ebruary 2012

Informed by our unrivalled panel of critics, we choose the month’s must-hear recordings hoice

SCHUBERT Piano Sonatas – D840, D850, D894. Four Impromptus, D899. Drei Klavierstücke, D946 Paul Lewis pf Harmonia Mundi HCM90 2115/16

Recording of the Month ‘Every now and again a recording comes along that makes you want to dance in the street, handing out copies to complete strangers. This is one of those instances’

FOR THE REVIEW BY HARRIET SMITH, TURN TO PAGE 48

Hear every Gramophone Choice recording, including Recording of the Month, through the online Gramophone Player at gramophone.co.uk

BRIAN Symphony No 1, ‘Gothic’ Soloists; Choruses; BBC NOW, BBC Concert Orchestra / Brabbins Hyperion CDA67971/2 ‘In a sense, Hyperion’s release is a perfect one, of a great event, a magisterial work and an encapsulation of the enormous difficulties of the project as a whole.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 52

KORNGOLD. TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concertos Laurent Korcia vn Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Kantorow Naive V5280 ‘In the poetic slow movement, they create a cinematic dreamworld of flickering light that is little short of spellbinding’

REVIEW ON PAGE 55

4 GRAMOPHONE FEBRUARY 2012

‘SERAPH’ Trumpet Concertos Balsom tpt Scottish Ensemble, BBC Scottish SO / Renes EMI 678590 2 ‘Balsom takes MacMillan’s not inconsiderable demands in her stride, with the Scottish Ensemble unstinting in its support.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 59

MOZART Divertimento, K334, etc Soloists; Scottish Chamber Orchestra / Janiczek Linn CKD376 ‘On oboe, Williams adds his own voice, his tone plangent yet faceted, his phrasing shaped…The slow movement is most emotive. You’re unlikely to regret buying this exquisite disc.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 62

SCHNITTKE String Quartets Quatuor Molinari ATMA Classique ACD2 2634 ‘The physical violence of the Molinaris’ attack sorts the men from the boys. And they also deliver the most persuasive account I’ve heard of the First Quartet.’

REVIEW ON PAGE 62

gramophone.co.uk