Big Boxes: Super Rossini from Abbado
Claudio Abbado is one of the more enigmatic conductors still working--a micro-manager whose youthful fire seems to have been repla...
Eötvös Tackles Berio’s Epic Sinfonia (gently)
One of the iconic works of the 1960s, with its homage to Martin Luther King and its collage-like tribute to the scherzo of Mahler'...
Steinberg’s Reference Holst and Strauss
William Steinberg's Zarathustra always has been a personal favorite. Deutsche Grammophon never gave it much support because of exc...
Boulez Bores in Mahler and Berg
Pierre Boulez may be the only conductor alive at present to have recorded Mahler's Das klagende Lied twice, first for Sony in the ...
Big Boxes: Karajan’s Last Strauss Recordings
Karajan was a masterful Strauss conductor, no question about it, and a remarkably consistent one too. When these digital recording...
Big Boxes: Michelangeli’s Inimitable DG Legacy
Michelangeli was an artist of controversial greatness. To some, he was absolutely frigid, and what sounded like his glacial perfec...
Filling in the Gaps: Strauss’ Divertimento, Op. 86
Richard Strauss deserves more credit as one of the earliest exponents of 20th century neoclassicism than he usually gets--probably...
Gounod’s Saint Cecilia Mass: Reference Recording No. 1
There are two great recordings of this Mass (so far): Jean-Claude Hartemann's on EMI, and this one. The EMI version, with French f...
Big Boxes: Kempff’s Complete Concerto Recordings
All of Wilhelm Kempff’s commercial concerto recordings are assembled for the first time in this 14-disc boxed set, complementing...
Big Boxes: Beethoven Masterworks from DG
Deutsche Grammophon’s 51-CD Beethoven Masterworks compilation boxed set covers the full scope of this composer’s output, and f...Search Music Reviews
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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:
Claudio Abbado is one of the more enigmatic conductors still working--a micro-manager whose youthful... Continue Reading
These Strauss recordings are amazing. Granted, Don Juan isn't as sprightly as it could be (though st... Continue Reading
Klemperer took his Mozart very, very seriously. This works wonderfully well in The Magic Flute, a re... 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
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... Continue Reading
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... Continue Reading
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
