October Reviews
We rate and review the very best new releases of CDs, DVDs and books so you know exactly what’s hot and what’s not…
DISC OF THE MONTH
Rachmaninov's The Miserly Knight
An opera in three scenes
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda
Chandos CHAN 10544
‘Musically, the piece is simply compelling: rollicking, heartfelt, characterful, agile, disciplined and highly evocative'
Opera and Vocal Editor's Choice
Bernstein - Mass
Jubilant Skyes (bar), Morgan State University Choir, Peabody Children's Chorus, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/Alsop
Naxos 8.559622-23
‘Jubilant Skyes background as a jazz singer shines through'
Orchestral Editor's Choice
Dvořák - Symphony No.7; The Golden Spinning Wheel
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Amsterdam/Yakov Kreizberg
Pentatone Classics PTC 5186 082
‘This Dutch Orchestra responds to the music's tunefulness with a verve that's close to authentically Czech'
Instrumental and Chamber Editor's Choice
Schumann/Brahms - Papillons, Op.2; Waldszenen Op.82/Klavierstücke Op.118
Dejan Lazić (piano)
Channel Classics CCS SA 27609
‘Dejan Lazić is a composer himself, and he embraces this repertoire as if from inside'
Great Artists on Disc
Giuseppe Di Stefano
The Opera Singer (EMI 206 0752); Neapolitan Songs (Naxos 8.111340); Giuseppe Di Stefano sings Verdi & Puccini (Nimbus Prima Voce NI 7957/8); Love Duets (Presier 93454); Donizetti L'Elisir d'amore (Decca Heritage Masters 478 1724); Aida (IDIS 6565/66).
‘Di Stefano possessed one of the most thrilling and edgily dangerous voices of the last century'
DVD Editor's Choice
Schoenberg: Pelleas and Melisande, Mahler: Symphony No.4
Juliane Banse (soprano), Mahler Youth Orchestra/ Claudio Abbado
Medici Arts 205 5488
‘Abbado gets some gorgeously passionate playing form his young orchestra'
Book Editor's Choice
Leonard Bernstein
The Political Life of an American Musician, by Barry Seldes
‘This fascinating book sheds new light on Leonard Bernstein's political beliefs and explores the impact they had on his music'
