Jonathan Blumhofer
As good an interpreter of large-scale forms as he’s becoming, Andris Nelsons has always been a terrific conductor of new music.
Pianist Daniil Trifonov’s Rachmaninov album is magnificent; the Münchner Rundfunkorchester do right by Franz von Suppé’s overtures, and the Romantic Piano Concerto series continues to unearth gems.
Hilary Hahn supplies a disc of immaculate Bach; conductor Sakari Oramo and the Vienna Philharmonic play music by Rued Langgaard to the hilt.
Andris Nelsons presided over an interpretation of Mahler’s Symphony #2 that was both tightly controlled and emotionally cathartic.
JoAnn Falletta’s recording of Schreker’s orchestral works is fantastic; Manfred Honeck and his Pittsburgh Symphony make Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony shocking again, and Baiba Skride proves a strong advocate for Miklós Rózsa’s Violin Concerto.
Violinist Viktoria Mullova supplies one of the year’s most programmatically-cohesive and thoughtfully-executed albums.
What wasn’t there to love about 20th-century music on a night like this? In a word, nothing.
If Charlie Harmon’s story jumps around a bit and reads rather like a series of diary entries, it’s at the very least engaging and, for the most part, entertaining.
Two Mahler symphony entries: one is above average, the other a disappointment. Violinist Arabella Steinbacher delivers a first-rate and strongly recommended disc.
Music Commentary: 2018-19 Boston Classical Music Fall Season Preview (Orchestras, Opera, and New Music, mainly)
There’s so much going on in the area that’s good that it’s a challenge to go wrong.
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