Latest Music Reviews
Alexandra Sostmann’s Renaissance-Contemporary Connection
by Jens F. Laurson
Working in a record store (remember those?) you could learn about some intriguing couplings of taste–some more, some less obvious. Hard rock and romantic music (Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Wagner) is perhaps the most noticeable. Another one is early music (up to, but not necessarily including... Continue Reading
Donizetti’s Delightful Quartets
by Jed Distler
Gaetano Donizetti’s reputation as one of the bel canto school’s most influential and prolific composers tends to overshadow his industrious accomplishments in other genres. The majority of his 18 string quartets date from the composer’s early 20s, after he had studied with Simon Mayr, who... Continue Reading
Rattle Whiffs On Rachmaninov’s Second
by David Hurwitz
Does Simon Rattle do anything consistently well aside from Szymanowski? I mean, for what music does he show a special affinity? What composers does he interpret that make you look forward to his next release? I can’t think of any. I doubt he can either.... Continue Reading
Big Boxes: Pierre Barbizet–An Accompanist Up Front
by Jed Distler
Collectors are mostly likely to know pianist Pierre Barbizet (1922-1990) as violinist Christian Ferras’ accompanist. Indeed, nine of the 14 CDs making up Warner’s complete edition of Barbizet’s Erato and HMV recordings feature Ferras, and are part of Warner’s complete Ferras edition. That means you... Continue Reading
Schubert’s Lovable Dances
by Jed Distler
Schubert was a veritable dancing machine who tossed off minuets, waltzes, gallops, and other such pieces in droves when he wasn’t otherwise busy with symphonies, sonatas, chamber works, and hundreds of songs. He usually grouped them in batches, although brief little stand-alone dances pop up... Continue Reading
The BEST Peter Grimes–Yes, The Best!
by Robert Levine
There is a handful of frequently recorded operas, all considered “challenging works”, that have never had a bad recording. One can come across, without searching too hard, a mediocre Bohème, an undercast Butterfly, a lackluster Cosi fan tutte, and an Aida or Don Carlo or... Continue Reading
Mitsuko Uchida’s Second Beethoven Concerto Cycle
by Jens F. Laurson
Mitsuko Uchida’s slightly-under-the-radar cycle of Beethoven Piano Concertos with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the artless Kurt Sanderling (Philips/Decca) is one of my favorites for its almost self-effacing musicality and the orchestral precision that translates into lightness without sacrificing oomph. On Classicstoday.com Jed Distler... Continue Reading
Piotr Anderszewski’s Revelatory Bach Pianism
by Jed Distler
For his latest Bach outing, Piotr Anderszewski has selected a well-contrasted and intelligently programmed group of twelve Preludes and Fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book II. His Bach pianism is a revelation in many respects. For starters, vocal music and dance idioms inform Anderszewski’s tempos.... Continue Reading
CD From Hell: Antonini’s Horrible Haydn “Farewell”
by David Hurwitz
This disc is so bad that I’m reviewing it twice, both as a video on my YouTube channel and here. What is it about Haydn that leads performers to treat him as a blank canvas on which to smear whatever interpretive graffiti suits them? In... Continue Reading
Video Review: Gielen’s Gloriously Gory Mahler Das Klagende Lied
by David Hurwitz
The Bottom Line: Finally, a performance of Mahler’s youthful horror story that realizes every gruesome detail with positively sadistic relish. There are other fine versions in the catalog, Tilson Thomas and Chailly especially, but this live version is the most graphic, exciting, and true to... Continue Reading
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