Gramophone Choices,
Gramophone Editor's Choices - September 2021
Korean violinist Sueye Park's 'Journey Through A Century' occupies pride of place as Recording of the Month in the September issue - featuring music by Reger, Kreisler, Penderecki, Ysaÿe, Prokofiev, Weinberg and others, the album prompted Rob Cowan to assert that 'if this isn’t a potential Gramophone Awardwinner, I don’t know what is.'
Editor's Choices include Camino, Scottish guitarist Sean Shibe's debut recording of Franco-Spanish music on Pentatone; Kirill Gerstein's Mozart collaborations with his former teacher Ferenc Rados on Myrios; and Krzysztof Warlikowski's 'formidable' staging of Strauss's Elektra from last year's Salzburg Festival, with Lithuanian soprano Aušrinė Stundytė delivering a 'towering performance' in the title-role.
Recording of the Month
'This is sensational!...at no point in the programme do you feel that the technical and intellectual demands are in any way compromising her interpretations, which are wholly excellent.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Editor's Choices
'Fast movements fizz and crackle, with virtuoso sallies from the Giardino Armonico soloists. Bass lines are always vital and animated, with never a hint of auto-chug.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'These three Russian virtuosos present the two trios with equal conviction, summoning up different palettes of colours for some truly high-level music-making.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'Their collective tone is both sweet and sinewy, with vibrato used for expressive effect rather than as a default setting. Contrapuntal textures are ideally lucid.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'You get a real sense of almost instinctive give and take between Collins and Ogawa here...A most engaging disc, beautifully done.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'Some of the most refined and cultured music-making you could wish for, everything about it being suffused with warmth and affection.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
'His exquisite sense of space and unfolding invites comparison with late conductor Sergiu Celibidache’s Zen-influenced performance practice.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
'Perhaps most unexpectedly of all, the account of Dunstable’s four-voice Veni Sancte Spiritus (one of the best-known, oft-recorded pieces of the 15th century) is unquestionably one of the finest yet made.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'Clearly a singer to watch...It’s an outstanding showcase of her willowy, seductive voice and natural interpretative skill.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
John Corigliano: The Ghosts of Versailles
Teresa Perrotta (Marie-Antoinette) Jonathan Bryan (Beaumarchais), Kayla Siembieda (Susanna), Ben Schaefer (Figaro); Orchestre de l'Opera Royal, Joseph Colaneri
'Colaneri’s conducting deserves much of the credit, pointing up the most disruptive harmonies while giving the singers their head in the lyrical ensembles that come to dominate the piece.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs + DVD Video + Blu-ray Audio, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
DVD/Blu-ray of the Month
Strauss: Elektra (DVD)
Aušrinė Stundytė (Elektra), Asmik Grigorian (Chrysothemis), Tanja Ariane Baumgartner (Klytemnaestra), Michael Laurenz (Aegisth), Derek Welton (Orest); Wiener Staatsoper, Franz Welser-Möst, Krzysztof Warlikowski
'The playing, as one might expect, is matchless. Despite its eccentricities, I found the whole thing utterly compelling. Highly recommended.'
Available Format: DVD Video
Strauss: Elektra (Blu-ray)
Aušrinė Stundytė (Elektra), Asmik Grigorian (Chrysothemis), Tanja Ariane Baumgartner (Klytemnaestra), Michael Laurenz (Aegisth), Derek Welton (Orest); Wiener Staatsoper, Franz Welser-Möst, Krzysztof Warlikowski
Picture format: 1080i / 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD MA 5.1
Available Format: Blu-ray
Reissue/Archive Issue of the Month
'My desert-island choice for a highly cultivated yet quite personal tenor-voice foray into Schubert’s world.'
Available Formats: 3 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
