The reviewers Andrew Achenbach Fabrice Fitch

Richard Osborne

Nicholas Anderson Jonathan Freeman- Stephen Plaistow Mary Berry Attwood 'Nicholas A Rast Alan Blyth Edward Greenfield Guy S Rickards Joan Chissell David S Gutman Marc Rochester Rob Cowan Stephen Johnson Julie Anne Sadie Peter Dickinson 'L indsay Kemp Stanley Sadie

Tess Knighton

Lionel Salter

Duncan Druce

Andrew Lamb

Edward Seckerson

John Duarte

Robert Seeley

Adrian Edwards Robert Layton

Richard T Fairman

David Fallows

Ivan March

John B Steane

Ivan W G Moody Michael Stewart

Bryce Morrison Jonathan Swain

David J Fanning David Nice

John Warrack lain Fenlon

Patrick O'Connor Arnold Whittall

Hilary Finch

Michael Oliver

Richard Wigmore

Key to symbols (D CD New Reissue (reissues are also listed in comparisons as R; when a date appears as , say, 7/56 R it means the recording was tirst reviewed in July 1956 but has since been reissued under the listed number, though not re-reviewed) 4D Historic ~ Video CD Compact Disc a Cassette G LP 00 Digital Compact Cassette

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and below AAD/ADDIDDD denote analogue or digital stages in the recordi!lg! editing or mixing! mastering or transcription processes in CD manufacture

Gramophone Founded in 1923 by Sir Compton Mackenzie and Christopher Stone

Volume 75 Number 891

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2 Gramophone August 1997

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Reviews 4 Index to reviews 48 Orchestral 66 Chamber 72 Instrumental 78 Choral and song 96 Opera 98 Collectors' corner 101 Nostalgia

Features

14 Jordi Savall

The Catalan viol-player and conductor has recently been in the studios recording repertoire as diverse as Purcell and Beethoven. Michael Quinn flew out to Barcelona to talk to him about his quest for musical truth Franl CUI'(,/, pll olO Auridis/Jaydie PUIfCJl'man

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26

Jordi Savall

Music 97 A new venture, jointly organized by Gramophone and Radfords Hi-Fi, took place in Bath in May; it brought together record and hi-Ii companies to allow the public to sample new releases on high quality sound systems. Ivor Humphreys reports on the success of the weekend

42

Brahms In the second of our three-pa rt survey examining the music of Brahms, Michael Quinn explores the chamber and instrumental works with eminent artists including Emanuel Ax, Isaac . Stern, Sleven lsserlis, Karl Leister and

Idil Biret