January 2013

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

VINCI Artaserse Soloists; Swiss Radio and Television Chorus; Concerto Köln / Diego Fasolis Virgin Classics 602869 2

Recording of the Month ‘Vinci’s reputation is emphatically rehabilitated by this advocacy of Artaserse masterminded by Max Emanuel Cencic’

DAVID VICKERS’S REVIEW IS ON PAGE 44

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BEETHOVEN Symphonies Nos 5 & 7 ORR / John Eliot Gardiner Soli Deo Gloria SDG717 ‘John Eliot Gardiner and his resplendent Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique rejoice here in the sheer physicality of the music, the bounding rhythms, the stomping accents.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 48

KNUSSEN ‘Autumnal’ Soloists; Birmingham Contemporary Music Group; BBC SO / Oliver Knussen NMC NMCD178 ‘There is an edgy blend of lamentation and celebration that is the more affecting for its directness and economy.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 50

4 GRAMOPHONE JANUARY 2013

PROKOFIEV Violin Works Janine Jansen, Boris Brovtsyn vns Itamar Golan pf LPO / Vladimir Jurowski Decca 478 3546DH ‘The highlight of the disc is the First Violin Sonata… Its sombre power is fully revealed in Jansen and Golan’s account.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 53

ELGAR ‘The Longed-For Light’ Susan Gritton sop Simon Callow spkr BBC Concert Orchestra / John Wilson Somm SOMMCD247 ‘Wilson’s treatment of Sospiri (1914) is particularly intoxicating, with some beautifully judged, “old school” string portamento worthy of Barbirolli himself.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 71

FAURÉ Requiem JS BACH Solo Violin Partita No 2 Soloists; Tenebrae; LSO Chamber Ensemble / Nigel Short LSO Live LSO0728 ‘The performance is elevated into something quite remarkable; I have no hesitation in labelling this the very best Fauré Requiem on disc.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 71

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