Latest Music Reviews
Playing It Like Toscanini
by Victor Carr Jr
For Arturo Toscanini’s 150th anniversary, Steven Richman and the Harmonie Ensemble/New York present a collection of orchestral pieces particularly associated with the maestro. In terms of repertoire there’s little here that you probably don’t have duplicated already in your collection, but there is one rarity:... Continue Reading
An Enduring Christmas Oratorio From Mainz
by David Vernier
Bach’s Christmas Oratorio has been treated very well on disc. In our own archives we list several first-rate choices, including sets from Harmonia Mundi (Jacobs), Hänssler (Rilling), and Channel Classics (Veldhoven). If you don’t own one of those, or happen to be looking for another... Continue Reading
Enjoyable (Mostly) Early Copland from Wilson
by David Hurwitz
A pattern in this series is starting to emerge. John Wilson and the BBC Philharmonic tend to do better in Copland’s earlier works. The reason isn’t hard to fathom. These pieces are stylistically more diverse and exploratory, as well as less personal, than his later... Continue Reading
Shallow Copland Third from Wilson and the BBC Phil
by David Hurwitz
This release is billed as Orchestral Works 4, and Symphonies Vol. 3, which strikes me as a bit of overkill, especially given the fact that Copland’s output was not that large. Never mind. The performance of the Third Symphony is swift and light, with the... Continue Reading
Copland’s Third with Original, Even Louder Ending
by David Hurwitz
Leonard Slatkin can always be counted on to offer a new take on familiar classics. He recorded an excellent Copland Third for RCA back in his St. Louis days, and this performance is almost identical in terms of tempo and expression–but not quite. Copland’s publishers,... Continue Reading
King’s Celebrates 100th Carol Service
by David Vernier
This two-disc set’s title–100 Years of Nine Lessons & Carols–is a bit confusing. This year, 2018, is indeed the 100th anniversary of King’s College’s now legendary Christmas Eve service known as A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. However, no recordings were made until the... Continue Reading
Ashkenazy’s Illuminating Debussy Preludes
by Jed Distler
Although Vladimir Ashkenazy no longer performs in concert as a pianist, he continues to record and to explore new repertoire, such as the complete Debussy Preludes. Book I stems from studio sessions held in October 2017, and, happy to report, Ashkenazy’s 80-year-old fingers prove impressively... Continue Reading
CD From Hell: Andrew Davis’ More Is Less Messiah
by David Vernier
Wait. What’s that snare drum doing there? And is that a harp in “Comfort ye”? Brass and winds–lots of them–in the Sinfonia? (Someone forgot to tell the horn (trombone?) to cut off at the end…) Did someone just discover a trove of missing parts for... Continue Reading
Christmas With Sonoro
by David Vernier
For most listeners, even those experienced with Christmas choral collections, the majority of original works and arrangements on this program will be unfamiliar. And that turns out to be a good thing–the selections are diverse enough yet compatible and complementary in style, all set with... Continue Reading
Larsson’s Reactionary Third Symphony
by David Hurwitz
Larsson composed his Third Symphony in 1944-5, but you’d think it was written 75 years earlier. It has absolutely nothing interesting or distinctive to recommend it. From the shopworn approach to form, to the conservative unto death orchestration, it sounds like the work of a... Continue Reading
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