{"id":6362,"date":"2021-04-15T17:56:41","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T16:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.larkreviews.co.uk\/?p=6362"},"modified":"2021-04-15T17:56:41","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T16:56:41","slug":"dvdscds-april-2021-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/?p=6362","title":{"rendered":"DVDs\/CDs April 2021 (2)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Wagner: Das Rheingold<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n
Sofia Opera<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n
DYNAMIC 57897<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n

I am unsure how this actually got to the point of being sold. Who \u2013 if anyone \u2013 was responsible for quality control? The sound throughout is appalling, as if there was a single microphone somewhere close to the orchestra and singers voices effectively vanished as they moved further upstage. This would be bad enough if the production warranted it but the grotesque costumes and lack of any sense of intelligent direction make this a painful experience. Some of the singers do themselves some justice vocally but the concept is so amateur as to be laughable. Rhine maidens on trampolines and Loge arriving by flying boat give an indication of the stream of ideas which misfire throughout. I thought, after many recent eccentric approaches to the Ring<\/em> that I had seen it all. It appears I had not.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Paganini: Works for violin and guitar<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n
Roberto Noferini, violin; Donato D\u2019Antonio, guitar<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n
TACTUS TC 781607<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n
Paganini was a showman<\/span> and many of these pieces live up to that expectation, needing a virtuoso performer \u2013 which Roberto Noferini certainly seems to be able to bring to them. Most are light weight, charming and easy on the ear, but this still allows us to appreciate the dexterity and sheer professionalism of the playing.<\/h6>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bruckner: Symphony No6<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mariss Jansons<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n
BR KLASSIK 900190<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n

This is another in the series of fine live recordings, made on this occasion in Munich in 2015. Bruckner\u2019s Sixth is something of an exception within the composer\u2019s opus being shorter and more compact than his usual approach. This may reflect his growing sense of security and recognition both as teacher and as composer. Though he did not live to hear the work performed complete he was very aware of its strengths and the admiration with which individual movements had been received.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Haydn: Complete Keyboard Concertos<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n
Melodie Zhao, piano; David Nebel, violin, Camerata Schweiz, Howard Griffiths<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n
CPO 555 400-2<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n

Something of a mammoth undertaking but a very convincing compilation even if most of us would not want to sit down and listen to nine concerti in succession. However, taken in bite size chunks this is an entertaining and convincing demonstration that Haydn seems incapable of ever being dull.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sibelius: Violin Concerto & Humoresques<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n
Nors S Josephson: Celestial Voyage<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n
Fenella Humphreys, violin, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, George Vass<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n

It is difficult to make a case for another recording of the Sibelius Violin Concerto (unless possibly in its original version which I feel needs to be far better known) so I assume this is a good excuse to get Nors S Josephson\u2019s Celestial Voyage <\/em>on disc. The work was completed in 2019 and draws not only on his close understanding of Sibelius but his love of rock n\u2019 roll and in particular Space Rock.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stradella: Cantatas & Serenatas Vol1<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n
Alessandro Stradella Consort, Estevan Velardi<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n
DYNAMIC CDS 7893<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n

These are premiere recordings of what promises to be an extensive series to cover the major works of Stradella, though one has to admit that very little is actually known about him. As an introduction these go a long way to introduce us to his individual style and emotional impact.<\/p>\n

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

Wagner: Das Rheingold Sofia Opera DYNAMIC 57897 I am unsure how this actually got to the point of being sold. Who \u2013 if anyone \u2013 was responsible for quality control? The sound throughout is appalling, as if there was a … 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\/6362"}],"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=6362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6363,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6362\/revisions\/6363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}