Classical Music

Opera Album Review: The Most Neglected Master of Opera? Carl Maria von Weber, Early and Late

February 13, 2020
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New recordings of Peter Schmoll and His Neighbors and of Euryanthe pose an embarrassing question: why is the opera repertory so narrow?

Opera Album Review, Oscar Wilde, Part 3 — A Spiffy “The Importance of Being Earnest”

February 7, 2020
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Odyssey Opera revels in the glittering wit and touching moments of this full-length chamber opera by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, better known for his Hollywood film scores and some wonderful guitar pieces.

Concert Review: Odyssey Opera’s “The Chronicle of Nine”

February 4, 2020
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Arnold Rosner’s writing in each act is strongly contrapuntal, metrically unpredictable, and idiomatically scored. The music is marked by constantly shifting colors, a strong sense of rhythm, and a healthy dose of lyricism.

Classical CD Reviews: “Escales,” “Jeux de Miroirs,” and Liszt Symphonic Works

January 25, 2020
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John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London are one of the new decade’s most exciting partnerships; Javier Perianes’ album with the Orchestre de Paris is quite clever; Is Liszt’s music trash? The debate continues.

Classical CD Reviews: Ádám Fischer conducts Mahler, Mariss Jansons conducts Rodion Shchedrin & Respighi, and John Eliot Gardiner conducts Schumann

January 23, 2020
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Ádám Fischer’s reading of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony is breathtakingly clean.

Opera Album Review: Oscar Wilde in the Opera House, Part 2 — Richard Flury’s Approachable “A Florentine Tragedy”

January 22, 2020
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Another operatic version of Oscar Wilde’s one-act love triangle that ends with the woman’s husband murdering her lover, to her enraptured delight.

Opera Album Review: Oscar Wilde in the Opera House, Part 1 — Zemlinsky’s Intense Setting of “A Florentine Tragedy”

January 21, 2020
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Salome is not the only strong opera based on an Oscar Wilde play. This one-acter by Zemlinsky deserves a place in the repertoire today.

Opera Album Review: The Operatic Artistry of Leonardo (Not “da”) Vinci

January 16, 2020
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A world-premiere recording of Siroe, King of Persia makes it clear that Leonardo Vinci (1690-1730) was as fine a craftsman as the painter with a similar name.

Opera CD Review: The Greatest Spanish Opera? — A New Recording of Enrique Granados’s “Goyescas”

January 14, 2020
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Imagine the excitement of experiencing, for the first time, an opera by one of the greatest composers to have come out of the Spanish-speaking world!

Opera CD Review: Carl Maria von Weber’s Wildly Assorted Candy Box — A Spiffy New Recording

January 9, 2020
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The rarely staged Oberon is easy to love and will fascinate admirers of early nineteenth-century music.

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