Andrew McGregor with Simon Heighes and Ariane Todes
Simon Heighes chooses five indispensable recordings of works by featured Proms composer Handel and explains why they need to be heard. Plus this week's outstanding new releases.
Proms Composer: Handel
Each Saturday during Summer Record Review, one of the programme's stalwart chooses five indispensable recordings of a great composer featured in the Proms. Today, Simon Heighes plays his top five Handel discs and tells us why you need to hear them.
11.00
Ariane Todes compares 2 CD boxes of recordings made by some of the most legendary of violinists: a 15-CD set of Joseph Szigeti and a 10-CD set of Max Rostal, both for Milestones of a Violin Legend.
11.45
Proms Recording:
Each week during Summer Record Review, we select a major work from the Proms and play you the current Building a Library recommendation. Today, it's an extract from Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream performed by Kathleen Battle and Frederica von Stade as first and second fairies and Dame Judi Dench as the narrator with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa.
Last on
Music Played
-
![]()
Johannes Brahms
Ein Deutsches Requiem iv. Wie Lieblich
Orchestrator: Iain Farrington. Ensemble: Yale Schola Cantorum. Conductor: David Hill.- Hyperion.
-
![]()
Wilhelm Stenhammar
Romeo And Juliet Suite Op. 45: iii. Gavotte
Orchestra: Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Neeme J盲rvi.- BIS.
-
![]()
Louis Couperin
Suite in E minor
Performer: Christophe Rousset.- Harmonia Mundi.
-
![]()
Leos Jan谩膷ek
Glagolitic Mass
Singer: Hibla Gerzmava. Singer: Veronika Hajnov. Singer: Stuart Neill. Singer: Jan Martin铆k. Choir: Prague Philharmonic Choir. Orchestra: Czech Philharmonic. Conductor: Ji艡铆 B臎lohl谩vek.- Decca.
-
![]()
George Frideric Handel
Dixit Dominus Opening Chorus
Ensemble: Taverner Choir and Players. Conductor: Andrew Parrott.- EMI.
-
![]()
George Frideric Handel
Athalia: Act 3; Final scene
Ensemble: Academy of Ancient Music. Choir: Choir of New College Oxford. Conductor: Christopher Hogwood.- Decca.
-
![]()
George Frideric Handel
Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.5/iv & v (Largo / Allegro)
Ensemble: Academy of Ancient Music. Conductor: Andrew Manze.- Harmonia Mundi.
-
![]()
George Frideric Handel
Alcina/Act 3 'Sta nell'Ircana'
Performer: Della Jones. Ensemble: City of London Baroque Sinfonia. Conductor: Richard Hickox.- EMI.
-
![]()
George Frideric Handel
Concerto a due cori HWV 333 in F
Orchestra: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. Conductor: Petra M眉llejans. Conductor: Gottfried von der Goltz.- Harmonia Mundi.
-
![]()
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Violin Concerto in D Op. 35 ii. Romance
Performer: Baiba Skride. Orchestra: Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Santtu-Matias Rouvali.- Orfeo.
-
![]()
Leonard Bernstein
Some other time
Performer: Stephen Higgins. Singer: Thomas Allen. Singer: Lucy Crowe.- Champs Hill Records.
-
![]()
Felix Mendelssohn
Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream
Singer: Kathleen Battle. Singer: Frederica von Stade. Narrator: Judi Dench. Choir: Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Seiji Ozawa.- Deutsche Grammophon.
Summer Record Review
9.00am
听
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem (chamber ensemble orchestration by Iain Farrington)
Yale Schola Cantorum
David Hill
Hyperion CDA68242
听
听
Stenhammar: Sangen
Charlotta Larsson (soprano)
Martina Dike (alto)
Lars Cleveman (tenor)
Fredrik Zetterstr枚m (baritone)
Children鈥檚 Choir of Norrk枚pings musikklasser
Gothenburg Symphony Chorus
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Neeme J盲rvi
BIS BIS2359 SACD (Hybrid SACD)
听
Louis Couperin: Suites for Harpsichord
Christophe Rousset (harpsichord Ioannes Couchet du Mus茅e des Instruments)
Harmonia Mundi HMM902501.02 (2 CDs)
听
Jan谩膷ek: Glagolitic Mass, Sinfonietta, Taras Bulba and The Fiddler's Child
Czech Philharmonic
Ji艡铆 B臎lohl谩vek
Decca 4834080 (2 CDs)
听
听
9.30am 鈥� Proms Composer: Simon Heighes on Handel
听
Handel: Carmelite Vespers (1707)
Taverner Choir and Players
Andrew Parrott
Erato 5615792 (2CDs)
听
Handel: Athalia
Emma Kirkby (soprano)
Joan Sutherland (soprano)
Aled Jones (treble)
David Thomas (bass)
Anthony Rolfe Johnson (tenor)
James Bowman (counter-tenor)
The Academy of Ancient Music
Choir of New College, Oxford
Christopher Hogwood
Decca 4832049 (2 CDs)
听
听
Handel: Concerti grossi Op. 6 Nos. 1-12 HWV319-330
Academy of Ancient Music
Andrew Manze
Harmonia Mundi HMG50722829 (2 CDs)
听
听
Handel: Alcina
Arleen Aug茅r (soprano)
Eiddwen Harrhy (soprano)
Patrizia Kwella (soprano)
Della Jones (mezzo-soprano)
Kathleen Kuhlmann (mezzo-soprano)
Maldwyn Davies (tenor)听听听听听听
John Tomlinson (bass)
Opera Stage Chorus & City of London Baroque Sinfonia
Richard Hickox
Warner Classics 0880212 (3CDs)
听
听
Handel: Concerti a Due Cori
Freiburger Barockorchester
Petra M眉llejans
Gottfried von der Goltz
Harmonia Mundi HMM905272
听
10.20am 鈥� New Releases
听
Debussy: Preludes; Satie: Gymnopedies, Gnossiennes
Fazil Say (piano)
Warner Classics 9029570567
听
听
American Concertos
Bernstein: Serenade for Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion (after Plato's "Symposium", 1954), Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Korngold: Concerto D major op. 35 for Violin and Orchestra, R贸zsa: Concerto op. 24 for Violin and Orchestra
Baiba Skride (violin)
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Orfeo C932182A (2 CDs)
听
听
September Songs
Includes Bernstein's Some Other Time, Cole Porter's Just One of Those Things, Gershwin's Someone to Watch over Me
Thomas Allen (baritone)
Lucy Crowe (soprano)
Stephen Higgins (piano)
Champs Hill Records CHRCD144
听
听
10.55 - Reissues: Ariane Todes on great violinists
听
Max Rostal - Milestones Of A Violin Legend
Max Rostal (violin)
Documents 600473 (10 CDs)
听
听
Joseph Szigeti - Milestones Of A Violin Legend
Joseph Szigeti (violin)
Documents 600465 (10 CDs)
听
听
11.45am 鈥� BAL Proms Choice Mendelssohn's Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream as chosen by Richard Morrison on 25th June 2005
听
听
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream - incidental music, Op. 61
Kathleen Battle (soprano)
Frederica von Stade (mezzo-soprano)
Judi Dench (narrator)
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听
DG 4398972
听
Broadcast
- Sat 1 Sep 2018 09:00大象传媒 Radio 3
Composers A to Z
Visit the extensive Radio 3 audio archive of programmes about composers and their works.
Browse previous episodes of the Record Review Podcast
All episodes since 2010, listed alphabetically by composer surname.
Why the music we love as teens stays with us for life
Cognitive neuropyschology can explain why we return to old favourites again and again.