Gramophone Choices,
Gramophone Editor's Choices - January 2024
Bruno and Tanguy visited us in Leamington shortly at the end of November to perform the Franck sonata and a selection of shorter pieces by Fauré (which are also included on the album); check out the highlights from their in-store recital and Q&A session on our YouTube Channel.
Recording of the Month
Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 - Franck, Fauré & Poulenc
Bruno Philippe (cello), Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach, Tanguy de Williencourt (piano)
'You know when every aspect of an album just sings? Well, this is one of those, and not only because cellist Bruno Philippe’s lyricism is as much to the fore as ever.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Editor's Choices
'If any recording of this still-astonishing, unnerving music can give Pinnock a run for his money, it’s this new one.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'Of course, conducting from the fiddle is a centuries-old tradition, but what Radulović accomplishes in this performance is remarkable as every element of the score is presented with near total interpretative unanimity.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'This is one of the finest recordings of the Fifth to have come my way for some time...from the start one feels an impressive sense of conviction in the reading.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Michael Jarrell: Orchestral Works
Ilya Gringolts (violin), Florent Jodelet (percussion), Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Pascal Rophé
'The excellent Pays de la Loire Orchestra, who accompany the two concertos in exemplary fashion, take centre stage in the album’s centrepiece, the Sechs Augenblicke...A very strong recording.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'If the subsequent volumes are as polished and freshly insightful as this, Weithaas and Várjon’s cycle will be one to reckon with.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
'Wait until the neighbours are out, turn up the volume, give your speakers a thorough workout and yourself a tingle up the spine. Full organ. Blazing magnificence. No one plays this sort of repertoire better than Trotter.'
Available Format: CD
Pepusch: Chandos Anthems
The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen, The Girl Choristers of Canterbury Cathedral
'Celebratory choruses resemble a meeting point between Purcell and Vivaldi, yet those looking for elements closer to Handel will find them in the lively choral setting of ‘The swelling floods together roll’d’.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Thomas Weelkes: Gentleman Extraordinary
RESURGAM, The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, Mark Duley
'Resurgam demonstrate the power and confidence of their ensemble, with bold lower voices and an attractive treble sheen from the sopranos.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Operette: Wien - Berlin - Paris
Diana Damrau (soprano), Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Ernst Theis
'The natural clarity and sweetness of Damrau’s soprano is a huge asset here...The results touch the heart as well as ravishing the palate: it’s early days, but I wonder if I’ve already found my record of the year?'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
DVD/Blu-ray of the Month
Delibes: Lakmé (Blu-ray)
Sabine Devieilhe (Lakmé), Frederic Antoun (Gérald), Stephane Degout (Frédéric), Ambroisine Bré (Mallika); Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon, Laurent Pelly
'Pichon conducts the Pygmalion ensemble and choir with dash and urgency, the period instruments adding a litheness to the textures – there is no room for false sentimentality. Pelly goes for austere intimacy.'
Available Format: Blu-ray
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
