Jonathan Blumhofer
There aren’t too many ensembles around that consistently remind us how fresh, rich, diverse, and thought-provoking contemporary can be.
Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter gave a searing, intense reading of the solo part in Nostalghia (In Memory of Andrei Tarkovskij).
So, what is one to make of the BPYO’s weekend effort? It was a bit bold, to be sure. But it was also stirring, heartfelt, and timely.
Mitsuko Uchida is quite possibly the finest Mozart pianist around today, at least among non-period specialists.
Sometimes new music isn’t really new and old music isn’t actually old; the best of it exists on some other plane entirely.
A welcome triumph for Hyperion, Bruch, and the Nash Ensemble, but the Oregon Symphony does not do right by Haydn.
For terrific viola playing and some fresh repertoire by familiar names, look no further than Antoine Tamestit’s Bel Canto.
Hyperion builds a CD around a superb performance of Amy Beach’s magnificent Piano Concerto.
No orchestra in this country embraces the challenges of Charles Wuorinen’s hyper-intellectual style better than the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Music Commentary: Thoughts on the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s 2017-18 Season
On paper, at least, the upcoming season of the BSO is a bit of a letdown: cautious, unthreatening, comfortable.
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