This month’s selection features some French flute and just a bit of Beethoven
Balsys
Violin Concerto No. 1; Reflections of the Sea; Dramatic Frescoes Dzeraldas Bidva (violin), Indre Baikstyte (piano); Lithuanian National Symphony/modestas Pitrenas
Ondine ODE 1358-2
Balsys is a key figure in Lithuania but not yet hugely known internationally. This recording makes a real case for his rich, colourful orchestral scores, which have a touch of Sibelius about them.
(FP) ★★★★
Beethoven
Symphony No. 7;
The Creatures of Prometheus Freiburg Baroque Orchestra/
Gottfried von der Goltz
Harmonia Mundi HMM90244647 Nothing is left in the locker in these terrifically raw and punchy performances of a much loved symphony and all-toorarely heard ballet. Tempos plod a little here and there in the Seventh, but it’s a minor quibble. (JP) ★★★★
Dobrzynski • Nowowiejski Orchestral Works
Sinfonia Varsovia/grzegorz Nowak NIFC NIFCCD060
Two Polish composers of different eras are brought together here. Dobrzynski’s Second Symphony is an enjoyable nod to Beethoven, but it is Nowowiejski’s cinematic ballet overture which is the the superb highlight. (MB) ★★★★
Dvo ák • Dyakov • Fall
Piano Trios etc
Trio Image
Cavi-music AVI8553482
A lively, passionate performance of Dvo ák’s Third Piano Trio is coupled with a less familiar late-romantic gem by the tragically fated Jewish composer Siegfried Fall. Well worth exploring. (JP) ★★★★
Brian Ferneyhough
Complete Piano Works 1965-2018 Ian Pace, Ben Smith (piano)
Métier MSV 28615
A musical marathon through the composer’s complete piano music. Pace and Smith certainly keep you on your toes with their agile and pin-sharp accounts of this complex and arresting music.
(MB) ★★★★
Edward Gregson
Instrumental Music
Paul Janes (piano); Soloists of the Hallé and BBC Philharmonic
Naxos 8.574224
The composer selected this programme himself, with works for flute, violin, trumpet, oboe, clarinet, tuba and trombone – nearly all with piano. Gregson is at his most playful in these works. (FP) ★★★
Handel
Brockes Passion
Sandrine Piau (soprano) et al; Arcangelo/jonathan Cohen
Alpha ALPHA 644
You’re in safe hands here. Arcangelo bring their
Baroque expertise to this pristine interpretation of Handel’s Brockes Passion. The soloists are fabulous, particularly Sandrine Piau, who shimmers above the orchestra. (FP) ★★★★
Michael Jarrell Émergences-résurgences
Tabea Zimmermann (viola), Renaud Capuçon (violin); Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire/pascal Rophé
BIS BIS-2482
Two recent concertos – one for viola, one violin – by
Swiss composer Michael Jarrell are each performed here by their dedicatees. His writing is spiky, full of demanding technicality from its players. It’s punchy stuff. (FP) ★★★★
Arvo Pärt
Miserere; Sequentia; Festina Lente; The Deer’s Cry etc
Munich Radio Orchestra; Bavarian Radio Choir/howard Arman et al
BR Klassik 900527
Arvo Pärt’s bigboned Miserere sees the Estonian composer at his most devastatingly powerful. It is excellently performed here, as are the shorter, but by no means insignificant, other works on the recording. ( JP) ★★★★
And the Sun Darkened Music for Passiontide New York Polyphony
BIS BIS-2277
Not surprisingly, this is unrelentingly austere stuff. If, however, choral gloom is your bag, it is also an imaginatively programmed recital, immaculately sung and recorded in superb sound. ( JP) ★★★★★
Around the World
Trios for Clarinet, Violin and Piano by Khachaturian et al Ensemble Next Parallel
Heritage HTGCD170
From the winding orientalism of Khachaturian’s G minor Trio of 1932 to the jaunty Caribbean dance that rounds off Roger Henry’s recent Trio No. 2, a highly engaging and colourful journey through the clarinet trio repertoire. (JP) ★★★
Cellopera
Opera Arias by Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Verdi et al (arr. cello) Ophélie Gaillard (cello); Morphing Chamber Orchestra/frédéric Chaslin Aparté AP248
On paper this should be cheesy, but Gaillard’s whistlestop tour of some of opera’s greatest moments – arranged for cello and orchestra – is undertaken with wholehearted joy and great passion for the material by all concerned. (MB) ★★★
Echoes
Works by Dowland, Max Richter, Philip Glass, Hindemith et al Signum Saxophone Quartet
DG 486 0582
There’s a lot of intuitive playing here, with a glorious richness of sound. Music by Dowland and Fauré is given the same care and attention as that composed by Philip Glass and Max Richter.
(FP) ★★★
French Music for Flute
Works by Saint-saëns, Franck, Widor and Duruf lé
Adam Walker (flute),
James Baillieu (piano)
Chandos CHAN 20229
The former LSO principal flautist’s Chandos debut focuses on French flute works. His clear, considered sound refuses to retreat into the background. The sound spins – this would be a superb recital to hear live. (FP) ★★★★
Gershwinicity
Songs by Gershwin
(arranged for trio)
Art Deco Trio
SOMM Recordings SOMMCD 0631 Gershwin songs brought to vivid life by piano, clarinet and sax. What’s not to love? It’s a winning combination and the arrangements are top notch too. This is a recording that is guranteed to get you moving. (MB) ★★★★
La muse oubliée
Piano Works by Beach, Smyth, C Schumann, L Boulanger et al Antonio Oyarzabal (piano)
IBS Classical IBS52021
There’s no forgetting Oyarzabal’s enthralling performance, or indeed his sublime programme of piano works by women composers from Fanny Mendelssohn to Ruth Crawford Seeger. What a treat.
(MB) ★★★★★
Moments of Vision
Works by Peter Seabourne and Robin Holloway
Avant Piano Trio, Peter Britton (percussion), Benjamin Harris (speaker) Sheva Contemporary SH271
A pair of dynamic piano trios, each with bags of character and wonderful contrasts – from light and shade to whimsy and introspection. Holloway’s title work, for trio and narrator, really captures the imagination. (MB) ★★★
Two Worlds
Piano works by Debussy and Gershwin
Andrejs Osokins (piano)
Prima Classic PRIMA008
The American and French composers make an enjoyable coupling here, though Andrejs Osokins tends to sound more at home with the songful bonhomie of Gershwin than in the rippling, alluring otherworldliness of Debussy. ( JP) ★★★
Visca L’amor...
Catalan Art Songs by Toldrà, Mompou, Fábregas et al
Isai Jess Munoz (tenor),
Oksana Glouchko (piano)
Bridge BRIDGE9548
This collection of Catalan songs brings into the light overlooked repertoire that really deserves to be heard. Munoz and Glouchko’s iridescent performances are a real gift to the listener.
(MB) ★★★★★
Where All Roses Go
Choral Works by Guerrero, Tavener, Tallis, Byrd et al Apollo5
Voces8 VCM130
The dazzling vocal quintet marks its tenth anniversary with this selection of songs on a theme of love. But far from being saccharine or sickly, it is in fact a richly rewarding listen that takes us from the devotional to the downright beautiful. (MB) ★★★★
Reviewers:
Michael Beek (MB),
Freya Parr (FP),
Jeremy Pound ( JP)