Soundbite 60 Reviews

Here we write a short précis of a CD or DVD giving you a concise summary in a sixty-word soundbite.

Mendelssohn Symphonies & Overtures
Muti directs the symphonies with flair and discipline; these are weighty, sonorous, and dynamic accounts, all-repeats-observed, the ‘Scottish’ especially epic. The finale of the ‘Italian’ tries to break the speed...
April 20, 2007
Alicia de Larrocha plays Schumann
In many ways, Alicia de Larrocha is completely suited to Schumann’s sound world, its spurning of conventional forms while still adhering to the strictest of part-writing unleashing wave after wave...
April 9, 2007
Ravel Chamber Music
Masterpieces each! The first CD release of the Introduction and Allegro under van Beinum is notable; it’s a sparking and lucid account, well recorded (in mono) and sounding fine. The...
March 24, 2007
The Music of Robert Stolz
Robert Stolz (1880-1975) here has the monopoly – he’s the composer and he’s conducting his orchestra. These 18 pieces are a long way from his Viennese roots and more to...
March 23, 2007
Rachmaninov 24 Preludes – Vladimir Ashkenazy
Beautifully presented, with the LPs' original cover reproduced, Vladimir Ashkenazy’s superb set of Rachmaninov’s Preludes continues to impress. The pianist’s eloquent and dynamic consideration, and his honesty, may not always...
March 21, 2007
Mahler Lieder – Marilyn Horne
This is the first release on CD of "Rückert-Lieder" and a most welcome one. Here, as throughout the disc, Marilyn Horne uses her rich timbre to inflect the luminous quality...
March 20, 2007
Malcolm Arnold Rarities Restored
Arnold always was a memorably feisty and skilful interpreter of his own music, so it’s doubly frustrating that the marvellous 1955 RPO versions of the Second Symphony and Beckus (transferred...
March 2, 2007
Kaleidoscope – Shura Cherkassky’s Piano Encores
Josef Hofmann’s scintillating showpiece gives the CD its name. Also included are Godowsky’s finger-breaking transcription of Wine, Women and Song and his re-write of Saint-Saëns’s The Swan. Anton Rubinstein’s indelible...
March 1, 2007
Spirit of Scotland
Hamish MacCunn’s splendid overture backed BBC-Television’s “Sutherland’s Law”. Gibson’s conducting of Waverley has terrific verve and he makes a strong case for Rob Roy. The inebriated hallucinations of Tam O’Shanter...
February 28, 2007
Bruckner & Schmidt Chamber Music
Composers of large-scale symphonies here writing expansive chamber music. Bruckner’s lofty String Quintet centres on an extended and wonderfully rapt Adagio; this performance of the work is gloriously innate. Franz...
February 27, 2007
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