Jonathan Blumhofer
Johannes Brahms’s wistful 1894 Clarinet Sonatas receive fantastic performances.
Taken together, the selections on Attacca Quartet’s latest release is something of a meditation on the human condition.
If you’re looking for instrumental music that grapples with tumultuous events, times, and circumstances, this may well be the disc for you.
During the pandemic months, Conrad Tao – who, in addition to being an exceptional pianist, is also an accomplished composer – has evidently been honing his skills as an improviser.
The Crier’s program pairs three composers one doesn’t always find together. As is likewise the norm with this group and their selections, everything somehow connects – and on multiple levels.
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.
A mightily played, deeply felt, and finely recorded album from Trio Con Brio.
Florence Price’s voice and the richness and complexity of an almost-entirely neglected body of symphonic music by Black American composers can be heard in this excellent recording.
This is an album of real spirit and vigor, a mix of the thoughtful and the exciting, all bracingly recorded.
Music Commentary: Top Classical Performances and Recordings of 2021
Here are a handful of concerts that stand out from the past several months, as well as my favorite albums of 2021 – apparently even a global pandemic can’t stop the surprisingly resilient classical music recording industry.
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