CD Review and BAL: Mahler’s Symphony no. 8 on 26th November

[Seán]

A feast of Mahler and Mozart awaits us:

In this week’s programme (timings are approximate):

9.05am

TCHAIKOVSKY: Francesca da Rimini – Fantasie op. 32; Symphony No. 4 CBSO, Andris Nelsons (conductor) ORFEO C860111A (CD)


TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5 in E minor op. 64; Festive Overture, op. 96
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse / Tugan Sokhiev
NAIVE V5252 (CD)


TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No.2 ‘Little Russian’
MUSSORGSKY: A Night on the Bare Mountain (orig. version), Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel)
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Kirill Karabits (conductor)
ONYX ONYX4074 (CD)


9.30am Building a Library

Julian Johnson surveys available recordings of Mahler’s Symphony no. 8 and makes a recommendation


10.20am

MAHLER: Symphony No. 10
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Mark Wigglesworth (conductor)
ABC CLASSICS ABC4764336 (CD, mid-price)


Horizon 4
MAHLER / MATTHEWS: Nicht zu Schnell
VAN KEULEN: Funf tragische Lieder
GLANERT: Fluss ohne Ufer
JETHS: Scale 'le tombeau de Mahler'
ROUKENS: Out of control
SHCHEDRIN: Oboe Concerto
BERIO: Solo Ed Spanjaard
HINDSON: Chrissietina’s Magic Fantasy
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Lothar Zagrosek, Ed Spanjaard, Markus Stenz, Susanna Malkki (conductors); Detlef Roth (baritone); Alexei Ogrintchouk (oboe); Marijn Mijnders & Monica Naselow (violin); Jorgen van Rijen (trombone)
RCO LIVE RCO11001 (2CD, mid-price)


The Mahler Album
MAHLER: Adagietto from Symphony no. 5 in C#; Adagio from Symphony no. 10 (arr. for string orchestra by H. Stadlmair)
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet no. 11 in F minor op. 95 “Quartetto Serioso” (arr. for string orchestra Mahler)
Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Candida Thompson (artistic director)
CHANNEL CLASSICS CCSSA31511 (SACD)


10.50am New Releases
Iain Burnside joins Andrew to discuss recent releases of works by Mozart


MOZART: Piano Concerto No 6 in B flat major K238; Piano Concerto No 8 in C major ‘Lützow’ K246; Piano Concerto No 9 in E flat major ‘Jeunehomme’ K271
Angela Hewitt (piano), Orchestra da Camera di Mantova
HYPERION CDA67840 (CD)


Symphonies Vol. 3
MOZART: Symphony No. 9 in C Major K73; Symphony No. 10 in G major K74; Symphony No. 11 in D major K84; Symphony No. 44 in D major K81; Symphony No. 45 in D major K95; Symphony No. 47 in D major K97
Danish National Chamber Orchestra, Adam Fischer (conductor)
DACAPO 6220538 (SACD)


Piano Concertos Vol. 7
MOZART: Piano Concertos Nos. 5 & 27, Rondo K382
Cyprien Katsaris (piano), Salzburg Chamber Philharmonic, Yoon Kuk Lee (conductor)
PIANO 21 P21039 (CD)


MOZART: Clarinet Concerto in A major K622*; Clarinet Quintet in A major K581~
Haydn Philharmonic Orchestra, Sharon Kam (director)*
Sharon Kam (clarinet), Isabelle van Keulen & Ulrike-Anima Mathe (violins), Volker Jacobsen (viola), Gustav Rivinius (cello)~
BERLIN CLASSICS 0016672BC (CD)

MOZART: Six German Dances K571; Symphony No. 36 in C major K425 'Linz'; Piano Concerto No. 22 in E flat major K482; Masonic Funeral Music in C minor, K477
Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Alexander Lonquich (piano, director)
ORFEO C842111B (CD)


11.40 am Disc of the Week

Exultent superi – Motets Choisis
COUPERIN: Resonent organa a 3 et symphonies - Pro Sancta Cecilia (reconstruction by Edward Higginbottom); Tantum ergo sacramentum a 3; Ornate aras - Elevation a voix seule et Symphonie (reconstruction by Edward Higginbottom); Lauda Sion; O Domine quia refugium. Precatio ad Deum a 3; O misterium ineffabile – Elevation; Ad te levavi oculos meos a voix seule et symphonie (Psalm 122); Domine salvum fac Regem a 2; Exultent superi a 3 et symphonie (reconstruction by Edward Higginbottom);
Soloists of New College Oxford, Collegium Novum, Edward Higginbottom (conductor)
NOVUM NCR1384 (CD)

[fergus]

Thanks for that Seán.

[Seán]

I have to confess that I was very impressed by these recordings:

The Mahler Album
MAHLER: Adagietto from Symphony no. 5 in C#; Adagio from Symphony no. 10 (arr. for string orchestra by H. Stadlmair)
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet no. 11 in F minor op. 95 “Quartetto Serioso” (arr. for string orchestra Mahler)
Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Candida Thompson (artistic director)
CHANNEL CLASSICS CCSSA31511 (SACD)

[Ciaran]

I listened to BAL with interest: and was very glad that Julian Johnson was not a member of the great British Mahler stitch-up. I had been very concerned that the winner might be some obscure 1950s off-air recording of heroic British soloists triumphing over difficult circumstances. As it was he made the very sensible choice of Abbado (must listen to that again!). I was surprised that Solti, who, IIRC was the winner last time M8 was BAL'd, wasn't mentioned at all until the final round-up (and not excerpted at all), though he did get a respectful nod at that point.

Boulez was warmly praised: I like that recording a lot, so I was glad that it wasn't dismissed as Boulez's Mahler often is. I got the useful tip that Gergiev's M8 sounds stunning if you turn it up much louder than you usually would: must try that soon! Of the M8s I don't actually have, Michael Tilson-Thomas sounded the most interesting. Any performance of M8 is inevitably the reflection of a set of compromises (well that's true of any performance of anything, but in spades for M8) so I suppose I'll just have to get it to investigate MTT's priorities and compromises. Chailly's Leipzig DVD sounded very tempting too, but I'd need a DVD player with digital audio outs* (RCA or BNC) to be able to play it: a step too far even for M8?

* Recommendations, anyone?

[Diapason]

I have an Arcam DV79 sitting here minding its own business that you could borrow? Pretty sure it has RCA digital out.

[DaveF]

Cloney's have a few of the older Meridian DVD players. Cracking CD players they are too.

[Ciaran]

I have an Arcam DV79 sitting here minding its own business that you could borrow? Pretty sure it has RCA digital out.

Interesting!! And thank you! Maybe I will order that DVD!

What kind of digital output do you get from DVDs? I have the impression that it's 48 rather than 44.1, but what's the bit-depth and are higher sample rates possible?

Cloney's have a few of the older Meridian DVD players. Cracking CD players they are too.

Also interesting! I have toyed with the idea of using DVDs as an auxiliary digital audio source: there are some reputedly excellent DVDs of concerts. And them there's Blu-Ray, with possibly higher resolution sound?

[DaveF]

And them there's Blu-Ray, with possibly higher resolution sound?

Yip, Blu-Ray can give high resolution sound alright. You'd have to decide which route to take though for playback:

1. Get a blu-ray player with L/R analogue outputs. The ones with decent analogue outputs tend to be on the expensive side. But then you'd be using the players dacs and not your dCS dac.

2. Get a blu-ray player but send the digital audio over HDMI to a HD equiped receiver. These recievers tend to be geared for 7.1 movie sound and come with loads of other bells and whistles as well as video switching too. Audiolab though have stripped down HD receivers geared more towards audio, at least last time I looked.

I havent looked at this stuff in a while so things might have changed in the meantime.

btw, the only way to transmit a Blu-Ray HD soundtrack digitally is over HDMI. Unless you wanna downmix in the player and send it over SPDIF then which is probably pointless.

[Seán]

I have an Arcam DV79 sitting here minding its own business that you could borrow? Pretty sure it has RCA digital out.

I have a DV79, they are a very good machine.

[Ciaran]

2. Get a blu-ray player but send the digital audio over HDMI to a HD equipped receiver. These recievers tend to be geared for 7.1 movie sound and come with loads of other bells and whistles as well as video switching too. Audiolab though have stripped down HD receivers geared more towards audio, at least last time I looked.

And then the receiver could output high-rez digital to my DAC? (At the expense of having two new boxes!)

btw, the only way to transmit a Blu-Ray HD soundtrack digitally is over HDMI. Unless you wanna downmix in the player and send it over SPDIF then which is probably pointless.

I had the impression all right that Blu-Ray players could not output high-rez on SPDIF, which limits their interest for me!