CONTENTS
eviews
‘FANTASIA’ Piano Works Yuja Wang pf DG 479 0052GH ‘Hear her in Rachmaninov’s A minor “Red Riding Hood” Etude, Op 39 No 6, where, opening with a ferocious growl, she sets the stage for playing of extreme virtuosity.’
REVIEW ON PAGE 73
‘GRANDEUR OF THE BAROQUE’ Guitar Works David Russell gtr Telarc TEL33223 02 ‘In the Toccata from Bach’s Partita, BWV830, the outer sections are boldly realised and ringing with campanelas, the fugue more reflective and dynamically complex’
REVIEW ON PAGE 73
BRITTEN Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, etc Roderick Williams bar Iain Burnside pf Naxos 8 572600 ‘Putting this new recording immediately up against the composer and Fischer-Dieskau is like going from hymns ancient to hymns modern.’
REVIEW ON PAGE 74
HOWELLS Choral Works Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge / Stephen Layton with Simon Bland, Jeremy Cole org Hyperion CDA67914 ‘The grand hymns and canticles are extrovert and focused, the intimate supplications such as Take him, earth sung with great poise.’
REVIEW ON PAGE 77
DVD VIVALDI Orlando furioso Soloists; Chorus of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris; Ensemble Matheus / Jean-Christophe Spinosi Naïve DR2148 ‘It’s a tour de force: I didn’t enjoy it much, but then I don’t “enjoy” King Lear either.’
REVIEW ON PAGE 87
gramophone.co.uk
Reissue LISZT Tone-poems, etc Various orchestras / Georg Solti, Iván Fischer Decca Eloquence 480 4920 ‘Needless to say, Solti revels in the music’s generous drama, its soaring melodic lines and filmic narratives.’
REVIEW ON PAGE 93
Featured orchestras in this month’s reviews pages: German – 12; UK – 8; Polish – 3; Swiss – 2; Turkish– 1
ORCHESTRAL
Schubert’s Unfinished from Zinman in Zurich; Gergiev grapples with Rachmaninov and Stravinsky; Jonny Greenwood meets Penderecki
CHAMBER
The Brodskys celebrate their 40th anniversary; the Nash Ensemble turn to Turina; British clarinet music from Michael Collins
INSTRUMENTAL
Barry Douglas begins an ambitious Brahms survey; Bach on piano, harpsichord and organ; a 10-disc Sergio Fiorentino collection
VOCAL
Mark Padmore sings Britten and Finzi; Ashkenazy conducts Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius; Dutilleux and Messiaen from Renée Fleming
OPERA
Jonathan Harvey’s Wagner Dream; Rolando Villazón stars in Massenet’s Werther; Bernard Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights
BOOKS
An ambitious account of the history of singing around the world; a tribute to the British landscape and the composers it inspired
REPLAY
A homage to Fritz Kreisler; a new transfer for Furtwängler’s classic Tristan und Isolde; Beecham conducts Grétry’s light French opera
THE SPECIALIST’S GUIDE TO…
Jeremy Nicholas recommends 10 jaw-dropping recordings by the 20th century’s most gifted daredevil Romantic piano virtuosos
THE GRAMOPHONE COLLECTION
Bryce Morrison takes a musical trip to southern Spain to seek out the finest recordings of Albéniz’s piano masterwork, Iberia
GRAMOPHONE JUNE 2012 5
