Category: Classical
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Jean Sibelius: Symphony No2 in D Major, Finlandia, and Karelia Suite (live)
This CD (not for the first time, we’d guess) draws together the best-known tunes of Finnish composer Sibelius. It opens with Finlandia, composed as a protest against increasing censorship from the Russian Empire, then in control of Finland. The number of great pieces of music written about Press freedom must number in the low digits,…
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Roy Heaton Smith: Opening The Door
For the same reason we like new and interesting bands – even if flawed – we like the more fringe classical albums like this. It’s like those footy fans who only see non-league because they like the fact that it is people playing for playing’s sake. Heaton Smith is no longer around to enjoy its…
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Enrique Granados: Orchestral Works Vol. 2
Unlike the Portuguese album we reviewed recently, Enrique Granados Campiña, who died 100 years ago, was a Spanish pianist and composer whose music in places sounds very Spanish, its straightforward sound being immediately appealing. The CD opens with Intermezzo from his one-act opera Goyescas, apparently one of the best-loved pieces in Spanish music. It’s easy…
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Kenneth Hesketh: Horae (Pro Clara)
Pianist Clare Hammond performs music by British composer Kenneth Hesketh, the title track written for her. It comprises 17 short pieces in four works, the complete work Notte Oscura clocking in at seven minutes, the shortest track just under three. It’s just piano; the shortness of the tracks and the fact that it wanders in…
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Xia Guan: Symphony No2 Hope
We always find film soundtracks a bit naff — they seem to lack soul, partly because they’ve usually got to play in a film without overwhelming the plot, and partly because some sections are written to be in the background. This new CD by renowned Chinese composer Xia Guan is good because it sounds like…
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Dario Castello: Sonate Concertae 1629
We always seem to getting CDs of forgotten geniuses; this time its Dario Castello, whose music was published in 1621 and 1629 and was so groundbreaking it continued to be reprinted until 1658. Castello’s music was popular throughout the c17th and beyond, too. Unlike some of the CDs reviewed recently, this was not music composed…
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Bruno Borralhinho/Orquestra Gulbenkian: Portuguese Music for Cello and Orchestra
This is modern (ish) music and we weren’t sure what to expect but if you’re thinking clichéd traditional music, you’re in for a surprise. It’s all modern and traditional European. Opening piece Poema, by Luiz Costa (completed and orchestrated by Pedro Faria Gomes) sounds pastoral and English, the cello of Bruno Borralhinho playing under a…
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Kate Halsall: Miniaturised Concertos and Maché
In the paper, we lumped this together with John Metcalfe’s Appearance Of Colour because they seemed similar but they’re not really. Metcalfe’s album is soothe and calming and reflective of nature, Halsall is angular and unsettling, and more based in hardware. Like Metcalfe, Halsall, a pianist, mixes genres; the album stems from a project started…
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John Metcalfe: The Appearance Of Colour
We bought this after previewing a gig he was playing: he’s a violinist who was once a member of The Durutti Column, and has provided string arrangements for the likes of Morrissey, Blur and Bat For Lashes. He sounded interesting. You’ve got to listen closely to this, otherwise it drifts by. The music varies between…
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Lydia Kakabadse: Cantica Sacra
This album of sacred choral works for the 21st century is a delightful CD, with some surprises as far as its background goes: Lydia Kakabadse has her roots in Greece, Austria, Russia and Georgia, but was born in Southport and grew up in Altrincham. Clearly a compulsive over-achiever, she started composing at 13 and after…
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