{"id":3021,"date":"2016-06-01T10:50:52","date_gmt":"2016-06-01T09:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.larkreviews.co.uk\/?p=3021"},"modified":"2016-06-01T10:59:20","modified_gmt":"2016-06-01T09:59:20","slug":"cdsdvds-may-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/?p=3021","title":{"rendered":"CDs\/DVDs May 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"
Beethoven Symphonies<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
ARTHAUS 102175\/6\/7<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
Dvorak Symphony No8<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
BR KLASSIK 900145<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mariss Jansons<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n

The Beethoven symphonies are issued on three DVDs with three symphonies on each in chronological order. They were recorded live while the orchestra was on tour in Japan, from the Suntory Hall in Tokyo in 2012. They certainly make for exciting listening and an excellent insight into Mariss Jansons conducting style. The early symphonies are rapidly paced with an enthusiasm we expect of Haydn though there is no let-up in the later works, the cycle coming to a triumphant end with a radiant choral symphony.<\/p>\n

The Dvorak is also a live recording and the disc includes Suk\u2019s fine Serenade for Strings and Dvorak\u2019s Karneval<\/i> overture. The symphony is, as with the early Beethoven, driven with panache and fire. \u00a0In all, a fine tribute to both orchestra and conductor.<\/p>\n

RSC: Henry V<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
OPUS ARTE 0A 1206 D<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n

This release completes the set which started with David Tennant\u2019s Richard II and moved through Antony Sher\u2019s fine Falstaff in Henry IV 1&2. Here, more than anything else, it is the ensemble playing which impresses and the frequent intimacy of the relationships. Oliver Ford Davies is a superb Chorus and sets the standard for all that is to come. We now have two sets of these plays, with the equally impressive but very different approach from the Globe. As a Shakespeare lover I am very glad to have both!<\/p>\n

Beethoven: Fidelio<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
Zurich Opera House, Nikolaus Harnoncourt<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
ARTHAUS 109223<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n

It is Jonas Kaufmann’s heroic Florestan which is the obvious selling point for this new release, though the rest of the cast are equally fine with a sterling Rocco from Laszlo Polgar and a radiant Leonore from Camilla Nylund who is also dramatically convincing.<\/p>\n

Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s conducting is rapid and tight for most of the evening but he dwells on\u00a0O\u00a0namenlose freud\u00a0<\/em>though the singers do not actually make eye contact. The production by Jurgen Flimm is conventional and the final scene over static but the music makes up for any minor short-comings visually.<\/p>\n

Overtures from the British Isles Vol2<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Rumon Gamba<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
CHANDOS CHAN 10898<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n

It is too easy to overlook works like this and it is a shame that orchestral planners do not slip them in at the start of more popular programmes. After all there is nothing here to frighten the horses and much to enjoy. The Walton, Quilter and Coates will be familiar but it is good to hear Ethel Smyth\u2019s The Boatswain\u2019s Mate<\/i> and Walter Leigh\u2019s Agincourt. <\/i>Let us hope there is still more to come.<\/p>\n

Beethoven: Complete Sonatas for Piano and Violin<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
Tasmin Little, violin; Martin Roscoe, piano<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
CHANDOS CHAN 10888(3)<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n

While I understand the interest in recording the \u2018whole\u2019 of something there is a case for indigestion if one is not careful. While I greatly admire these works, I needed to spread out the listening to the three CDs in order to more fully enjoy them. The playing is excellent throughout and the more familiar pieces \u2013 the Spring<\/i> and the Kreutzer<\/i> \u2013 respond well, but I found a need to intersperse with other works in order to enjoy them more. Make the effort \u2013 it is well worth it.<\/p>\n

Cellos concertos by Hasse, CPE Bach and Hertel<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
Alexander Rudin, cello & conductor, Musica Viva<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
CHACONNE CHAN 0813<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n

As we delve ever deeper into the archive it is a constant amazement to find the wealth of fine music still to be discovered. While CPE Bach is familiar few will be well aware of chamber works by either Johann Adolph Hasse or Johann Wilhelm Hertel. Hasse is better known as an opera composer but this concerto comes from a massive collection from Wiesenthied near Wurzburg. It probably dates from the 1720s and is uncharacteristic of his later more florid style. Of the known cello concertos by Hertel, two are recorded here, and both have an improvised cadenza in the slow movement. A useful addition.<\/p>\n

Friedrich Theodor Frohlich: Complete String Quartets<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
Rasumowsky Quartet<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
CPO 555 017-2<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n

There are four string quartets here and if I had come across them by accident would have thought I was listening to some unfamiliar Beethoven. The works have an interesting history, and have yet to be fully studied and edited. A Swiss national, Frohlich has been accused of poor writing technique and plagiarism, though this is certainly not evident to the listener. The tensions between classical form and a yearning towards romanticism can be felt throughout and it would seem that his lack of success as a published composer was more a matter of circumstances in Berlin where he was working as a teacher than of the quality of the compositions themselves. Well worth investing in this cd.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beethoven Symphonies ARTHAUS 102175\/6\/7 Dvorak Symphony No8 BR KLASSIK 900145 Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mariss Jansons The Beethoven symphonies are issued on three DVDs with three symphonies on each in chronological order. They were recorded live while the orchestra was … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3021"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3021"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3024,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3021\/revisions\/3024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}