Classical Music
Even taking into consideration my several objections, this Faust is one of the most accomplished and intriguing opera releases of recent years.
Read More
All is Calm juxtaposes the gravity (some might say the idiocy) of war with the simple human gestures that the opposing sides extended to each other during a remarkable cease fire.
Read More
Colorful, characterful, and full of worldly wisdom, The Last Sorcerer—by a skilled and imaginative composer, to a text by the great Russian novelist— receives a superb world-premiere recording, with Met mezzo Jamie Barton and bass-baritone Eric Owens.
Read More
The Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra’s first appearance of the season presented canonical selections without a hint of complacency or apathy.
Read More
The charmed trifecta of John Adams, Yuja Wang, and Gustavo Dudamel produced a hit, at least to this Boston audience.
Read More
The Henry Purcell Society proves that playing mad can be a lot of fun.
Read More
These superbly produced — and sung, played, and conducted — holiday music albums are perfect stocking stuffers.
Read More
Michael Tilson Thomas delivers a towering Ives Fourth; pianist Conrad Tao’s American Rage is hard-edged and defiant, but also poignant and stirring; Gianandrea Noseda’s Shostakovich Fourth is ferocious.
Read More
A noteworthy recording of Ernst von Dohnányi’s Symphony no. 1; as usual, Harry Christophers and the Handel & Haydn Society play Haydn with their customary elegance and character; a celebration of British composer Eric Coates – his music’s impossibly fresh tunefulness, striking progressions, and vividly idiomatic orchestrations.
Read More
Violinist Liza Ferschtman and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra’s account of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto lacked nothing for momentum and spirit.
Read More
Arts Commentary: Rich in Creativity — But Nothing Else