BBC Music Magazine Choices,
BBC Music Magazine - December 2017 Choices
Barbara Hannigan's astonishing Lulu-inspired programme of Berio, Berg and Gershwin (which sees her doing double duty as conductor and soprano, not to mention the orchestral players supplying her backing vocals!) takes pride of place this month, and we couldn't agree more that it's one of the most remarkable recordings to come our way this year - indeed it was one of our own Recordings of the Month in September. (You can read Katherine's in-depth interview with Barbara about the project here).
There's also an imaginative programme of eighteenth-century Italian violin sonatas from Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque, ravishing early Mozart from Ian Page and Classical Opera, and a fascinating contextualisation of the Goldberg Variations from the young pianist and polymath Kit Armstrong
Recording of the Month
Crazy Girl Crazy: Music by Gershwin, Berg and Berio
Barbara Hannigan (soprano/conductor), Ludwig Orchestra
'Crazy Girl Crazy is an album that – just like its muse and protagonist – flouts the rules…The litheness of Hannigan’s voice beguiles, so that the near-segue into the Lulu Suite (1934) comes as a sense-sharpening emotional jolt…It’s a highly personal, sensual reading; lavish with orchestral detail and, when it comes, a spellbinding ‘Lied der Lulu’.'
Available Formats: CD + DVD Video, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Orchestral Choice
'Elder builds his climaxes carefully, and judges their relative effect with a sculptural objectivity that enhances rather than lessens the total impression…What moved me most, though, was the sense of craggy dignity conveyed by both symphonies. This above all is what prevents them from coming across as onslaughts of pure pessimism. The playing – as usual with Elder’s Hallé – is outstanding, technically and expressively.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Concerto Choice
Nimrod Borenstein: Violin Concerto
Irmina Trynkos (violin), Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
'There are moments when the ghosts of Prokofiev (the Second Concerto, especially), Khachaturian and Walton pass fleetingly over the music’s swirling, colourful textures, yet the overriding sensation here is of an exuberantly inventive composer with a symphonic instinct exhilarating in the concerto medium.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chamber Choice
Grandissima Gravita: Music by Pisenel, Tartini, Verachini & Vivaldi
Rachel Podger (violin), Brecon Baroque
'Her playing is intoxicated and intoxicating in equal measure, buoyed up by the wonderful improvisatory camaraderie of a continuo battery…Podger, inevitably, is the star, but ultimately the disc’s compulsive spell is down to the triumph of ensemble chemistry. Even the humblest of cello lines is elevated beyond functionality into something expressive and integral to the overall effect. Bewitching.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Instrumental Choice
'The main focus of the programme is JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations, which Armstrong reads with assurance, refinement and a maturity beyond his years. His sound is pearly, highlighting the work’s lyricism, and tempos are beautifully judged for the hall’s ample space…Above all, though, he builds the music’s architecture.'
Available Format: DVD Video
Kit Armstrong performs Bach's Goldberg Variations and its predecessors (Blu-ray)
Kit Armstrong (piano)
'The main focus of the programme is JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations, which Armstrong reads with assurance, refinement and a maturity beyond his years. His sound is pearly, highlighting the work’s lyricism, and tempos are beautifully judged for the hall’s ample space…Above all, though, he builds the music’s architecture.'
Available Format: Blu-ray
Choral & Song Choice
'Duets for high tenor seem to have been something of a Blow speciality…and in Samuel Boden and Thomas Walker, director Jonathan Cohen has harnessed a quintessentially English sound whose lyricism fits the vocal writing like a glove…Throughout, the instrumental contribution is a joy; Cohen’s direction a model of stylish empathy and suavely-negotiated gear changes.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Opera Choice
Mozart: Il sogno di Scipione
Chiara Skerath (soprano), Soraya Mafi (soprano), Klara Ek (soprano), Stuart Jackson (tenor), Krystian Adam (tenor), Robert Murray (tenor); Classical Opera, Ian Page
'All the da capo arias offer moments of genuine Mozartian musico-dramatic spark – of which later there’s an abundance in the long accompanied recitative depicting Scipio’s awakening…This is a rewarding set: gracefully paced…and among its fresh-voiced young singers a standout leading tenor, Stuart Jackson, as Scipio.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
