Music
The Finnish conductor’s welcome return to the Boston Symphony Orchestra heralds the kick-off of a two-week festival of Nordic music.
Throughout this superb live album, percussionist Gustavo Cortiñas allows his fellow band members an enormous amount of space, and that is welcome because of their high level of musicianship.
Mass in D was Ethel Smyth’s first large-scale score and, according to Cappella Clausura conductor Amelia LeClair, the composition expressed her yearning for hope and redemption.
The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra was violinist Liza Ferschtman’s equal partner for much of the performance, imbuing Alban Berg’s dense orchestral writing with warmth and shapeliness
Shouting and honking saxes made visceral appeals to the emotions and the body. For jazz critics, this kind of theatricality degraded what should have been ‘Art.’
Kellen Gray and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra continue its mission of bringing vital music to life; the Neave Trio releases an album of gems, a survey of piano trios by four women.
Pianist Yunchan Lim struck an arresting balance between thunderous drama and filigreed lyricism as he tackled Rachmaninoff’s knuckle-busting score.
Franz Peter Zimmermann’s rendition of Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto overflows with style and character; James Ehnes’ version is generally warmer and more relaxed, though it doesn’t lack for rhythmic zip.
Violist Timothy Ridout’s new double-album “A Lionel Tertis Celebration” is heartily recommended; soprano Asmik Grigorian’s “Laws of Solitude” not so much.
Jazz Album Review: Abdullah Ibrahim’s “3” – Meditations on a Legacy
A new release from Abdullah Ibrahim adds almost 100 minutes to a legacy of paramount importance to jazz, to world music, and to our understanding of a life lived in art.
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