Classical Music
Yes, the first-ever recording of a opera that is as wonderful as Berlioz and Wagner said it is.
Aside from his seemingly effortless technique, Roustem Saïtkoulov struck me as a poet of the piano. Music seems to be his first language.
As good an interpreter of large-scale forms as he’s becoming, Andris Nelsons has always been a terrific conductor of new music.
Pianist Daniil Trifonov’s Rachmaninov album is magnificent; the Münchner Rundfunkorchester do right by Franz von Suppé’s overtures, and the Romantic Piano Concerto series continues to unearth gems.
Skylark performed an inventive and highly enjoyable program of music and tales from Norse Mythology and the land of the Vikings.
Hilary Hahn supplies a disc of immaculate Bach; conductor Sakari Oramo and the Vienna Philharmonic play music by Rued Langgaard to the hilt.
Andris Nelsons presided over an interpretation of Mahler’s Symphony #2 that was both tightly controlled and emotionally cathartic.
Lorelei Ensemble’s latest recording is awe-inspiring.
Every performance of opera should leave an audience so exhilarated.
JoAnn Falletta’s recording of Schreker’s orchestral works is fantastic; Manfred Honeck and his Pittsburgh Symphony make Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony shocking again, and Baiba Skride proves a strong advocate for Miklós Rózsa’s Violin Concerto.
Classical Music Commentary: What’s Next for the Boston Symphony? — Lessons from the Past