Gramophone Choices,
Gramophone Editor's Choices - February 2023
First among equals this month is a 'journey from dusk to dawn' via Renaissance songs on Ricercar, courtesy of French baritone Romain Bockler, Slovenian lutenist Bor Zuljan and their early music ensemble Dulces Exuviae. Featuring works by composers including Crecquillon, Palestrina, Verdelot and Lassus, the album prompted reviewer Mark Seow to declare that 'there isn’t a single moment when the pair aren’t living this music, and the declamation, so understated in its perfection, is devastatingly beautiful'.
Also mentioned in despatches are Mahan Esfahani's trio of Czech harpsichord concertos and Timothy Ridout's recording of Elgar's Cello Concerto as transcribed for viola by Lionel Tertis (both on Hyperion), the final instalment of Fabio Luisi's Nielsen cycle with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon, and Véronique Gens's searing acccount of Poulenc's one-woman opera La voix humaine with the Orchestre National de Lille and Alexandre Bloch on Alpha.
'It is a stunning album, intelligently paced, and the performances teem in subtle musicality and softly spoken charisma.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Elgar: Viola Concerto & Bloch: Suite For Viola and Orchestra
Timothy Ridout (viola), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
'Ridout is a strong, personable player whose deft handling of the Scherzo and heartfelt playing of the Adagio make the concerto’s central episodes exceptionally memorable.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Martinů, Krása & Kalabis: Harpsichord Concertos
Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord), Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Liebreich
'An unalloyed joy from first chord to last...The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra’s accompaniment is sensitive and ideal, and Esfahani plays like an angel.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'These are quite marvellous – and in the case of the Fourth Symphony, incendiary – performances.'
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'Beautifully recorded and with Bru Zane’s customary excellent booklet notes, this is a disc to delight Francophiles, especially sweet-toothed ones like myself.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'Every phrase [of the Bartók] is sharply characterised – as well as powerfully gestural – and their playing is as volatile as the music itself.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Marin Marais: Folies d'Espagne, La Rêveuse & Other Works
Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Alexandre Tharaud (piano)
'I adore this recording...In a way that evokes Busoni’s Bach transcriptions, Queyras and Tharaud have for the most part opted for intensity and unpredictability.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
'Here you have the sense that she has been pondering these pieces for decades – and they emerge as personal and deeply considered.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
'This release will doubtless satisfy discriminating Schumann aficionados as well as devotees of individual piano-playing at the highest level.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'There is little question that it ranks among her finest achievements...Gens and Bloch take us through this complex terrain in ways that combine directness with admirable restraint.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Blu-ray of the Month
Strauss: Capriccio
Camilla Nylund (Countess), Christoph Pohl (Count), Daniel Behle (Flamand), Nikolay Borchev (Olivier), Georg Zeppenfeld (La Roche); Sachsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Christian Thielemann, Jens-Daniel Herzog
'All in all it’s a fine achievement, and probably now the leading recommendation for a modern film of this opera.'
Available Format: Blu-Ray
Reissue/Archive Issue of the Month
Hans Rosbaud conducts French Music
Monique Haas (piano), Südwestfunk-Orchester Baden-Baden, Hans Rosbaud
'The transfers are more than satisfactory. An extremely fine collection, much to be recommended, and not only to the aficionado.'
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
