Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini; Romeo and Juliet; 1812 Overture; Waltz and Polonaise from Eugene Onegin, Chorus and Orchestra of the Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia/ Pappano

Antonio Pappano’s new Tchaikovsky disc is a disappointment. The various items were recorded live in Rome during a retrospective of the composer’s work at the Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and though you get a strong sense of the combination … Continue reading →

Jolivet: Violin Concerto; Chausson: Poème, Faust/ Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/ Letonja

(Harmonia Mundi)

Grieg: Peer Gynt, Dam-Jensen/ Gwynne/ Henschel/ Jennings/ Jacobi/ Le Motet de Genève/ Orchestra de la Suisse Romande/ Tourniaire

(Aeon, two CDs)

Vivaldi: ‘Heroes’, Jaroussky/ Ensemble Matheus/ Spinosi

(Virgin Classics)

Respighi: Preludio, Corale e Fuga, Burlesca, Rossiniana etc, BBC Philharmonic/Noseda

Ottorino Respighi was notoriously obsessed with other composers’ works, and well over half the music on this disc consists of adaptations or orchestrations. In Rossiniana (1926), Respighi pays homage to one of his great heroes with dazzling, if dark-hued paraphrases … Continue reading →

Britten: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes/ Elgar: Enigma Variations

On the surface, Paavo Jarvi’s decision to place Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra alongside Elgar’s Enigma Variations seems idiosyncratic. In some respects, however, the coupling makes perfect sense: so much has been made of the educational intentions of … Continue reading →

Beethoven: Symphonies 5 & 7, Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela/ Dudamel

(Deutsche Grammophon)

The Idan Raichel Project, The Idan Raichel Project

(Cumbancha)

Anna Netrebko: Russian Album, Netrebko/ Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra/ Gergiev

Anna Netrebko and Renée Fleming recorded their latest albums in close proximity at the Mariinsky theatre in St Petersburg last year. In each case, the conductor is Valery Gergiev, whose presence signifies an uncommon seriousness of purpose beneath a format … Continue reading →

Mozart: Arias, Kozena/ OAE/ Rattle

The simultaneous release of this pair of discs effectively allows us to hear two of today’s more glamorous divas going head to head in similar programmes. Their reputations in the UK are, however, unequal: Magdalena Kozena, much hyped, is, of … Continue reading →

Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Garanca/ Brownlee/ Gunn/ De Simone/ Munich Radio Orchestra/ Gomez-Martinez

(Sony, 2 CDs)

Hindemith: Ludus Tonalis; Suite ‘1922’, Berezovsky

Ludus Tonalis, Hindemith’s most substantial piano work, has such a reputation for intellectual aridity that the very mention of it is guaranteed to have some running for cover. Written in 1942 and conceived as a kind of 20th-century riposte to … Continue reading →

Poulenc: The Carmelites, Wyn-Davies/ Boylan/ Barstow/ Palmer/ ENO Orch and Chorus/ Daniel

(Chandos, two CDs)

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis: Symphony No 5, Nilsson/ Tunnel/ Backelin/ Bjorling/ Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus/ Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Kleiber

(Music and Arts, two CDs)

Mozart: Arias/ Haydn: Scena di Berenice, Harteros/ Vienna Symphony/ Steinberg

The simultaneous release of this pair of discs effectively allows us to hear two of today’s more glamorous divas going head to head in similar programmes. Their reputations in the UK are, however, unequal: Magdalena Kozena, much hyped, is, of … Continue reading →