Britten: Violin concerto

Benjamin Britten & William Walton: Violin concertos - Ida Haendel, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Berglund

Britten's concerto is performed with fervour, daring and extraordinary technique. This recording from 1977 deserves a place in every music collection.

EMI 764202 2

Szymanowski: Piano works

Szymanowski: Piano works and works for violin and piano - Mikhail Rudy, Ulf Hoelscher and Michel Beroff

The piano music by Szymanowski is not well known but highly enjoyable. For an integral edition, the recordings by Sinae Lee are recommended. The recording by Mikhail Rudy on the first CD of the present 2-CD edition covers only about half of his piano works, but the performance is much superior to Sinae Lee's. The second CD in the edition, with works for violin and piano, played by Ulf Hoelscher and Michel Beroff, is less successful. E.g. for the Mythes Op. 30, the recording by David Grimal and Georges Pludermacher (see below) is to be preferred. But on the whole, this budget edition is an excellent opportunity to become familiar with Szymanowski's magical music.

EMI 476924 2

Enesco: Violin sonata no. 3

Leoš Janáček, Karol Szymanowski, Béla Bartók, Georges Enesco: Works for violin and piano - David Grimal and Georges Pludermacher

All of the works on this CD are gems that deserve to be much better known. What swept me off my feet was the third violin sonata by Georges Enesco from 1926. The performance fabulously captures the spirit of folk music from central Europe.

Ambroisie AM 163

Bowen: 24 Preludes

York Bowen: Sonata no. 6, 24 Preludes op. 102 - Joop Celis

York Bowen (1884 - 1961) is known among a select group of master pianists, but he is almost totally neglected by main-stream classical audiences, which is a shame as there is so much to be admired in his romantic, yet original, idiom, which is full of warmth and dazzling virtuosity. The most remarkable work on this CD is the 24 Preludes, which deserves to be mentioned next to the cycles by Chopin, Alkan, Rachmaninov and Shostakovich.

Also Volume 2 in the Chandos series, which almost entirely consists of premiere recordings, can be highly recommended, I've seen mention of a Volume 3 as well, but I haven't been able to find it in the UK yet.

Chandos CHAN 10277

Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated

Frederic Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated - Ralph van Raat

This is the most exciting new CD I've heard in a long time. The main work comprises 36 variations on El pueblo unido jamás será vencido by Chilean composer Sergio Ortega. The cycle was composed by Rzewski in 1975, as a tribute to the Chilean people suffering under the military regime, after the US-backed coup in 1973. Irrespective of political connotations, the work is exhilarating, passionate, poetic, ingenious, laden with pianistic virtuosity, and spanning an enormous range of musical expression. The performance by master pianist Ralph van Raat is terrific.

Naxos 8.559360

Jacob TV: Shining city

Jacob ter Veldhuis (Jacob TV): Shining city

This is the second in a series of three boxes with Ter Veldhuis' music, each containing two CDs. The first two boxes also each contain a bonus DVD (which seems to be Region 0; in other words playable in all regions). While listening to the wealth of different pieces I went through a rare and wonderful experience of having to completely recalibrate the way I perceive sound and music. The pieces all consist of a collage made out of existing audio material, accompanied by various acoustic instruments, which play a mostly tonal part. What I found striking is how powerful the sounds from the collage are (e.g. snippets from a television commercial, a baby coughing, shouts from an 'evangelist' on Times Square, etc.) and how well these sounds blend together with the acoustic instruments. Highlights for me were the exhilarating The Body of Your Dreams, the raw Grab It! and the very moving May This Bliss Never End, a tribute to Chet Baker.

Basta 3091742

Messiaen: Préludes pour piano

Olivier Messiaen Edition Vol. 1 (17 CDs) - Willem Tanke, Peter Hill, Ingrid Kappelle, Håkon Austbø

Once again, Brilliant Classics defies the laws of market economy, by the release of this super-budget edition, with Messiaen's complete works for organ, his complete works for piano, and his complete songs, repertoire that usually wouldn't appeal to main-stream audiences.

One discovery for me that swept me completely off my feet was the Préludes pour piano, composed when Messiaen was only 20. The idiom is reminiscent of Debussy, but at the same time these eight preludes are unmistakably the work of an independent musical genius. Peter Hill's performance is first-rate.

Brilliant Classics 8949

Rautavaara: Cantus Arcticus

Einojuhani Rautavaara: Cantus Arcticus, Piano Concerto No. 1, Symphony No.3 - Laura Mikkola, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Hannu Lintu

Thanks to the Naxos series, Finnish composer Rautavaara (b. 1928) may finally receive the recognition he deserves. Cantus Arcticus combines bird sounds with a symphony orchestra, perhaps with more romanticism and less modernism than we would find with say Messiaen, but still very original and touching. Also the Piano Concerto No. 1 is exhilarating and illustrative of Rautavaara's personal style.

Naxos 8.554147