Liss

Though many will be drawn to this disc by the thought of Boris Berezovsky playing Tchaikovsky, the real treat here is his performance of Aram Khachaturian’s underrated Piano Concerto, dating from 1936. Khachaturian has come in for a certain amount … Continue reading →

Verdi: Don Carlos, Tremblay/ Vilma/ Turp/ Savoie/ Rouleau/ BBC Singers/ BBCCO/ Matheson

(Opera Rara, four CDs)

From Byzantium to Andalusia; Medieval Music and Poetry, Oni Wytars Ensemble

The division of music into classifications is a comparatively recent occurrence, and the pieces on this riveting disc effectively predate and refute it. It consists of anonymous religious music, dating from the 12th to 15th centuries, from around the Mediterranean, … Continue reading →

Gossec: Le Triomphe de la République, Haller/ Laurens/ Sakurada/ Danoser/ Swiss Radio Chorus/ Coro Calicantus/ I Barocchisti/ Fasolis

François-Joseph Gossec (1734-1829) was the leading composer of the French Revolution, and his “lyric divertissement” Le Triomphe de la République, premiered in 1793, is one of the many spectacular stage works he produced in its aftermath. The subject is life … Continue reading →

Mozart: Don Giovanni, Steber/ Kirk/ Kullman/ Pinza/ Baccaloni/ Metropolitan Opera Orch and Chorus/ Szell

(Walhall, two CDs)

Roussel: Symphony No 2; Bacchus et Ariane, Orchestre de Paris/ Eschenbach

“One of the greatest musical discoveries I’ve made in years,” is how Christoph Eschenbach describes Albert Roussel’s rarely played Second Symphony. Composed between 1919 and 1921, it’s generally reckoned to form Roussel’s despairing response to the first world war, though … Continue reading →