Big birthdays and Haydn symphonies
This month’s round-up salutes John Williams and Frédéric Lodéon
Marking the composer’s 90th birthday, John Williams & The Boston Pops Orchestra – Complete Philips Recordings (Decca 485 1590) focuses on his years as the ensemble’s music director. This 21-disc collection showcases the colourful programming that made his 14-year tenure such a hit with audiences. Williams’s music is here, but there’s plenty of variety – including a Peter & The Wolf with Dudley Moore as narrator, two albums with the great Jessye Norman, discs of marches and overtures and tributes to Gershwin and Bernstein. A treat.
Frédéric Lodéon – The Flamboyant (Erato 9029654625) is a another complete set, this time taking in recordings made for Erato and EMI by the French cellist, who turned 70 in January. Lodéon was a precocious young talent, and his confident virtuosity is on display across 21 discs of recordings made in the 1970s and ’80s, largely of concerto and chamber works. Performing partners here include greats such as Jean-pierre Rampal and Pierre Amoyal, and the set includes a good many premieres.
The Berlin Philharmonic celebrates 240 years this year and in 30 Years of Europakonzert (Euroarts 8024268834), viewers are treated to some 48 hours of music across 31 Blu-ray discs. Filmed from 1991-2021, the annual celebration of the orchestra’s founding has become a popular fixture in the classical calendar, which moves to a different city each year.
The set is a treasure trove of performances on stages everywhere from London to Lisbon and features a dazzling cast of conductors including Abbado, Boulez, Haitink and Jansons.
If you think that’s a big undertaking, just imagine the size of the box needed for Giovanni Antonini’s Haydn symphonies project when it’s finished. That’s a way off yet, so you can start a little smaller with Haydn 2032 – Vols 1-10 (Alpha Classics ALPHA774). As the title suggests, this release gathers together the first ten albums released in the series so far (201421). Ambitious though it may be, the project has so far reaped rich rewards with stunning recordings and fabulous performances.
The set is a treasure trove of performances from across Europe