Hickox; Richard

Poulenc – works for piano & orchestra

ClassicsToday

This is a nicely recorded disc, and Virgin’s atmospheric sound suits the music well. Richard Hickox leads a somewhat plain and unimaginative account of the

Sir John on Chandos

David Hurwitz

Vaughan Williams’ “Falstaff” opera probably will never become a repertory staple owing to its relentlessly undramatic character. It has all of the local color that

Alwyn Concertos

Victor Carr Jr

This disc brings together works of William Alwyn previously issued as couplings for Chandos’ complete symphony cycle, making it convenient for the collector who is

John Veale & Benjamin Britten: Violin Concertos

David Hurwitz

Here’s a real discovery. British composer John Veale (b. 1922) enjoyed a successful career as a composer of concert and film music broadly in the

RVW 2 Chandos C

David Hurwitz

Thanks to an enlightened decision by the composer’s widow, Ursula Vaughan Williams, we now have the opportunity to hear the original version of A London

Finzi Chandos C

David Hurwitz

Minor Finzi here, and admirers of this fine composer should not expect any revelations on the order of Intimations of Immortality and the Clarinet Concerto.

serious sullivan chandos

Dan Davis

Poor Arthur Sullivan. You’ll recall from the film bio Topsy Turvey that he badly wanted recognition as a “serious” composer. He never got it. Contemporaries

Hickox Haydn 2 Chandos

David Hurwitz

Be careful what you wish for, you may get it! Richard Hickox’s first installment of Haydn’s London Symphonies suffered seriously from poor balances that relegated

Haydn London Symphonies Hickox 1

David Hurwitz

Any new series of Haydn symphonies should excite keen interest among music lovers, and Richard Hickox offers some fine things. His period instrument band, Collegium

Britten Orchestral Works

ClassicsToday

This is a re-release of pieces that originally appeared on Chandos, and they rank among the catalog’s best performances of these standard Benjamin Britten works.