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Review

SHOSTAKOVICH:

• Suite No. 1 for Jazz Orchestra.
• Suite from The Age of Gold.
• Suite from The Limpid Stream.
• Suite for Variety Orchestra.
• Tahiti Trot..

Singapore Symohony Orchestrra / Andrew Litton, cond.
BIS SACD 2471 TT: 69:14
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And the sun darkened - New York Polyphony

• Loyset Compère: Crux triumphans and Officium de Cruce.
• Josquin des Prez: Tu Pauperum Refugium
• Andrew Smith: Salme 55 (Psalm 55)
• Willaert: Pater noster - Ave Maria.
• Kreek: Taaveti laulud (Psalms of David): Psalm 22, "Mu Jumal! Mu Jumal!" (My God, my God?)
• de la Rue: O salutaris hostia

New York Polyphony
BIS SAC 2277 TT: 58:26
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SAINT-SAËNS:
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• Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op.22
• Valse-Caprice Wedding Cake, Op.76
  Allegro appassionato, Op.70
• Piano Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op.17
• Rhapsodie d'Auvergne, Op.73
• Africa, Op.89

Alexandre Kantorow, piano. Tapiola Sinfonietta / Jeana-Jacques Kanterow, cond.
BIS SACD 2499 TT: 85:02
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The lighter side of Dimitri Shostakovich is evident on this superb new SACD that offers a collection of a number of his jazz and lighter works as listed above. Delightful listening, particularly Tahiti Trot, his clever arrangement of Vincent Youmans' Tea for Two. The Singapore orchestra directed by Andrew Litton gives lively peformances, and the recording made August 2019 in Singapore's Esplanade Concert Hall, has superb multi-channel sound. A pleasant issue indeed!

The outstanding ensemble New York Polyphony (Geoffrey Williams, counter-tenor, tenor Stephen Caldicott, Christopher Dylan Herbert, baritone, and Craig Phillips​, bass) coninue their BIS series of early music as detailed above, and as usual they are perfect interpreters of this music written centuries ago. The recording was made June 2018 in New Jersey's Priceton Abbey, and the BIS engineers have provided their usual high quality audio. Complete texts and translations are included.

Alexandre Kantorow won thr Gold Medal in the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition, and the Grand Prix as well. He already has made several memorable reordings including Liszt concertos and Saint-Saëns piano concertos 3, 4 and 5. Now he completes his set of the latter's concertos with the first two concertos and other works for piano and orchestra listed above. Again, he is a super virtuoso, and he is given strong accompaniment from the Tapiola Sinfonietta directed by his father, Jean-Jacques Kantorow. Recordings were made in Finland's Tapiola Hall, and tfe BIS engineering could not be bettered. A fine release, a welcome opportunity to ebnoy these Saint-Saëns delights.
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R.E.B. (June, 2022)