourse to the human voice: incorporating a solo alto in the 4th movement Urlicht, he went on in the finale to risk comparison with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony by introducing a choir, as well as a soprano and alto soloist.

Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä have received praise for their previous Mahler recordings (‘Vänskä and the orchestra are among the finest exponents of Mahler’s music...’, allmusic.com). The team is here joined by soloists Ruby Hughes and Sasha Cooke and the Minnesota Chorale in the deeply moving close to the vast and tumultuous panorama that is his Second Symphony.

REVIEW:

[Vänskä] adopts a nicely relaxed approach – and pace – for the second movement. The strings play very stylishly and the recording differentiates very well indeed between the various string parts. The third movement is also largely a success; the sardonic humour comes across quite well – as is in keeping with the original Knaben Wunderhorn song on which the movement is based. The orchestra points the music very effectively with special praise for the woodwind in this regard. The wild premonition of the finale (8:03) is projected with dramatic force and urgency. Sasha Cooke sings "Urlicht" very well indeed.

The huge finale is unleashed in dramatic fashion and the vivid impact of the bass drum stroke is typical of the quality of the BIS recording. Vänskä handles this vast musical fresco pretty well. The drama is projected strongly, not least in the huge march episode that follows those two apocalyptic percussion crescendi (9:21). The grosse Appell is impressive (17:16): the distant brass is very well handled in the recording and the solo piccolo and flute distinguish themselves. When the choir begins to sing (20:01) their sound is hushed but distinct, which is as it should be. Ruby Hughes’ silvery voice rises gently and sweetly from the midst of the singers at the end of the first long phrase. Miss Hughes does very well, too, in the ‘O Glaube’ duet with Sasha Cooke.

The performance is highly accomplished. Vänskä has a good choir at his disposal and two excellent soloists. As for his orchestra, they play the music marvellously. There are many idiomatic touches such as string portamenti while accents – so crucial in Mahler – and dynamics are scrupulously observed.

– MusicWeb International

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Mahler: Symphony No. 2 / Vänskä, Minnesota Orchestra
BIS Feb 2019
SACD
$21.99

FLORENTINE TRAGEDY & SIX MAETERLINCK SONGS
LPO Aug 2014
CD
$15.99

American Classics - Rorem: Flute Concerto, Etc / Serebrier

Naxos

$19.99 May 16, 2006

This is a very easy call: marvelous music, exceptional performances, top-notch engineering--it all adds up to the strongest possible recommendation. Pilgrims is a lovely, lyrical work for string orchestra that makes an attractive disc-opener, but the two concertos are the standout items. Both are written as suites of brief movements, avoiding traditional forms. They actually resemble song-cycles more than anything else, and given Rorem's acknowledged mastery of that medium, not to mention the relationship between the concerto idea and vocal music generally, it's obvious that he is in his element.

The Flute Concerto is a world premiere. It was composed in 2002 for Jeffrey Khaner, and it's an exceptionally fine piece, beautiful to listen to and (evidently) quite grateful to play. We seem to be enjoying a bonanza of fine modern flute concertos, what with this work and the numerous pieces written for Sharon Bezaly as well. At about 30 minutes, it's a substantial piece, and Rorem's orchestration is beautifully calculated to give the soloist maximum opporunity for display, without the orchestra ever sounding excessively inhibited. Best of all, the thematic material really is memorable.

The same virtues characterize the Violin Concerto (1985), which was recorded previously by Bernstein and Gidon Kremer. Frankly, Philippe Quint plays better, with more attractive tone, and Serebrier offers a very fine account of the accompaniment. Rorem's orchestral music doesn't get the same amount of attention as his songs, but like the French music that he so admires, it allies expressive directness to a keen sense of instrumental color and superior craftsmanship. As a supplement to Serebrier's superb recording of the composer's three symphonies for Naxos, this disc is a must for collectors. [5/19/2006]
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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American Classics - Rorem: Flute Concerto, Etc / Serebrier
Naxos May 2006
CD
$19.99

WORKS FOR FLUTE 20TH-C SILESIA

DUX

$21.99 Nov 11, 2016

Grzegorz M. Olkiewicz’s album consists of nine pieces by seven representatives of the “Upper Silesian School,” which undoubtedly affected the Polish music (and not just the Polish one) of the second half of the twentieth century. Naturally, being a native of Katowice and a graduate of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, he became interested in the repertoire composed by the university’s pupils. Sometimes it was he that served an inspiration for them and edited scores for printing and premieres. The presented recordings were made in studio, at the National Philharmonic and at the Silesian one. They emerged gradually from 1984 to 1997 thanks to the Polish Radio in Katowice and Warsaw. One could consider this selection as representative for the community although it is inevitably complete. Grzegorz Olkiewicz was born in Katowice in 1959. He has performed with most of Poland’s orchestras, and has given recitals and performed with orchestras in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, The US, and more. Many Polish composers have dedicated their compositions to him.

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WORKS FOR FLUTE 20TH-C SILESIA
DUX Nov 2016
CD
$21.99

Vasks: Flute Concerto, Flute Sonata, Aria E Danza / Faust, Arnold, Gallois

Naxos

$19.99 Oct 29, 2013

Renowned for its luminosity and searing expressiveness, the music of Lithuanian composer P?teris Vasks frequently explores the relationship between nature and humanity, not least in the Flute Concerto written for Michael Faust, which is among the most expansive of Vasks’ orchestral works. Abstract qualities in the Sonata contrast with the deftly defined lyrical and rhythmic elements of Aria e danza, while Landscape with Birds exploits the entirety of the flute’s timbral range. Patrick Gallois and “the brilliant Michael Faust” (MusicWeb International) have also recorded the music of Mauricio Kagel (Naxos 8.572635).

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Vasks: Flute Concerto, Flute Sonata, Aria E Danza / Faust, Arnold, Gallois
Naxos Oct 2013
CD
$19.99

SONGS

HYPERION

$18.33 Jul 10, 2015

Vaclav Jan Krvtitel Tomasek wrote numerous songs and short piano pieces. His works predate those of his rather more famous near contemporary Franz Schubert by some years but remain mysterious neglected. This enthralling new album from Renata Pokupic and Roger Vignoles unfolds twenty-eight songs of a rare appeal. Tomasek was one of the very few composers of Goethe settings to meet with the great poet's (relatively) undivided approval.

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SONGS
HYPERION Jul 2015
CD
$18.33

Vitols: Orchestral Works / Yablonsky, Latvian Nso
Marco Polo May 1995
CD
$19.99

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons on Pan Flute / Chira, Bostock, Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim

CPO

$18.99 Jul 01, 2022

Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons is a milestone in music. On the one hand, the cycle is firmly anchored in baroque aesthetics, on the other hand, one is already moving in the direction of the galant style. In our new recording, Vivaldi's works have been carefully arranged for pan flute with orchestra by the composer Carlos Pino-Quintana. The great challenge was to maintain or even emphasise polyphonic elements of the original solo part in the new instrumentation, to subtly transfer the technical characteristics of the violin to the pan flute, to find adequate keys, and to balance the resulting contrasts and timbres between solo and tutti in the sense of concerto grosso. In the process, the accompaniment of harpsichord as basso continuo, which otherwise would have appeared only as secco accompaniment in long phrases and sections, is omitted, which opened up new possibilities for the fabric of polyphony and gave the pan flute solo voice greater scope for expression and musicality. And lo and behold, the concertos sound as if they were written for the pan flute. This is of course also due to our interpreter Andreea Chira, who plays a historical pan flute "Nai" with an unmistakable timbre. An incomparable sound experience!

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Vivaldi: The Four Seasons on Pan Flute / Chira, Bostock, Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim
CPO Jul 2022
CD
$18.99

Strauss: Music for Orchestra / Urbański, NDR Elbphilharmonie

Alpha

$20.99 Apr 24, 2020

Is the imitation of rolling thunder, howling winds and bleating sheep a form of musical composition worthy of the name? Can we take seriously a composer who boasts of being able to 'set a restaurant menu to music, if need be'? These were the kinds of questions that Richard Strauss, one of the most virtuosic composers of the so-called 'programme music', had to ask himself. His answer: 'I am a musician from head to toe; for me, all "programmes" are merely incentives to invent new forms, nothing else.' The NDR Orchestra, conducted by Krzysztof Urbanski, has chosen to devote it's sixth Alpha Classics recording to three of Richard Strauss's most famous symphonic poems: Also sprach Zarathustra op. 30, Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche op. 28 and Don Juan op. 20.

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Strauss: Music for Orchestra / Urbański, NDR Elbphilharmonie
Alpha Apr 2020
CD
$20.99

Gregson: Dream Song; Works for Orchestra / Tovey, BBC Philharmonic

Chandos

$21.99 Jul 29, 2014

Edward Gregson (b. 1945), one of Britain’s most versatile and prolific composers, has gained worldwide recognition for his approachable and engaging music. With the BBC Philharmonic, Bramwell Tovey conducts orchestral works, including two recently arranged for ensemble in the Horn Concerto and Aztec Dances, that take inspiration from an array of musical and extra-musical sources, revealing the breadth of Gregson’s musical imagination.

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Gregson: Dream Song; Works for Orchestra / Tovey, BBC Philharmonic
Chandos Jul 2014
CD
$21.99

Liszt: Symphonic Poems / Michael Halász, New Zealand So
Naxos Jan 2007
CD
$19.99

Campagnoli: String Quartets, Flute Quartets, Flute & Violin

Brilliant Classics

$16.99 Jul 17, 2026

Bartolomeo Campagnoli (1751-1827) was a violinist by training, who worked in the courts and capitals of Baroque-era Europe, with posts in Rome, Dresden, and then (from 1797 to 1818) in Leipzig, where he was leader of the venerable Gewandhaus Orchestra. He learned his trade with famous Italian musicians Tartini and Nardini. Campagnoli claimed for himself "the German learnedness with Italian soul", and his works abound in lyrical melodies set into the firm musical structures of the First Viennese School. This 3-CD set presents string quartets, flute quartets, and duos for flute & violin, highly attractive works in prevailing light and lyrical mood. Performed in historically informed performance practice by the Ensemble Symposium, the Ensemble Il Demetrio, and Stefano Parrino (flute) and Francesco Parrino (violin). Recordings were previously issued separately on Brilliant Classics, here receiving a new lease of life as a 3-CD set.

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Campagnoli: String Quartets, Flute Quartets, Flute & Violin
Brilliant Classics Jul 2026
CD
$16.99

Mix & Match

Henze: Das Floss der Medusa / Nylund, Schone, Eotvos, SWR Sinfonie Orchester

SWR

$10.49 ~~$20.99~~ Save 50% Sep 13, 2019

A 2019 New York Times Gift Guide Selection

This is the second release ever of Henzes famous Oratorio, after the release of the general rehearsal for the world's first premiere from 1968 by Deutsche Grammophon. Excellent sound technique, first class singers and orchestra (conducted by none other than Peter Eötvös) as well as a booklet containing detailed liner notes and the libretto contribute in making this album a very important testimony about the music of the 20th century. Henze wrote the Oratorio as a Requiem for Che Guevara and set it to a text by Ernst Schnabel. It tells the story of the French frigate Meduse, which ran aground off the west coast of Africa in 1816, immortalized in the painting of the same name by Theodore Gericault. The work employs a large orchestra, a speaker, a soprano, a baritone, and choruses. In the course of a performance, the chorus members move from left side of the stage, “the Side of the Living,” to the right side, “the Side of the Dead.”

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REVIEWS:

Looking for that special something for that special someone this holiday?

Flowers? Those die.

Jewelry? Too bougie.

A day at the spa? Namaste!

An hour-long modernist requiem on the death of Che Guevara featuring a head of snakes, sung/spoken/sprechtimme’d IN GERMAN? Dear, you are so generous. I cannot possibly repay the kindness.

– New York Times 2019 Gift Guide

Anyone who wants to know Henze or know him better would be well-served and enlivened by this one. And it would be a valuable addition to the confirmed Henze fan's library. Recommended.

– Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review

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Henze: Das Floss der Medusa / Nylund, Schone, Eotvos, SWR Sinfonie Orchester
SWR Sep 2019
CD
~~$20.99~~ $10.49

Sibelius: En Saga, The Dryad, The Bard, Etc/ Vanska

BIS

$21.99 Apr 01, 2002

Finnish composer Jean Sibelius occupies an odd position straddling the fence between the 19th and 20th centuries. Despite his innovates, almost Ravellian gift for orchestration (listen to "The Dryad") his music remains, like that of his German contemporary Richard Strauss, firmly grounded in the Romantic tradition. What sets Sibelius apart, however, is the indefatigable folksiness of his music reminiscent of his Norwegian forerunner, Edvard Grieg, and largely derived from the Kalevala, the Finnish traditional Saga.

It's precisely this undefinable "Finnishness" that makes this collection of Sibelius tone poems unique: here is a Finnish orchestra in its own element. With the same unfair advantage one might concede the New York Phil in music of Gershwin, The Lahti Symphony orchestra under countryman Osmo Vänskä imbues this collection with style and culture. Sibelius's cool orchestral sonorities are met with a concise but moody warmth ideally suited to the semi-programmatic spirit of En Saga or Pohjola's Daughter. A fine exploration of this enduringly listenable composer.

David Simmons, WQXR

"Osmo Vänskä and his players excel at presenting Sibelius' gentler (and sometimes darker) side. This allows them to turn in wonderfully poetic and atmospheric performances of The Dryad and its accompanying Dance-Intermezzo, along with a truly evocative The Bard and a magnificently impressionistic account of The Oceanides (finely detailed with impressively sculpted bass lines). Vänskä's sensitivity to the subtle nuances of Sibelius' orchestration also ensures that the first half of Night Ride and Sunrise is aesthetically, rather than exasperatingly, monotonous, while the dawn sequence sounds aptly fresh and serene...I can't think of another Sibelius tone poem collection that offers a better planned or more interesting selection of pieces...unfailingly beautiful and idiomatic... -- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

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Sibelius: En Saga, The Dryad, The Bard, Etc/ Vanska
BIS Apr 2002
CD
$21.99

Zhonghu Concerto & Pieces for Erhu and Orchestra
Marco Polo May 2015
CD
$19.99

Wagner: Orchestral Music from The Ring / Falletta, Buffalo Philharmonic

Naxos

$13.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 30% Mar 09, 2018

The essential meaning of Wagner’s magnum opus ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ is wrapped up in the composer’s own lifetime pursuit of transcendent romance, with the redemption of eternal love one of the primary tenets of this and his other music dramas. Wagner’s gift for orchestral color and scenic characterization make his operas highly suited to the genre of the tone poem, and these seven tableaus evoke major scenarios in the saga, as well as providing a sense of the course and spirit of the greatest operatic drama ever written. JoAnn Falletta serves as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic and Virginia Symphony, and is the principal guest conductor of the Brevard Music Center of North Carolina. She has guest conducted over a hundred orchestras in North America, and many of the most prominent orchestras in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa.

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REVIEW:

Conductor JoAnn Falletta creates a magical Forest Murmurs when Siegfried first understands the meaning of the songbird, and sends the Valkyries on a really wild ride. The sound coming out of Buffalo for the Naxos label is some of the best.

– David's Review Corner (David Denton)

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Wagner: Orchestral Music from The Ring / Falletta, Buffalo Philharmonic
Naxos Mar 2018
CD
~~$19.99~~ $13.99

Hofmann: Flute Concertos, Vol. 3

Naxos

$19.99 Aug 09, 2019

Leopold Hofmann was among the most prominent Viennese composers of his generation, his music performed all over Europe. Hofmann's radiant flute concertos follow the conventions of the day with superlative elegance and a deceptive facility. The solo writing has a lightness, grace and agility perfectly suited to the instrument's strengths, particularly in the lovely and often rhapsodic slow movements. It is hardly surprising that musicians and audiences found these concertos so beguiling, and they have lost none of their magic today. The works are performed by award-winning flautist Uwe Grodd and the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice.

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Hofmann: Flute Concertos, Vol. 3
Naxos Aug 2019
CD
$19.99

Rachmaninov: The Bells, Isle of the Dead / Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony

Vox

$19.99 Apr 06, 2018

This release from the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with Leonard Slatkin conducting presents two dark works by Sergei Rachmaninoff. The first is the choral symphony The Bells Op. 35. Written in 1913, the words are taken from the poem ‘The Bells’ by Edgar Allan Poe. Symbolist poet Konstantin Balmont translated the poem loosely into Russian. The Bells is joined on this release by the tone poem Isle of the Dead Op. 29. This work was inspired by a black and white reproduction of Arnold Bocklin’s painting of the same name, which Rachmaninoff viewed in Paris in 1907. The common thread that can be heard throughout both of these pieces is the use of the Gregorian plainchant, the Dies Irae, used as an allusion to death.

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Rachmaninov: The Bells, Isle of the Dead / Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony
Vox Apr 2018
CD
$19.99

Lutoslawski: Orchestral Works III

Chandos

$21.99 Nov 13, 2012

This is the fourth volume in Chandos’ series devoted to the music of the Polish composer Witold Lutosławski. Described by Gramophone as a ‘veritable dream team’, Edward Gardner and the BBC Symphony Orchestra perform Symphony No. 2 and the Little Suite, and are joined by Paul Watkins as the soloist in the Cello Concerto and Grave.

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Lutoslawski: Orchestral Works III
Chandos Nov 2012
CD
$21.99

3 PSALMS FOR STRING ORCHESTRA
CHESKY RECORDS Oct 1997
CD
$16.99