London Symphony Orchestra

Liszt Concertos Richter/Philips

Jed Distler

For a pianist purported to be microphone-shy it’s ironic how many of Sviatoslav Richter’s greatest recordings emanated from the studio. His fabled 1961 Liszt Concertos

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

Davis LSO Fantastique

Victor Carr Jr

Colin Davis’ new live rendition of the Berlioz Symphonie fantastique adds nothing interpretively to his three Philips studio recordings. Davis always has taken a rather

Stoki BBC Dud C

David Hurwitz

Some of the music on this disc has been kicking around various pirate labels for a while, and none of it need trouble anyone but

Tchaik 1 & Schumann Ashkenazy/Decca C

Jed Distler

Out of these two concertos, the Tchaikovsky gets sonic and interpretive first prize. Its famous opening alone encapsulates everything that’s good here: a razor-sharp orchestra

Stravinsky Panorama C

Victor Carr Jr

This Panorama release has quite a bit going for it: Lorin Maazel’s bracing and brilliant Firebird suite with the Berlin Radio Symphony (one of the

ROMANTIC PIANO CONCERTOS

Victor Carr Jr

This Chandos Collect reissue of Israela Margalit’s piano concerto recordings is a bit of a mixed bag. Disc 1 features a very broad, big-boned reading

Menuhin’s Brahms Double

Jed Distler

One famous American violinist described Yehudi Menuhin’s playing to me as an example of “mind over reality.” This sadly applies to this 1963 Bach E

Mendelssohn symphonies

Victor Carr Jr

Claudio Abbado’s earliest Mendelssohn symphony recordings, made long before his international celebrity and prestigious music directorships, reveal a young conductor of considerable talent. His way

VW Boult Pearl C

David Hurwitz

Only the most hardcore historical recording fan will want to pay full price for this 1949 edition of Vaughan Williams’ apocalyptic Sixth Symphony. Not that