This is wonderful. Barber; a singer and pianist who specialises in cool sophistication with an undertone of irony, and the songs of Cole Porter make for an intoxicating mix. She spins some original takes on these familiar songs, taking Easy to Love a
s a bossa and introducing some powerhouse guitar into Miss Otis Regrets, but nothing sounds out of place or contrived. And on C'est Magnifique and Get Out of Town, Barber offers near-definitive interpretations. Rush out and buy. AV
Michael Feinstein: The Sinatra Project (Concord) £12.99Feinstein's a canny interpreter of the Great American Songbook and this is a well-crafted record with some appealingly unusual twists. There's a surprise with The Same Hello, the Same Goodbye, a good song written for Sinatra but never recorded. Begin the Beguine is taken at the insinuating tempo Old Blue Eyes favoured in the 50s, and some additional lyrics to At Long Last Love freshen it up. The backing big band is sumptuous, and under Bill Elliott produces some very bright moments for Feinstein who is on fine form. AV
Shostakovich: Symphony 5. Signum Classics, SIG CD135. £10.99 Totalitarianism may be history in Russia but Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony remains as a rebuke to tyranny. Vladimir Ashkenazy's reading may not be the most visceral but the grasp of structure and command of detail that made him such a compelling pianist emerges in his conducting. The opening has the intensity of chamber music while the militaristic fanfares and sardonic asides gain extra potency through his forensic approach. The Philharmonia responds superbly with especially fine brass and woodwind playing. RB
Louis Spohr: Symphonies. CPO, 777 178-2. £12.99 Devotees of 19th century German symphonic music will welcome this release from conductor Howard Griffiths and the NDR Philharmonic. Many concert-goers know the composer for his Octet or Nonet
but his early Romantic symphonies, full of charm, fluent
melody and deft scoring, are gaining currency. This pairing of
the second in D minor and the Eighth in G brings music to lift
the spirits. The orchestra responds with playing of great
affection and freshness. RB
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