• 

  A Hough Premiere Amid Two Isserlis Repeats

  I may have missed it, but I don’t recall seeing a line of people creeping down Fifth Avenue waiting to be the first to own Steven Isserlis’ second recordings of Schelomo and Oration. Mind [...]

  Read Review »
• 

  A Charm of Lullabies

  In spite of its title (and the serene scene of repose on the CD cover), don’t think you’re going to put your darling little one to sleep with this latest recital from violinist extraordina [...]

  Read Review »
• 

  Schubert And The Lieder-King

  In Matthias Goerne’s Volume 7 of his ongoing Schubert Edition he offers a program of 19 songs, its title derived from perhaps the most famous of them, Schubert’s daring and dramatic settin [...]

  Read Review »
• 

  Jeffrey Biegel’s Grand Romance

  In the days before piano recitals became Serious Business, Romantic virtuosos delighted audiences by serving up lighthearted encores where technical fireworks and effortless charm went hand in hand. A [...]

  Read Review »
• 

  Richter’s 1975 Royal Festival Hall Recital

  In 2000 BBC Legends brought out Sviatoslav Richter’s June 11, 1975 all-Beethoven Aldeburgh recital, which I reviewed for Classicstoday.com (read review here). Now ICA Classics releases the same prog [...]

  Read Review »

Latest Music Reviews

Wagner’s First Opera

by Robert Levine

Wagner was 20 years old when he composed Die Feen (The Fairies), and it is worth a listen. Here’s a bit of Weber (Oberon and Freischütz); a hint of Mozart (Zauberflöte); an effect from Beethoven’s Fidelio. Choruses are plentiful and impressive, and there is coloratura... Continue Reading

A Hough Premiere Amid Two Isserlis Repeats

by David Hurwitz

I may have missed it, but I don’t recall seeing a line of people creeping down Fifth Avenue waiting to be the first to own Steven Isserlis’ second recordings of Schelomo and Oration. Mind you, he’s an excellent cellist. His first recordings of these works... Continue Reading

A Charm of Lullabies

by David Vernier

In spite of its title (and the serene scene of repose on the CD cover), don’t think you’re going to put your darling little one to sleep with this latest recital from violinist extraordinaire Rachel Barton Pine. In fact, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine... Continue Reading

Schubert And The Lieder-King

by David Vernier

In Matthias Goerne’s Volume 7 of his ongoing Schubert Edition he offers a program of 19 songs, its title derived from perhaps the most famous of them, Schubert’s daring and dramatic setting of Goethe’s Erlkönig. However, Goerne doesn’t begin the recital with that or another... Continue Reading

Joseph Byrd: Unsung Avant-Gardist

by Jed Distler

In 1968 when I was eleven years old, I became obsessed with alternative pop music radio stations that featured non-commercial fare. That’s how I first got to know Joseph Byrd’s music. He had a band called The United States of America, whose use of electronic... Continue Reading

Jeffrey Biegel’s Grand Romance

by Jed Distler

In the days before piano recitals became Serious Business, Romantic virtuosos delighted audiences by serving up lighthearted encores where technical fireworks and effortless charm went hand in hand. At first the prospect of hearing 16 such pieces in a row struck me as akin to... Continue Reading

Richter’s 1975 Royal Festival Hall Recital

by Jed Distler

In 2000 BBC Legends brought out Sviatoslav Richter’s June 11, 1975 all-Beethoven Aldeburgh recital, which I reviewed for Classicstoday.com (read review here). Now ICA Classics releases the same program from Richter’s London recital one week later, on June 18, at the Royal Festival Hall. Richter... Continue Reading

Tirimo’s Masterful Debussy Available Again

by Jed Distler

Recorded between 1988 and 1991 for Carlton Classics and reissued anew by Alto, Martino Tirimo’s Debussy solo-piano music cycle remains a serious and arguably underappreciated contender. For starters, Tirimo’s warm, beautifully nuanced sonority and the alluring resonance of the Rosslyn Hill Chapel in Hampstead mesh... Continue Reading

War and Peace by Villa-Lobos

by David Hurwitz

These two symphonies were both composed in 1919 and reflect the composer’s response to the First World War. Musically they have a lot in common, save that the “War” Third Symphony features a lengthy funeral march while the “Victory” Fourth Symphony (I know, it’s not... Continue Reading

London Baroque Plays French Trio Sonatas

by John Greene

London Baroque offers a selection of mostly unfamiliar yet often inspired French baroque trio sonatas. With the exception of François Couperin’s L’Imperiale, the works by Leclair, Boismortier, and especially those by Dolle and Guignon are rarely performed, let alone recorded. They do, however, feature many... Continue Reading

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