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 reviews are provided below.
Honegger Symphony No. 4, Pastoral d'été, A Christmas Cantata
Vladimir Jurowski
[In the Cantata] the orchestra plays brilliantly. Add in lucid accounts of Honegger’s sunny Fourth Symphony (“Deliciae Basilienses”) and gently bluesy “Pastorale d’Été,” and what results is a disc admirable in all seasons.
Steve Smith, New York Times, December 2011
All three works on this unexpectedly satisfying CD communicate a joie de vivre without ever sounding lightweight. The jaunty Symphony No 4 is performed with the wit and subtlety it deserves, bringing out the song-like character of its three movements.
****
Andrew Clark, Financial Times, November 2011
The often complex lines are clearly differentiated, and the extraordinary contrapuntal feat in the finale of five simultaneous tunes comes off splendidly.
Roger Nichols, Gramophone, December 2011
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Sibelius Symphony No 5 and Lutoslawski Concerto for Orchestra
Jukka-Pekka Saraste
This has to be one of the best recordings around of Sibelius's Fifth. And Lutoslawski's Concerto can never have been more brilliantly played.
**** Classic FM Magazine, November 2011
Lutoslawski's brilliantly beguiling Concerto for Orchestra is wonderfully well played - a performance of great concentration, energy and sensitivity - and here the analytical clarity of the venue's acoustic helps the music considerably. A most successful disc.
Robert Matthew-Walker, International Record Review, Nov 2011
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Dvorak Symphony No 8 and Symphonic Variations
Sir Charles Mackerras
Sir Charles Mackerras’s way with Dvorak was invariably unaffected, bracing and energetic, and this live relay is no exception.
Rob Cowan, Gramophone, Sep 2011
This live 1992 recording from Festival Hall shows Mackerras at the height of his powers. It is a joy from beginning to end ... None knew better than Mackerras how to pace and colour this magical work, and the orchestra responds magnificently.
David Cairns, The Sunday Times, 31 July 2011
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Mahler Resurrection Symphony
LPO-0054
Vladimir Jurowski
NPR Top 50 Albums 2011
Jurowski perfectly blends all the interior neuroses (whiplash fortissimos and angst-ridden double basses) with Mahler's heavenly vistas, built on lustrous strings and plaintive winds. This is Jurowski's fifth year at the head of the LPO, and with this recording, you might wonder if he can make his orchestra sound any better.
CD of the month, Gramophone Magazine, August 2011
A performance of revelations, big and small, and easily the most illuminating to have appeared on disc in a very long time. Jurowski wipes the floor with the recent Rattle and Jansons accounts and is probably now the prime recommendation, the “library” choice, that has for so long eluded us.
Edward Seckerson, Gramophone, August 2011
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Shostakovich Piano Concertos and Quintet
LPO-0053
Vladimir Jurowski / Martin Helmchen
Shostakovich gives piano and orchestra well-balanced dialogue in two works for the medium, captured with nimble energy by fine young soloist Martin Helmchen and the LPO in this live recording.
Fiona Maddocks, The Observer, 20 March 2011
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Mahler Symphony No. 8
LPO-0052
Klaus Tennstedt
Editor's Choice, Gramophone Magazine June 2011
Tennstedt’s studio recording with the London Phil has for my money long been the finest account available, so to have this live version – so concentrated, living on its nerves – is a gift.
James Inverne, Gramophone, June 2011
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Haydn The Seven Last Words
LPO-0051
Vladimir Jurowski, Lisa Milne, Ruxandra Donose, Andrew Kennedy, Christopher Maltman, London Philharmonic Choir
This meld of orchestra, chorus and soloists is moving and magnificent, in both idea and execution.
Michael Church, The Independent, January 2011
Recorded live in 2009, this is a full-bodied performance which nevertheless behaves itself with admirable restraint … The choral movements are sustained with poise and discipline, and the solo line-up is equally impressive.
Andrew Clark, Financial Times, February 2011
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Choral music for Christmas
LPO-0050
Vladimir Jurowski
Here’s a delightful disc of Christmas music by three major composers … Vladimir Jurowski is a conductor whose repertoire seems to know no bounds and whose imaginative programming is a constant source of pleasure. … Warmly recommended.
Nigel Simeone, International Record Review, December 2010
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Bruckner Symphony No. 6
LPO-0049
Christoph Eschenbach
Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice, February 2011
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Verdi Requiem
LPO-0048
Jesús López-Cobos, Margaret Price, Livia Budai, Giuseppe Giacomini, Robert Lloyd, London Philharmonic Choir
This live recording from the Festival Hall in 1983 is so good, I regret not having attended the concert.
Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times, September 2010
With ravishing orchestral playing and fine singing from the London Philharmonic Choir, this is a performance not to be missed.
Classic FM
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Holst The Planets
LPO-0047
Vladimir Jurowski
"This is not only a very exciting Planets, it's also a most interesting one...The LPO's playing positively glows with colour and energy"
EDITOR'S CHOICE, Gramophone Magazine, November 2010
"There's real savagery in the way in which [Jurowski] and the London Philharmonic remorselessly build Mars to its shattering climax, French wit in the scherzo-like qualities of Mercury and Uranus, and Stravinskian formality in the restraint of Saturn, and, although some conductors would make a bigger deal out of the central section of Jupiter, it's no bad thing that Jurowski doesn't. Thoroughly recommended." ****
Andrew Clements, The Guardian, October 2010
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Elgar’s Symphony 1 and Sea Pictures
LPO-0046
Vernon Handley, Dame Janet Baker
Elgar fans should rush to buy this live recording of an LPO Festival Hall concert from 1984. Vernon Handley’s eloquent account of the First Symphony, restrained yet generously abandoned, is one to treasure. But the plum is Janet Baker’s Sea Pictures … Her glorious, rich contralto voice, soaring and floating, is made for this music …
Fiona Maddocks, The Guardian 9 May 2010
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Mahler: Symphony No 2 conducted by Klaus Tennstedt
LPO-0044
Awarded a Diaspason d'Or, June 2010.
"The brass section is positively heroic in the outer movements, the woodwinds in the scherzo are an unalloyed delight. Jard Van Nes offers one of the best accounts of "Urlicht" on disc--full of feeling and a keen sense of the text. " classicstoday.com, 2010
"The playing and singing are excellent, and the recording, made by the Music Performance Research Centre, is near-faultless. Those curious about the "Tennstedt effect", what Andrew Mellor in the sleeve note describes as "living art of the most acute profundity", should investigate without delay. " The ArtsDesk
Brahms: Symphonies 1 and 2
LPO-0043
Vladimir Jurowski
BBC Music Magazine disc of the month - June 2010
"Conductors, buy this and learn; the rest of us can just enjoy" *****
'This is round, full, beautiful Brahms that never neglects the letter and gives full rein to the spirit. Everything is delivered in that blended, golden London Philharmonic sound, its permutations of light and shade seemingly infinite....The Jurowski/LPO marriage abundantly exudes that rare joy in corporate music-making all too seldom encountered in this day and age. I can only wish my fellow music lovers in London the profoundest pleasure at the miracle occurring in their midst'
International Record Review, April 2010
This pair of budget-priced CDs on the LPO’s own label demonstrate how, in the right hands, the first two symphonies can thrill and delight … exquisite wind playing …genuinely exciting …
Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk, 22 February 2010
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Dvorak: Requiem
LPO-0042
Neeme Järvi with Lisa Milne, Karen Cargill, Peter Auty, Peter Rose and the London Philharmonic Choir
GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE EDITOR'S CHOICE
(January 2010)
"This is a simply staggering recording of an unfairly neglected work....The London Philharmonic are on world-class form. Must have been quite a concert."
Neeme Järvi leads a sturdy, evocative performance graced by gorgeous singing from the London Philharmonic Choir.
Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 March 2010
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