Harmonia Mundi

Classical CD Reviews: Isabelle Faust plays Schoenberg, Mariss Jansons conducts Saint-Saëns and Poulenc, and John Wilson conducts Korngold

March 25, 2020
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Isabelle Faust makes Arnold Schoenberg’s thorny Violin Concerto sing; Mariss Jansons lends heft to Saint-Saëns’ Symphony no. 3, and John Wilson continues to be your go-to conductor for Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

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Classical CD Reviews: Beethoven & Knecht Orchestral Works, Josef Suk’s “Asrael,” and Berlioz’s “Symphonie fantastique”

March 24, 2020
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Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin’s pairing of Beethoven with Knecht is intelligent, programmatically and musically, but Thierry Fischer’s Symphony fantastique is a disappointing misfire.

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Classical CD Reviews: “Escales,” “Jeux de Miroirs,” and Liszt Symphonic Works

January 25, 2020
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John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London are one of the new decade’s most exciting partnerships; Javier Perianes’ album with the Orchestre de Paris is quite clever; Is Liszt’s music trash? The debate continues.

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Opera CD Review: The Greatest Spanish Opera? — A New Recording of Enrique Granados’s “Goyescas”

January 14, 2020
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Imagine the excitement of experiencing, for the first time, an opera by one of the greatest composers to have come out of the Spanish-speaking world!

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Classical Album Reviews: “Strangers in PARadISe,” Camille Saint-Saëns’ Orchestral Works, and Berlioz’s “Symphonie fantastique”

December 27, 2019
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Diana Tishchenko’s a violinist well worth keeping an eye on; Jun Märkl leads the MSO in brisk, shapely readings of pieces by Saint-Saëns; Françoix-Xavier Roth and Les Siecles come up with some winning Berlioz.

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Classical Album Reviews: Beethoven’s “Leonore,” Tesla Quartet’s “Joy & Desolation,” and Emmanuel Pahud’s “Dreamtime”

December 22, 2019
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A fresh, bracing take on Beethoven as a dramatist, Tesla Quartet serves up refreshingly direct and emotionally-complex performances of Mozart, and flautist Emmanuel Pahud has crafted an ear-catching, unpredictable program.

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Classical CD Review: “Free America!, Early Songs of Resistance and Rebellion” — Fight the Power!

October 7, 2019
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Enjoy Boston Camerata’s Free America! for its high spirits and its crafty, delicious way of making the iconoclasm of the past come alive.

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Classical CD Reviews: François-Xavier Roth conducts Mahler, Mariss Jansons conducts Schumann & Schubert, and Daniel Lippel plays Steve Reich

June 3, 2019
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François-Xavier Roth’s Mahler offers plenty of personality and ideas; there’s nothing on Mariss Jansons’ disc that’s really worth your time; guitarist Daniel Lippel draws out Steve Reich’s lyrical qualities.

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Classical CD Reviews: Jurowski conducts Rachmaninoff, Yiddish Cabaret, and Russian Masquerade

May 30, 2019
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Vladimir Jurowski’s new recording of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony no. 1 is a tightly-played, exciting reading; The Yiddish Cabaret’s only real offense relates to poor labeling; The transcriptions in Russian Masquerade are played with spunk and vitality.

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Classical CD Reviews: Stanford’s Mass “Via victrix”, Pablo Heras-Casado conducts Mendelssohn, and Anna Shelest plays Rubinstein

May 19, 2019
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Charles Villiers Stanford’s bold Mass Via victrix is finally heard; Pablo Heras-Casado wraps up his survey of the Mendelssohn symphonies in high style; Anna Shelest completes her performance of Anton Rubinstein piano concertos.

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