Bis
The Sinfonia of London and Susanna Mälkki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra release recordings filled with color and beauty.
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Franz Peter Zimmermann’s rendition of Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto overflows with style and character; James Ehnes’ version is generally warmer and more relaxed, though it doesn’t lack for rhythmic zip.
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Move over, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Bartók: the pantheon of great Third Piano Concertos is growing.
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This gripping and engaging release from HK Gruber and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra manages to thread the needle between the various strands of Kurt Weill’s musical personality.
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Missy Mazzoli’s scoring is generally airy and virtuosic, yet Dark with Excessive Bright doesn’t seem to add up to more than the sum of its parts.
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Soviet Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian, at his best, was compelling. Granted, he wasn’t working at this level in every piece. But most of his bigger works are better than not.
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A young ensemble, the USE is a technically accomplished one and, regardless of the interpretive strengths or weaknesses of each reading, the group’s sheer skill level is evenly impressive.
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This disc highlights various, early-20th-century works inspired by the Kalevala, the Finnish creation epic. It is a fantastic demonstration of creative programming and invigorating orchestral performance.
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Each month, our arts critics — music, book, theater, dance, and visual arts — fire off a few brief reviews.
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Here is an outstanding recording from the Escher String Quartet of music by two stylistically divergent 20th-century American composers, Samuel Barber and Charles Ives.
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