Norman Stinchcombe reviews the latest classical CD releases

Ravel, Orchestra Works and Operas: Soloists, Orchestre National de Lyon / Slatkin (Naxos 8 CDs) ★★★★
Here's a musical treasure trove, very well played and recorded, adeptly conducted and at a bargain price. As well as Ravel's orchestral music, both rarities and favourites, we also have a selection of Ravel as orchestrator, most famously in his now standard version of Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition'; Ravel as completer of unfinished works as in the re-orchestrated selections from Rimsky-Korsakov's symphonic suite 'Antar' and opera 'Mlada', with interpolations of his own music for a theatre production, a premiere recording by Slatkin; Ravel the opera composer with his two delightful miniature masterpieces. Slatkin was a keen Ravel conductor in his early days with his St Louis orchestra and if the Lyon forces are less bold and dashing they have greater refinement and subtlety. In Ravel's major works, for example 'Daphnis et Chloe' they cannot match the lushness, and Decca's recording sumptuous recording quality, of Dutoit in Montreal, or the super-subtle refinement of Boulez in Berlin, but Slatkin and Lyon are never less than good. They also winners in rare repertoire like Marius Constant’s rarely-heard orchestration of Ravel's fiendishly difficult piano showpiece 'Gaspard de la nuit', where the seductive water nymph 'Ondine' is arrayed in shimmering orchestra sound and 'Le gibet' is suitably creepy. There are solid, in unspectacular, performances of the two piano concertos, with soloist Francois Dumont, and a very nifty 'Tzigane' from American fiddler Jennifer Gilbert. The box's biggest assets are the boisterous and characterful performances of the operas, with plenty of knockabout fun in 'L'Heure espagnole', with a rare bonus on the disc of Ravel's final work the seven-minute solo work 'Don Quichotte à Dulcinée',  with baritone Francois Le Roux. The magical 'L'Enfant et les sortilèges', with its childhood perspective of talking furniture and animals, is delightful with a star turn from soprano Annick Massis. On CD it has the ideal pairing with Slatkin's reading of Ravel's brilliant musical vignettes for his ballet 'Ma Mère l'Oye' ('Mother Goose').

Strauss: Louise Alder, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Collon (Ondine CD)
The football commentator's favourite cliche is about a match being "a game to two halves" each of contrasting quality. It's apposite for this disc of two Richard Strauss works. First comes a wonderfully radiant performance of his late masterpiece 'Four Last Songs' ('Vier letzte Lieder') sung by British soprano Louise Alder. Alder's breakthrough performance came as  Sophie in 'Der Rosenkavalier' for Glyndebourne Festival Opera at the BBC Proms in 2014 and it has become one of her signature roles. Her light yet creamy tone is a perfect fit for the part as it is for these songs, from a soaring evocation of spring in 'Frühling' to the 84-year-old composer's touching farewell to life in 'Im Abendrot'. Adler reminds me of the Swiss soprano Lisa dell Casa (another notable Sophie) in her recording of the work, that's high praise. ★★★★ After that performance, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Nicolas Collon's light and brisk take on 'Eine Alpensinfonie' a let-down. Whether the work is, according to taste, a magnificent awe-inspiring musical vision of nature or overblown quasi-Hollywood soundtrack there's really only one way to play it effectively - full throttle, no hold barred. The orchestra simply doesn't have the weight of string tone or the stentorian brass heft the work needs for the blazing sunrise or apocalyptic storm. Collon is best at the quieter interludes but for a real thrill turn to Karajan / Berlin, Haitink / Concertgebouw or Previn / Vienna. ★★

Holst, Bax: London Symphony Orchestra, Tenebrae / Pappano  (LSO Live CD & SACD) ★★★
More than a century after its first performance 'Mars the Bringer of War', the opening movement of Gustav Holst's suite 'The Planets' still packs a visceral punch with its ominous tread, braying brass and bludgeoning rhythm. There are two basic approaches to the tempo of this movement, what may be called the British and the American. The template for the former is evident in the multiple recordings by Sir Adrian Boult, adopting a steady pace, (7.58) as in his 1979 London Philharmonic recording, with a gradual accumulation of menace. The new recording by the LSO's chief conductor Sir Antonio Pappano's version is in this tradition (7.47) with the closely recorded LSO players making a suitable impact. It's effective but so is the transatlantic version where Mars enters in a decisively menacing quickstep: Bernstein / New York (6.35), Stokowski / Los Angeles (6.33) and the blistering Steinberg / Boston (6.28). This is Mars in blitzkrieg mode. Pappano's 'Venus' full-bodied and almost languorous (8.55) compared to Boult's slender goddess (7.21). Pappano's broad approach is at its most extreme in 'Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age' which at (10.30) is the slowest reading on record. There's some high quality playing here but I would have welcomed more energy and less lingering from Pappano. He and the LSO launch into Sir Anold Bax's 'Tintagel', his musical portrait of the Cornish coast suffused with myth and legend, with a vengeance. The sea roars, waves pulsate, gulls soar overhead, with Pappano bringing out the echoes of Wagner and how the piece anticipates the swashbuckling Hollywood scores of Korngold a decade before talkies were invented. Stirring stuff!

Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky: London Symphony Orchestra, Noseda (LSO Live CD & SACD) ★★★★
Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 'Pathetique' is his elegiac farewell to the symphony with its final Andante lamentoso sighing into nothingness. This was perceived as shocking by some contemporary audiences and musicians who expected a rousing ending, as in his fifth symphony, and bizarrely on occasion in Soviet Russia the order of the No.6's movements was changed with the Allegro molto vivace placed last. Its original ending won out and its bleakness was an inspiration to Mahler and Shostakovich. It has also been an excuse for sentimental self-indulgence by some conductors most notably Bernstein's 1987 recording with the finale ludicrously distended (17.12). The LSO's chief guest conductor Gianandrea Noseda takes no such liberties, the movement mourns and laments with dignity (10.33), the strings sigh and the timpani sound like a gradually subsiding heartbeat. Noseda's approach is always direct and supported by the LSO's incisive playing right from the hushed opening movement with its sepulchral bassoon and then the transformation into a blazing Allegro non troppo, a rage against the dying of the light. There's delicacy too, especially from the LSO strings, in the graceful Allegro con grazia, with its deliberately odd 5/4 gait. There's a beautifully played bonus in Mussorgsky’s 1874 Prelude to the opera 'Khovanshchina', completed by Rimsky-Korsakov, which depicts 'Dawn Breaking over the Moscow River', illuminated by subtle string and wind playing. At less than 50 minutes the disc isn't generously filled, which is a shame given the quality of the playing.

Strauss, Beethoven; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Beecham (Somm CD) ★★
Sir Thomas Beecham was always a fine interpreter of Richard Strauss's music, relishing in its musical colour, drama and occasional droll wit. He recorded 'Ein Heldenleben' twice in the studio with his own hand picked Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1948 (mono) and 1961 (stereo). On Somm's latest release in its 'Beecham Collection' series we have a live version recorded at the Royal Festival Hall in 1956 (mono) with audio restoration by Lani Spahr despite whose efforts the hall's notoriously dry acoustic does Strauss's lush orchestration no favours sounding cramped and one-dimensional. Beecham's reading of the work was consistent and there are no significant changes of emphasis between the three recordings. The 1961 version is the one to have, with an exciting battlefield scene, Beecham as general directing his orchestral troops with gusto, and the RPO's young Canadian leader Steven Staryk's witty music portrait of Strauss's beloved but shrewish wife. Beecham conducted and recorded few Beethoven symphonies in the studio but theysuited Beecham's penchant wit, humour and rhythmic precision. Here we have the unjustly neglected No.8 with Beecham relishing the tick-tok metronome-inspired Allegretto scherzando and a tripping Tempo di menuetto. It's almost identical to his 1952 Abbey Road recording (mono) although the sound there is of higher quality.

Frisson 'Music for Woodwind Orchestra': Fiona Sweeney, Czech Philharmonic Wind Ensemble / Lolin (Divine Art CD) ★★★★
The wind players of Bohemia have always had a deservedly fine reputation, think of Mozart's delight at finding such brilliant clarinet players in Prague, and this splendidly played disc shows that the tradition is thriving.The versatile Czech Philharmonic Wind Ensemble have recorded music from Beethoven, Mozart and Dvorak to an album devoted to contemporary British music on 2024's 'Twisted Skyscape'. This new release is an eclectic one, of arrangements of pieces for woodwind orchestra by the Ensemble's conductor Shea Lolin. It opens with the Octet Partita in F major, Op.57 by the prolific Moravian-born Franz Krommer, a huge favourite in Beethoven's Vienna. Lolin fills out the musical textures but so subtly it sounds authentic Krommer and does the same for the youthful Richard Strauss's Serenade (op.7) His arrangement of Cecile Chaminade's Concertino, Op.107 of 1902 , originally for flute and piano and arranged by the composer for flute and full orchestra, sounds splendid in its new guise and gets a star solo role for Scottish flautist Fiona Sweeney. Despite Lolin's ingenuity those familiar with the orchestral original of Constant Lambert’s ballet suite 'Romeo and Juliet' may miss the brassy swagger of the Sinfonia and the sighing strings of ‘The Death of Juliet’ but there is much to enjoy in Lolin's wind textures and the band's virtuosity. The final piece is British composer Guy Woolfenden's 'More Gordian Knots', based on Purcell's music for 'The Gordian Knot Unty'' which was composed for a theatrical work by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Lovers of wind music will relish this album.

Elgar, 'Light Out of Darkness': Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea / William Vann (Somm) ★★★★
Elgar enthusiasts wanting to widen their knowledge of the composer and explore some lesser-known examples of his choral work will find a huge amount to enjoy in this generously filled (77.29) disc. They will find Andrew Neill's cogent booklet notes a great help, placing the eighteen works into the context of Elgar's life from his humble origins in Worcester to becoming Britain's premier composer. The young Elgar was closely attached to Worcester’s St George’s Church where his father William was the organist for more than thirty years and Edward had the task from 1885 until 1889. The 21-year-old composed three hymn tunes for St George's including 'Praise Ye the Lord' (Track 4). Elgar set 'O Salutaris Hostia' seven times and three versions, composed between 1877-1882 and all quite different, are included here. The first in G major for mezzo-soprano solo is almost operatic; the second in E flat features the choir's soprano voices; the third in E flat has a baritone solo with full chorus. The mature Elgar is included, such as the '‘The Spirit of the Lord’, the opening chorus of  his oratorio 'The Apostles', composed for Birmingham in 1903. Particularly enjoyable are the Part-Songs and Choral Songs, with the setting of Shelley's 'O wild West Wind' and Rossetti's 'Go, Song of Mine' highlights. The disc ends with a novelty, Elgar's alternative version of 'God Save the King', for organ, chorus and soprano solo. The recording in Holy Trinity, Sloane Square, Upper Chelsea has just the right warm acoustic and The Chapel Choir of the Chelsea Hospital, eighteen fresh young voices including four talented soloists, are splendid, accompanied by Callum Knox (organ) and directed by William Vann. Song texts and translations are included.