Gramophone Choices,
Gramophone Editor's Choices - Awards Issue 2022
The devil, it seems, really does have all the best tunes this month, as the laurels are awarded to Marc Minkowski's 'formidable re-evaluation' of Meyerbeer's influential but under-recorded supernatural opera Robert le Diable on Bru Zane. John Osborn tackles the fiendishly difficult title-role with aplomb, opposite Erin Morley as his beloved Isabelle and Nicolas Courjal as his Mephistophelean father Bertram; Tim Ashley applauded Osborn's 'effortless high notes and expressive dynamic range' and Morley's 'staggering coloratura', as well as Minkowski's attunement to 'the striking novelty of the sound world that so startled its first audiences'.
Editor's Choices include Jonas Kaufmann and Ludovic Tézier's high-octane Insieme (featuring duets from operas including Don Carlos, La Gioconda and La forza del destino), a live recording of Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage from Edward Gardner and a cast including Rachel Nicholls, Robert Murray, Jennifer France and Toby Spence, and Hollywood Soundstage from John Wilson and Sinfonia of London - our best-selling recording of September by some margin! (You can listen to John discussing the album with James on last month's episode of the Presto Podcast).
Recording of the Month
Meyerbeer: Robert le Diable
John Osborn (Robert), Nicolas Courjal (Bertram), Amina Edris (Alice), Erin Morley (Isabelle), Nico Darmanin (Raimbaut); Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Chœur de l'Opera National de Bordeaux, Marc Minkowski
'It all adds up to a formidable re-evaluation of a seminal if neglected work, as well as being a remarkable achievement in its own right.'
Available Formats: 3 CDs + Book, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Editor's Choices
'He has listened long and hard to the way the Hollywood studio orchestras played this music and has recreated it to the manner born for our technologically advanced times.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'The artistic personality of the soloist feels a size ‘bigger’ than that of rival fiddlers and, as with previous releases, he supplies his own discerning accompanying notes.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'The Van Kuijk marry high technical polish (tuning and ensemble virtually flawless), close attention to Mendelssohn’s detailed markings and a spirit of youthful, spontaneous ardour.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'Carmignola’s playing conjures a combination of prayerful meditation and earthy dancing, basic Bachian credentials that these masterpieces thrive on, no matter who’s playing them or on what instrument.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'This handsomely produced and recorded release is one of my recordings of the year, and another feather in the cap of a remarkable musician – and entrepreneur.'
Available Format: CD + DVD Video
'[Robinson's] lockdown labours have resulted in an ideal mix of the new, the daring, the entertaining and a classic masterpiece...A feast of an album, beautifully produced and with first-rate notes.'
Available Format: CD
'This will be a revelation to many...one senses a clarity of purpose that goes beyond sonic beauty, though that also is there in spades: the female singers and Rory McCleery’s alto shape their lines beautifully.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Tippett: The Midsummer Marriage
Robert Murray (Mark), Rachel Nicholls (Jenifer), Ashley Riches (King Fisher), Jennifer France (Bella), Toby Spence (Jack), Claire Barnett-Jones (Sosostris), Susan Bickley (She-Ancient), Joshua Bloom (He-Ancient); London Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus, Edward Gardner
'That special fire, and its cunningly chosen cast, sets this new release above the hard-worked Colin Davis set...Gardner’s is more than warmly recommended as both reminder of and entrée to Tippett’s achievement.'
Available Formats: 3 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Insieme - Opera Duets
Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Ludovic Tézier (baritone), Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
'Their voices fit like a glove here in the Don Carlos duet...Like Milnes and Domingo, they’re quite close in timbre, so the bond of friendship seems especially strong.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
DVD/Blu-ray of the Month
Monteverdi: Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (DVD)
Hana Blažíková (Minerva/Fortuna), Furio Zanasi (Ulisse), Lucile Richardot (Penelope); English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, John Eliot Gardiner
'Gardiner and Rooke’s conception for Ulisse is simple, direct and subtle. Richardot captures Penelope’s loneliness and constrained emotions...Furio Zanasi is a world-weary yet dignified Ulisse.'
Available Format: DVD Video
Reissue/Archive Issue of the Month
'If forced to choose a first investment, I suppose I’d go for the all-stereo Vol. 2, principally because Paray’s Rolls-Royce orchestra (which is what it sounds like) was at its very best in French bon-bons, and the sound is so extraordinarily good.'
Available Format: 22 CDs
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
