Jonathan Blumhofer
Sir Simon Rattle’s latest traversal of Gustav Mahler’s Sixth Symphony is something special; Pianist Aurélien Pontier’s stylish disc is a celebration of the music of fin de siècle Vienna.
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Sir Mark Elder’s latest traversal of Edward Elgar’s two symphonies supplies orchestral playing of the highest level; Sir Antonio Pappano provides plenty of electrifying moments in a pairing of orchestral favorites.
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The debut album of Decoda, the first – and, so far, only – affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall, and a disc featuring a trio of works by two mid-century Chicago-based composers, Florence Price and Leo Sowerby.
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Some solidly impressive Mozart — aside from the filler, fifteen minutes of mono-dynamic, schlocky medleys.
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Two discs: Jamaican-American musician Jordan Bak celebrates music for the viola and a reconstruction of Charles Martin Loeffler’s abandoned Octet.
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There’s no question that either the violinist or the orchestra are completely at home with Julia Perry’s larger style or the notes: this is about as confident and secure a first recording as they come.
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Sir Simon Rattle revisits the music of Benjamin Britten and Elim Chan once again draws on her remarkable ear for detail.
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The performance of John Adams’s “City Noir” is swift and characterful, though sometimes pushed perhaps a bit too hard for its own good. The rendition of Leonard Bernstein’s “Serenade” is clear but a bit too safe.
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The Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich recording of Mendelssohn’s Symphonies doesn’t cast the composer as a radical, but the effort highlights the strengths of his music and finds ways to put distinctive interpretive stamps on several of these scores.
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Pianist Marc-André Hamelin demonstrated a total command and control of his materials.
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Arts Commentary: Rich in Creativity — But Nothing Else