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December 2012 hoice Informed by our unrivalled panel of critics, we choose the month’s must-hear recordings TCHAIKOVSKY Symphonies Nos 4 & 5 London Philharmonic Orchestra / Vladimir Jurowski LPO LPO0064 Recording of the Month ‘The playing throughout is marked by a oneness with Jurowski’s vision and a well-established empathy between the LPO players and their conductor’ EDWARD SECKERSON’S REVIEW IS ON PAGE 48 Tap here to enjoy excerpts on the Gramophone Player BARTÓK. EÖTVÖS. LIGETI Violin Concertos Patricia Kopatchinskaja vn Hessen Radio SO / Peter Eötvös Naïve V5285 ‘It’s a mightily exciting account of Bartók’s Second Violin Concerto, which certainly doesn’t rush its fences or sell the score short.’ REVIEW ON PAGE 50 HANDEL. PURCELL ‘Sound the Trumpet’ Alison Balsom tpt English Concert / Trevor Pinnock EMI 440329 2 ‘Balsom’s point is that it was the valveless trumpet’s vocal quality that informed its music and this she demonstrates through her choice of music for this album.’ REVIEW ON PAGE 52 4 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2012 SCHUMANN. DVOŘÁK Piano Quintets Jonathan Biss pf Elias Quartet Onyx ONYX4092 ‘The players manage to hold up certain telling phrases without falling into the all-too-common fallacy of applying ersatz “interpretation” simply by slowing down for the quiet bits.’ REVIEW ON PAGE 67 RACHMANINOV Piano Sonatas Nos 1 & 2 Nikolai Lugansky Naïve Ambroisie AM208 ‘Lugansky’s superb performance is endorsed by the rich, full tone of the piano – which he exploits from the fullest fff in the bass to the most ethereal treble pianissimos.’ REVIEW ON PAGE 70 SCHUBERT Solo Piano Works Paul Lewis pf Harmonia Mundi HMC90 2136/7 ‘The first instalment in Paul Lewis’s Schubert series got the year off to a wonderful start and he ends it in equally fine style with a recording every bit as compelling.’ REVIEW ON PAGE 70 gramophone.co.uk
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CONTENTS eviews BRITTEN A Ceremony of Carols. St Nicolas Soloists; Choirs; City of London Sinfonia / Stephen Layton Hyperion CDA67946 ‘Allan Clayton makes the role of Nicolas entirely his own. What a glorious voice! I was reminded of the clarity of Wilfred Brown.’ REVIEW ON PAGE 74 PARRY Choral Works Amanda Roocroft sop BBC National Chorus and Orchestra of Wales / Neeme Järvi Chandos CHAN10740 ‘Altogether the disc represents one of the most important Parry issues for many years, a credit to all the performers.’ REVIEW ON PAGE 80 MOZART Don Giovanni Soloists; Rastatt Vocal Ensemble; Mahler Chamber Orchestra / Yannick Nézet-Séguin DG 477 9878GH3 ‘From the fierce opening chords of the Overture to the moralising final ensemble, the pacing can’t be faulted.’ REVIEW ON PAGE 86 STEFFANI ‘Mission’ Cecilia Bartoli mez I Barocchisti / Diego Fasolis Decca 478 4732DH ‘Cecilia Bartoli is to be both congratulated and thanked for this project, which appears to be very much a personal labour of love.’ REVIEW ON PAGE 87 DVD/Blu-ray BERG Wozzeck Soloists; Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra / Teodor Currentzis; Dmitri Tcherniakov dir Bel Air Classiques BAC068 ‘Everyone involved in this filming knows exactly where they are going and gets there triumphantly.’ REVIEW ON PAGE 84 gramophone.co.uk Reissue/Archive MAHLER Symphonies Nos 1 & 2 New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra / Bruno Walter Music & Arts CD1264 ‘It’ll likely move you to tears and I have no hesitation whatever in naming this the pre-eminent “historic” Mahler Second.’ REVIEW ON PAGE 92 Reviewed in this month’s Gramophone: 54 concertos; 20 symphonies; 9 operas ORCHESTRAL Edward Gardner’s Lutosπawski exploration continues; Alan Gilbert tackles Nielsen; Gergiev’s Tchaikovsky First, Second and Third CHAMBER The Takács return to Schubert’s String Quintet with Kirshbaum; transatlantic Schumann Piano Quintets go head-to-head INSTRUMENTAL Wispelwey’s latest Bach Cello Suites; Xenakis’s organ classic Gmeeoorh; Tharaud’s take on ’20s Parisian nightlife VOCAL Haydn’s Nelson Mass from New College, Oxford; Mahler’s Totenfeier live from the South Bank; Anna-Caterina Antonacci at the Wigmore OPERA Handel’s Alessandro in two new recordings; BΔlohlávek’s Bartered Bride from the Barbican; Glyndebourne’s Meistersinger on DVD BOOKS An enthusiast’s tribute to the piano music of Maurice Ravel; a documentary history of Soviet music following the Revolution REPLAY Bruno Walter’s astonishing Mahler from New York; the Paganini Quartet play Beethoven; the art of Bronislav Gimpel THE SPECIALIST’S GUIDE This month’s specialist, Peter Dickinson, picks 10 of his favourite recordings of American symphonies of the early-20th century THE GRAMOPHONE COLLECTION Jonathan Freeman-Attwood assesses the recorded legacy of Bach’s seasonal cantata collection, the Christmas Oratorio GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2012 5

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December 2012

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

TCHAIKOVSKY Symphonies Nos 4 & 5 London Philharmonic Orchestra / Vladimir Jurowski LPO LPO0064

Recording of the Month ‘The playing throughout is marked by a oneness with Jurowski’s vision and a well-established empathy between the LPO players and their conductor’

EDWARD SECKERSON’S REVIEW IS ON PAGE 48

Tap here to enjoy excerpts on the Gramophone Player

BARTÓK. EÖTVÖS. LIGETI Violin Concertos Patricia Kopatchinskaja vn Hessen Radio SO / Peter Eötvös Naïve V5285 ‘It’s a mightily exciting account of Bartók’s Second Violin Concerto, which certainly doesn’t rush its fences or sell the score short.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 50

HANDEL. PURCELL ‘Sound the Trumpet’ Alison Balsom tpt English Concert / Trevor Pinnock EMI 440329 2 ‘Balsom’s point is that it was the valveless trumpet’s vocal quality that informed its music and this she demonstrates through her choice of music for this album.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 52

4 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2012

SCHUMANN. DVOŘÁK Piano Quintets Jonathan Biss pf Elias Quartet Onyx ONYX4092 ‘The players manage to hold up certain telling phrases without falling into the all-too-common fallacy of applying ersatz “interpretation” simply by slowing down for the quiet bits.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 67

RACHMANINOV Piano Sonatas Nos 1 & 2 Nikolai Lugansky Naïve Ambroisie AM208 ‘Lugansky’s superb performance is endorsed by the rich, full tone of the piano – which he exploits from the fullest fff in the bass to the most ethereal treble pianissimos.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 70

SCHUBERT Solo Piano Works Paul Lewis pf Harmonia Mundi HMC90 2136/7 ‘The first instalment in Paul Lewis’s Schubert series got the year off to a wonderful start and he ends it in equally fine style with a recording every bit as compelling.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 70

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