Falla reviews
El Nour (Fatma Said)
Falla: The Three-Cornered Hat, etc
Requiebros
Cantilena
Reflections: Works by Falla; Marcello; Maurice et al
Black is the Colour: works by Berio, Ravel and Falla
Black is only one of the myriad colours on this inventive and absorbing collection.
Complices
Alma Española: Voice and guitar works by Rodrigo, Tárrega, Granados, Lorca, Montsalvatge, Falla and Lara
Voice and guitar may be a natural combination for the passions and colours of Spanish song, but rarely have they sounded as vivaciously, seductively idiomatic on disc as in this collection from Isabel Leonard and guitarist Sharon Isbin.
Martha Argerich & Friends with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana
This is the last of Warner’s annual gleanings from the Lugano Festival at which Martha Argerich presides – and definitely the most exciting. She may be 76, but her playing has lost none of its phenomenal precision and brilliance; it’s a rare pleasure to hear her playing solo in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, which she has never before committed to disc. In every shared track she induces her ‘friends’ – including the excellent Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana – to raise their game to a level with hers.
Two Little Words with Dame Felicity Palmer and Simon Lepper
In this hour-long recital Dame Felicity Palmer celebrates 50 years of a career that has seen her succeed in diverse genres to a degree as consistent as it has been wide-ranging. With her mezzo still steady and her diction a model, she is able to convey the varied repertoire here with admirable focus and expressivity, ideally supported by expert accompanist Simon Lepper.