Best new classical albums – March 2017
Gramophone
Friday, February 24, 2017
The finest recordings from this month's reviews, chosen by Martin Cullingford
Recording of the month
Tchaikovsky Symphonies Nos 3, 4 and 6
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Vasily Petrenko
Onyx
Tchaikovsky symphonies in this slot, two months in a row? I make no apology (besides, they’re different symphonies) – Petrenko’s now complete cycle is an achievement well worthy of praise.
Bach Family ‘Dynastie’
Jean Rondeau hpd et al
Erato
Directing from the harpsichord, Jean Rondeau leads his colleagues – who all seem to share a happy rapport – in a highly enjoyably and characterful survey of music by Bach father and sons.
Read the review | Download album from Qobuz
Beach. Chaminade. Howell Piano Concertos
Danny Driver pf BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Rebecca Miller
Hyperion
A nice parallel to this month’s Specialist’s Guide, three unfamiliar works, by women (a first in Hyperion’s Romantic Piano Concerto series), given strong advocacy.
Vaughan Williams Symphony No 9. Job
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra / Sir Andrew Davis
Chandos
Two major works, conducted with an authoritative sense of journey; evidence of the wisdom of Chandos’s bond with both Davis and the Bergen Philharmonic.
Read the review | Download album from Qobuz
Andrew Everard, Gramophone's Audio Editor, writes: 'As the main review notes, there’s a mass of textural detail in this recording of RVW’s Job, and the 96kHz/24bit hi-resolution Qobuz download delivers it with even greater clarity, insight and impact than the CD-quality files. That allows the finest nuances of the scoring and performance to be appreciated – and makes the organ thunder and the timpani cannon from the speakers in spine-tingling fashion in Scene 6. It’s a fine recording throughout, and the extra resolution and dynamic range of the "hi-res" version makes even more of it.'
Beethoven ‘Complete String Quartets, Vol 3’
Elias Quartet
Wigmore Hall Live
A crowded catalogue certainly, but on the evidence of both this and the first volume’s Editor’s Choice accolade, the young Elias Quartet are building an impressive Beethoven cycle.
Read the review | Download album from Qobuz
Liszt. Saint-Saëns Works for Two Pianos
Ludmila Berlinskaya, Arthur Ancelle pfs
Melodiya
A hugely enjoyable opportunity to hear one of the most familiar and formidable piano sonatas in an unfamiliar form – great virtuosity, with the added challenge of collaboration!
Read the review | Download album from Qobuz
Martinů Cantatas
Prague Philharmonic Choir / Lukáš Vasilek
Supraphon
These four cantatas are richly atmospheric, seeming to grow out of the language and culture on which they draw. Beautifully performed, and indeed recorded, throughout.
Read the review | Download album from Qobuz
‘Heimat’
Benjamin Appl bar James Baillieu pf
Sony Classical
The beauty of voice and thoughtfulness in interpretation that led us to name Benjamin Appl our Young Artist of the Year – and for Sony Classical to sign him – are very evident on this recital.
‘Sacred Duets’
Nuria Rial sop Valer Sabadus counterten Basel Chamber Orchestra
Sony Classical
This is a delightful disc: two voices – a pure, agile soprano and rich, rounded countertenor – which feel perfectly suited both to this repertoire, and to each other.
Read the review | Download album from Qobuz
Berg Wozzeck
Sols; Houston Symphony Orchestra / Hans Graf
Naxos
Taken from concert performances, but ones which combine a powerful sense of drama and story-telling (so crucial in this work) with a quite intense focus on the music-making.
Read the review | Download album from Qobuz
DVD/blu-ray
Schoenberg Gurrelieder
Sols; Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra / Marc Albrecht
Opus Arte
Gurrelieder as you probably won’t have seen it before: staged. ‘It makes’, as our critic Hugo Shirley puts it ‘for fascinating viewing.’
Reissue/archive
William Kapell
Marston
Killed in a plane crash aged 31, Kapell’s discography is relatively small: these broadcasts and concerts, many of them first releases, are valuable additions.
