The latest reviews are added to the London Philharmonic Orchestra's blog at londonphilharmonic.wordpress.com with links to the complete reviews where possible.
Selected excerpts from recent reviews are provided below.
Tchaikovsky Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5 – LPO-0064
Vladimir Jurowski
‘From the intensity of the first movement, to the melancholic second, and the redemption of the triumphant finale, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Vladimir Jurowski capture the emotions running deep within the music … It’s an emotional rollercoaster through the depths of despair to a form of musical redemption, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra expertly guiding us through.’
Classic FM (Album of the Week w/c 3/9/12)
‘[Jurowski’s] Fourth is distinguished by intelligent phrasing in the two outer movements and a sense of the symphony’s unstoppable drive, while the Fifth has a lithe pulse and, in the Andante cantabile, exquisite taste.’
Andrew Clark, Financial Times
‘One of the secrets to the success of these readings is Jurowski's intelligent musicality in somehow making every line of counterpoint heard … Jurowski is surely one of the most intelligent and interesting of today's more famous young conductors and he engages with these works with unflinching intensity.’
Peter Marks, Small Gestures (blog)
‘The LPO acquits itself well, and climaxes possess all the fizz and firepower one could want.’
David Breckbill, BBC Music Magazine (not online)
‘Both these performances exemplify what makes Jurowski’s approach to Tchaikovsky so special … The playing throughout this movement (and indeed throughout both these performances) is marked by a oneness with Jurowski’s vision and, it goes without saying, a now well-established empathy between the players of the London Philharmonic and their principal conductor.’
Gramophone
‘A recent arrival; stunning, well-engineered live performances of two over-played, under-appreciated works. Both sound freshly minted here, conjuring up memories of scratchy, fiery Mravinsky recordings from the Cold War era. Vladimir Jurowski’s London Philharmonic Orchestra play as if possessed – strings making a dark, husky sound with winds and brass alternately shrill and seductive. Listen to the oboe solo in the slow movement of the Fourth, and the way in which Jurowski tears into the Finale.’
Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk ‘Top Classical CDs of 2012’
‘Jurowski effectively conveys the intense emotions running through the Fourth while the Fifth is delivered with keen articulation and a wonderful sense of pace. Highly recommended.’
Gavin Engelbrecht, The Northern Echo, 27 December 2013 (not online)
Sibelius Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6, The Swan of Tuonela – LPO-0065
Paavo Berglund
‘A release in a thousand! … This rendition of the Fifth, monumental if yielding, is cut from granite, and has a thrilling inevitability to it, the performers – the LPO plays magnificently – totally at-one with Sibelius’s logic and largesse, inspired by Berglund’s rigour and telepathic understanding of this great music … Don’t miss Berglund’s exceptional Sibelius, as captured here.’
Colin Anderson, Classical Source
‘The music swims in something translucently beautiful, the textures warm, the pacing and shaping always perfectly gauged.’
The Sunday Times, 9 Sep 2012 (not online)
‘There could be no finer tribute to Finnish conductor Paavo Berglund than these rugged performances … The Fifth Symphony gathers strength from start to finish. In the Sixth, as in The Swan of Tuonela, Berglund captures the airy but mysterious nature-worship which gives this work its special flavour.’
Michael Kennedy, The Sunday Telegraph, 7 Oct 2012 (not online)
‘It would not be long before Berglund’s last live date, but here his music-making shows no loss of grip, at once unsentimental and affecting, hushed yet with a tangible sense of power in reserve.’
David Gutman, International Record Review (not online)
‘Berglund captures the essence of the Fifth Symphony in a masterful fashion, while the Sixth packs an emotional punch.’
Gavin Engelbrecht, The Northern Echo, 27 December 2013 (not online)
Mark-Anthony Turnage Orchestral Works Vol. 3 – LPO-0066
Vladimir Jurowski, Marin Alsop, Markus Stenz, Christian Tetzlaff, Michael Collins, Lawrence Power
‘The whole disc provides an impressive demonstration of Turnage's fluency and orchestral imagination, especially in the works with soloists here. On Opened Ground is a dark-hued, often anguished viola concerto, played with real intensity by Laurence Power, while Riffs and Refrains expertly puts solo clarinettist Michael Collins through his extrovert paces.’
Andrew Clements, The Guardian
‘A superb disc, a real must-have for anyone interested in Turnage’s music’
Andrew McGregor, BBC Radio 3’s CD Review, 3 November 2012
‘Showing remarkable faith in the composer’s ability to mint new sounds and exciting textures, the LPO’s final collection of recent works by Turnage is even more interesting than its predecessors. Soloists Lawrence Power, Michael Collins and Christian Tetzlaff respond vividly to the technical and interpretive challenges thrown their way, and maestri Stenz, Alsop and Jurowski preside over definitive performances.’
Guy Weatherall, Classical Music magazine, 17 Nov 2012 (not online)
‘All the soloists do a fine job, and the orchestra is clearly very comfortable with Turnage’s style and handles all the works very admirably indeed.’
Transcentury.blogpost.co.uk
‘The performances are all unfailingly attuned to this often visceral music, which also applies to the conducting of Marin Alsop, Markus Stenz and Vladimir Jurowski. The recording has warmth and spaciousness, while Anthony Burton’s notes are a ready aid to listening. All in all, a fine a selection of Turnage’s recent music as could be wished’
Richard Whitehouse, Gramophone, February 2013
The Mozart Question – LPO-0067
Michael Morpurgo, Jack Liebeck, Nicholas Collon et al
‘Music is interspersed throughout this standout audio production, allowing the listener to hear young Paulo's first squeaky attempts at playing scales and to feel his parents’ anguish as they are forced to play Mozart concertos for the SS during WWII. Whether it's a full orchestra, a single violin, or simply the rhythmic snipping of scissors, the music itself becomes a character in this moving story. Morpurgo does an outstanding job narrating his own work. He adds a hoarseness to his voice when portraying an aging violin tutor and an innocent excitement to it when depicting his young student. In a minor role, Alison Reid, as the young journalist sent to interview adult Paulo, comes across just as she should—nervous and reverential.’
Winner of Earphones Award, AudioPhile Magazine
‘This CD is thoroughly recommended for its story, its music and the skill with which everything is presented.’
Stephen Whitehead, Cross Rhythms
Brahms Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 – LPO-0068
Klaus Tennstedt
‘No wonder the LPO loved Tennstedt. In these live recordings from the Royal Festival Hall, they respond like musicians possessed … The detail in the first movement of Brahms 1 is wonderful, yet at the same time the music is realised in a single tragic arc.’
David Cairns, The Sunday Times, 11 November 2012 (not online)
‘There is a great warmth and affection.’
The playing from the LPO, on the whole, is very committed’
‘There’s a good clarity to the sound’
‘The LPO absolutely playing for all they’re worth’
BBC Radio 3’s CD Review, Sat 19 Jan 2013
‘These are deeply sympathetic Brahms performances. The account of the Third Symphony in particular is quite wonderful, the finest live account to be preserved on disc since Furtwängler’s celebrated 1949 Berlin performance … Make no mistake, this is Brahms conducting of rare moment and pedigree.’ (Editor’s Choice)
Richard Osborne, Gramophone, Feb 2013
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