Jonathan Blumhofer
Discs dedicated to overlooked composers Harold Shapero and Peter Lieberson are well worth your attention. Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra don’t do well by Charles Ives’ final symphony, but the three preceding symphonies fare better.
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A round-up of fresh performances of Beethoven Concerti.
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A welcome political homage to Woody Guthrie, a new recording of Ethel Smyth’s 1931 choral symphony makes a strong case for a full reconsideration of her output, and David Lang’s rejiggering of Beethoven’s Fidelio is both stirring and timeless.
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This is a conductor and ensemble that have the measure of Max Bruch’s style and voice well in hand.
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Evaluations of a smorgasbord of Beethoven symphony recordings.
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This San Francisco Symphony release proves to be a fitting send-off for music director Michael Tilson Thomas; there’s much to admire in the Seattle Symphony’s playing of Carl Nielsen’s first two symphonies; fiery energy from both violinist Arabella Steinbacher and the excellent Münchener Kammerorchester make their new disk a gem.
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For fans of David Lang and/or one of the country’s best choirs, this is a can’t-miss release; Christopher Rouse’s Fifth is about as fresh and engaging a Symphony as the composer wrote; Hub New Music plays the daylights out of Robert Honstein’s Soul House.
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Music in Eight Parts is a welcome and inviting addition to the Philip Glass canon; the Summer of Thomas Adès continues with a stirring new recording of the British composer’s keyboard work; Anna Clyne’s Dance is, without a doubt, one of the finest pieces I’ve heard this year.
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It wasn’t until 2009 that a trove of Florence B. Price scores was discovered in a dilapidated house in down-state Illinois and a revival of interest in this most remarkable of composers began in earnest.
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It’s Beethoven’s 250th birthday year: reviews of four sets of the complete piano concertos from, respectively, Paul Lewis, Stewart Goodyear, Inon Barnatan, and Stephen Hough.
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The 20th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll: The Institution Continues