Gramophone Choices,
Gramophone Editor's Choices - January 2015
A real smorgasbord this month, with Berio's Sinfonia from Hannu Lintu and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra sitting cheek-by-jowl with Alamire's fascinating exploration of a choral compendium given to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon in 1516 (incidentally, one of Presto's own Discs of 2014!)
Two starrily-cast operatic rarities also make the grade - Anna Netrebko (in the title-role) and conductor Emmanuel Villaume are splendid advocates for Tchaikovsky's neglected final opera Iolanta, whilst Hasse's Siroe Re di Persia receives its first-ever outing on disc thanks to Parnassus Arts, Armonia Atenea and Max Emanuel Cencic, who sings the eponymous hero and receives sterling support from Franco Fagioli and Julia Lezhneva.
Harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani (whose Rameau disc on Hyperion was a December Choices) is back for the second month running, this time in partnership with the Danish recorder-player Michala Petri in Corelli, whilst the Re-Issue of the Month crown goes to APR's two-disc collection of early 78rpm recordings of the Brazilian pianist Guiomar Novaes (1895-1979).
Here's the list in full, with a snippet of the review for each title. To read the full reviews as well as loads of other interesting features are articles every month be sure to check out Gramophone Subscriptions Packages.
Recording of the Month
'Agnew's selection is impeccably judged...Les Arts Florissants have not so rich a sound as their Italian counterparts but the lighter timbre makes for a texture of rare transparency, an elfin capacity to render changes that can be properly breathtaking.'
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Editor's Choices
'Any singer must exorcise the ghost of Cathy Berberian in this and other vocal works of Berio and...Virpi Räisänen has the measure of it...In Hannu Lintu's marvellous new recording I hear and admire a rediscovery of the impatience and invention that drove Berio to write it.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts Mendelssohn & Schumann
London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
'Gardiner's Hebrides Overture must be one of the most thrilling ever recorded, adding volleys of sea-spray to well-navigated execution...Ebb and flow is of the essence in this proto-Wagnerian masterpiece.'
Available Formats: SACD + Blu-ray Audio, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'In Petri's capable hands, the recorder becomes a medium through which she conveys a more vocal interpretation of thematic material than ever a violin could...Esfahani crafts the most imaginative and engaging accompaniments and repartee I have ever heard.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'The Warsaw Philharmonic Choir are in fine collective voice...The quartet of soloists are magnificent...Orchestrally, this is a stunning performance. Perfectly blended woodwind are clearly focused on a wide-spread bed of strings. The recording is vividly engineered and everyone involved is on top form. A bargain.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'So much beauty, so much perfumed languor...But never does this disc sink into dreamy sameness - and it emerges as one of the best kind to come out in recent years. The conviction, artistry and intelligent musical sequencing of mezzo-soprano Stephanie d'Oustrac and pianist Pascal Jourdan are much in evidence in this thoroughly first-class package.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'All three [new settings] are touching and effective: imaginative in their choral sonorities and colouring of the text, skilfully balancing a strong feeling for tradition with a distinctive individual voice...The Sixteen sing with their now-familiar eloquence and polish.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
'34 four-voice motets from the first decade of the century by French and Franco-Flemish composers, giving a magnificent panorama of the repertory. Most of them have never been recorded before. Most of the music is performed by mixed voices alone, a small group sounding gorgeous throughout.'
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Hasse: Siroe re di Persia
Max Emanuel Cencic, Franco Fagioli, Julia Lezhneva; Armonia Atenea, George Petrou
'Petrou achieves an elusive dichotomy of orchestral delicacy and theatrical pace. Reams of recitatives crackle with dramatic conviction...Parnassus Productions earns kudos for its adventurous ambition to record a complete Hasse opera to such a high standard.'
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Tchaikovsky: Iolanta
Anna Netrebko, Sergey Skorokhodov, Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Emmanuel Villaume
'[Netrebko] has never been better than here, where her head and heart are so self-evidently engaged. Her opening ariosa establishes the glorious complexion of her voice...The refinement of Villaume's conducting is a constant source of delight: it nuances and tempers even the most wholehearted flights of fancy.'
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
DVD/Blu-ray of the Month
'[Jansons's] Requiem is a series of coups d'etat in which the returns of the actual 'Dies irae' or the launch of 'Rex tremendae majestatis' are exciting aural shocks. He also devotes much time to enjoying slow quiet endings of movements for emotional effect.'
Available Format: DVD Video
Re-issue of the Month
'a musical personality of a beguiling charm, a quality rarely encountered in today's more severe musical climate...Playing then of another age and time, a sheer magic beautifully presented and with outstanding transfers.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
