Pullinger also notes that Romanian tenor Ștefan Pop 'exceeds all expectations and then some' as Edgardo, Lucia's secret lover from a rival clan, and declares that 'everything about Fabrizio Maria Carminati's conducting feels just right, but without drawing attention to itself.'
Recording of the Month
Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor
Lisette Oropesa (Lucia), Ștefan Pop (Edgardo), Mattia Olivieri (Enrico), Riccardo Zanellato (Raimondo); Orchestra del Teatro Massimo Bellini di Catania, Fabrizio Maria Carminati
'Oropesa's soprano has all the distinctive darkness of Callas but with the pinpoint agility of Sutherland at her peak...but this is more than a vocal acrobatic display; it's a complete characterisation.'
Available formats: 2 SACDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Editor's Choices
Elgar & Adès: Violin Concertos
Christian Tetzlaff (violin), BBC Philharmonic, John Storgårds
'All lovers of Elgar's Violin Concerto will need this recording for its uniquely compelling vision and the Adès Concerto here becomes the version that establishes this brilliant and probing work as a repertoire classic.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 'Resurrection'
Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha (soprano), Sarah Connolly (mezzo), Hallé Orchestra, Hallé Choir, Hallé Youth Choir, Kahchun Wong
'The reading keeps us guessing, generally spacious, occasionally the reverse, flexibly inflected except when it isn't...I was moved. Over to you.'
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
Galina Ustvolskaya: Symphonies Nos. 1-5
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Christian Karlsen
'Bearing every sign of careful preparation, these performances make the most compelling case for Ustvolskaya as her own woman.'
Available format: SACD
Brahms: String Quartets Op. 51
Zehetmair Quartett
'It's rare to come across truly revelatory performances of such oft-recorded repertory, but that's what the Zehetmair Quartet have given us here.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Lachenmann: Works for String Quartet
Quatuor Diotima
'For all three quartets, a macrocosm of underworldly music finds both refinement and yet abandon in this standout recording.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
Beethoven: The Late Piano Sonatas
Paul Wee (piano)
'The result is eventful Beethoven with a kaleidoscopic sense of changing scenery. Brendel sounds plain-spoken by comparison.'
Available format: 2 SACDs
Rachmaninoff: The Bells & Elgar: Falstaff
Mirjam Mesak (soprano), Pavel Petrov (tenor), Andrii Kymach (baritone), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Chorus, Vasily Petrenko
'Petrenko's new broom transforms their familiar textures into active, linear argument and/or bejewelled vignette.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Refound
Hugh Cutting (countertenor), Audrey Hyland (piano)
'With his resplendent mezzo-soprano-ish tone quality and ease of vocal production, the much-awarded Hugh Cutting represents a new level in the evolution of the countertenor voice in this debut recital album.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Stravagante pensiero: Gesualdo & Napoli
Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini
'Full of surprises and superbly done, this is an almost intoxicatingly pained addition to the catalogue.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
DVD/Blu-ray of the Month
Mieczysław Weinberg: The Idiot
Bogdan Volkov (Myshkin), Aušrinė Stundytė (Nastasya), Vladislav Sulimsky (Rogózhin), Iurii Samoilov (Lukyan), Xenia Puskarz Thomas (Aglaya) Wiener Philharmoniker, Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Krzysztof Warlikowski
'The Polish director resonates perfectly with the dense, dark and dissonant world Weinberg and Medvedev created on the basis of Dostoevsky's masterpiece...I cannot recommend it highly enough.'
Available format: Blu-ray
Reissue/Archive Issue of the Month
Moeran: Symphony in G Minor, Violin Concerto & Cello Concerto
Albert Sammons (violin), Peers Coetmore (cello) BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
'Albert Sammons turns in a performance that equals his memorable Columbia recordings of the Elgar and Delius Concertos...I can't recommend it strongly enough, and the reissue production is, as a whole, first-rate.'
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 24 bit)
