Jonathan Blumhofer
There’s much to recommend in Behzod Abduraimov’s rendition of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2, which is both highly characterful and a lot of fun to listen to.
A new release from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Timothy Redmond showcases music from four very different composers, two British and two American. A survey of Italian concertos from pianist Roberto Prosseda, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and conductor Nir Kabaretti supplies a specter of menace.
Some unfortunate misfires in a collection that, otherwise, has a lot going for it.
NDR Radiophilharmonie and Stanislav Kochanovsky may generate new fans for Tchaikovsky’s four orchestral suites; if you only want to dip your toes in Thomas Adès’ extraordinary music, his own take makes for a worthy introduction.
This was a “Resurrection” Symphony for today: urgent and unsettled, yes, but also searching, persevering, and, ultimately, triumphant. If the weekend turns out to have marked conductor Benjamin Zander’s last go-around with this masterpiece, what a way to finish.
It is serendipitous that James Ehnes added Brahms’ two viola sonatas to his repertoire; Patrick Messina, Lise Berthaud, and Fabrizio Chiovetta’s new recording of Bruch’s “8 Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano” serves the piece admirably.
A conspicuously inviting account of Béla Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, and a welcome surprise: Aram Khachaturian actually wrote a pretty good piano concerto.
The Sphinx Virtuosi is terrific: the group’s unified tone and articulations, impeccable responsiveness and technique, and command of stylistic nuance are all of the first rank.
A pair of pleasant traversals of the French master’s complete piano music, or thereabout, from the still-relative-newcomer Seong-Jin Cho and the established Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.
Violinist James Ehnes and the BBC Philharmonic supply some truly great performances; violinist Benjamin Schmid revels in composer Friedrich Gulda’s freewheeling sense of play.
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