BBC Music Magazine Choices,
BBC Music Magazine - September 2022 Choices
Featuring the first-ever period instrument recording of Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2 (plus Karol Kurpiński's Clarinet Concerto and Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński's Symphony No. 2), an all-Polish programme from Orchestra of the 18th Century takes pride of place this month - reviewer John Allison describes the album as 'self-recommending', observing that 'Wieniawski’s music is full of poetry, and Baeva is attuned to all its aspects'.
Also mentioned in despatches are the world premiere recording of John Frederick Lampe's Handelian burlesque opera The Dragon of Wantley (brought to life in all its earthy humour by John Andrew, The Brook Street Band and a cast including Mary Bevan and Mark Wilde on Resonus), Paavo Järvi's album of music by contemporary Estonian composers on Alpha, and 'stellar interpretations' of Ravel, Schoenberg and Messiaen from Francesco Piemontesi, the Orchestre de La Suisse Romande and Jonathan Nott on Pentatone.
Recording of the Month
Wieniawski, Dobrzyński & Kurpinski: Orchestral Works
Alena Baeva (violin), Erich Hoeprich (clarinet), Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, José Maria Florêncio
'The sheer musical brilliance of Alena Baeva’s collaboration with the Orchestra of the 18th Century under the baton of José Maria Florêncio makes their performance of the [Wieniawski] Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor essential listening.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Orchestral Choice
'Järvi has long championed his homeland’s orchestral composers, and the combination of his tautly expressive Estonian Festival Orchestra (EFO) and the five creatively diverse voices here is captivating.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Concerto Choice
Messiaen: Oiseaux Exotiques, Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major, Schoenberg: Piano Concerto
Francesco Piemontesi (piano), Orchestre de La Suisse Romande, Jonathan Nott
'You have to envy the citizens of Geneva...Add a pianist in Franceso Piemontesi’s class, and here are stellar interpretations of three very different concerto-type works, ordered into a journey from easier listening to (notionally at least) more difficult.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Opera Choice
John Frederick Lampe: The Dragon of Wantley
Mary Bevan (Margery), Catherine Carby (Mauxalinda), Mark Wilde (Moore of Moore Hall), John Savournin (Gaffer Gubbins/The Dragon); The Brook Street Band, John Andrews
'In this premiere recording, conductor John Andrews shrewdly reserves buffoonery for Carey and Lampe’s antic scenes, heightening the galant elements of duets and ensembles, and giving performers space for arresting explorations of Lampe’s lyricism.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Choral & Song Choice
Vivaldi: The Great Venetian Mass
Sophie Karthäuser (soprano), Lucile Richardot (mezzo), Les Arts Florissants, Paul Agnew,
'The whole is expressively shaped by Paul Agnew, whose supple moulding of the musical lines and vivid contrasts of tempos serve, above all, to highlight the words...In sum, a creative idea that sheds new light on some old favourites.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chamber Choice
'It's good to hear his music brilliantly performed by musicians of the Nash Ensemble...The Grand Sextet is a splendidly heroic work, with its virtuoso pianism enthusiastically delivered here by Simon Crawford-Phillips.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Instrumental Choice
'L’Aurore is far greater than the sum of its parts...The album takes its name from the first movement of Ysaÿe’s fifth solo sonata, a work dedicated to his friend and former pupil Mathieu Crickboom. Widmann’s recording of this work is a timbral revelation.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Reissues Choice
'Captured in stunningly in-depth, wide-ranging sound, Roland Bader and the Cracow Philharmonic hurl themselves into the fray with nerve-shredding intensity...Not an easy listen by any means, yet highly compelling.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Jazz Choice
'Here’s the whole Ayler spectrum, from charming nursery-rhyme-like themes to blistering free-form torrents, while those New Orleans influences emerge in hymn-like dirges and sprightly march tunes.'
Available Format: 4 CDs
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
