Record Review Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Beethoven's Cello Sonata No 3, Op 69 Dec 18, 2021

Show notes

Pianist Iain Burnside with a recommendation of the ultimate recording of the third, and arguably greatest, of Beethoven's five sonatas for cello and piano.

Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony Dec 13, 2021

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Edward Seckerson recommends a version of Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony.

Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 in C major was at first dedicated to Lenin. But eventually the composer dedicated it to the besieged city of Leningrad, where it was first played in 1942, during the siege by German and Finnish forces. It soon became popular in both the Soviet Union and the West as a symbol of resistance to fascism and totalitarianism. The work is still regarded as an important musical testament to the 27 million Soviet people who lost their lives in World War II.

Brahms's String Quintet No 1 Dec 08, 2021

Show notes

Natasha Loges compares recordings of Brahms's String Quintet No 1 in F major, Op 88, and chooses her favourite.

Brahms composed his String Quintet No 1 in F major in 1882 during a summer sojourn in the Austrian Spa town of Bad Ischl. Like the Mozart string quintets, it is written for two violins, two violas and one cello and Brahms intimated to his friend Clara Schumann that it is one of his finest works. To his publisher, Simrock, he said 'that you have never before had such a beautiful work from me'.

The Quintet comprises three movements: a glowing Allegro non troppo ma con brio and an exuberant fugal finale bookend an expansive and passionate slow movement.

Heinrich Schütz Dec 06, 2021

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Henrich Schütz is one of the most important composers before JS Bach. But with over 500 surviving works and despite his pivotal position as the first German composer to achieve international fame and repute, Schütz is perhaps still not as well known as he should be. Kirsten Gibson surveys recorded collections of the 17th-century composer and recommends the best one for anyone unfamiliar with his music.

Mozart's Divertimento in E flat, K563 Nov 22, 2021

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Roger Parker talks to Andrew about the wide range of approaches to one of Mozart's masterpieces, the Divertimento in E flat, K563, from classic recordings from the 60s and 70s to young ensembles' recent additions to the catalogue.

Richard Strauss' An Alpine Symphony Nov 15, 2021

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Mark Simpson compares recordings of Richard Strauss's Eine Alpensinfonie and chooses his favourite. The epic Alpine Symphony is Strauss's vivid evocation of the thrills and spills of a day out in his beloved Bavarian Alps, including dangerous moments and a glacier on the way up to a spectacular view from the summit. On the way down there's a violent thunderstorm and at the end, as the sun sets and night falls, the deep, emotional satisfaction of having completed an arduous and exhausting journey. The 1915 tone poem thrillingly tests an orchestra, at once collectively, its individual sections and its principal players. And it also tests a conductor who has to convincingly marshal a score calling for 130-plus musicians including 34 brass players (with 12 offstage horns) and a percussion section stocked with, among other things, wind machine, thunder machine and cowbells. Spare a thought, too, for the recording engineers... Presented by Andrew McGregor.

Zelenka Survey Nov 08, 2021

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Hannah French surveys the key works works and recordings of Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka and chooses her favourite.

Zelenka was born in Central Bohemia in 1679 and, after his musical education in Prague and Vienna, he spent most of his professional life in Dresden. Much admired by Bach for the harmonic inventiveness of his counterpoint, and friends with Telemann, Pisendel and Weiss, Zelenka was considered one of the giants of the Baroque era. Zelenka's music is also inspired by Czech folk music and it was Smetana who is credited with rediscovering the music of his forebear during the 19th century.

Elgar's Violin Concerto Oct 31, 2021

Show notes

David Owen Norris chooses his favourite recording of Elgar's Violin Concerto.

Elgar's Violin Concerto in B minor was composed for the violinist Fritz Kreisler, who gave the premiere in London in 1910 - and Elgar made a recording with the young Yehudi Menuhin in 1932 that has become a classic. The score has the inscription "Herein is enshrined the soul of ....." The five dots are one of Elgar's enigmas, and many names have been suggested to fit the inscription. Elgar said of the Violin Concerto, "It's good! Awfully emotional! Too emotional, but I love it."

Presented by Andrew MacGregor.

Mendelssohn's Octet Oct 24, 2021

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There has never been a more prodigiously talented child composer than Felix Mendelssohn and proof of that is his Octet. Written in 1825 when he was 16 years old, it was unprecedented in form: there had been double quartets but nothing like this where all the instruments are combined with unique brilliance and clarity of texture. Above all, though, it's the Octet's sheer lyrical joyousness and exuberant energy that set it apart, the teen Mendelssohn's generosity of spirit thrillingly combined with his compositional genius.

Haydn's Missa in tempore belli Oct 16, 2021

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Haydn's Mass in Time of War is sometimes known as his Paukenmesse because of his prominent use of timpani for dramatic effect. It's one of the best known of his fourteen mass settings, and has been lucky on record. Richard Wigmore talks to Andrew about the work and about the very different approaches performers have brought to it, and settles on the ultimate recording to buy, download or stream.

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