
The Japanese baritone Hidenori Komatsu may be an Ozawa protégé but he has very little to offer avid Mahlerians–or to just plain music lovers. His
Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of Johann Vanhal. Even though he was one of the most successful composers residing in Vienna during the latter
This has been a frustrating disc to review. The two works here make a perfect coupling; the Piano Concerto shares the same sound world as
Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto is a gorgeous piece of music, splendidly written for the soloist and orchestrated with infallible mastery. Why then isn’t it better
You just have to love music like this–tuneful and exceptionally well crafted, these little concertos and cantata were, after all, intended for the pure enjoyment
The incidental music for Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (1912) belongs among the minor productions of Richard Strauss. It’s a good-spirited and exquisite work, though, well worth
This is a really well sung, nicely conceived, Classical reading of Beethoven’s great Fidelio. Lying somewhere between all of Furtwängler’s recordings and Klemperer’s monumental, darkly
Karl Muck (1859-1940) was chiefly regarded as a Wagner specialist, particularly for his conducting of Parsifal. All the recordings he made from the opera are
Brahms’ Requiem played on the piano? It may seem strange today, but back in the 19th century there was a huge market for piano scores
Given the string orchestra’s versatility and agreeable sound, and given the exceptional technical skills of today’s string players, it’s surprising that more works for this