Jonathan Blumhofer
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.
There have been lots of recordings of Philip Glass to hit the market recently. One of the highlights is Víkingur Ólafsson’s Piano Works.
This invigorating, sometimes unpredictable, Beethoven-heavy program certainly offered its share of athleticism and energy.
Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra serve up some curious and, from time to time, rather languorous Elgar.
“We thought, why don’t we hark back to earlier occasions which were equal parts socializing and entertainment?”
In the Piano Concerto, Ferruccio Busoni seemed to want to have the final word in the tradition of the Romantic concerto.
Whatever challenges there may be, the enthusiasm of the New England Philharmonic’s leadership is infectious.
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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