Recording of the Year & Opera Category

Janáček Kát'a Kabanová

Elisabeth Söderström, Petr Dvorský, Nadĕžda Kniplová; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Charles Mackerras (Decca)

'Sir Charles's superlative performance hardly needs further recommendation; nor does the wonderfully moving interpretation of the title-role by Elisabeth Söderström.' 

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Recording Category Winners

Chamber

Shostakovich String Quartets Nos 4 and 12

Fitzwilliam Quartet (L'Oiseau-Lyre/Decca)

'It is the performances of the Fitzwilliam Quartet to which I find myself being drawn back. They have a remarkable understanding of the idiom and of the music's underlying motivation.' 

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Choral

Elgar Coronation Ode, Op. 44 Parry I was glad Trad (arr Elgar) The National Anthem

Felicity Lott, Alfreda Hodgson, Richard Morton, Stephen Roberts; King's College Choir, Cambridge, Cambridge University Musical Society, Band of the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, New Philharmonia Orchestra / Philip Ledger (HMV/EMI) 

'HMV are out to suggest a Coronation Service in Westminster Abbey, with a spacious sound, more reverberation than you would normally get in a studio recording, an 'Abbey occasion' heightened by the inclusion of boys' voices (as there would be). The latter are evident not only when the Choir of King's College, Cambridge are singing quieter movements on their own but also in the full choral ensemble.'

Concerto

Mozart Piano Concerto No 22. Rondos: D major, K382; A major, K386

Alfred Brendel pf Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields / Neville Marriner (Philips/Decca)

'For anyone wanting a recording of K482 as near perfection as one is likely to get, this new issue is the obvious answer.'

Contemporary

Berio Concerto for two pianos. Nones. Allelujah II

Bruno Canino, Antonio Ballista pfs London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra / Luciano Berio, Pierre Boulez (RCA Red Seal) 

'The Concerto is perhaps more entertaining than profound by intention, certainly enjoyable and worth repeated listening. The busy solo parts are admirably played and recorded; some elaborate tutti textures sound imperfectly balanced, according to the score, though more vivid than I remember of the London premiere.'

Early Music

Dowland Lute works

Julian Bream (RCA Red Seal)

'The playing is tremendous.'

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Historical 

The Record of Singing, Vol 1

'For anybody who loves the art of singing this is the most valuable anthology yet published; it represents nearly all of the best singers who recorded and whose careers centred on the period up to 1914. To collect the original copies would cost a fortune and probably best part of a lifetime. Of one other thing one can be quite sure, and that is that the pleasures of listening to them will last a lifetime too.'

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Instrumental

Beethoven Piano Sonatas Nos 27-32

Maurizio Pollini pf (DG)

'This is an indispensable issue for all serious collectors. The quality of the recorded sound is exemplary, the instrument is clearly focused and reproduces with the utmost naturalness. A satisfying and thought-provoking set that no lover of great piano-playing should neglect.'

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Orchestral

Elgar Symphony No 1

London Philhar­monic Orchestra / Sir Adrian Boult (HMV/Warner Classics) 

'It is a record to make one give thanks that Sir Adrian, for a while prevented by illness from completing his project of re-recording the Elgar symphonies, then returned to the studio at his most inspired.'

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Solo Vocal

Shostakovich Suite on verses by Michelangelo, Op 145a. Six songs to lyrics by English poets. Six songs to poems by Marina Tsvetayeva

lrina Bogacheva, Yevgeny Nestorenko; Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra / Maxim Shostakovich; Moscow Chamber Orchestra / Rudolf Barshai (HMV Melodiya) 

'There is so much here in these song-cycles to discover and many depths to uncover. The recordings have exemplary presence and clarity. Recommended with all possible enthusiasm.' 

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