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ROSSINI: Torvaldo e Dorliska. Huw Rhys-Evans (Torvaldo), Paolo Cigna Castellano (Dorliska), Mauro Utzeri (Giorgio), Michele Bianchini (Duca d'Ordow), Giovanni Bellavia (Ormondo), Anna-Rita Gemmabella (Carlotta), ARS Brunensis Chamber Choir, Czech Chamber Soloists, Brno, Alessandro de Marchi (conductor/ harpsichord). Naxos 8.660189-90 (2 CDs). (141' 07").

Without knowing the opera's story you would think Torvaldo e Dorliska was another of Rossini's comedies as the music bubbles happily along, the first act ending akin to the Barber of Seville. In reality it is a very serious libretto with parallels to Beethoven’s Fidelio in the desperate plight of the wife, Dorliska, trying to find news of her husband's possible death after she escaped their ambush at the hands of the wicked Duke who wants her for himself. With the help of his servant everything ends in triumph with the hated Duke captured and led away to his fate. It proved a failure at its first performance, the twenty-three year old Rossini later trying to rescue it by making extensive cuts to form a one-act score. Both quickly dropped into oblivion, this performance taken from the 'Rossini in Wildbad Festival' being an extremely rare outing. Never one to waste good material, Rossini was to use themes in his later operas, and you will recognise part of the overture as resurfacing in La Cenerentola.

He wrote the part of Dorliska for a soprano of acrobatic capabilities, Paolo Cigna Castellano seemingly more than happy when she can enjoy these excursions into the upper stratospheres. Her second act aria Ferma, constane, immobile is a fine piece of technical brilliance, her whole performance gaining assurance as the work progresses. It is a foil to the Welsh-born tenor Huw Rhys-Evans as Torvaldo, his charming light voice more at home in lyrical passages. The highly regarded bass, Michele Bianchini, warms up in the Duke's opening aria, and from therein does his best to sound a villain in spite of Rossini's music. The remaining roles are happily taken, with the Czech orchestra providing a neat backdrop. Regular followers of this Naxos series from Wildbad will recognise the tight theatre acoustic, with the balance favouring the singers. Stage noises are not obtrusive, its 'live' credentials evidenced by the frequent applause. Doubting that the opera is about to have a glut of recordings, do explore this one.

COPLAND: Rodeo - Four Dance Episodes. The Red Pony – Film Music (Suite). Prairie Journal. Letter from Home. Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta (conductor). Naxos 8.559240. (59.55"). 

Though we instinctively think of Aaron Copland as America's most popular classical composer, that reputation has been created by a very small number of works, the ballet Rodeo and the suite from the film score, The Red Pony, being among the most frequently recorded. Both date from the 1940's, a period when Copland was using a folk idiom to establish his national credentials. Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo found a ready place on the concert stage as a demonstration of orchestral brilliance. JoAnn Falletta opts to take it back into the theatre, tempos ideal for dancing, with the temperature just a little lower than we find elsewhere. This mood carries over into The Red Pony, a lyrical approach fashioned from subtle colours. Naxos spice the disc with two rarities, Prairie Journal, probably better known as Music for Radio, coming from 1937 and is a quite substantial piece full of Americana. The orchestral playing is very good, with crisp percussion and plenty of brilliance in the brass department. Buffalo's recording venue has not inspired me in the past, but here there is more air around the sound leading to a dramatic and dynamic orchestral presence.

ELGAR: Froissart Overture, Op. 19. May Song. Carissima. Romance for Bassoon and Orchestra, Op. 62. Three Characteristic Pieces Op. 10. Minuet, Op. 21. Chanson de Matin, Op. 15, No. 2. Chanson de Nuit, Op. 15, No. 1. Three Bavarian Dances. Preman Tilson (bassoon), New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Judd (conductor). Naxos 8.557577. (64' 04"). 

I don't know who thought up the title 'Orchestral Miniatures' for this Elgar disc, but they were oblivious to the fact that the opening track is Froissart, a major score lasting well nigh a quarter of an hour. Probably the same person had the brilliant idea of slipping the Minuet into the midst of Three Characteristic Pieces and placing the two Chansons in reverse order. But nothing could detract from a really super release, James Judd adding to the folly of the title by giving each piece considerable weight. It would seem strange today to recall that many people came to know Elgar through the two delightful Chansons that each fitted happily on one side of a 78 disc. Indeed Elgar became a master of salon pieces, though May Song and Carissima are relatively unknown, and only through recordings has the little Romance for bassoon and orchestra found a new existence. Beautifully played by Preman Tilson, his silky smooth quality being far removed from the woody sound Elgar would have received from a London musician. I particularly enjoy the Three Bavarian Dances, a work I played countless times in my youth but now slipping out of fashion. The New Zealand Symphony perform the works to the manner born, the wealth of inner detail as much their achievement as the excellent recording team. So enjoy another absolutely invaluable Elgar release.

SCHOENBERG: Moses und Aron. Wolfgang Schone (Moses), Chris Merritt (Aron),

Karl-Friedrich Dyrr (Priest), Irena Bespalovaite (Young Girl), Bernhard Schneider (Young Man), Michael Ebbecke (Another Man / Ephraimite), Ulrich Frisch, Saa Vrabac, Stephan Storck (Elders), Emma Curtis (Invalid Woman/Naked Virgin),

Irena Bespalovaite, Helga Indridadttir, Naomi Ishizu (Naked Virgins), Alois Riedel (A Naked Youth), Stuttgart State Orchestra, Stuttgart State Opera Chorus, Polish Radio Choir, Krakow, Stuttgart State Opera Children’s Chorus, Roland Kluttig (conductor). Naxos 8.660158-59. (2CDs). (112' 49"). 

By the time Schoenberg began work on Moses und Aron he had come to terms with the fact that he would be a displaced person, the rise of anti-Semitism driving him from his home in Berlin, and eventually finding refuge in America. In the score he embedded a statement of his faith, though he was never to write the third act and sadly did not live to hear the work performed. Though his early music continued in the full flood of the late-Romantic era where his mentor, Alexander von Zemlinsky, had left off, his compositions became increasingly estranged from normal tonality. By the time of Moses und Aron he was totally dedicated to atonalism, and though the opera has been universally admired as a superb example of its genre, it continues to be as demanding on the listener as the performer. Yet in recent years, with improved technical capability of singers and orchestras, many find the score less forbidding, and it has begun to creep into the repertoire, a point reinforced by this budget price recording. There is much beauty and eloquence to uncover in the work if you look for it, and Roland Kluttig has found most. The performance comes 'live' from Stuttgart Opera, extraneous noises being at a minimum. Vocally the score makes tremendous demands on Aron, both in terms of stamina and dramatic intensity, Chris Merritt displaying them in ample proportions, his wide vibrato a matter of taste. There are many cameo roles, Irena Bespalovaite making a very favourable impression as the Young Girl, though it is the choral part that carries a large section of the score, the security and fervour displayed here being a real tour de force. Intonation is more than acceptable, the harmonically challenging passages sung with total conviction. The Stuttgart orchestra - that is showing its quality in Naxos's new release of Wagner's Ring cycle - is again highly convincing, Roland Kluttig, obtaining an unusual amount of inner detail. For me the release has been an antidote to the Pierre Boulez recording which was in every way technically superb, but seemed to revel in the composer's atonality, where Stuttgart offer an entry point for tonality traditionalists. The sound has that tight acoustic of the opera house, but packs plenty of dynamic punch.

SHOSTAKOVICH: The Fall of Berlin, Op. 82. The Unforgettable Year 1919 - Suite, Op. 89a. Moscow Capella and Youth Chorus, Ellena Alekseyeva (piano), Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Adriano (conductor). Naxos 8.570238. (75' 30"). 

Naxos has not joined the deluge of new releases marking the centenary of Shostakovich's birth, though this reissue from the Marco Polo label offers two premiere recordings of major film scores fashioned into concert works by the composer's friend, Levon Atovmyan. The Fall of Berlin was an epic of the silver screen, its expanse requiring two parts to glorify the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, before moving into the Russian triumph of defeating Hitler in the Second World War. A love story is added for good measure, though it is the hectic atmosphere of battle that produces the most potent aspects of the score. Here Shostakovich returned in mood to Prokofiev and the famous Battle on the Ice from Alexander Nevsky, repeated rhythms screwing up the tension. Adriano has edited Atovmyan's score for this recording, parts of the original film music that the concert suite omitted having now been restored. You move to a different musical world for The Unforgettable Year 1919. The story relates the Communist triumph in the decisive Petrograd uprising, and was the last film made to glorify Stalin. Again it had a love story running through it, and curiously a 'piano concerto' much in the style of Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto. But whereas The Fall of Berlin has Shostakovich's fingerprints all over the score, this is mainly pastiche and shows a composer who could produce any amount of popular music. For the first time on disc we have the complete suite made by Atovmyan, the five musical sections dominated by the seven minute 'concerto'. The performances are uniformly outstanding with the Moscow Symphony providing all the drama and bombast required. The recording carries the wide dynamic range with commendable impact.

SARASATE: Danza Espanola: Malaguena, Op. 21 No.1; Habanera, Op. 21 No.2; Romanza Andaluza, Op. 22 No.1; Jota Navarra, Op. 22 No. 2; Playera, Op. 23 No.1; Zapateado, Op. 23, No. 2; Vito, Op. 26, No. 1; Habanera, Op. 26, No. 2. Capricho Vasco (Basque Caprice), Op. 24. Serenata Andaluza, Op. 28. Jota Aragonesa, Op. 27. Balada, Op. 31. Tianwa Yang (violin), Markus Hadulla, (piano). Naxos 8.557767. (68' 03"). 

In performing the music of the great 19th century violinist, Pablo Sarasate, too many of today's virtuoso performers forget contemporary descriptions of his unfailingly beautiful tone, unsurpassed for its sweetness and purity, a quality brought about by the lightness of his bowing. That description of his playing has obviously not gone unnoticed by Tianwa Yang, whose unforced silvery tone toys delightfully with the music, often at gossamer lightness. Many major works were composed for Sarasate, and he made every effort to obtain a repertoire place for them, though his own output can be described as 'confectionery'. Principally they were to display his formidable technique and outside the technical scope of his rivals on the touring circuit. Just about every 'trick' in the violinist's vocabulary is on display, left-hand pizzicatos dispatched at hair-raising speed, harmonics ringing like bells, with Yang taking the conclusion of the Jota Aragonesa at death-defying speed. Above all you can enjoy Yang's brilliance without any sense of strain in his playing, intonation squeaky clean. Above all you notice quiet passages are really pianissimo. Markus Hadulla follows every subtle change in pulse, and adds all brio necessary. Described as 'Volume 1', I hope the remainder of the series is given to this duo and their admirable recording team.

RACHMANINOV: Aleko - excerpts. The Miserly Knight - excerpts. Francesca da Rimini - excerpts. Mariana Zvetkova (soprano), Andreana Nikolova (mezzo), Boiko Zvetanov (tenor), Niko Isakov (baritone), Alexander Tekeliev (bass-baritone), Peter Naydenov (bass), Plamen Beykov (bass), Sofia National Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Nayden Todorov (conductor). Naxos 8.557817. (75' 56").

Rachmaninov could have become a major opera composer following on where Puccini left off. He chose not to, but did leave us with three engaging one-act operas, Aleko being an audacious student piece completed when he was 19, with The Miserly Knight and Francesca da Rimini coming thirteen years later after time spent conducting at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Though he lavished some of his finest music on the scores, they were ultimately to follow almost every one-act opera into obscurity. This disc offers substantial excerpts from all three, so extended in the case of Aleko that some may feel it should have been completed at the expense of The Miserly Knight extracts, probably the weakest of the three operas. For my part I wish it had been Francesca da Rimini that had been given that status, for it is a most sadly neglected score that works well on the stage. Erotic in the explicit feelings of forbidden love, it is a wonderfully dramatic piece and here very well performed by Mariana Zvetkova and the heroic tenor of Boiko Zvetanov. I just wish Naxos would take them back into the studio to complete the work. The solo singers all come from Sofia National Opera, and have authenticity and Slavonic vibrato in equal measures, with their orchestra offering a colourful backdrop. Singers are well to the fore in a typically East European production.  

SCHUBERT: Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat major, D. 929, Op. 100. Sonatensatz in B flat major, D. 28. Kungsbacka Piano Trio. Naxos 8.555700. (61' 29"). 

Since their success in the Melbourne Chamber Music Competition, the Kungsbacka Piano Trio has been carving a major international career from their UK base. They have now been invited to replace an early jewel in the Naxos catalogue, a recording I dearly love from the Stuttgart Piano Trio. So has the change been beneficial? Well in many ways the answer would be 'yes', though I don't think Kungsbacka match the German's outward display of old-fashioned affection. Their approach is much more of our time, very literal, with technique of impeccable quality and dynamic shading passing through a myriad of small changes. Thankfully avoiding those explosive readings of the third movement now much in vogue, the piano of Simon Crawford Phillips is utterly precise in filigree passages that ripple like sparkling water, while he keeps the march-like rhythm in the opening of the second movement metrically precise. The deciding factor in favour of this issue comes in the finale, where the Kungsbacka have - as is now the fashion - gone back to Schubert's original score which extends its length to balance the opening movement. Completing the disc is the youthful one movement trio where signs of the great works to come are already evident. Though I find the piano too forward for my taste, there is admirable detail.

BEETHOVEN (arr. LISZT): Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92. Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93. Konstantin Scherbakov (piano). Naxos 8.557856. (63' 44"). 

I am always surprised to find these arrangements listed as works by Liszt, for it is to the eternal credit of the great pianist that he attempted nothing other than a straight transcription from the orchestral score. He was in every way faithful to Beethoven's concept and, though often challenging, the talented amateur could find their way through them, Liszt wanting nothing other than a wider appreciation of Beethoven. When there are technical challenges Konstantin Scherbakov revels in his own virtuosity, the scherzo of the Seventh projected with considerable power. He does sound a little impatient with the simplicity at the opening of the slow movement, and pushes forward as soon as the dynamic increases. Even in this movement you feel he has taken to heart the work's description as the apotheosis of the dance, the finale taken jauntily in its many dance guises. The Eighth is a much less dramatic score, though here Scherbakov adds to the impact with tempi - particularly in the finale - that an orchestral performance would not risk. He is a brilliant technician thriving on such outgoing showmanship, scorching through the work's final bars. The sound quality is all you could wish for.

PONCE:  Sonata III. CLERCH: Preludios de Primavera: Homenaje a Francisco Tarrega. MARTIN: Quatre pieces breves pour la guitar. KRENEK: Suite, Op.164. TARREGA: Fantasia on themes from Verdi's La Traviata. Marieta!: Mazurka. Maria: Gavota. KHACHATURIAN: Prelude for Guitar. Michalis Kontaxakis (guitar). Naxos 8.570191. (58' 01"). 

In 2005 Michalis Kontaxakis became the first Greek winner of the Tarrega International Guitar Competition, an award resulting in this highly desirable recording. He has chosen a very adventurous programme, including the first recorded performance of Preludios de Primavera by the Cuban-born Joaquin Clerch, Kontaxakis's mentor at the Robert Schumann University in Dusseldorf. It also links with the competition success, the score being composed in homage to Tarrega. Purely tonal in concept, it mainly explores the lyric and subtle shades of the instrument to produce a readily attractive piece. I confess that I am not an admirer of Frank Martin who seemed to spend his life never quite sure whether he wanted tonal popularity or atonal notoriety. These four pieces seem to meander in an uneventful way without anything to lodge in my memory. On the other hand Ernst Krenek knew exactly where he was going in his unadorned serialism. After a few minutes exposure you may well be pleased to reach the safety of Tarrega's naughty look at popular moments from Verdi's La Traviata, an absolute charmer, but I wish the disc had ended with something of importance. Kontaxakis's technique is exemplary, his right hand so clear that nothing is smudged though there is unnecessary noise as fingers move around the instrument. As one has come to expect from this Canadian recording location, the sound is fabulous.

SCHUMANN (arr. BRAHMS): Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op. 47.  JOACHIM (arr. BRAHMS): Hamlet Overture, Op. 4. SCHUBERT (arr. BRAHMS): Landler, D.366 and D.814, Nos. 1-20. Silke-Thora Matthies, Christian Kohn (piano duo). Naxos 8.555848. (61' 16"). 

However much good taste and affection you lavish on the arrangement, Brahms so changing the whole concept of Schumann's Piano Quartet as to take away all that was intended. It is the wonderful juxtaposition of the tonal difference between piano and strings that makes this score so very special and beautiful. Now it sounds like a typically heavyweight Brahms composition. 'Whatever is the man talking about?', I hear reverberating among my piano loving friends, 'it's just typical of a string player'. Maybe, but on this one I feel strongly, despite the superb playing of this remarkable partnership. It is very different when we come to the Hamlet Overture, the piano duo arrangements essential in taking such music in the 19th century to areas where no orchestra existed. In any case we are here discussing original music on a very different level of accomplishment, Brahms doing his best to help popularise the music of his great violin colleague who had helped with his Violin Concerto. Schubert's dances sound charming, and those who have followed this series will know just how fabulous this duo are both technically and musically.

BARTOK: Mikrokosmos (complete), Jeno Jando (piano), Tamara Takacs (mezzo),  Balazs Szokolay (piano). Naxos 8.557821-22. (2CDs). (147' 37"). 

Regular readers of this column will recall that I hold Jeno Jando as today's outstanding performer of the piano music of Bela Bartok. Here he has the daunting task of creating interest in a series of 153 pieces divided into six books intended to take you progressively from the first efforts of a raw beginner through to the standard of a talented amateur. At the same time we move from brief snatches to short works of thematic interest. Each is headed by the name of the task to be achieved or by a descriptive title, Bartok introducing folk elements with modern harmonies to add interest. By the time we reach the second book there are pieces where student and teacher can play together to offer encouragement. The end of the third book presents some quite tricky rhythms, the fourth looking for poetic playing and marking a major shift in Bartok's development towards atonality. By the time the sixth book reaches its conclusion the student will have become an accomplished pianist. Throughout Jando is excellent, never trying to add to the printed page but revelling in the later pieces. Tamara Takacs adds a novelty by singing some of the folk melodies.

GIBBONS: Hymns and Songs of the Church. Tonus Peregrinus, Antony Pitts (conductor). Naxos 8.557681. (71' 42").

Orlando Gibbons became a chorister and student at King's College, Cambridge at the age of 13, taking a position in the Chapel Royal on his graduation in 1603. Twenty years later he was appointed as organist at Westminster Abbey, and that same year saw the first book in a collection called Hymns and Songs of the Church, part of an extensive vocal output that dominates his catalogue of works.  Here, specially realised by Antony Pitts and Alexander L’Estrange, we have the complete collection interleaved with new English hymns, the whole shaped into eight sequences for the Church’s liturgical year. If that sounds much of the same spread over the 42 tracks, you will find the disc pleasingly varied. I expected a vocal sound so totally artless as to take me back to the world of early sacred music. In the event the Gibbons sound very modern with plenty of vibrato in the voices, with an organ having that comforting 19th century sound that could well serve the Germanic repertoire of that period. Maybe you will find the modern settings obtrude from the work as a whole, but just sit back and let Tonus Peregrinus seduce your ears with their immaculate brand of singing, the solo items exact in intonation and lovingly shaped. A warm recorded sound is totally in keeping with Antony Pitts approach.

ROSLAVETS: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1, 4 and 6. Three Dances: Walzer; Nocturne and Mazurka. Solomia Soroka (violin), Arthur Greene (piano). Naxos 8.557903. (69' 37"). 

Born in the Ukraine in 1881, and originally a largely self-taught violinist, Nikolai Roslavets eventually graduated from the Moscow Conservatory, his early career being dominated by a desire to formulate a new approach to composition. Going through many changes of style, at one time embraced atonality, he was to progress to a leading figure in the administration of Contemporary music in Russian. That eventually found him at odds with Socialist artistic dogma, his name disappearing from Soviet concert programmes from the 1930s onwards. His unpublished output continued and contained a number of violin sonatas written through much of his life. Kindly the disc enters his world with the Sixth, by which time he had returned to tonality, Scriabin and French Impressionists colouring a score of long flowing poetic material. Written in three movements, it is totally different to the Fourth from 1924, a curious atonal hybrid that mixes Schoenberg with Scriabin, the sections creating many different moods. Ten years earlier he had completed the First just after graduating, by which time he was a devout atonalist, and even now this idiom sounds violently modern, the violin and piano often very divergent. My pre-release information makes no claim to originality, but I cannot find a prior recording, and after hearing Solomia Soroka engaging in the challenging intonation, I guess few will want to take the task. The disc ends with three dances composed in 1923, each hardly recognisable under their dance titles. Apart from a note apparently chopped in half in the Waltz, the recording is reliable and gives an equitable balance between instruments.

BRUBECK: Nocturnes: Blue Lake Tahoe; Looking At A Rainbow; Nostalgia de Mexico; Strange Meadowlark; Recuerdo; Softly, William, Softly; Study in Fourths; Chorale; Upstage Rhumba; Bluette; Quiet As The Moon; Lost Waltz; The Desert and the Parched Land; Five for ten small fingers; Soaring; Lullaby; Home without Iola; A girl named Oli; Joshua Redman; Audrey; Memories of a Viennese Park; Koto Song; Mr. Fats; A Misty Morning; I See, Satie; Going to Sleep. John Salmon (piano). Naxos 8.559301. (55' 21"). 

Dave Brubeck, famous jazz pianist and multi-talented musician whose student days were spent as a compositional pupil of Milhaud and Schoenberg, has, among his sizeable output of music, a number of short piano pieces he describes as Nocturnes.  In content they range from jazz oriented cameos to light music pieces in descent from classical composers of the Grieg era. A few maybe akin to late night doodling, but all fall pleasantly on our ears, the pieces well within the scope of a modest amateur pianist. They usually tell a story, though some of the humour seems to be between the composer and the intended recipient. John Salmon plays with an ingenuous style that offers the pieces as they are and without adornment, which is equally the character of the sound.

BARBER:  A Stopwatch and an Ordnance Map, Op. 15. Under the Willow Tree (from Vanessa). Twelfth Night, Op. 42, No. 1. To be sung on the water, Op. 42, No. 2. The Monk and his Cat (from Hermit Songs, Op. 29, No. 8). Agnus Dei (Adagio for Strings, Op. 11). Reincarnations, Op. 16. The Virgin Martyrs, Op. 8, No. 1. Let Down the Bars, O Death, Op. 8, No. 2. Heaven-haven, Op. 13, No. 1. Sure on this shining night, Op. 13, No. 3. Chorale for Ascension Day (Easter Chorale). Two choruses from Antony and Cleopatra, Op. 40. God’s Grandeur. Choir of Ormond College, University of Melbourne, Douglas Lawrence (conductor). Naxos 8.559053. (60' 09"). 

Continuing Naxos's invaluable series of music by Samuel Barber, we come to his seldom-heard choral works. Born in Pennsylvania, in 1910, he was from the age of six to display prodigious musical gifts, and seven years later was accepted into the newly established Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. As a composer he was first acknowledged in 1933 with the premiere of his Overture to The School for Scandal, and he was to write in every genre including three operas, Vanessa, A Hand of Bridge, and Antony and Cleopatra. Here I think we have his complete choral output enlarged by music from two of those operas and an adaptation of the famous Adagio for Strings. All are tonal, generally intended to please, and at times rhythmically tricky to retain our attention. Most are short, God’s Grandeur, being his most extended and complex setting for unaccompanied voices. The young people from Melbourne sing with enthusiasm, the two excerpts from Antony and Cleopatra stretching their resources with today's choral problem of insufficient male voices of quality. There is a strange change of acoustic after track 10, but that apart the sound quality is reliable.

ORFF (arr. KRANCE): Carmina Burana - Suite. BIRD (ed. SCHULLER): Serenade for Wind Instruments, Op. 40. REED: La Fiesta Mexicana. The Peabody Conservatory Wind Ensemble, Harlan D. Parker (conductor). Naxos 8.570242. (74' 15"). 

Part of Orff's famous choral score here presented without singers, the brass group playing the vocal line and elaborate orchestration. Even though it would have stretched the young musicians even further, it would have benefited from more zestful tempos. It is the two original works for wind instruments  - taking up most of the disc - that offer the real attraction. You might well think that a new ensemble and sound engineers had come into the studio. Arthur Bird follows in the footsteps of Gounod, the Serenade's many attractions derived from beautifully crafted thematic material that sits comfortably on the instruments. We move to the 20th century for Herbert Reed's Symphony for Concert Band, two outer Mexican influenced movements encircling a Mass that could have come from a British composer. Again this immaculate scoring is played with great skill and vivacity, the many percussion effects nicely incorporated. Do please listen to the disc and forgive the talented Peabody musicians who fell for the commercial attractions of Orff.

EL-KHOURY: Piano Concerto Op.36. Meditation Poetique, Op. 41. Poeme No.1, Op 11; No.2, Op.22. Serenade No.1, Op.10; No.2, Op.20. Abdel Rahman El Bacha (violin), David Lively (piano), Gerard Poulet (violin), Orchestra Colonne, Pierre Dervaux (conductor). Naxos 8.557692. (66' 00). 

This is the third disc in Naxos's series covering the orchestral music of the Lebanese-born composer, Bechara El-Khoury. Working as a pianist, conductor and journalist, El-Khoury, completed his studies in France and later took that country's nationality. He has an extensive catalogue of music fashioned in a very personal tonal idiom that has French Impressionism always lurking in the background. He is a composer who works first and foremost with orchestral colours, his ability to create thematic material so abundant he could be accused of wasting it. Turning the clock back to the big virtuoso scores, the Piano Concerto throws down the gauntlet to brilliant keyboard technicians, Abdel Rahman El Bacha enjoying every minute as he thunders around the instrument, a more relaxed central movement giving everyone time to catch breath. For my own taste I enjoy El-Khoury when he is working in pastel shades, the Meditation poetique for violin and orchestra being updated Debussy in its seductive use of sounds. The two Poems for piano and orchestra, expertly played by David Lively, fall somewhere between the Concerto and the Meditation, their inspiration coming from church music the composer recalls in Lebanon. The performances took place in concerts given in Paris during the 1980's and were first released on the Forlane label. The Orchestra Colonne really struggled with the music's demands, but far better to make allowances so we can experience El-Khoury. The disc is in Naxos's 'Limited Release' category, so you may have to shop around.

CRESTON: Saxophone Sonata, Op. 19. ROREM: Picnic on the Marne. QUATE: Light of Sothis. HARTLEY: Sonata for Baritone Saxophone. HOVANESS: Suite for Alto Saxophone and Guitar, Op. 291. MUCZYNSKI: Sonata, Op. 29. WIEDOEFT: Valse Vanite. Alex Mitchell (saxophones), Jeremy Limb (piano),

Neil Hornsby (guitar). Naxos 8.559241. (68' 59"). 

A disc that gathers together American saxophone compositions in the 20th century, and comes in Naxos's 'Limited Edition' releases. It contains much that is otherwise unavailable, all of the music written in a tonal style and I would place the Creston and Hovaness as major works; Rorem as highly interesting, with Alex Mitchell signing off in the instantly recognised Valse Vanite. I also much enjoyed Muczynski's jazzy sonata, Amy Quate and Walter Hartley praiseworthy but hardly inspiring. If you want to sample it, go to track 17 for the first movement of the Hovaness suite, a fascinating juxtaposition of saxophone and guitar, the sonorities being of the exotic type we expect from the prolific composer. The recording made in London balances the instruments in their rightful proportions, Mitchell's baritone sax in Hartley's Sonata having a really ripe and juicy sound. Nimble fingers from both Mitchell and Limb which make light of technical hurdles.

VERDI: Messa da Requiem. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano), Oralia Dominguez (mezzo), Giuseppe Di Stefano (tenor), Cesare Siepi (bass), Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan, Victor de Sabata (conductor).

VERDI: Aida - Prelude Act 1. La Traviata - Prelude Act 1 & 3. I Vespri siciliani - Overture. WOLF-FERRARI: I Quattro Rusteghi - Intermezzo. Il Segreto di Susanna - Overture. ROSSINI: William Tell - Overture. RESPIGHI: The Pines of Rome. Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Santa Cecilia Academy Orchestra, Victor de Sabata (conductor). Naxos Historical 8.111049-50. (2 CDs). (152' 56"). 

This Requiem is a deeply moving experience. It certainly does not start promisingly, the La Scala Chorus proving that accurate intonation was not part of their agenda, while those who look for the earth shaking bass drum thwacks at the opening of Dies Irae will be disappointed. Even the ever-reliable Giuseppe Di Stefano lets the side down by inserting a few sobs into Ingemisco. Yet have you ever heard such an impassioned plea for salvation than that from the Schwarzkopf - Dominguez duo? Add Cesare Siepi, the finest bass that ever graced this part, and the positives are beginning to stack up. Above all it is Victor de Sabata's performance, a great opera conductor who shapes a vibrant theatrical experience. The young Schwarzkopf shows more abandon than anything I have heard from her, soaring on high at a healthy fortissimo, and throughout Dominguez goes far beyond the call of duty. The chorus didn't improve much after that uneasy opening, but they sang with passion, and though the orchestra's strings sound a bit pushed at times, the brass is good with typically Italian opera trumpets to add excitement. Seven years earlier in 1947 the Santa Cecilia orchestra was is far better form, almost making sense of this mad dash through William Tell. If you want the best ever account of Pines of Rome you go to the Naxos release of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Batiz, but this more gentle view is appealing. The sound is a cut above the Requiem, but all have benefited from the Naxos treatment.

BEETHOVEN: Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op.24, ‘Spring’. BRAHMS: Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op.108. Double Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, Op.102. Nathan Milstein (violin), Arthur Balsam (piano), Vladimir Horowitz (piano), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), The Robin Hood Dell Orchestra of Philadelphia, Fritz Reiner (conductor). Naxos Historical 8.111051. (73' 22"). 

Nathan Milstein was sent by the Soviet authorities on a goodwill tour to prove their presence in the cultural world. He never returned, but on arrival in the United States in 1925 - where he thought he could make a major career - he found the concert circuit overflowing with fine virtuoso violinists, and the high reputation he brought with him made little impact. He restarted his studies and in 1929 made his first official concerto debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra. From there his progress was measured, but his career in the top echelon was to continue well past his 80th birthday. With his silvery tone and fast vibrato he developed a personal style, and though he was never to overtly flout his flawless technique, it was his greatest asset. He was to make around 120 recordings, of which a high proportion has remained in the catalogue to this day. A co-operation existed with many pianists, though only one recording was made with his lifelong friend, Vladimir Horowitz. The pianist created an almost orchestral backdrop in the Brahms D minor sonata, the two players perfectly balanced in an unhurried reading, those moments of outgoing happiness perfectly realised. By contrast Arthur Balsam in the Beethoven is a more submissive accompanist, efficient but hardly inspired. His partnership with Piatigorsky in 1951 produced an intense, invigorating and often rugged performance of the Brahms Double very much in keeping with Reiner's hard-hitting standpoint.  The violin sound in the Beethoven was always a little acidic and there is nothing Naxos can do with it, but elsewhere this is strikingly good for its 1950's vintage, and remarkably lifelike in the concerto. An absolute must for all violin aficionados.

CHOPIN: Etudes, Op. 10. Etudes, Op. 25. Trois Nouvelles Etudes. Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60. Alfred Cortot (piano). Naxos Historical 8.111052. (67' 45"). 

Alfred Cortot was the great Chopin interpreter of the day and emotionally regarded as the invaluable link with the composer. He regarded the Etudes as a daily study for young students, as they formed every basic technical facet. To modern ears he often appears a wilful exponent willing to manipulate the pieces as a product of the Romantic tradition. In the studio he was accident-prone, and as he authorised these discs for publication he did not seem all that interested in correcting errors by making further recordings. You feel affection lavished on every study, even if his fingers frequently did not meet his optimistically fast tempos, smudges happening throughout. Rubato was used as he felt the mood take him, at times stoking up the excitement with a disregard of dynamic indications. So we have flawed performances that pianists will tell you are still invaluable in understanding this music. I will take their word for it. As with previous discs in this Cortot series Naxos has somehow changed 1930's sound for the two sets of Etudes into a quality you would happily accept to sit next to your latest recordings.

BEETHOVEN: Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, ‘Pathetique’. Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, ‘Moonlight’. Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53, ‘Waldstein’. Andante in F major, WoO  (Andante favori). Rondo in C major, Op. 51, No. 1. SCARLATTI (arr. TAUSIG): Pastorale and Capriccio. WEBER: Sonata No. 1 in C major, J. 138 - 'Perpetuum mobile'. Benno Moiseiwitsch (piano). Naxos Historical 8.111115. (73' 27"). 

In the music business Benno Moiseiwitsch was looked upon as having a reliable pair of hands, conductors always happy to partner his rational concerto performances, audiences assured of thoughtful musicianship they would greet with respectful applause. It is probably a sign of the times that today his recordings are being revalued, the literal readings of the great masterpieces held up as examples of good breeding. Russian by birth, he moved with his parents to England when he was 18, later taking British nationality. Never an outgoing personality on stage, he came at a period when the English concert circuit was not oversubscribed with national pianists of distinction. This trio of Beethoven's famous sonatas shows all that is admirable in his playing characterised by the clarity of his fingers, runs sparkling in their evenness, and tempos that have a nice forward momentum never pushed passed his technical comfort zone. He was also a pianist who could create beauty in slow movements without resorting to unduly expansive speeds, the slow movement of the Moonlight an obvious example. When required neither was he lacking in the drama needed for Waldstein. That he could play as fast as anyone could comes in Weber's finger twisting Perpetuum mobile, a reading full of mischief. Dating from the 1940's the sound has been brought to a standard much the same in quality as we have today. 

VERDI: Aida: O Patria mia; Ritorna vincitor (two versions); Pur ti riveggo; La, tra foreste vergini; La fatal pietra (two versions); O terra addio. Ernani: Ernani! Ernani, involami (two versions). La forza del destino: Pace, pace, mio Dio (three versions). Otello: Piangea cantando nell’erma landa (Willow Song); Ave Maria. SCOTT: Lullaby. BRAHMS: Wiegenlied (Cradle Song). SHELLEY: Love’s Sorrow. Rosa Ponselle (soprano), Giovanni Martinelli (tenor), orchestra. Naxos Historical 8.111138. (76' 56").

Born in 1897 of Italian parents, Rosa Ponselle was one of the first American-born opera singers to create an international audience through her recordings. As a teenager she formed a vaudeville singing duo with her elder sister, her break into opera coming in 1918 when the war prevented the usual motley crew of Italian singers arriving at New York's Metropolitan Opera. Without a soprano to partner Caruso in the Met's first performance of Verdi's La forza del Destino, they turned to the 21-year-old Ponselle who had been recommended to them. Without any experience and the stigma of being a vaudeville performer, the Met management was at first diffident, but after two auditions found they had little alternative. It proved a big success and she became part of the Metropolitan team for the next 19 years. She also gave three seasons at London's Covent Garden but was frightened off the Italian scene when she heard the outstanding young tenor, Lauri-Volpi, booed at La Scala for fluffing a top note. Prophetically it was to be a poor critical reception for her Carmen in New York that decided her to retire from the stage making her last appearance in 1937 when she was in her prime at the age of 40. Vocally at ease in the upper register, the disc - the first in Naxos's new Ponselle edition - displays a singer who used one voice for all of her characters. At times her Aida sounds a petulant young woman, while you do find neither sadness nor resignation in her Desdemona. Yet, to say she had so little formal training, her technique was superb, intonation bang in the centre of every note, the voice perfectly projected. The disc contains multiple takes of some arias, only one of which was issued at the time. There is little real difference though the third - and unissued - version of the Ernani aria finds her more at ease in the concluding vocal gymnastics. Martinelli is a fine partner, and the transfers to CD are very good.