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Fritz Wunderlich: The Legend
Fritz Wunderlich
Hannsler 2 CD Set 36.98
Fritz Wunderlich: The Legend—Arias, Opera & Operetta Scenes and Songs (PH08016) includes his earliest commercial recordings, most dating from the 1950s, when he was still in his early twenties. In addition to arias from such well-known operas as Cavalleria Rusticana, Madame Butterfly, La bohème, and Zaïde, the recordings feature a treasure-trove of rarely-performed operetta excerpts, including arias from Karl Millöcker’s Der Bettelstudent, Fred Raymond’s Maske in Blau, and Emmerich Kálmán’s Die Zirkusprinzessin. Also featured are selections from Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus and Franz Lehar’s Friederike, Der Zarewitsch, and Guiditta.
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St John Passion. Easter Oratorio
Andrew Parrott
Virgin 14.98
By putting together a program that is balanced with familiar hits as well as less frequently played but no less worthy pieces, Virgin Classics has produced a satisfying compilation in A Baroque Festival; by getting top-notch performances from the Taverner Players and the Taverner Consort, directed by Andrew Parrott, the label is able to present the music in the best period style. One is never bored with the performances because these brilliant musicians are quite fleet in their Allegros and forward moving in their Andantes, and there is nothing sluggish in their Adagios -- connoisseurs of Baroque music will note with pleasure that Parrott's pacing and the group's energy never flag, so the pieces are as crisp and lively as any authentic practice ensemble could play them.
~ All Music Guide
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Classic Film Scores: Alfred Newman
Naxos 9.98
For fans of the film music of Alfred Newman, this 2007 Naxos reissue of Marco Polo's 1996 recording of three of his scores will be very welcome. With the brief but evocative Suite from All About Eve, eight cues from the heroic Beau Geste, and 17 cues from the extravagant Hunchback of Notre Dame, three sides of Newman's many-sided musical personality are revealed. There's the sophisticated, slinky, and sincere in All About Eve; the funny, affectionate, and courageous in Beau Geste; and the sensual, spiritual, and spectacular in The Hunchback. As usual in the Marco Polo/Naxos series of film music classics, the performances by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and Choir are professional, the conducting by William Stromberg is passionate, and the liner notes by Bill Whitaker are extensive and interesting. If you have heard Newman's brilliant score for Wuthering Heights and wanted to know what else he has done, this is the disc to hear.
James Leonard, All Music Guide
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The Magic of Lang Lang
Lang Lang
Deutsche Grammophon 16.98
Chinese piano sensation Lang Lang collects his finest recorded moments on The Magic of Lang Lang, offering dynamic renditions of classical favorites by Liszt, Schumann, Chopin, and others, alongside lyrical Chinese folksong arrangements and, as a special album-closing treat, a duet with chart-topping tenor Andrea Bocelli.
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The Plow that Broke the Plains
Virgil Thompson
Naxos 9.98
The few recordings of Virgil Thomson's scores for The Plow that Broke the Plains have all been quite fine in different ways. Of them, Leopold Stokowski's 1960 effort with the Symphony of the Air -- a brilliant and vivacious recording on Vanguard Classics -- has been the one to beat. Here, Angel Gil-Ordóñez offers an effort that gives Stokowski a run for his money. There's a delightful swing in the Washington-based Post-Classical Ensemble's rhythms, and a sweet tone in their solos. Gil-Ordóñez's deft balancing of colors and, most importantly, sensitivity to Thomson's populist manner makes a strong case for the music. Naxos provides clearer, warmer, and deeper sound than any of the digital competition in this repertoire.
~ James Leonard, All Music Guide
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A Lasting Inspiration
Jacqueline du Pré
EMI 2 CDs 21.98
Her story is one of the most legendary of all twentieth century musicians' stories, and also, sadly, one of the most tragic. Cellist Jacqueline Du Pré, born on January 26, 1945 blossomed young and achieved international fame in a few short years during the mid-1960s, during which same time she joined Daniel Barenboim in one of history's most celebrated musical marriages. But her career was shattered in the early 1970s -- not even a decade into its maturity -- by multiple sclerosis. Jacqueline Du Pré's physical gift for her instrument was prodigious; but it was her sheer joy in music making that endeared her to the world's audiences. The scintillating, rapturous tone she produced was positively intoxicating, and remains so today through recordings. Her renditions of the Elgar and Dvorák concertos, and of the Schumann concerto, are especially beloved.
~ Blair Johnston, All Music Guide
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La Boheme