Sep. 4, 2019
The classical recordings of the last month could be summed up with one word: character. Our reviewers found recordings that encompassed the many meanings of the word. There were new recordings of scores by Glass, Rota, and Gerard Schurmann to accompany the action of film characters. Opera characters created by Falla, Offenbach, and Dennehy were also heard. Character pieces from the 19th century by Robert and Clara Schumann, and by Mendelssohn are represented here. Then there are the composers themselves, such as Rossini, who was a colorful character in Parisian society.
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Bernhard Forck - Handel: Concerti grossi Op. 6 (1-6)
Alarm Will Sound - Donnacha Dennehy: The Hunger
Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra, Tim Weiss - Philip Glass: A Descent into the Maelstrom
Matthew Barley - Sir John Tavener: The Protecting Veil
Jean-Eflam Bavouzet - Haydn: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 8
Nicola Benedetti, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cristian Măcelaru - Wynton Marsalis: Violin Concerto; Fiddle Dance Suite
Black Oak Ensemble - Silenced Voices
Riccardo Chailly, La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra - The Fellini Album: The Film Music of Nino Rota
Myung-Whun Chung, Staatskapelle Dresden - Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonie Nr. 3 Es-Dur Op. 55 "Eroica"
Bojan Čičić, Illyria Consort - Giovanni Stefano Carbonelli: Sonate da Camera Nos. 7-12
Danish String Quartet - Prism II: Beethoven, Schnittke, Bach
Andrew Davis, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Toronto Symphony Orchestra - Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique; Fantasie sur la Tempète de Shakespeare
Antonello Dorigo, Fabio Catania, Giuseppina Ledda, Pierluigi Morelli - Neapolitan Cantatas: Hasse, Mancini, Porpora, Porsile
Gustavo Dudamel, Wiener Philharmoniker - Sommernachtskonzert 2019
Vladimir Feltsman - Frédéric Chopin: Mazurki
Emi Ferguson, Ruckus - Fly the Coop: Bach Sonatas and Preludes
Adam Fischer, Danish Chamber Orchestra - Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete Symphonies
Rumon Gamba, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra - The Film Music of Gerard Schurmann
Patrick Gleeson - Beyond the Sun: An Electronic Portrait of Holst's The Planets
Benoît Haller, La Maîtrise de Garçons de Colmar, La Chapelle Rhénane - Dietrich Buxtehude: Membra Jesu Nostri
Kenneth Hamilton - Kenneth Hamilton Plays Ronald Stevenson, Vol. 2
Hilliard Ensemble, AKSO |Schönberg, Rundell Clark - John Casken: The Dream of the Rood
Christopher Jacobson, Kazuki Yamada - Saint-Saëns, Poulenc, Widor
Neeme Järvi, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra - Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 1
Vladimir Jurowski, Sofia Fomina, London Philharmonic Orchestra - Mahler: Symphony No. 4
Isata Kanneh-Mason - Romance: The Piano Music of Clara Schumann
Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens- Telemann: Michaelis-Oratorium
Anne Laver - Reflections of Light
Andrew Litton, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra - Gustav Holst: The Planets; Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations
London Bridge Trio - The Leipzig Circle, Vol. 1: Chamber Music by Fanny, Clara, Robert & Felix
Michele Mariotti, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna - Rossini: Overtures
Marc Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Choeur de l'Opéra National de Bordeaux - Jacques Offenbach: La Périchole
New Collegium - Georg Philipp Telemann: Chameleon
Perspectives Ensemble, Angel Gil-Ordóñez - Falla: El amor brujo; El retablo de Maese Pedro
Laura Polverelli, Silvia Dalla Benetta, Gianluigi Gelmetti - Rossini: Eduardo e Cristina
Thies Roorda, Alessandro Soccorsi - Flute Music from the Harlequin Years
Alexander Rudin, Musica Viva Moscow Chamber Orchestra - Johann Stamitz: Symphonies, Op. 3 Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
John Morris Russell, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra - Voyage
Howard Shelley, Ulster Orchestra - Stanford: A Song of Agincourt; Overture in the Style of a Tragedy; Verdun; A Welcome March; Fairy Day
David Shifrin - Spring Forward: Music for Clarinet and String Quartet
Stefan Solyom, Staatskapelle Weimar - Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek: Symphonische Suite No. 1; Traumspiel-Suite; Karneval-Suite
Stamic Quartet - Karel Kovarovic: The Complete String Quartets
Kyle Stegall, Eric Zivian - Myrtle & Rose: Songs by Clara and Robert Schumann
Stenhammar Quartet - Debussy, Tailleferre, Ravel
Brian Thornton, Spencer Myer - Robert Schumann: Works for Cello & Piano
The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge; Stephen Layton - Finzi: Choral Works
Trio Zimmermann - Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg Variations
Various Artists - Folia
Various Artists - Rob Keeley: Chamber Music
Jason Vieaux, Escher Quartet - Dance
Lars Vogt - Mozart: Piano Sonatas K280, K281, K310, K333
Le Voix Humaines - Le Monde de Sainte-Colombe
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Bernhard Forck - Handel: Concerti grossi Op. 6 (1-6)
Alarm Will Sound - Donnacha Dennehy: The Hunger
Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra, Tim Weiss - Philip Glass: A Descent into the Maelstrom
Matthew Barley - Sir John Tavener: The Protecting Veil
Jean-Eflam Bavouzet - Haydn: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 8
Nicola Benedetti, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cristian Măcelaru - Wynton Marsalis: Violin Concerto; Fiddle Dance Suite
Black Oak Ensemble - Silenced Voices
Riccardo Chailly, La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra - The Fellini Album: The Film Music of Nino Rota
Myung-Whun Chung, Staatskapelle Dresden - Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonie Nr. 3 Es-Dur Op. 55 "Eroica"
Bojan Čičić, Illyria Consort - Giovanni Stefano Carbonelli: Sonate da Camera Nos. 7-12
Danish String Quartet - Prism II: Beethoven, Schnittke, Bach
Andrew Davis, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Toronto Symphony Orchestra - Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique; Fantasie sur la Tempète de Shakespeare
Antonello Dorigo, Fabio Catania, Giuseppina Ledda, Pierluigi Morelli - Neapolitan Cantatas: Hasse, Mancini, Porpora, Porsile
Gustavo Dudamel, Wiener Philharmoniker - Sommernachtskonzert 2019
Vladimir Feltsman - Frédéric Chopin: Mazurki
Emi Ferguson, Ruckus - Fly the Coop: Bach Sonatas and Preludes
Adam Fischer, Danish Chamber Orchestra - Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete Symphonies
Rumon Gamba, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra - The Film Music of Gerard Schurmann
Patrick Gleeson - Beyond the Sun: An Electronic Portrait of Holst's The Planets
Benoît Haller, La Maîtrise de Garçons de Colmar, La Chapelle Rhénane - Dietrich Buxtehude: Membra Jesu Nostri
Kenneth Hamilton - Kenneth Hamilton Plays Ronald Stevenson, Vol. 2
Hilliard Ensemble, AKSO |Schönberg, Rundell Clark - John Casken: The Dream of the Rood
Christopher Jacobson, Kazuki Yamada - Saint-Saëns, Poulenc, Widor
Neeme Järvi, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra - Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 1
Vladimir Jurowski, Sofia Fomina, London Philharmonic Orchestra - Mahler: Symphony No. 4
Isata Kanneh-Mason - Romance: The Piano Music of Clara Schumann
Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens- Telemann: Michaelis-Oratorium
Anne Laver - Reflections of Light
Andrew Litton, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra - Gustav Holst: The Planets; Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations
London Bridge Trio - The Leipzig Circle, Vol. 1: Chamber Music by Fanny, Clara, Robert & Felix
Michele Mariotti, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna - Rossini: Overtures
Marc Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Choeur de l'Opéra National de Bordeaux - Jacques Offenbach: La Périchole
New Collegium - Georg Philipp Telemann: Chameleon
Perspectives Ensemble, Angel Gil-Ordóñez - Falla: El amor brujo; El retablo de Maese Pedro
Laura Polverelli, Silvia Dalla Benetta, Gianluigi Gelmetti - Rossini: Eduardo e Cristina
Thies Roorda, Alessandro Soccorsi - Flute Music from the Harlequin Years
Alexander Rudin, Musica Viva Moscow Chamber Orchestra - Johann Stamitz: Symphonies, Op. 3 Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
John Morris Russell, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra - Voyage
Howard Shelley, Ulster Orchestra - Stanford: A Song of Agincourt; Overture in the Style of a Tragedy; Verdun; A Welcome March; Fairy Day
David Shifrin - Spring Forward: Music for Clarinet and String Quartet
Stefan Solyom, Staatskapelle Weimar - Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek: Symphonische Suite No. 1; Traumspiel-Suite; Karneval-Suite
Stamic Quartet - Karel Kovarovic: The Complete String Quartets
Kyle Stegall, Eric Zivian - Myrtle & Rose: Songs by Clara and Robert Schumann
Stenhammar Quartet - Debussy, Tailleferre, Ravel
Brian Thornton, Spencer Myer - Robert Schumann: Works for Cello & Piano
The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge; Stephen Layton - Finzi: Choral Works
Trio Zimmermann - Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg Variations
Various Artists - Folia
Various Artists - Rob Keeley: Chamber Music
Jason Vieaux, Escher Quartet - Dance
Lars Vogt - Mozart: Piano Sonatas K280, K281, K310, K333
Le Voix Humaines - Le Monde de Sainte-Colombe