CONTENTS
eviews
RACHMANINOV Piano Sonata No 1, etc Vladimir Ashkenazy pf Decca 478 2938DH ‘These may be Ashkenazy’s first recordings of these works but they sound as though they have been in his fingers for a long time. A notable adjunct to the recordings of his youth.’
REVIEW ON PAGE 63
MacMILLAN Who are these Angels? Capella Nova / Alan Tavener Linn CKD383 ‘Illuminating performances which capture MacMillan’s profound sense of the sacred, but here the sense of looking back over the centuries is especially strong.’
REVIEW ON PAGE 70
MAHLER. PFITZNER. R STRAUSS Songs Christianne Stotijn mez Joseph Breinl pf Onyx ONYX4075 ‘Sung not just with her customary mastery but always with something significant to discover. Stotijn’s performances make you examine the texts anew.’
REVIEW ON PAGE 72
FALVETTI Il diluvio universale Namur Chamber Choir; Cappella Mediterranea / Leonardo García Alarcón Ambronay AMY026 ‘The rehabilitation of a composition bursting with imagination and gripping drama. Frankly, it is hard to believe it has lain unheard for so long.’
REVIEW ON PAGE 78
DVD LULLY Atys Les Arts Florissants / William Christie; Jean-Marie Villégier & François Roussillon dirs FRA Productions FRA006 ‘The reputation of Christie and Les Arts Florissants dates from their 1987 production of Atys.’
REVIEW ON PAGE 78
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Reissue BEETHOVEN Early Quartets Budapest Quartet Bridge BRIDGE9342 ‘David Starobin and his colleagues have achieved a dazzling overview of the legendary Budapest Quartet’s Beethoven style during its latter years. ’
REVIEW ON PAGE 87
Italian concertos –27 Russian concertos –9 British concertos –6 German concertos –2 Japanese concertos –1
ORCHESTRAL
Roussel’s musical insectarium, a second outing for Reger’s mammoth Violin Concerto, rare Saint-Saëns ballet music from Australia
CHAMBER
Trio Zimmermann play Beethoven, exploring York Bowen’s string sonatas, Stravinsky head to head with Shostakovich
INSTRUMENTAL
Martin Roscoe’s Dohnányi project begins, Liszt from France and Germany, Mahler’s Sixth Symphony resounds on an organ
VOCAL
We compare two new St John Passions, a feast of orchestral songs from Europe and America, Mark Stone begins his Delius cycle
OPERA
ENO’s 1981 Pelléas revived on disc, latest from Janowski’s Wagner odyssey, the ‘Hockney’ Rake’s Progress on DVD from Glyndebourne
BOOKS
Our verdict on Charles M Joseph’s study of Stravinsky’s work for the ballet and a major new survey of the music of György Ligeti
REPLAY
A big box of Tchaikovsky, Elgar’s fascinating early recordings, the Budapest Quartet with Beethoven in Washington
THE SPECIALIST’S GUIDE TO…
Rob Cowan on 10 vintage violin virtuosos who languish unknown today but deserve exploration and can bring enjoyment aplenty
THE GRAMOPHONE COLLECTION
Guy Rickards makes his way through the musical rainforest that is Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras and recommends a top choice
GRAMOPHONE MARCH 2012 5
