3 Swedish Composers Rule Virtual Stage On CD Of Piano Concertos
DIGITAL REVIEW – Pianist Peter Friis Johansson, with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Ryan Bancroft, finds great variety in concertos that span more than 100 years between turn-of-the-century romanticism and minimalism.
A Charmed New Baton Etches Vivid Arc Of Sibelius’ Symphonies
DIGITAL REVIEW – Klaus Mäkelä is the most dazzling new star in the conducting firmament. His cycle of Sibelius' seven symphonies with the Oslo Philharmonic shows why, at 26, the Finnish maestro has mesmerized seemingly everyone.
In Cage Choral Music, Bracketing Time And Minding Stopwatches
DIGITAL REVIEW – The bulk of a CD by the Latvian Radio Choir under Sigvards Kļava spotlights music from the latter years of Cage’s long fascination with aleatory procedures and different kinds of indeterminacy, tapping into his ethos of chance.
Hollywood Bowl At 100: Multi-Genre History On (What Else?) Vinyl LPs
ANALOG REVIEW – Despite the limited space of a seven-LP box and selections that could be second-guessed, this might be the most wildly diverse collection of music ever issued. Gustavo Dudamel is among LA Phil music directors represented.
Mastery Of Mitropoulos On Generous Display Across 69 Historic CDs
DIGITAL REVIEW – Dimitri Mitropoulos: The Complete RCA and Columbia Album Collection shows the conductor defying his surroundings as much as he adapted to them, and moving in the upper echelons without being fully part of them.
Mining Neglected Veins Of 20th-Century Music, And Turning Up Gems
DIGITAL REVIEW – On one CD, conductor Debora Waldman leads an intriguing array of works by a French woman, Charlotte Sohy, while a second disc brings to light orchestral music by the Ukrainian-born Greek composer Georgios Axiotis.
Shostakovich, Fellow Outcasts Celebrated In CD Of String Quartets
DIGITAL REVIEW – In its tribute "to musical troublemakers and outsiders…who wrote music that went dangerously against (regime) tastes," the Netherlands-based Matangi Quartet also plays works by Valentin Silvestrov and Alfred Schnittke.
Fantasies For Keyboard, Wafting Across Time From A Graf Fortepiano
DIGITAL REVIEW – If you needed a new fortepiano in the early 1800s, Conrad Graf was simply the man to see. Chopin and Liszt thought so, and now we all have a chance to hear one of his splendid creations in a CD from pianist Yi-heng Yang.
2 Excursions Through Shadowy ‘Pelléas’ With Different Ideals In View
DIGITAL REVIEW – Few operas operate by such singular rules as Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande. Despite similar starting points, two newly released performances are like trees with the same roots that end up turning different autumn colors.
Florence Price Revival Points To Musical Trove With Stature Of Legacy
PERSPECTIVE – While other Black composers also have enjoyed increased attention, the sustained resurgence of Price's music has been likened to the global reclamation of Gustav Mahler by musicians and the public in the mid-20th century.
2 New Bach Passions From Gardiner, Pichon Enhance Digital Options
DIGITAL REVIEW – At Eastertide, it’s no surprise to find the release of two high-profile Bach Passion recordings, the St. John led by John Eliot Gardiner and the St. Matthew under Raphaël Pichon. Both are worthy additions to an already crowded field.
DiDonato Album ‘Eden’ A Rewarding Return To ‘Essence Of Our Being’
DIGITAL REVIEW – Drawing inspiration from nature to forge a way to a better world, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato's new CD mixes repertoire from four centuries, in moods from confusion and fear to sorrow and optimism.
An Opera On The Rituals Of Marriage, Refitted To The Scale Of Television
DIGITAL REVIEW – Ana Sokolovic's opera Svadba ("Wedding"), adapted for streaming by Boston Lyric Opera, contemplates folkloric preparations for a nuptial ceremony. The trick was to re-scale the stage work as a vivid small-screen experience.
An Imaginative Pianist Hangs Mix Of Pictures At A Virtuosic Exhibition
DIGITAL REVIEW – With Phoenix, Stewart Goodyear’s latest album (out via Bright Shiny Things), the pianist-composer navigates a varied and challenging program, including his own works and an engaging Pictures at an Exhibition.
Visiting Ravel, Mahler, Artists Galore Through Archive’s Magic Portal
PERSPECTIVE – The vast Internet Archive, founded in 1996, preserves far-ranging materials online with free access to them. One LP collection alone offers lifelike rolls by renowned pianists as well as recordings by composers and early opera stars.
Crumb’s Piano Pictures As Vibrant Epitaph For An Enduring Composer
DIGITAL REVIEW – This review of George Crumb's Metamorphoses Books I and II, played by pianist Marcantonio Barone, was intended as a report on Crumb’s continuing sonic adventures. But with his death at age 92, the review has become a wake.
‘Orfeas21’ Puts A Bold Twist On Classic Story Of Monteverdi’s ‘Orfeo’
DIGITAL REVIEW – The new work, a de- and re-construction of Monteverdi's 1607 opera by the Greek creative duo FYTA, taps into LBGTQ+ themes in bringing the myth of Orpheus into the light of modern gender perspectives and conflicts.
Big Box Of Orpheus CDs Chronicles An Ensemble Sans Leader, Sans Need
DIGITAL REVIEW – Conventional wisdom tells us the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra shouldn't exist at all, let alone for 50 years. But the proof of this conductorless ensemble is in its live concerts and in a comprehensive new 55-CD boxed set.
Directorship Extended, Honeck Shows Affinity For Pittsburgh On CD
DIGITAL REVIEW - Manfred Honeck, who recently signed a six-year extension as music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, offers a compelling match of Brahms' Fourth Symphony and James MacMillan's Larghetto for Orchestra.
Elgar’s Violin Concerto Twice: The Long And Far From Short Of It
DIGITAL REVIEW – Longer than the Beethoven and the Brahms, the expanse of Elgar's concerto has perhaps limited its popularity. Still, in appealing new CDs, Nicola Benedetti and Renaud Capuçon lend the work its full measure of indulgence.
