Gramophone Choices,
Gramophone Editor's Choices - January 2023
Mexican tenor Javier Camarena takes the top honours in this month's issue for his breathtakingly-sung Signor Gaetano with the period-instrument orchstra Gli Originali and conductor Ricardo Frizza - the first of two Donizetti albums on Pentatone, it focuses on the composer's Italian operas and includes arias from rarities such as Betly, Maria de Rudenz and Giovedì Grasso as well as favourites from L'elisir d'amore and Don Pasquale.
Shortly before Christmas Javier kindly found a quiet space amid rehearsals for La favorite in Bergamo to chat to Katherine about the pivotal role which Donizetti's music has played in his career - and why singing this repertoire leaves him 'feeling satisfied and happy, rather than mentally exhausted!'. Read the full interview here.
Recording of the Month
'This is a hugely enjoyable and unusually satisfying and engaging operatic recital from a singer at the top of his game – a superb album that does Signor Gaetano himself proud.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Editor's Choices
Beethoven: The 5 Piano Concertos
Haochen Zhang (piano), The Philadelphia Orchestra, Nathalie Stutzmann
'Together, Zhang and Stutzmann’s Beethoven is at once stylistically assured and not quite like any other.'
Available Formats: 3 SACDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'The Berlin players offer stamina and assurance, vital in those multilayered accompaniments and sudden jump-cuts.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Hugi Guðmundsson: Windbells
Áshildur Haraldsdóttir (flute), Hugi Guðmundsson (electronics), Hildigunnur Einarsdóttir (mezzo), Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra
'His crystalline music absolutely deserves the exposure and will not waste a second of your time.'
Available Formats: 2 Blu-ray Audios, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
'The result are performances in which clarity and precision seem to take on an expressive power of their own...Simply put, this is the most satisfying account of Martinů’s cello sonatas on record.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
'This is far and away the best recording that Vadym Kholodenko has made, and the superb engineering does his committed artistry full justice.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'This is an album that reaches deep into Handel’s genius – looks like there’s life in the format yet.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'This is opera without the stage – a riveting and incredibly stylish account of this vast and varied book of music. Well worth the wait.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Russell Pascoe: Secular Requiem
Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo), Julien Van Mellaerts (baritone), Truro Cathedral Choir, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Christopher Gray
'These are definitive performances from Truro Cathedral Choir and the BBC NOW, and a fine testament to the great achievements of Christopher Gray...this album should become an instant classic.'
Available Format: CD
A Shropshire Lad: English Songs Orchestrated by Roderick Williams
Roderick Williams (baritone), Hallé Orchestra, Mark Elder
'A must-have recording, not only for those who are devoted fans of Williams’s art but also those who are entranced by this wonderful repertoire.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
DVD/Blu-ray of the Month
Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur
María José Siri (Adriana Lecouvreur), Ksenia Dudnikova (Princess de Bouillon), Martin Muehle (Maurizio), Nicola Alaimo (Michonnet), Orchestra E Coro Del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Daniel Harding, Frederic Wake-Walker
'The playing is admirably sensuous: Cilea knew his Wagner and Debussy, and Harding pointedly emphasises the debts, while also giving us plenty of Italianate passion and lyricism.'
Available Format: DVD Video
Reissue/Archive Issue of the Month
'The inner glow of the MAQ recordings collected here (they date from 1927-28) is unmatched by any other quartet before or since, and that’s largely down to Kaufman’s exquisite viola-playing.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
