BBC Music Magazine Choices,
BBC Music Magazine - May 2023 Choices
Sir Antonio Pappano's starrily-cast recording of Puccini's Turandot (restoring Alfano's original ending in full and featuring Sondra Radvanovsky, Jonas Kaufmann and Ermonela Jaho) takes the palm in this month's issue, with reviewer Alexandra Wilson remarking that 'the interpretation captured here offers all the passion and intelligence we would expect from this celebrated Puccinian' and describing Radvanovsky and Kaufmann as 'thrilling antagonists'.
Other recordings mentioned in despatches include a 'vibrant, purposeful' Mahler Five from the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and their new Music Director Rafael Payare, 'finely detailed' accounts of Beethoven and Ravel piano concertos from Martha Argerich, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Lahav Shani, and a 'beautifully judged and exquisitely executed' commemoration of the 400th anniversary of William Byrd's death from The Sixteen.
Recording of the Month
Puccini: Turandot
Sondra Radvanovsky (Turandot), Jonas Kaufmann (Calaf), Ermonela Jaho (Liù), Michele Pertusi (Timur), Michael Spyres (Altoum); Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
'It is the attention Pappano pays to crafting the contrasts between passages of intense sensuality and of mechanistic brutality, casting new light on a familiar score in the process, which really makes this a major recording event.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Orchestral Choice
'Hand on heart, it's a long while since I’ve enjoyed a new Mahler Five as much as this. For a start, Rafael Payare clearly sees this teeming, almost over-rich score as a vibrant, purposeful whole...Yet this isn’t a case of sacrificing vivid detail to the long line. Time and again things stand out.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Concerto Choice
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 & Ravel: Piano Concerto in G
Martha Argerich (piano), Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Lahav Shani
'Shani and the Israel Philharmonic create a finely detailed sound in both these concertos, allowing Argerich to duet gracefully with them in the Beethoven. Her touch is pearlised in the Allegro con brio, and in the Adagio – seldom so emotionally restrained – her compelling pianism almost made me hold my breath.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Opera Choice
Nino Rota: Il Cappello di Paglia di Firenze
Piotr Buszewski (Fadinard), Tetiana Miyus (Elena), Daeho Kim (Nonancourt), Anna Brull (La Baronessa di Champigny), Grazer Philharmoniker, Chor der Oper Graz, Daniele Squeo
'Though the plot is featherlight, Rota’s score, influenced by Poulenc and (much further back) Rossini, is delightful, a box of clever musical ideas...Light tenor Piotr Buszewski leads as the half-crazed Fadinard, with conductor Daniele Squeo drawing an excellent performance from a large cast and his local forces.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC
Choral & Song Choice
'Christophers’s juxtapositions are always rewarding, and The Sixteen is on ravishing form. There’s an unmannered generosity to the singing whose wide-eyed freshness enables Christophers to keep the counterpoint buoyant and uncongested, all the time sensitive...a quadricentennial tribute beautifully judged and exquisitely executed.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chamber Choice
'The Tippetts have got the measure of not only the music, but of its style, even developing vibrato true to the ‘golden age’: fast, intense and continuous. This results in a pleasingly luscious yet muscular tone, which makes the most of their tightly unified ensemble...As a Korngold nut, I couldn’t ask for anything more.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Instrumental Choice
'Stefano Maiorana plays with remarkable poise and control, yet at the same time conveys the music’s extempore quality. He draws a kaleidoscope of colours , textures and percussive effects, producing a sound rich and sumptuous as Venetian velvet...In all, a sensual montage of sounds and memories – all saturated with Venice.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Jazz Choice
'This previously unreleased 1980 live recording from Hamburg broadcaster NDR finds the 40-year old on fierce yet approachable form...The years roll away with Sanders’s hollered band rollcall and the circular breathing on his 1969 anthem, ‘The Creator Has A Masterplan’.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
