Classical Music
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.
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!
The rarely staged Oberon is easy to love and will fascinate admirers of early nineteenth-century music.
The oft-neglected “other” great opera by Carl Maria von Weber, splendidly performed in 1955 and in remarkably clear and vivid sound. I hope this opera’s day will yet come.
This CD with British pianist Stephen Hough is a gem — and it was named Recording of the Month by Gramophone Magazine.
A collection that provides a fascinating bit of context for how Andris Nelsons has developed as a conductor over the last decade-plus, and an honest, mostly flattering, tribute to a much-loved conductor, the late Mariss Jansons.
Diana Tishchenko’s a violinist well worth keeping an eye on; Jun Märkl leads the MSO in brisk, shapely readings of pieces by Saint-Saëns; Françoix-Xavier Roth and Les Siecles come up with some winning Berlioz.
John Nelson’s La Damnation de Faust is a triumph; you will rarely encounter Villa-Lobos played with greater understanding or in better sound than here; Paavo Järvi and his orchestra’s survey of Messiaen orchestral works early and late is resplendent.
A fresh, bracing take on Beethoven as a dramatist, Tesla Quartet serves up refreshingly direct and emotionally-complex performances of Mozart, and flautist Emmanuel Pahud has crafted an ear-catching, unpredictable program.
Top Classical Concerts and Recordings of 2019
Classical music continued to thrive, locally and globally, in 2019.
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