CONTENTS
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EDITOR’S CHOICE
The 12 most highly recommended recordings of the month
7
FOR THE RECORD
The latest classical music news
8
SIBELIUS AT 150
10
In Sibelius’s 150th anniversary year, Andrew Mellor looks at how today’s musicians are reinterpreting works that are so inextricably linked to the Finnish national identity
NELSONS ON SHOSTAKOVICH 16 Conductor Andris Nelsons talks to Philip Clark about why he’s the right man to record a complete Shostakovich symphony cycle with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for DG
RECORDING OF THE MONTH 20 Enthralling Shostakovich from Andris Nelsons
ORCHESTRAL
22
Harnoncourt’s Schubert with the Berlin Phil; Nielsen concertos from New York; Pletnev conducts Scriabin; Janowski’s Symphonia domestica
CHAMBER
42
Brahms trios from Lars Vogt and the Tetzlaffs; Argerich and friends live from Lugano; Onslow from the Ruggieri Quartet; four-hand Rites
INSTRUMENTAL
David Wilde plays Chopin; Stephen Cleobury in 19th-century organ works; a new disc of the Dukas Piano Sonata; Buchbinder’s Bach
56
VOCAL
68
Bach family motets from Vox Luminis; American works from Polyphony; Lieder rarities by Kowalski and Tomášek; Praetorius from Heras-Casado
REISSUES
80
Karajan’s opera recordings on DG; Perlman at 70; mixed 20th-century masterpieces from Sony
OPERA
84
Rolando Villazón in Mozart’s Entführung; Feuersnot on DVD; a new Jeanne d’Arc; Salieri’s Les Danaïdes; Hvorostovsky in Simon Boccanegra
REPLAY
More rediscovered gems from Melo Classics; a Camilla Wicks retrospect; Reiner rarities
94
THE MUSICIAN & THE SCORE 40 Ravel’s Shéhérazade is brimming with fascinating details and challenges for mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, finds Joshua Kosman
ICONS
Lindsay Kemp profiles Dame Emma Kirkby, one of the great early music sopranos who remains a vital recording artist today
54
CONTEMPORARY COMPOSERS 66 Famous for Alice in Wonderland, Unsuk Chin writes familiar yet unsettling music that puts her in a curious world of her own, says Gavin Dixon
CLASSICS RECONSIDERED 98 Andrew Mellor and David Fanning enjoy a lively discussion on Blomstedt’s recording of Nielsen’s Symphony from San Francisco
THE SPECIALIST’S GUIDE 100 David Gutman offers a guide to 10 recordings that best embody the spirit of neo-classicism, from Stravinsky to Knussen
PLAYLISTS
108
Ornette Coleman; inspired by DH Lawrence; pianist Cordelia Williams’s tribute to Messiaen
PERFORMANCES & EVENTS 111 The best classical music concerts worldwide
HIGH FIDELITY
113
The new network player and integrated amplifier from Cambridge; Ruark’s portable radio
BOOKS
96
Andrew Mellor reviews James Rhodes’s forthright memoir, Instrumental; Mike Ashman welcomes a new volume of Berlioz’s criticism
GRAMOPHONE COLLECTION 102 Jeremy Dibble listens to the available recordings of Bax’s Tintagel and chooses his favourites
LETTERS & OBITUARIES 122 NEW RELEASES 126 REVIEWS INDEX 128 MY MUSIC 130 Singer-actress Jenna Russell on her love of Callas
4 GRAMOPHONE AUGUST 2015
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