Classical Music
Gounod was no mere purveyor of gentle sentiments. This 1881 opera, superbly performed, shows plenty of drama and grit.
What if you took canonical Western works and reimagined them from an African perspective?
This is a gem of a recording, a wonderful introduction to this often overlooked Hungarian composer.
TRIPTYCH (Eyes of One on Another) serves up a cool emotional package.
Skylark continues to impress me with its distinctly beautiful sound, its dazzling control over dynamics and intonation, and its unusually compelling programming.
There can be little doubt that the urgency of the opera’s message about equality is as relevant as ever.
Ginastera’s innovative style often draws comparisons to Bartók and Stravinsky for the artful ways in which he integrated folk music and dance forms from his native country into a striking, modernist musical language.
Marc Minkowski’s recording of Jacques Offenbach’s La Périchole pays the composer a handsome tribute in his birthday year; violinist Baiba Skride’s new all-Bartók disc is one of the year’s best.
The Seattle Symphony does right by Langgaard but not Strauss; Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Beethoven is micromanaged to death; Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester offers an ideal off-the-beaten-path Offenbach disc.
Among the reviews: a terrific, important release that celebrates one of the most interesting – and hitherto overlooked – composers of the late-19th- and early-20th centuries in style. Don’t miss it.
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