CONTENTS
GRAMOPHONE is published by MA Business & Leisure Ltd, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB, United Kingdom. gramophone.co.uk email gramophone@markallengroup.com or subscriptions@markallengroup.com Volume 92 Number 1117 EDITORIAL Phone 020 7738 5454 Fax 020 7733 2325 email gramophone@markallengroup.com EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Martin Cullingford DEPUTY EDITOR Sarah Kirkup / 020 7501 6365 REVIEWS EDITOR Andrew Mellor / 020 7501 6367 ONLINE AND FEATURES EDITOR James McCarthy / 020 7501 6366 SUB-EDITOR David Threasher / 020 7501 6370 ART DIRECTOR Dinah Lone / 020 7501 6689 PICTURE EDITOR Sunita Sharma-Gibson / 020 7501 6369 AUDIO EDITOR Andrew Everard EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATOR Libby McPhee THANKS TO Marija �uric´ Speare, Hannah Nepil EDITOR-IN-CHIEF James Jolly
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EDITOR’S CHOICE
The 12 most highly recommended recordings of the month
FOR THE RECORD
The latest classical music news
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RECORDING OF THE MONTH 40 Schumann’s Faust cantata from Munich
ORCHESTRAL
42
Latest in Eivind Aadland’s Cologne Grieg series; Debussy from the Singapore Symphony; first recording of the restored Royal Festival Hall organ
CHAMBER
64
More Beethoven from the Brentano Quartet; Nightingale Quartet complete their Langgaard project; Reich’s Electric Counterpoint reimagined
INSTRUMENTAL
74
Comparing Scarlatti sonata recordings; Schubert from Garrick Ohlsson; Jorge Bolet boxed-up for posterity; a rare Messiaen piano premiere
VOCAL
86
Messiah from Emanuelle Haïm; Monteverdi’s Vespers from The Sixteen; Mark Stone sings Quilter songs; Renée Fleming celebrates Vienna
REISSUES
98
Newly packaged recordings from Nelson Freire, Charles Rosen and the Vienna Philharmonic
OPERA
100
A new version of Borodin’s Prince Igor on DVD; Glass’s latest opera in its world premiere performance; Holten’s Royal Opera Don Giovanni
REPLAY
112
Treats from rejuvinated Russian label Melodiya; Mozart from the legendary Budapest Quartet
BOOKS
114
Andrew Gant’s new exploration of the Christmas carol tradition; Arvid Vollsnes’s biography of Ludvig Irgens-Jensen in an English translation
GRAMOPHONE COLLECTION 120 Geoffrey Norris chooses his favourite recording of Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ
CONTEMPORARY CAROLS 10 Composers today continue to find deep inspiration in the Christmas story, as Ivan Moody discovers
WILLIAM CHRISTIE
14
The man behind Les Arts Florissants shows little sign of slowing down at 70, finds Lindsay Kemp
CHRISTMAS RECORDINGS 18 A guide to the best seasonal offerings
CRITICS’ CHOICE
20
Every December since 1955 we’ve asked our critics to choose their favourite recordings of the year – it’s the ultimate present-buying guide!
COMPETITIONS GUIDE 30 The search for the great artists of tomorrow begins here in our guide to the world’s best competitions
THE MUSICIAN & THE SCORE 62 The score of Handel’s Messiah can still surprise, as conductor Emanuelle Haïm explains
ICONS
Organist Barry Rose transformed church music-making forever, says Andrew Mellor
72
CONTEMPORARY COMPOSERS 84 Gerald Barry’s untamed scores breath new life into the music of our time, by Paul Griffiths
CLASSICS RECONSIDERED 116 Beecham’s La bohème is re-examined by Mike Ashman and David Patrick Stearns
THE SPECIALIST’S GUIDE 118 Jeremy Nicholas on orchestral Christmas carols
PLAYLISTS
Renaud Capuçon on his love for Giulini
126
PERFORMANCES & EVENTS 129 The best streamed or broadcast events worldwide
HIGH FIDELITY
131
New speakers from B&W; Cambridge Audio One
LETTERS & OBITUARIES 140 NEW RELEASES 142 REVIEWS INDEX 144 MY MUSIC 146 The founder of The Big Issue, John Bird, on his life-long obsession with classical music
4 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2014
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