Icles Not Atas But It's All Cant

Britten : The Five Canticles. Performers : Principally Mark Padmore tenor and Julius Drake piano. But significant contrbution from Iestyn Davies counter tenor and also Marcus Farnsworth baritone, Lucy Wakeford harp and Richard Watkins horn. Live recording from a concert in Wigmore Hall.

Looking Out For A Hero

Gliere Symphony No 3, Il'ya Muromets. Performers : Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by JoAnn Falletta Programmatic symphony on a possibly mythical hero from medieval Russia. Highly atmospheric even without knowing the programme, though the short ( relative to the rest of the symphony ) scherzo seems to belong to another symphony altogether.

Bach Ascending

Bach Cantatas Volume 28 For Ascension Day. Performers : The Monteverdi Choir, The English Baroque Soloists conducted by John Eliot Gardiner. Lenneke Ruiten soprano, Meg Bragle alto, Andrew Tortise tenor, Dietrich Henschel bass. Not up to owning all 28 volumes but a beautiful representative set to set alongside Herreweghe and Suzuki.

Not Quite Sibelius

Leevi Madetoja Symphonies 1 and 3 and Okon Fuoko Suite. Performers: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by John Storgards. Early 20th century works, influenced by fellow countryman Sibelius rather than more radical figures. Maybe without that touch of genius but the third symphony is particularly striking, the suite of incidental music for a play somewhat disposable.

Staying True To Oneself

Karl Amadeus Hartmann Symphonies No 1 to 6. Performers : Bamberger Symphoniker conducted by Ingo Metzmacher. Two cd set. Mid-twentieth century symphonies influenced but not dominated by the times and place in which they were written.

Lucky Children To Hear Such Music

Charles Mingus : Let My Children Hear Music Reportedly Mingus's favourite recording. A unified suite with big band forces hanging together as a coherent while. Ideal as an example to anyone who doubts the validity of jazz as an art music.

Here Comes The Kitchen Sink

Schnittke, Symphony No 1. Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leif Segerstam. Ake Lannerholm trombone, Carl-Axel Dominique jazz piano, Ben Kallenberg jazz violin. A real kitchen sink symphony with performance art, jazz improvisation, collage, quotations ( of the most famous kind ) and yes, tubular bells. And four and a half minutes of applause at the end of this live recording.

Aha, It's Aho

Kalevi Aho Symphony No 15. Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dima Slobodeniouk. Concerto for double bass and orchestra. Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jaako Kuusisto, soloist Eero Munter. Minea. Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vanska. Continuing the Scandinavian tradition with a touch of minimalism and a whiff of jazz. Recording handles the balance problems of a double bass concerto well, though some juggling with the volume switch necessary.