Latest Music Reviews
Slatkin’s Dull Ravel, Volume 2
by David Hurwitz
The outstanding item on this otherwise unremarkable program is Marius Constant’s wholly convincing 1990 orchestration of Gaspard de la nuit. It goes without saying that the final movement, Scarbo, lacks some of the sheer tension and bravura of the technically demanding keyboard original when transferred... Continue Reading
A Studious Sweeney Todd from Munich
by Jed Distler
Stephen Sondheim does not consider Sweeney Todd an opera, but that doesn’t stop his 1979 musical theater masterpiece from turning up in opera houses and in semi-staged concert performances. Many of these productions lavish the same care and seriousness of purpose upon Sondheim’s vocal lines... Continue Reading
The Unimaginable Unimagined: Knowingly Unprepared for the Unknown
by David Vernier
So, are you reading this because you were curious about its weird and meaningless title? Presumably, composer Hugh Levick is hoping a similar motivation will compel at least some listeners to check out this recording of his music. For unless you already know Levick and... Continue Reading
The Well-Tempered Pienaar
by Jed Distler
In 2003 Prometheus Editions released pianist Daniel-Ben Pienaar’s recording of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier Book I. He followed up with Book II in 2004, although the recording remained unissued until now. Avie couples this Book II alongside a new Pienaar version of Book I. The remake’s... Continue Reading
Barenboim’s Scala Walküre–His Second Best
by Robert Levine
Daniel Barenboim’s Harry Kupfer-directed Bayreuth Ring Cycle on DVD from 1991-92 has long been a favorite. Kupfer’s direction, focusing so thoroughly on character(s) that it is impossible not to get involved in their plight, linked with a beautiful mise-en-scène that uses laser technology and conducting... Continue Reading
Pettersson’s Ninth and the Joy of Chromatic Misery
by David Hurwitz
Allan Pettersson’s Ninth Symphony lasts 70 brutal, continuous minutes. The entire work is based on a simple chromatic scale, and unlike many of this composer’s previous symphonies it moves at a basically swift tempo. It must be torture for the orchestra to play, especially the... Continue Reading
Elegant, Charming Singing From William Berger
by Robert Levine
Once past the sly title, designed to bring the word “ménage” to mind, underscored by the come-hither look of the CD cover, not to mention a two-page spread in the booklet that shows William Berger in bed looking both coy and knowing with a man... Continue Reading
A Not Ready for Prime Time Rachmaninov Debut
by Jed Distler
A recent Paris Conservatory graduate, Guillaume Vincent has chosen all 24 Rachmaninov Preludes for his Naïve solo debut. Trouble sets in right away, when the pianist follows the famous C-sharp Prelude’s three introductory notes with an interminable pause (it actually lasts about eleven seconds, yet... Continue Reading
Nézet-Séguin’s Well-Intentioned Tchaikovsky Pathétique
by Victor Carr Jr
Yannick Nézet-Séguin is the recently installed music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, but it’s not that ensemble he leads for this recording of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony. This is unfortunate, for it’s his being on the Philadelphia podium that arouses interest and curiosity, especially considering that... Continue Reading
Petrenko’s Almost Great Rach 1
by David Hurwitz
This live recording has a lot going for it. Petrenko leads a taut, disciplined, very well-played performance of the First Symphony. Tempos are swift, and the first movement in particular sounds unusually cogent. Petrenko uses the “full percussion” version, with glockenspiel, cymbals, and bass drum... Continue Reading
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This disc features Herbert von Karajan's Beethoven style at its worst. Super-legato phrasing (the op... Continue Reading
The feature attraction here is Lutoslawski conducting his own Third Symphony with the Berlin Philhar... Continue Reading
Bernstein played a lot of Mozart in his day, and there's no question that he genuinely loved the mus... Continue Reading
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Latest 10/10 Reviews
Years ago as a young piano student I had a book of keyboard pieces (actually I still have it) aptly titled The Joy of Bach. Here is a recording that could justly bear that same title. Violinist Rachel... Continue Reading
For her first commercial recording in nearly a decade, Blandine Verlet revisits the music of François Couperin, one of her great specialties. Although I am not familiar with her earlier out-of-print ... Continue Reading
Once upon a time before recitals became all too serious, pianists would finish their programs with an encore, or two, or three. Or maybe ten, if the pianist felt generous that night. Encores usually c... Continue Reading
