The best new classical albums this week (January 20, 2023)
Friday, January 20, 2023
New recordings of Bruckner's Symphony No 7, Mozart's Violin Concertos Nos 3-5 and more
Paavo Järvi has already recorded Bruckner's Symphony No 7 with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra for Sony/RCA, an album reviewed by Rob Cowan in September 2009, who wrote: 'Järvi offers an extremely beautiful performance, responsively played and, most crucially, sensitive to key transitions.' This new recording with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich should be something quite special.
Järvi won the 2021 Gramophone Orchestral Award for a collection of Schmidt's complete symphonies with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (read the review).
Christian-Pierre La Marca won Gramophone's Concept Album Award in 2021 for 'Cello 360', and in her review Charlotte Gardner wrote: 'I fail to see how a listen will leave you anything other than newly captivated by La Marca as a cellist and all-round musician, and I’m already looking forward to seeing what he and Naïve do together next.' Last year's 'Wonderful World' was a continuation of the solo concept album idea that was set in motion by 'Cello 360', but 'Legacy', is a collaboration with Le Concert de La Loge and Julien Chauvin is a more traditional programme, featuring works by Haydn, Mozart, Gluck and Porpora.
Kristian Bezuidenhout, the Freiburger Barockorchester and Gottfried von der Goltz have recorded Mozart's Piano Concertos Nos 11-13 for Harmonia Mundi, but here change positions for Mozart's Violin Concertos Nos 3-5 for Aparté.
In a recent episode of the Gramophone Podcast, Brian Pidgeon and Ralph Couzens spoke about the importance of Neeme Järvi's recordings to the Chandos label, and this new album with the State Choir Latvija and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra celebrates the conductor's 85th birthday.
Volume 5 in Peter Donohoe's Mozart piano sonatas series was warmly welcomed by Rob Cowan in the September 2022 issue: 'Potential takers who fancy a punt need not fear that Mozart and Donohoe are ever at loggerheads. The unforced brilliance of his playing falls very happily on the ear (the piano used is a Bechstein D282 Grand) and the sound is excellent.' (Read the review). Volume 6 includes the Fantasia in C minor, K475 and Piano Sonatas Nos 4 (K282), 14 (K457) and 16, 'Facile' (K545).
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