Vladimir Feltsman’s Rachmaninov Tribute
The selection of Rachmaninov Preludes and Op. 3 No. 1 Elegy stem from 2010 studio sessions. If Vladimir Feltsman’s performances ...
A Tepid Tchaikovsky Fifth
In his second crack at Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 Mikhail Pletnev still has not found his way through the work. The first two mo...
CD From Hell: Pletnev’s Dysfunctional Beethoven Symphonies
From the opening sentence of the booklet notes we know we're in trouble: "The present set of Beethoven symphonies is bound to shak...Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4; Romeo/Pletnev SACD
Does Pletnev even like Tchaikovsky? It doesn't seem so. He recorded perhaps the dullest ever complete symphony cycle for DG, and n...Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake/Pletnev
Mikhail Pletnev really is a fine ballet conductor, far more successful at characterizing short genre pieces than at sustaining the...Rimsky Orch Suites Pletnev Pentatone 9/9 SACD C
What's not to like? The music is gorgeously tuneful and atmospheric, the orchestration amazing, the playing excellent, the sonics ...Shostakovich: Symphony No.15/Pletnev SACD
Mikhail Pletnev remains a cypher. Remember how rapturously his first major recording as a conductor, Tchaikovsky's Sixth on Virgin...Ravel/Prokofiev/Schlimé: Piano Concertos- Improvisations
At 25, pianist Francesco Tristano Schlimé carries an impressive-looking artistic resumé with credits that stretch beyond the so-...Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11/Pletnev
Mikhail Pletnev's Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 excels beyond the much-hyped Rostropovich version on LSO Live, which suffers from a...Tchaikovsky: Overtures & Tone poems
This is a very handy three-disc set in spite of the fact that there are better individual recordings available for the major works...Search Music Reviews
Classics Today Insider – Sign up Now!
Sign up for Classics Today Insider exclusive music reviews and news, created specifically for classical music listeners, from the serious collector to the inquisitive newcomer. Here are some of our latest Insider Only Reviews:
All three performances on this disc are recording premieres. Two are very good, and one is dreadful.... Continue Reading
Otto Klemperer didn't record much modern music, which is a pity because there was a lot of it that h... Continue Reading
It is to the eternal credit of British musical culture in the 50s and 60s that it gave Otto Klempere... Continue Reading
Latest 10 / 10 Reviews
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 f... Continue Reading
Is there ever a wrong time to listen to the Bach violin concertos? There are no more immediately ingratiating works in Bach's oeuvre, which easily explains the number of recordings in the CD catalog: ... Continue Reading
On this astonishing disc Marc-André Hamelin demonstrates conclusively that a modern piano can do anything a fortepiano can in music of the classical period, while still retaining its superiority in d... Continue Reading
Latest Music Reviews
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 es... Continue Reading
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... Continue Reading
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 Etu... Continue Reading
