BBC Legends and Christmas oratorios
This month’s round-up also celebrates Claudio Arrau and Adrian Boult
ICA Classics’ first BBC Legends volumes are long out of print, so it’s great to have sight of BBC Legends, Vol. 3 (ICA Classics ICAB5167). Like its predecessors, this 20-disc collection shares some of classical music’s biggest stars, captured in live concerts recorded for the BBC. This set, a must-have, includes John Barbirolli’s final ever concert – from the King’s Lynn Festival in July 1970 – a 1965 Elgar Cello Concerto performance by Rostropovich and 1972 Mozart and Vivaldi concertos from Henryk Szeryng, among many other treasures.
Another legend for whom to find a bit of extra shelf space is conductor Adrian Boult, whose Decca Legacy (Eloquence 484 2204/2284/2302) has been released across three indispensable volumes. Totalling 45 discs altogether, the three sets cover ‘British Music’, ‘Baroque & Sacred Music’ and ‘19th-and 20th-century Music’, and while all have their draws, the ‘British’ selection is comprehensive and includes unreleased Holst recordings and a feast of Vaughan Williams.
If you’re a piano fan then you’ll delight in Claudio Arrau – The Complete Warner Classics Recordings (Warner Classics 9029624557). The Chilean was one of the very greatest of his generation whose techincal prowess at the keyboard was matched by heavenly expression, all committed to disc over a long period. This collection takes in recordings made 192162, so it’s a hefty wedge of his recorded legacy and all gloriously restored in HD. There are premieres, too, with unreleased recordings of Liszt and Chopin, plus a Beethoven sonata.
We couldn’t let the Christmas issue pass without at least one festive offering. Christmas – Oratorios & Concertos (Hänssler Classic HC22034) digs a little deeper than most with a selection of sacred works by the likes of JS Bach, Saint-saëns, Schütz, Telemann, Corelli and Von Herzogenberg. It’s a heady mix, with top-notch performances by soloists and ensembles including Iona Brown, Joachim Held, the Bach Ensemble and Helmuth Rilling, recorded in Germany between 1976 and 2013.
The ‘British’ selection of Boult recordings is comprehensive