Most of Vivaldi’s operas were composed for Venice, but between 1718 and 1720 he was in the employ of the Austrian governor of Mantua, and
One of today’s foremost champions of a cappella singing–and one who has influenced countless conductors and composers–Eric Ericson here brings to life music from one
Like other conductors before him (most notably Karajan), Kurt Masur plays the introduction to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 as if it were a movement all
Continuing along the path set by its very good recording of Beethoven’s Op. 18 Nos. 1 and 4, Quatuor Mosaïques offers even finer renditions of
Quatuor Mosaïques’ large-scaled, warm-hearted approach to Beethoven’s early quartets echoes that of Quartetto Italiano and the Vlach Quartet. The relaxed tempos and fully fleshed-out sonorities
A friend of mine once likened a particularly metronomic performance of Beethoven’s Appassionata to a man being pursued by hornets. I don’t know who’s pursuing
The clean, vivid, and simpatico teamwork cellist Anne Gastinel and pianist François-Frederic Guy bring to Beethoven is a joy to experience, not to mention their
Who said “live” was better? Here’s a sloppy, pathetic performance of Mahler’s Fifth that ought never to have been released, particularly given the high level
You never get the impression that Arnold Schoenberg was a happy composer, and nowhere is the lack of joy more evident than in his choral
This positively putrid collection reveals Il giardino armonico as the Gangsta Rappers of the period-instrument movement. They have reduced their playing to four extremes: very