This month’s selection takes in happy music, landscapes, strings and wordplay
Bacewicz
Music for String Orchestra Primuz Chamber Orchestra/Łukasz Błaszczyk DUX DUX1793 The Concerto for String Orchestra showcases Bacewicz’s rhythmic vigour; the Symphony for Strings dripfeeds out the tension. Surprises are everywhere: Poland’s Primuz Chamber Orchestra is alive to all of them. (SW) ★★★★
Britten • Bruch Violin Concertos Kerson Leong (violin); Philharmonia Orchestra/Patrick Hahn Alpha Classics ALPHA946 Leong plays with a penetrating tone that suits the Britten well, his intense vibrato adding to its anxious energy. In Bruch’s In Memoriam, he relaxes into the work’s warmer expansiveness, and the Finale of the Bruch Concerto is great fun. (CS) ★★★★
Nigel Clarke Symphony for Violin and Orchestra Peter Sheppard Skærved (violin); ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Neil Thomson Naxos 8.579127 Clarke’s The Prophecies of Merlin is based on the writings of 12th-century cleric Geoffrey of Monmouth. With its themes of madness and apocalypse, it’s an ominous and violent work in which Skærved’s fleet-footed violin defies the growling mass of orchestral voices. (CS) ★★★★
Erland Cooper Folded Landscapes Scottish Ensemble et al Mercury KX 5543347 Erland Cooper is never one to do things by halves. This project, recorded in extremes of temperature, is a disarmingly beautiful love letter to the planet and a wake up call for action, with poetry, gorgeous swathes of strings and field recordings (wildfires, breaking ice). It’s all thrillingly affective. (MB) ★★★★★
Franck • Strohl Cello Sonata etc Sandra Lied Haga (cello), Katya Apekisheva (piano) Simax PSC1377 Strohl’s little-known sonata and the familiar Franck are a good match, as both fit the same stylistic mould. The Strohl is an attractive work, enhanced by Haga’s bright, airy tone – though occasionally her wide vibrato hinders the integrity of line. (CS) ★★★
Frank Horvat A Village of Landscapes Sebastien Malette (bassoon), Allison Wiebe (piano) I Am Records LTLP17 I’ve been rather taken with this portrait of the Canadian landscape, based on 13 photos by Michelle Valberg. Horvat explores each varied vista, bringing out their individual characters while at the same time showcasing the bassoon’s own many faces – from bright and bubbly to plaintive and soulful. (MB) ★★★★
Khachaturian Symphony No. 3; Gayaneh Suite No. 3 Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie/ Frank Beermann CPO 777973-2 A glorious mix of sweeping orientalism and unfettered orchestral bish bash bosh, Khachaturian’s Third makes up in sheer enthusiasm what it lacks in subtlety. It is
