Latest Music Reviews
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
Naxos’ Rossini Overture Edition Complete
by David Hurwitz
This volume completes Naxos’ very enjoyable four-disc set of the complete Rossini overtures. Think about it: that’s a lot of orchestral music from a composer known almost exclusively for his vocal works–three or four Bruckner symphonies’ worth, and what would you rather listen to? This... Continue Reading
Pettersson’s Appealingly Dismal Sixth Symphony
by David Hurwitz
Who ever knew that music could capture such a wide range of negative emotion? Allan Pettersson’s Sixth runs the gamut from sad, tragic, wrathful, miserable, and stormy, to neurotic, stressful, dismal, pained, vicious, and sepulchral. What it never sounds is happy, though as we all... Continue Reading
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It's understandable that Decca would choose this set for release on "Originals." It is fully represe... Continue Reading
Reviewing music is such a subjective business; few and far-between are the opportunities to cover a ... Continue Reading
This was the first stereo recording of this opera, released in 1962. Erich Leinsdorf may not have be... Continue Reading
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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
