Muti, Chicagoans Dull The Edges In Italian Opera CD
DIGITAL REVIEW – A mixed program of works by Verdi, Boito, Mascagni and Puccini is conducted by Riccardo Muti and performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with authority and precision, but little else.
To Finish Or Not? Bruckner’s Ninth Gets New Readings
DIGITAL REVIEW – There is no doubt that Bruckner intended to add a finale to his last symphony, but the sketches that remain are not easily translated. In two new CDs, one conductor passes, another makes a hearty try.
Weinberg’s Potent Symphony No. 21 Given Bold Etching
By Paul E. Robinson
DIGITAL REVIEW - Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla leads the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, and violinist Gidon Kremer in a superlative performance of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's eloquent 'Kaddish' Symphony.
BSO Shostakovich Cycle Continues: Nelsons Adds 6 & 7
By Richard S. Ginell
DIGITAL REVIEW – The Boston Symphony did not have much of a Shostakovich tradition historically on disc. But both the BSO and DG are catching up in a hurry as Andris Nelsons’ explores middle works in the canon.
Stenhammar CD: On A Path Apart From Schoenberg
By Paul E. Robinson
DIGITAL REVIEW – Herbert Blomstedt, championing the early 20th-century output of Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar, draws attention to his music via recordings, concerts, and an upcoming Berlin Philharmonic webcast.
CD Memorializes Stucky In Works By 32 Composers
By Richard S. Ginell
DIGITAL REVIEW – Pianist Gloria Cheng, who initiated the collection as a memorial project, performs pieces dedicated to the composer, ranging from the intensity of a work by Esa-Pekka Salonen to a little waltz by John Harbison.
Robust Americana: Hampson Explores Chicago Art Song
By Paul E. Robinson
DIGITAL REVIEW – Baritone Thomas Hampson, a tireless champion of American music, records songs by composers tied to Chicago: Ernst Bacon, Florence Price, John Alden Carpenter, Margaret Bonds, and Louis Campbell-Tipton.
Violist Makes Bold Solo Venture From Bach To Moderns
By Paul E. Robinson
DIGITAL REVIEW – Spanish violist Jesus Rodolfo, 31, has recorded 20th-century works for his chosen instrument by Ligeti and Hindemith, as well as J.S. Bach's formidably challenging Sonata in C major, originally intended for violin.
A Bouquet Of New Discs From Utah And Pacific Coast
By Richard S. Ginell
DIGITAL REVIEW – Five symphony orchestras in the West released new CDs within weeks of each other. Four of them stuck with Tchaikovsky, Berlioz and Saint-Saens, while the Oregon Symphony boldly explored new American music.
Two Major Late Works Continue Rautavaara Survey
By Paul E. Robinson
DIGITAL REVIEW – To honor the late Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara’s 90th year, Ondine has reissued recordings of his strikingly beautiful Harp Concerto, formidable Eighth Symphony, and several shorter works.
Bernstein Videos: Eloquent ‘Tristan,’ Rollicking Haydn
By Richard S. Ginell
DIGITAL REVIEW – Leonard Bernstein's only full-length Wagner opera recording features a starry cast led by Peter Hofmann and Hildegard Behrens, while the Vienna Philharmonic delivers crackling Haydn 88, 92 and 94.
Reflecting On 1968 Through The Glass Of Berio’s ‘Sinfonia’
By Richard S. Ginell
DIGITAL REVIEW – On a CD with the Seattle Symphony, departing music director Ludovic Morlot cleverly casts Luciano Berio's musical collage of a tumultuous year in the heat of Boulez's Notations I-IV and Ravel's La valse.
Back To Blitzstein, Political Roots Of Cradle Will Rock
By Paul Robinson
DIGITAL REVIEW – The premiere of this highly political piece proved to be one of the seminal moments in American musical theater. More than 82 years later, we finally have a recording of the original orchestration.
‘(R)evolution’-ary Opera About Steve Jobs Arrives On CD
By Richard S. Ginell
DIGITAL REVIEW - One of the biggest immediate successes of the 2017 music season was the world premiere of Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution Of Steve Jobs, which is now available in a recording from the inaugural Santa Fe Opera production.
New CD Unearths Three Diamonds, All In The Rough
By Paul E. Robinson
DIGITAL REVIEW – Works by David Diamond, including the first commerical recording of his Symphony No. 6, are roundly unsatisfying in performances by Indiana University ensembles conducted by Arthur Fagen.
Torke Symphony Raises Voice To American Spirit
By Richard S. Ginell
DIGITAL REVIEW - Leading the Philadelphia Orchestra's new recording of Michael Torke's Unconquered, which was inspired by the Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolution, Cristian Măcelaru proves that his star is rising.
Two Impressions Of Debussy (Who Hated That Word)
By Paul E. Robinson
DIGITAL REVIEW – Maurizio Pollini and Alexander Melnikov offer quite different approaches to Debussy's Préludes Book II, not only in conception and tempo, but also in the sonic character of the pianos they play.
De Sabata CD Set Proves Conductor Giant Of His Time
By Paul E. Robinson
DIGITAL REVIEW – From pre-war and post-war, this new four-disc treasury, which restores many of Victor de Sabata's most important recordings to the catalogue, could make his name familiar to a new generation.
Newly Discovered Early Stravinsky Work Comes to CD
By Richard S. Ginell
DIGITAL REVIEW - Though The Rite Of Spring takes up nearly half of this CD's playing time, the main event is Funeral Song, which, whatever its shortcomings, should fascinate anyone who wants to explore Stravinsky's origins.
Archive Retrieves Golden Interviews With Studs Terkel
CHICAGO – When Louis "Studs" Terkel left WFMT in 1997 after 45 years on the air, he took more than 5,600 of his reel-to-reel tape chats with the A-list of culture at large. That treasury of incredible stories is getting new digital life.
