BBC Music Magazine Choices,
BBC Music Magazine - November 2022 Choices
American pianist and musicologist's Robert Levin's 'treasurable' set of the Mozart keyboard sonatas (recorded on the composer's own fortepiano in Salzburg) occupies pride of place in the latest issue, with Jessica Duchen declaring that 'each note is inhabited with vitality, each phrase urgent with meaningful expression. He offers a magnificent articulation of dramatic argument'.
Category Choices include Christian Curnyn's 'sparkling' account of Handel's Amadigi (starring Mary Bevan, Tim Mead, Anna Dennis and Hilary Summers) with the Early Opera Company on Chandos, South African cellist and vocalist Abel Selaocoe's extraordinary debut album Where is Home / Hae Ke Kae on Warner, and Steven Osborne's spellbinding recital of solo piano works from both ends of Debussy's career on Hyperion.
Recording of the Month
'The crucial factor is the profound understanding, sophistication and sense of joy with which he delves into the personality of the composer, not just that of his piano...This treasurable set may cast crucial light not only on these sonatas, but also on how we consider the very nature of historical performance.'
Available Formats: 7 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Orchestral Choice
'I must say straightaway that the first disc’s worth of music contains the finest account of the Fourth Symphony I have ever heard, thanks to the extreme simplicity of the approach...while the second disc is fascinating and played with just as much conviction as the first, it does not provide a musical so much as a musicological experience.'
Available Formats: 2 SACDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Concerto Choice
'Horsch harnesses no less than nine different instruments, bringing a kaleidoscopic range of colours to the repertoire...The transcriptions, including several by Horsch herself, are an enchanting reminder of the fluidity of musical works, inviting us to recalibrate our listening.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Opera Choice
Handel: Amadigi di Gaula
Tim Mead (Amadigi), Mary Bevan (Melissa), Anna Dennis (Oriana), Hilary Summers (Dardano), Patrick Terry (Orgando); Early Opera Company, Christian Curnyn
'Handel took a less-is-more approach to his Amadigi di Gaula. Christian Curnyn’s answering restraint reveals the stark solos, shimmering textures, ringing silences and stunning one-to-a-part counterpoint of music that fairly bursts with its composer’s early genius.'
Available Formats: 2 SACDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Choral & Song Choice
'The lower female voice was Brahms’s favourite vocal type, and Richter’s has a warmly sensual sound which is multidimensional without heaviness...These musicians have a dynamic understanding of text, and find the right balance between architectural sweep, fidelity to notated details and freedom, imagination and flexibility.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chamber Choice
'Selaocoe inhabits a captivating sphere of spontaneous, mercurial creativity...In Selaocoe’s hands the cello is a shape-shifter...Song is the dominant form: everything flows from his own extraordinary voice, a soothing baritone that can plunge into unfathomable bass via Xhosa-style throat singing.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Instrumental Choice
'Not only are there plenty of lively dances on here to counter the cliché of the ‘wispy’ Debussy, but the contrasts between tracks and the clarity at any dynamic level – and of course Osborne can play with magical refinement – are wondrous...Total delight, whether you listen to it in one or more sittings.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
World Choice
'Although much of Yunnan’s folkloric wealth is ‘frozen in time’, there’s an obvious readiness to embrace foreign or western sounds like rock and reggae, which gives this collection an accessibility that those new to Chinese folklore will probably find appealing, while a canny track sequence adds listenability.'
Available Format: CD
Jazz Choice
'Reuniting for LongGone, the years fall away as the timeless music they make together falls back into place..Redman still leads from the front, providing six straightahead original numbers for his sidemen to revel in...Everyone finally lets go completely on ‘Rejoice’, a bustling 12-minute live jam animated by McBride’s vamping.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
