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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 1115 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 and Hannah Nepil EDITOR-IN-CHIEF James Jolly ADVERTISING Phone 020 7738 5454 Fax 020 7733 2325 email gramophone.ads@markallengroup.com SALES MANAGER Esther Zuke / 020 7501 6368 SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE Luke Battersby / 020 7501 6373 SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BACK ISSUES 0800 137201 (UK) +44 (0)1722 716997 (overseas) subscriptions@markallengroup.com PUBLISHING Phone 020 7738 5454 GROUP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Luca Da Re / 020 7501 6362 MARKETING EXECUTIVE Julian Halse / 020 7501 6372 DIGITAL AND MARKETING DIRECTOR Matthew Cianfarani DATA AND DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Tom Pollard PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Richard Hamshere / 01722 716997 PRODUCTION MANAGER Jon Redmayne CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Sally Boettcher / 01722 716997 SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Chris Hoskins / 01722 716997 PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Siân Harrington CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Ben Allen CHAIRMAN Mark Allen © MA Business & Leisure Ltd, 2014. All rights reserved. ISSN 1350-9829. MA Business & Leisure Ltd is part of the Mark Allen Group www.markallengroup.com The paper used within this publication has been sourced from Chain-of-Custody certified manufacturers, operating within international environmental standards, to ensure sustainable sourcing of the raw materials, sustainable production and to minimise our carbon footprint. The October issue of Gramophone is on sale from October 15; the November issue will be on sale from November 11 (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 £60-£99. Printed in England by Wyndeham Heron. © 2014, MA Business & Leisure Limited. All rights reserved 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 Business and Leisure Ltd, Jesses Farm, Snow Hill, Dinton, Wiltshire SP3 5HN, UK. Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent. EDITOR’S CHOICE The 12 most highly recommended recordings of the month FOR THE RECORD The latest classical music news 7 8 RECORDING OF THE MONTH 28 Important Bach from Igor Levit ORCHESTRAL 30 Latest Bruckner from Mario Venzago; Chopin’s complete works for piano and orchestra; Dudamel’s Venezuelan Mahler; Viennese waltzes CHAMBER 52 Argerich and Barenboim at the piano; music for guitar ensemble; second disc of cello sonatas from Julius Steckel; new music from Denmark roundup INSTRUMENTAL 66 Two pianists play The Art of Fugue; Barenboim’s Schubert piano sonatas; Steven Osborne plays Russian works; two Beethoven sonata boxes VOCAL 74 Choral music from Cambridge colleges: Fauré from King’s College and Tomkins from St John’s College; Pärt from Polyphony REISSUES 86 Box-sets celebrating leading lights among conductors, Ferenc Fricsay and Claudio Abbado OPERA New recording for Mercedante rarity I brigante; Rameau’s Hippolyte on DVD from Glyndebourne; Böhm’s 1965 Vienna Elektra 88 REPLAY 96 Revelations from Melo Classics’ latest box-sets; Neumann and Haendel issues from Supraphon BOOKS 98 Examining the role of neo-classical composers in the American musical canon; the life and works of Russian composer Nikolai Myaskovsky GRAMOPHONE COLLECTION 104 Jeremy Dibble sifts through the available recordings of Walton’s Violin Concerto BACH & ANGELA HEWITT 10 The Art of Fugue is a daunting challenge for any pianist, even for one of the leading Bach interpreters of her generation – Angela Hewitt VASILY PETRENKO 14 Geoffrey Norris catches up with Vasily Petrenko as his outstanding Shostakovich symphony cycle for Naxos draws to a close KING’S COLLEGE CHOIR 16 The traditions of the past meet the cutting-edge technologies of today for King’s College Choir EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT 18 Classical Apps; Adult learning; Welcome to Saffron Hall; University courses explored THE MUSICIAN & THE SCORE 50 Janá∂ek’s Glagolitic Mass has a complicated history, which version of the score should we follow? ICONS 64 Radu Lupu has made few recordings but they are all of the highest quality, says Geraint Lewis CONTEMPORARY COMPOSERS 72 Michael Nyman’s film scores have earned him a large following but don’t overlook his other works CLASSICS RECONSIDERED 100 Carlos Kleiber’s La traviata from 1976 was lauded upon its release – how does it sound today? THE SPECIALIST’S GUIDE 102 Rameau’s genius explored in 10 great recordings PLAYLISTS 110 A new way to listen to and share classical music AWARDS GALLERY Images from this year’s Gramophone Awards 111 PERFORMANCES & EVENTS 113 The best classical music concerts worldwide HIGH FIDELITY 115 A new NAD amplifier; Focal’s Spirit headphones LETTERS & OBITUARIES 124 NEW RELEASES 126 REVIEWS INDEX 128 MY MUSIC 130 Poet Andrew Motion on working with composers 4 GRAMOPHONE OCTOBER 2014 gramophone.co.uk
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EVERYBODY’S TUNE LES WITCHES Special Issue 3CDs DCD34135 (2 discs) Handel: The Triumph of Time & Truth Sophie Bevan, Mary Bevan, Tim Mead, Ed Lyon, William Berger, Ludus Baroque / Richard Neville-Towle Ludus Baroque and five stellar soloists bring to life Handel’s rarely-heard final oratorio – a remarkable Protestant recasting of a work written fifty years earlier for the young composer’s Roman patron Cardinal Pamphilj. Neglected by centuries of scholarship on account of its hybrid origins, it here proves an extraordinary feast of riches, and the ideal vehicle for Richard Neville-Towle’s cast of exceptional singers, vigorous, intelligent chorus and an orchestra made up from some of the UK’s leading period instrumentalists. ‘playing is stylish and characterful … excellent sound engineering fosters a perfect bloom for splendid trumpets and choral exclamations … Ludus Baroque’s most valuable Handel recording so far’ —Gramophone, August 2014, EDITOR’S CHOICE LABEL OF THE YEAR Early Music froM GraMophonE’s labEl yEar ofthE Alpha 823 HAYDN GIOVANNI ANTONINI IL GIARDINO ARMONICO Alpha 670 nine labels of musical excellence www.outhere-music.com www.facebook.com/OuthereMusic Distribution UK: Distribution US: DCD34137 DCD34149 In Praise of Saint Columba: The Sound World of the Celtic Church Barnaby Brown triplepipes, Choir of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge / Geoffrey Webber Just as the influence of Irish monks extended not only across Scotland but also to mainland Europe, so we imagine our way back down the centuries into 7th-century hermits’ cells, 10th-century Celtic foundations in Switzerland, and the 14th-century world of Inchcolm Abbey, the ‘Iona of the East’ in the Firth of Forth. Silent footprints of musical activity – the evidence of early notation but also of stone carvings, manuscript illuminations, and documents of the early Church – have guided both vocal and instrumental approaches in the choir’s collaboration with scholar and piper Barnaby Brown. ‘done with intelligence, musicality and enthusiasm … Webber and his formidable choir give a bracing vigour and unusual freedom to this ancient music’ —BBC Music Magazine, September 2014, CHORAL & SONG CHOICE Serenissima: Music from Renaissance Europe on Venetian viols Rose Consort of Viols A disc of journeying and exploration, paying homage to the pan-European tendencies of a period in which composers, instruments and manuscripts crossed geographical borders. The Rose Consort of Viols, already acclaimed for their recordings of later English repertoire, have been inspired by viol-maker Richard Jones’s reconstructions of a Venetian instrument by Francesco Linarol – the earliest viol surviving from the sixteenth century – and they trace a path from the viol’s northern Italian origins to England, where it found a particularly welcome home at the turn of the 1600s. Delphian Records Ltd, 34 Wallace Avenue, Wallyford, EAST LOTHIAN, EH21 8BZ www.delphianrecords.co.uk Follow us on Facebook and Twitter Find out more by joining the Delphian mailing list: www.delphianrecords.co.uk/join

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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 1115 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 and Hannah Nepil EDITOR-IN-CHIEF James Jolly

ADVERTISING Phone 020 7738 5454 Fax 020 7733 2325 email gramophone.ads@markallengroup.com SALES MANAGER Esther Zuke / 020 7501 6368 SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE Luke Battersby / 020 7501 6373

SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BACK ISSUES 0800 137201 (UK) +44 (0)1722 716997 (overseas) subscriptions@markallengroup.com

PUBLISHING Phone 020 7738 5454 GROUP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Luca Da Re / 020 7501 6362 MARKETING EXECUTIVE Julian Halse / 020 7501 6372 DIGITAL AND MARKETING DIRECTOR Matthew Cianfarani DATA AND DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Tom Pollard PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Richard Hamshere / 01722 716997 PRODUCTION MANAGER Jon Redmayne CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Sally Boettcher / 01722 716997 SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Chris Hoskins / 01722 716997 PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Siân Harrington CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Ben Allen CHAIRMAN Mark Allen

© MA Business & Leisure Ltd, 2014. All rights reserved. ISSN 1350-9829. MA Business & Leisure Ltd is part of the Mark Allen Group www.markallengroup.com

The paper used within this publication has been sourced from Chain-of-Custody certified manufacturers, operating within international environmental standards, to ensure sustainable sourcing of the raw materials, sustainable production and to minimise our carbon footprint.

The October issue of Gramophone is on sale from October 15; the November issue will be on sale from November 11 (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 £60-£99. Printed in England by Wyndeham Heron. © 2014, MA Business & Leisure Limited. All rights reserved 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 Business and Leisure Ltd, Jesses Farm, Snow Hill, Dinton, Wiltshire SP3 5HN, UK. Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

The 12 most highly recommended recordings of the month

FOR THE RECORD

The latest classical music news

7

8

RECORDING OF THE MONTH 28 Important Bach from Igor Levit

ORCHESTRAL

30

Latest Bruckner from Mario Venzago; Chopin’s complete works for piano and orchestra; Dudamel’s Venezuelan Mahler; Viennese waltzes

CHAMBER

52

Argerich and Barenboim at the piano; music for guitar ensemble; second disc of cello sonatas from Julius Steckel; new music from Denmark roundup

INSTRUMENTAL

66

Two pianists play The Art of Fugue; Barenboim’s Schubert piano sonatas; Steven Osborne plays Russian works; two Beethoven sonata boxes

VOCAL

74

Choral music from Cambridge colleges: Fauré from King’s College and Tomkins from St John’s College; Pärt from Polyphony

REISSUES

86

Box-sets celebrating leading lights among conductors, Ferenc Fricsay and Claudio Abbado

OPERA

New recording for Mercedante rarity I brigante; Rameau’s Hippolyte on DVD from Glyndebourne; Böhm’s 1965 Vienna Elektra

88

REPLAY

96

Revelations from Melo Classics’ latest box-sets; Neumann and Haendel issues from Supraphon

BOOKS

98

Examining the role of neo-classical composers in the American musical canon; the life and works of Russian composer Nikolai Myaskovsky

GRAMOPHONE COLLECTION 104 Jeremy Dibble sifts through the available recordings of Walton’s Violin Concerto

BACH & ANGELA HEWITT 10 The Art of Fugue is a daunting challenge for any pianist, even for one of the leading Bach interpreters of her generation – Angela Hewitt

VASILY PETRENKO

14

Geoffrey Norris catches up with Vasily Petrenko as his outstanding Shostakovich symphony cycle for Naxos draws to a close

KING’S COLLEGE CHOIR 16 The traditions of the past meet the cutting-edge technologies of today for King’s College Choir

EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT 18 Classical Apps; Adult learning; Welcome to Saffron Hall; University courses explored

THE MUSICIAN & THE SCORE 50 Janá∂ek’s Glagolitic Mass has a complicated history, which version of the score should we follow?

ICONS

64

Radu Lupu has made few recordings but they are all of the highest quality, says Geraint Lewis

CONTEMPORARY COMPOSERS 72 Michael Nyman’s film scores have earned him a large following but don’t overlook his other works

CLASSICS RECONSIDERED 100 Carlos Kleiber’s La traviata from 1976 was lauded upon its release – how does it sound today?

THE SPECIALIST’S GUIDE 102 Rameau’s genius explored in 10 great recordings

PLAYLISTS

110

A new way to listen to and share classical music

AWARDS GALLERY

Images from this year’s Gramophone Awards

111

PERFORMANCES & EVENTS 113 The best classical music concerts worldwide

HIGH FIDELITY

115

A new NAD amplifier; Focal’s Spirit headphones

LETTERS & OBITUARIES 124 NEW RELEASES 126 REVIEWS INDEX 128 MY MUSIC 130 Poet Andrew Motion on working with composers

4 GRAMOPHONE OCTOBER 2014

gramophone.co.uk

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