November 2012

hoice Informed by our unrivalled panel of critics, we choose the month’s must-hear recordings

BEETHOVEN Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 3 Mahler Chamber Orchestra / Leif Ove Andsnes pf Sony Classical 88725 420582

Recording of the Month ‘Andsnes and the Mahler CO players are already finishing one another’s musical sentences like an old married couple’

HARRIET SMITH’S REVIEW IS ON PAGE 40

Tap

Tap here to enjoy excerpts on the Gramophone Player

GERSHWIN. RAVEL. SAINT SAËNS Piano Works Benjamin Grosvenor pf RLPO / James Judd Decca 478 3527DH ‘After Grosvenor’s astonishing solo debut album comes his first concerto disc, one of the most dazzling records to have come my way for many years.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 44

SCHUMANN ‘The Romantic Violin Concerto, Vol 13’ Anthony Marwood vn BBC SSO / Douglas Boyd Hyperion CDA67847 ‘It’s a pleasure to report that Anthony Marwood’s advocacy of Schumann’s collected works for violin and orchestra continues to a high standard.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 49

4 GRAMOPHONE NOVEMBER 2012

DEBUSSY. RAVEL String Quartets Talich Quartet La Dolce Volta LDV08 ‘The Talich, which is just as adept in illuminating the character of a broad repertoire from Haydn to Bartók, seems here to inhabit the very soul of Debussy and Ravel.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 56

JS BACH ‘Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, Vol 2’ Isabelle Faust vn Harmonia Mundi HMC90 2124 ‘Faust gently showcases everything of which these pieces are capable: the genius of their structure, melody and internal dialogue.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 60

‘BRASILEIRO’ Piano Works Nelson Freire pf Decca 478 3533DH ‘Nelson Freire, imperceptibly assuming the mantle of the piano’s elder statesman, is now in his late sixties. There are few works in his repertoire that he does not play better than any living pianist.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 67

gramophone.co.uk