Feb. 2, 2016
January 27, 2016, was Mozart's 260th birthday, and by coincidence, our reviewers happened to pick out a few discs devoted to his music this month. These included arias sung by baritone Christian Gerhaher, René Jacobs conducting Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, and the completion of Kristian Bezuidenhout's cycle of the solo piano music. Speaking of cycles, Hyperion continues its popular series, The Romantic Violin Concerto, with Jack Liebeck playing Bruch, and releases the second volume in another, The Classical Piano Concerto. The month's notable releases also include idiomatic readings of Charles Ives' Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4 by the Seattle Symphony and Ekaterina Litvintseva confidently taking on both of Chopin's piano concertos.
Blair Sanderson
Martha Argerich - The Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon
Marcus Bosch, Nuremberg State Philharmonic Orchestra - Antonín Dvorák: Symphony No. 5; Holoubek
Pierre Boulez - Le Domaine Musical, 1956-1967
The Clarinotts - The Clarinotts
Simon Johnson - Holst: The Planets; St. Paul's Suite
Christian Lindberg, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra - Allan Pettersson: Symphony No. 13
Ekaterina Litvintseva, Heribert Beissel - Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Warren Mailley-Smith - Rhapsody in Blue
Ludovic Morlot, Seattle Symphony Orchestra - Ives: Symphony No. 4; The Unanswered Question; Central Park in the Dark; Symphony No. 3
Trevor Pinnock - Journey
François-Xavier Roth - Richard Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie; Don Juan
Gerd Schaller, Philharmonie Festiva - Bruckner: Symphony in D minor 1869
Various Artists - 111: The Collector's Editions [111 CDs]
Various Artists - Les Menus Plaisirs de Louis XIV de Paris à Versailles
Paul Watkins, Huw Watkins - American Works for Cello and Piano
James Manheim
Roberto Beltrán-Zavala, The re:Orchestra - Shostakovich: Chamber Symphonies Op. 73a & 83a
Kristian Bezuidenhout - Mozart: Keyboard Music, Vol. 7
Kristian Bezuidenhout - Mozart: Keyboard Music, Vols. 8 & 9
Jeffrey Biegel, Brown University Orchestra, Paul Phillips - Manhattan Intermezzo
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Thomas Adès - Gerald Barry: The Importance of Being Earnest
Ronald Brautigam - Beethoven: Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 14
Uri Caine, Jenny Lin - Spirio Sessions
Cantus, Frode Fjellheim - Spes
Seong-Jin Cho - Winner of the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, Warsaw 2015
Joyce DiDonato, Antonio Pappano - Joyce & Tony: Live at Wigmore Hall
Sol Gabetta, Giuliano Carmignola, Dejan Lazic - Beethoven: Triple Concerto
Sol Gabetta - Vasks: Presence
Christian Gerhaher - Mozart: Arias
Grieg Trio - Haydn Piano Trios
Giancarlo Guerrero, Nashville Symphony - Stephen Paulus: Three Places of Enlightenment; Veil of Tears; Grand Concerto for Organ and Orchestra
Stephen Hough - Scriabin, Janácek: Songs & Poems
René Jacobs - Mozart: Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail
Mariss Jansons - Dvorák: Stabat Mater
Kirill Karabits, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra - Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 6; Movement from Symphony in G
Laura Karpman - Ask Your Mama
Dan Laurin - Rock That Flute
Leonore Piano Trio - Lalo: Piano Trios
Julia Lezhneva - Handel
Jack Liebeck, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins - The Romantic Violin Concerto, Vol. 19 - Bruch
Tasmin Little - Tasmin Little plays Haydn Wood, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Frederick Delius
Jan Lisiecki - Schumann
Miloš - Blackbird: The Beatles Album
New Budapest Orpheum Society - As Dreams Fall Apart
Nidarosdomens Jentekor, Trondheim Solistene - Magnificat
Sir Roger Norrington - Haydn: The Paris Symphonies
Norwegian Radio Orchestra - Magne Amdahl: Astrognosia & Æsop
Beatrice Rana, Accademia di Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Antonio Pappano - Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2; Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys, Fifth Avenue, New York / John Scott - Dancing Day: Music for Christmas
Esa-Pekka Salonen, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra - Anders Hillborg: Sirens; Cold Heat; Beast Sampler
Jordi Savall, Le Concert des Nations - Les Éléments: Tempêtes, Orages, Fêtes Marines
Howard Shelley - Mendelssohn: The Complete Solo Piano Music, Vol. 4
Howard Shelley, Ulster Orchestra - Classical Piano Concerto: Steibelt
Nadia Shpachenko - Woman at the New Piano: American Music of 2013
True Concord, Eric Holtan - Far in the Heavens: Choral Music of Stephen Paulus
Various Artists - Arvo Pärt: Musica Selecta – A Sequence by Manfred Eicher
Blair Sanderson
Martha Argerich - The Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon
Marcus Bosch, Nuremberg State Philharmonic Orchestra - Antonín Dvorák: Symphony No. 5; Holoubek
Pierre Boulez - Le Domaine Musical, 1956-1967
The Clarinotts - The Clarinotts
Simon Johnson - Holst: The Planets; St. Paul's Suite
Christian Lindberg, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra - Allan Pettersson: Symphony No. 13
Ekaterina Litvintseva, Heribert Beissel - Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Warren Mailley-Smith - Rhapsody in Blue
Ludovic Morlot, Seattle Symphony Orchestra - Ives: Symphony No. 4; The Unanswered Question; Central Park in the Dark; Symphony No. 3
Trevor Pinnock - Journey
François-Xavier Roth - Richard Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie; Don Juan
Gerd Schaller, Philharmonie Festiva - Bruckner: Symphony in D minor 1869
Various Artists - 111: The Collector's Editions [111 CDs]
Various Artists - Les Menus Plaisirs de Louis XIV de Paris à Versailles
Paul Watkins, Huw Watkins - American Works for Cello and Piano
James Manheim
Roberto Beltrán-Zavala, The re:Orchestra - Shostakovich: Chamber Symphonies Op. 73a & 83a
Kristian Bezuidenhout - Mozart: Keyboard Music, Vol. 7
Kristian Bezuidenhout - Mozart: Keyboard Music, Vols. 8 & 9
Jeffrey Biegel, Brown University Orchestra, Paul Phillips - Manhattan Intermezzo
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Thomas Adès - Gerald Barry: The Importance of Being Earnest
Ronald Brautigam - Beethoven: Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 14
Uri Caine, Jenny Lin - Spirio Sessions
Cantus, Frode Fjellheim - Spes
Seong-Jin Cho - Winner of the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, Warsaw 2015
Joyce DiDonato, Antonio Pappano - Joyce & Tony: Live at Wigmore Hall
Sol Gabetta, Giuliano Carmignola, Dejan Lazic - Beethoven: Triple Concerto
Sol Gabetta - Vasks: Presence
Christian Gerhaher - Mozart: Arias
Grieg Trio - Haydn Piano Trios
Giancarlo Guerrero, Nashville Symphony - Stephen Paulus: Three Places of Enlightenment; Veil of Tears; Grand Concerto for Organ and Orchestra
Stephen Hough - Scriabin, Janácek: Songs & Poems
René Jacobs - Mozart: Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail
Mariss Jansons - Dvorák: Stabat Mater
Kirill Karabits, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra - Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 6; Movement from Symphony in G
Laura Karpman - Ask Your Mama
Dan Laurin - Rock That Flute
Leonore Piano Trio - Lalo: Piano Trios
Julia Lezhneva - Handel
Jack Liebeck, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins - The Romantic Violin Concerto, Vol. 19 - Bruch
Tasmin Little - Tasmin Little plays Haydn Wood, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Frederick Delius
Jan Lisiecki - Schumann
Miloš - Blackbird: The Beatles Album
New Budapest Orpheum Society - As Dreams Fall Apart
Nidarosdomens Jentekor, Trondheim Solistene - Magnificat
Sir Roger Norrington - Haydn: The Paris Symphonies
Norwegian Radio Orchestra - Magne Amdahl: Astrognosia & Æsop
Beatrice Rana, Accademia di Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Antonio Pappano - Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2; Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys, Fifth Avenue, New York / John Scott - Dancing Day: Music for Christmas
Esa-Pekka Salonen, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra - Anders Hillborg: Sirens; Cold Heat; Beast Sampler
Jordi Savall, Le Concert des Nations - Les Éléments: Tempêtes, Orages, Fêtes Marines
Howard Shelley - Mendelssohn: The Complete Solo Piano Music, Vol. 4
Howard Shelley, Ulster Orchestra - Classical Piano Concerto: Steibelt
Nadia Shpachenko - Woman at the New Piano: American Music of 2013
True Concord, Eric Holtan - Far in the Heavens: Choral Music of Stephen Paulus
Various Artists - Arvo Pärt: Musica Selecta – A Sequence by Manfred Eicher