Brief notes

Our monthly selection of shorter reviews finds music for peace and healing

Albéniz Piano Sonatas Nos 3-5 etc Sebastian Stanley (piano)

Piano Classics PCL10194

Worth investigating, Albéniz’s sun-kissed piano works are rarely dull. I’d have preferred a slightly more sprightly touch and a little more lyricism from our pianist here, though. ( JP) ★★★

Antheil Orchestral Works

BBC Philharmonic/john Storgårds Chandos CHAN 20080

When not in wild and wacky form, Antheil could combine the sass of Gershwin with the sharp edge of Shostakovich and Stravinsky. Stunning performances provide the perfect showcase here. ( JP) ★★★★★

Beethoven Symphony No. 9 Bavarian Radio So/bernard Haitink

BR Klassik 900180

Recorded last May, just over half a year before Bernard Haitink’s retirement, this Beethoven

Nine bears all of the conductor’s hallmarks: it’s thoughtful, clear and captures the spirit of the symphony. (RF) ★★★★

Beethoven Violin Concerto etc Leonidas Kavakos (violin) et al

Sony Classical 19075929882

An odd combination of works, but Kavakos’s exquisite tone lends the Concerto a magical lustre; the Septet radiates warmth; and the five folk song variations are full of quirky charm. (OC) ★★★★

Martin Bussey Choral Works Sonoro et al Resonus RES10251

This disc of choral works by contemporary composer Martin Bussey is glorious. A touch too much echo in the recording quality, but the singers’ clarity in articulation helps. Shimmering sound. (FP) ★★★★

Philip Glass Piano Works

Nicolas Horvath (piano) et al

Grand Piano GP817

A handful of piano works by Glass, alongside a slightly unconvincing transcription of his Second Piano Concerto. The booming acoustic and bizarre sound levels dwarf what could otherwise be a fine performance. (FP) ★★

Jesper Koch Dreamscapes etc Odense Symphony Orchestra et al Dacapo 6.220579

The Danish composer is big on atmosphere, but not at the expense of drama or pace. There’s an intense beauty to his concertos for cello and violin. (RF) ★★★★

Mahler Symphony No. 3

Oslo Philharmonic/mariss Jansons Simax PSC1272

Recorded live back in 2001, this big-boned, beautifully paced performance is a fittingly moving way to remember a late, great maestro who will be sorely missed.

( JP) ★★★★

Gareth Malone Music for Healing Gareth Malone (piano) et al

Decca 481 8703

Malone’s gentle stroll through a year sees his solo piano joined here and there by mixed choir and a string quartet. Some will find it lukewarm, but I easily succumbed to its cosiness. (MB) ★★★

Stephen Mcneff

Strip Jack Naked etc

Kokoro Prima Facie PFCD106

Vicki Pepperdine wrote the comi-tragic libretto for Strip Jack Naked, which charts events after a woman is given a birthday gift of ‘cosmetic surgery, and Sightseeing in Prague’ by her boyfriend. Lore Lixenberg is the superb soloist. (RF) ★★★★

David Sanford Black Noise etc Boston Modern Orchestra Project BMOP 1063

There’s a lot of style in these eclectic works by the US composer, who draws on modernist and jazz influences. There’s an appealing industrial anarchy to the title work. (MB) ★★★

Shostakovich The Bedbug etc Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-pfalz et al Naxos 8.574100 Two world premieres here, but it’s the colourful and comedic incidental music for 1929 play The Bedbug which stands out as Dmitri dares to musically mock the state. (MB) ★★★★

Weinberg Chamber Works

Gidon Kremer (violin) et al DG 483 7522 Not Weinberg’s best, but the stark Piano Trio with its Jewish idioms, Shostakovian turns of phrase and biting counterpoint is a tour de force. The intentionally rough-edged performances add to the empty despair. (OC) ★★★

Matthew Whiteside

String Quartets Nos 4-6

Aurea Quartet et al MW 1902

This heady avantgarde set sees quartet and electronics collide, with Entangled (Quartet No. 4) the effective and unsettling centrepiece. You may want to keep the lights on. (MB) ★★★

Kathryn Williams

Coming Up For Air

Kathryn Williams (flute)

Huddersfield Contemporary HCR22CD A showcase of 40 pieces, commissioned by Kathryn Williams, for which the flautist can only take one inhale and make one exhale. At times an uncomfortable listen, it’s also strangely fascinating. (RF) ★★★

Andréas Works by Vivaldi et al Andréas Perez-ursulet (countertenor) Warner Classics 9029534915

There’s no doubt this young countertenor can sing, but there’s a lack of sparkle in this otherwise varied programme. The whole thing feels rather run-of-the-mill. (MB) ★★

Better Without Words

Works by Schubert, Wagner et al Andreas Martin Hofmeir (tuba) et al Genuin GEN 19676

Tuba-and-harp arrangements of Schubert songs and Puccini arias? In truth, not a gap in my collection I’d been aching to fill. Joking aside, taken in the right spirit they’re rather charming. (JP) ★★★

The Etudes Project

Works by Ligeti, Philip Glass et al Jenny Lin (piano)

Sono Luminus DSL-92236

This is the enjoyable first volume of an ambitious project by pianist Jenny

Lin in which new, commissioned and existing Etudes are paired. There’s a style to suit all tastes. (RF) ★★★

Famous Opera Choruses

Choruses by Verdi, Mascagni et al Bavarian Radio Choir BR Klassik 900329 An enjoyable romp through some of Italian, Russian and German Romantic opera’s finest choruses. The well-blended choir has a satisfyingly beefy feel to it, and the orchestra is on top form. (OC) ★★★★

Mighty Metamorphoses

Works by Copland et al

Peter Verhoyen (piccolo) et al

Et’cetera KTC 1668

An hour of piccolo may instil dread, but this particular disc makes a brilliant case for the instrument. Works are performed with lyricism and superb accuracy. (FP) ★★★★

The Peace Concert Versailles Works by Mozart, Debussy et al Yuja Wang (piano) et al DG 483 7510

A cenury after the end of World War I, works exploring war and peace range from The Magic

Flute to the Missa solemnis. Precise, cinematic and stirring. (FP) ★★★★

Porgy & Bess Revisited

Works by or inspired by Gershwin Nicolas Dautricourt (violin) et al

Orchid Classics ORC100112

Gershwin’s opera is imaginatively rejigged for violin, vibraphone and double bass, though Dautricourt’s slightly spiky style doesn’t allow the music to schmooze as much as it should. (JP) ★★★

Remember me, my dear

Works by Arvo Pärt et al

Hilliard Ensemble et al ECM 4817971 Jan Garbarek and the Hilliards’ aptly named farewell disc includes many of the pieces on 2010’s Officium Novum and brings to an end one of music’s most iconic collaborations. (OC) ★★★

Seasons of Life and Landscape Works by Laura Hawley et al Canadian Chamber Choir

Canadian Chamber Choir CCCCD003

A varied selection of works written by emerging Canadian composers.

Though it could be more ‘together’ in parts, it’s a commendable effort, impressively crowdfunded and thoughtfully curated. (FP) ★★★

Up Towards the Sky

Songs by Beach, Hundley et al Rachel Evangeline Barham (soprano) Guild GMCD7819

Fast forward to Winifred Hyson’s Songs of Job’s Daughter and Menotti’s Five Songs. Barham’s voice is warm and expressive, although a few upperregister piano keys sound a tad jangly. (OC) ★★★

Reviewers: Michael Beek (MB),

Oliver Condy (OC), Rebecca Franks (RF), Freya Parr (FP), Jeremy Pound ( JP)