• 

  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 »
• 

  War and Peace by Villa-Lobos

  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 fe [...]

  Read Review »

Latest Music Reviews

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

Virginia Zeani in Late Donizetti

by Robert Levine

This historical reissue is, by my count, the fifth performance of this opera currently available. The new Opera Rara recording is of Donizetti’s original version; the others, including this one, are of his revision (see my review here for more information on the edition and... Continue Reading

Mariya Kim’s Steel-Edged Schumann

by Jed Distler

Mariya Kim is a pianist from Ukraine who won the 2008 Seoul International Music Competition, one of several career-enhancing events that led to this release. Schumann’s Op. 3 and Op. 10 Paganini Etude sets are difficult to play yet less glittery and scintillating than Liszt’s... Continue Reading

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