City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla ELGAR - BRITTEN - WALTON - VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

 

ELGAR - BRITTEN - WALTON - VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

 

London Chamber Orchestra / Christopher Warren-Green LCO LIVE

LCO LIVE

 

Philharmonia Orchestra / Michael Collins VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No. 5 FINZI Clarinet Concerto

SYMPHONY NO. 5 - CLARINET CONCERTO

Choir of the Queen’s College Oxford / Owen Rees THE HOUSE OF THE MIND

This Friday, 8 June, sees the release of House of the Mind, the Choir’s new CD. The Choir celebrates the works of choral music icon Herbert Howells in a disc that sets his works alongside pieces that they inspired and influenced – such as Nico Muhly’s Like as the Hart for choir, solo violin and percussion – as well as works that, in turn, influenced him. The disc features two world premiere recordings by David Bednall: settings of two Marian Antiphons Alma redemptoris mater and Ave regina caelorum that ‘complete’ the partly-lost set of works that Howells wrote for Westminster Cathedral.

Arabella Steinbacher FANTASIES, RHAPSODIES & DAYDREAMS

Until the 2016 release of this album on Pentatone, violinist Arabella Steinbacher had mostly explored heavy repertory of the 19th and 20th centuries on recordings of Strauss, Franck, Shostakovich. She shifts gears with this collection of virtuoso favorites that might easily have appeared on a concert program of a century ago, or nearly that long. It's not a program of encores, which is more common today. The works on this program are substantial and, with the exception of Massenet's famous Méditation, between nine and 15 minutes in length. The novelty here is the opening Carmen Fantasie by Franz Waxman, written for Jascha Heifetz and edited by that great violinist. Despite her disclaimer, Steinbacher takes after Heifetz stylistically with her soaring, Apollonian tone, and this work fits her well. Another highlight is an unusually light, agile performance of Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, rather quick, but always seeming under control and not rushed. Steinbacher has plenty of competition here and elsewhere, but in the main, her performances have the refined quality that her classic models achieved, even in broadly popular repertory. She picks her material well, avoiding her polar opposite, Fritz Kreisler. Pentatone's spacious sound, recorded in an unspecified location, delivers on its audiophile claims, and Steinbacher's Booth Stradivarius sounds great. A recommended look back at the age of the star violin virtuoso. (James Manheim)

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Andrew Manze VAUGHAN WILLIAMS A London Symphony - Symphony No. 8

Andrew Manze is familiar to classical listeners as a violinist and as a specialist in early music, but he has also pursued conducting, performing orchestral music of a more modern vintage. His concert performances have increasingly featured the symphonies of Ralph Vaughan Williams, and this 2016 release on Onyx of the Symphony No. 2 in G major, "A London Symphony" and the Symphony No. 8 in D minor gives a clear idea of his approach to this music. The impassioned reading of "A London Symphony" with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra reveals that Manze has an affinity for expansive melodic lines, poignant harmonies, and rich, atmospheric orchestration, and the sounds the orchestra produces are quite lush and luxuriant, wholly appropriate for Vaughan Williams' post-Romantic phase. The Symphony No. 8, dating from 1955, is Vaughan Williams' shortest symphony, and his use of pitched percussion creates a wonderful atmosphere that is unique in the cycle. Manze draws out marvelous sonorities from the orchestra, and the musicians respond with great warmth and a level of enthusiasm that is easy to perceive. Onyx has produced an exceptional recording with vivid tone colors and a resonant acoustic that gives the music a spacious feeling. (Blair Sanderson)

Pinchas Zukerman / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra VAUGHAN WILLIAMS The Lark Ascending - Tallis Fantasia ELGAR Introduction & Allegro - In Moonlight

Double Grammy Award winner Pinchas Zukerman stars as violin and viola soloist and conductor in a landmark new Decca recording with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. 'Elgar & Vaughan Williams' offers his mature thoughts on Ralph Vaughan Williams' evocative masterwork The Lark Ascending, which Zukerman first recorded over forty years ago.

It also includes revelatory performances of Elgar's Introduction and Allegro and Serenade for String Orchestra, Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, such evergreen Elgar miniatures as Salut d'amour and Chanson de matin, and the world premiere recording of In Moonlight, an arrangement for solo viola, strings and harp of Elgar's celebrated Canto popolare. Maestro Zukerman here draws on the strength of his partnership as Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra as the orchestra celebrates its 70th anniversary.

Pinchas Zukerman recorded his new album at Cadogan Hall, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's central London home. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham, a great champion of English music, and gave its first performance in September 1946. The orchestra launched its 70th anniversary year on tour to the United States in company with Pinchas Zukerman, now in his seventh season as Principal Guest Conductor. He is set to conduct the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at London's Royal Festival Hall on 1 March and perform at Buckingham Palace two days later for the orchestra's 70th Anniversary Gala Concert.