Many of the qualities that mark Penderecki’s best work – exquisite technique, an innate feel for rhythmic athleticism, an ear for dazzling colors and theatrical gestures, an impeccable sense of musical structure, and the affinity for emotional immediacy – are also hallmarks of Rouse’s.
Classical Music
Opera CD Review: A Tenor as a Villain? Donizetti’s Unusual Two-Tenor Opera Gets a First — and Fine — Recording
An 1829 opera about Elizabeth I and her supposed lover — enlivened by underhanded threats, virtuous resistance, remorse, and an attempted poisoning — proves well worth reviving.
Arts Remembrance: Flutist Doriot Anthony Dwyer
Doriot Anthony Dwyer was a virtuoso flutist, one who could coax brightly burnished tones out of the instrument.
Classical CD Reviews: “Clytemnestra,” Max Reger’s “Der Einsiedler,” and Richard Strauss “Lieder”
Soprano Ruby Hughes’ album is fine, well played, sung, and programmed; baritone Christoph Prégardien delivers vocal works by Mahler, Alexander von Zemlinsky, and Max Reger with warmth; soprano Diana Damrau is in her glorious prime singing the songs of Strauss.
Classical CD Reviews: Isabelle Faust plays Schoenberg, Mariss Jansons conducts Saint-Saëns and Poulenc, and John Wilson conducts Korngold
Isabelle Faust makes Arnold Schoenberg’s thorny Violin Concerto sing; Mariss Jansons lends heft to Saint-Saëns’ Symphony no. 3, and John Wilson continues to be your go-to conductor for Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
Classical CD Reviews: Beethoven & Knecht Orchestral Works, Josef Suk’s “Asrael,” and Berlioz’s “Symphonie fantastique”
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin’s pairing of Beethoven with Knecht is intelligent, programmatically and musically, but Thierry Fischer’s Symphony fantastique is a disappointing misfire.
Opera Album Review: Rossini’s Pre-fab Opera, “Edoardo e Cristina,” Turns Out to Be First-Rate
The practice of re-using large chunks of an opera for a new plot and new words may sound implausible to us, but in Rossini’s hands the result is delightful and surprisingly coherent.
Classical CD Reviews: “Aspects of America: The Pulitzer Edition,” Morton Gould “Symphonettes,” and Lindberg conducts Bernstein
Lovers of American music, don’t miss Aspects of America: The Pulitzer Edition ; Lindberg’s recording of Leonard Bernstein’s first two symphonies lacks a compelling command of the musician’s singular voice; the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra tackles four pieces by Morton Gould.
Concert Review: Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra plays Stravinsky and Berlioz
Desperate times, desperate measures.
Music Preview: Electric Earth Concerts Powers Into its 9th Season
This writer heartily recommends a trip up north to hear a fascinating range of concerts featuring artists, ensembles, and repertoires of remarkable diversity.