CONTENTS
Volume 94 Number 1142 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 Tim Parry / 020 7501 6367 ONLINE CONTENT EDITOR James McCarthy / 020 7501 6366 SUB-EDITOR David Threasher / 020 7501 6370 SUB-EDITOR Marija �uric´ Speare ART DIRECTOR Dinah Lone / 020 7501 6689 PICTURE EDITOR Sunita Sharma-Gibson / 020 7501 6369 AUDIO EDITOR Andrew Everard EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATOR Libby McPhee LIBRARIAN Richard Farr THANKS TO Hugo Shirley, Hannah Nepil and Charlotte Gardner EDITOR-IN-CHIEF James Jolly
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The November issue of Gramophone is on sale from November 9; the December issue will be on sale from December 7 (both UK). Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of statements in this magazine but we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions, or for matters arising from clerical or printers’ errors, or an advertiser not completing his contract. Regarding concert listings, all information is correct at the time of going to press. Letters to the editor requiring a personal reply should be accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope. We have made every effort to secure permission to use copyright material. Where material has been used inadvertently or we have been unable to trace the copyright owner, acknowledgement will be made in a future issue. UK subscription rate £64-£106. Printed in England by Southernprint. North American edition (ISSN 0017-310X): Gramophone, USPS 881080, is published monthly with an additional issue in September by MA Business and Leisure Limited, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB, United Kingdom. The US annual subscription price is $89. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by agent named Air Business, c/o Worldnet Shipping Inc., 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431. US Postmaster: Send address changes to Gramophone, Worldnet Shipping Inc. (see above). Subscription records are maintained at MA Music Leisure & Travel Ltd, Unit A Buildings 1-5, Dinton Business Park, Catherine Ford Road, Dinton, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP3 5HZ, UK. Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent.
© MA Music Leisure & Travel Ltd, 2016. All rights reserved. No part of the Gramophone may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the Publishing Director. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the editor or Gramophone Advertisements in the journal do not imply endorsement of the products or services advertised.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
The 12 most highly recommended recordings of the month
7
FOR THE RECORD
The latest classical music news
8
RECORDING OF THE MONTH 26 Pianist Murray Perahia’s triumphant recital of Bach’s French Suites is also his debut disc for DG
ORCHESTRAL
28
Thrilling CPE Bach from Emmanuel Pahud; Martyn Brabbins offers an Elgar anthology; fine Mozart piano concerto releases from Kristian Bezuidenhout and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
CHAMBER
46
Gautier Capuçon in Beethoven’s cello sonatas; a round-up of recent recitals for violin and piano; the Fidelio Trio shine in Saint-Saëns and Ravel
INSTRUMENTAL
60
Fazıl Say records Mozart’s complete piano sonatas; five Goldberg Variations to consider; the latest project from pianist Benjamin Grosvenor
VOCAL
72
Bach’s Christmas Oratorio from the Dunedin Consort; Fauré from Fifth Avenue; Recording of the Year winners Vox Luminis’s latest release
REISSUES
84
Peter Quantrill assesses two ‘Icons’ boxes from Erato; James Jolly celebrates Haydn’s symphonies
OPERA
86
Berg’s Wozzeck on DVD featuring Christian Gerhaher; the premiere of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Wagner from Hong Kong
REPLAY
98
Michael Gielen’s Bruckner recordings are well worth exploring; three releases from Praga Digital
BOOKS
100
Seiji Ozawa in conversation makes for a fascinating read; the selected letters of composer John Cage
GRAMOPHONE COLLECTION 106 Geraint Lewis recommends the recordings of Vaughan Williams’s Dona nobis pacem to own
NEW RELEASES
REVIEWS INDEX
124
128
JOYCE DIDONATO
10
James Jolly meets the American mezzo as she unveils her new album focused on war and peace
THE HONG KONG RING 16 Hugo Shirley witnesses the recording of Die Walküre, the latest instalment in Naxos’s Ring
MODERN MUSIC IN BOSTON 20 As the Boston Modern Orchestra Project releases its 50th album, we celebrate its achievement
SIR NEVILLE MARRINER 24 We pay tribute to the much-loved conductor and founder of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields
THE MUSICIAN & THE SCORE 44 Conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada discusses Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben with Peter Quantrill
ICONS
58
The soprano Elisabeth Söderström was an artist of great emotional power, writes Andrew Mellor
CONTEMPORARY COMPOSERS 70 Jonathan Dove’s music has captivated audiences and artists alike – so what’s his secret to success?
MUSICAL CONNECTIONS 97 James Jolly and David Threasher take two listening journeys inspired by Mozart’s Requiem
CLASSICS RECONSIDERED 102 Harriet Smith and Bryce Morrison debate the merits of Mikhail Pletnev’s Scarlatti sonatas set
THE SPECIALIST’S GUIDE 104 Whether from the Bible or history ancient and modern, how composers have captured betrayal
PERFORMANCES & EVENTS 112 The best live music on radio and online
HIGH FIDELITY
The latest developments in audio equipment
114
LETTERS & OBITUARIES 122 MY MUSIC 130 Singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw reflects on what classical music means to him
4 GRAMOPHONE NOVEMBER 2016
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