Jonathan Blumhofer
Pianist Yeol Eum Son is more than up to the demands of J.S. Bach and Maurice Ravel; violinist Bomsori brings exquisite balances and shimmering sonority to Bruch and Korngold.
Our conversation touched—considerably, as it turned out—on the current political climate and the dispiriting response of the musical world to the rising tide of homegrown authoritarianism.
Denis Kozhukin is an inspired guide to music geared toward young players by Sergei Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky; Cleveland Orchestra and Franz Welser-Möst serve up mixed rewards in performances of symphonies by Julius Eastman and Tchaikovsky.
“American Excursions” manages — and in a brisk fifty-nine minutes — to provide an impressive degree of racial, gender, and stylistic diversity.
The story of this album is that violinist María Dueñas enters as a star but emerges as a brilliant and preternaturally thoughtful artist.
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.
Arts Commentary: The Last Laugh — Stephen Colbert, Comedy, and Cultural Resistance