BBC Music Magazine Choices,
BBC Music Magazine - October 2023 Choices
Recording of the Month for October is Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's thoughtful pairing of Tchaikovsky's evergreen Fifth Symphony with a new arrangement for orchestra of Schulhoff's Five Pieces for String Quartet, marked by 'a wealth of insight, detail and colour'.
Among the Category Choices there's 'spectacular' Jennifer Higdon works for percussion from the Houston Symphony Orchestra and Robert Spano, big-screen Vaughan Williams from the BBC Concert Orchestra and Martin Yates, and a new Trittico starring Asmik Grigorian (with Franz Welser-Möst and the Wiener Philharmoniker) which Katherine was blown away by back in July and which, indeed, 'cannot conceivably be given less than five stars'.
Recording of the Month
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & Schulhoff: Five Pieces for String Quartet
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck
'He has followed Tchaikovsky's carefully delineated performance instructions to the letter, investing every musical phrase with a wealth of insight, detail and colour.'
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Orchestral Choice
Jennifer Higdon: Duo Duel & Concerto for Orchestra
Matthew Strauss (percussion), Svet Stoyanov (percussion), Houston Symphony Orchestra, Robert Spano
'Using challenging techniques, she makes specific demands on the percussionists, producing lovely colours such as bowed vibraphone...A spectacular recording and performance.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Concerto Choice
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos 1-3 & 5 & Church Sonata No. 17
Robert Levin (harpsichord/organ), Academy of Ancient Music, Bojan Čičić (leader), Laurence Cummings
'Levin’s choice of organ...for the K175 D major concerto assists his enchanting reimagining of Mozart first newly-composed keyboard concerto. AAM are on top form with lean string lines and uplifting wind and brass sonorities.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Opera Choice
Puccini: Il Trittico (Blu-ray)
Asmik Grigorian (Lauretta/Giorgetta/Suor Angelica), Misha Kiria (Schicchi), Karita Mattila (La Zia Principessa), Roman Burdenko (Michele), Joshua Guerrero (Luigi), Alexey Neklyudov (Rinuccio); Wiener Philharmoniker, Franz Welser-Möst, Christof Loy
'A performance like Grigorian’s here cannot conceivably be given less than five stars, for she is a sensation – each heroine entirely distinctive, every expression psychologically nuanced, her singing matched only by the unbridled playing of the Vienna Philharmonic.'
Available Format: Blu-ray
Choral & Song Choice
'Immaculate vocal blend and intelligent phrasing are a given when The Sixteen sing...But it’s the way the technically difficult corners are executed, combining minimal fuss with maximum exactitude, which truly sets their interpretations apart as exceptional.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chamber Choice
'Whatever the impulse, the result is a joy to discover...The Constanze Quartett has done a fine job in showing this music off at its best, with sensitive, handsome playing, beautifully recorded by CPO, a record label that has long championed rare repertoire.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Instrumental Choice
'Čičić balances intimacy and the need for projection, always a challenge when recording. This release must surely become a reference recording, particularly for the next generation to whom Čičić is very deeply committed.'
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Screen Choice
'It’s typically luscious in places, wonderfully imaginative and considered, too, the composer pivoting between musical landscape painting, dramatic tension-building and some rather un-VW source items, such as the restaurant dance music. A real treat.'
Available Format: SACD
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
