Jonathan Blumhofer
Matthias Goerne offers proof that he is the Wagner baritone of the day. And Thierry Fischer’s understanding of Mahler deserves our admiration.
Highlights include an excellent Tchaikovsky symphony cycle in modern sound and one of the year’s best chamber-music albums.
A hell-for-leather approach to Schubert has its drawbacks; for all the sheen of Juan Diego Flórez’s singing, he doesn’t always seem at home in the music.
Child Alice is an important addition to the recorded catalogue of major American symphonic music.
The BSO’s performance of the Alpine Symphony had purpose and direction.
Leann Osterkamp’s playing is rhythmically alive and sympathetic to Leonard Bernstein’s style; Seong-Jin Cho shows that he is an important pianist to watch.
The BPYO is as responsive, confident, technically skilled, and emotionally expressive an orchestra as they come.
Music Commentary: Top Classical Performances and Recordings of 2017
A line-up of concerts, performances, and recordings that, as 2017 draws to its close, I can’t, for one reason or many, shake from my memory.
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