An impressive collection of nine new releases (seven of which are reviewed here). While some might not displace the classic recordings of Debussy already out there, this gathering offers some welcome and fresh interpretive contrasts.
Alexander Melnikov
Classical CD Reviews: Alexander Melnikov’s Four Pianos and Leonard Bernstein’s Mass
Pianist Alexander Melnikov has come up with one of the still-young year’s most compelling discs, Deutsche Grammophon releases an aural train wreck.
CD Reviews: “Op. 2” and Faust/Melnikov’s Franck & Chausson
Violinist Sebastian Bohren’s album is uneven; violinist Isabelle Faust and pianist Alexander Melnikov have produced a wonder.
CD Reviews: Lara Downes’ “America Again,” Gerstein’s Liszt, and Melnikov plays Prokofiev
Lara Downes’ America Again is a great album, and one with multiple layers of meaning.
Classical Music Album Review: Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov play Brahms
Just about anything Isabelle Faust touches these days is gold – she’s one of the finest violinists out there
Classical CD Reviews: John Adams’ “Absolute Jest” (SFS Media); Alexander Melnikov plays Schumann (Harmonia mundi)
John Adams’ Absolute Jest is a sheer blast of fun, wildly inventive and, at its best, a vertiginous collage.
Classical CD Reviews: Isabelle Faust plays Schumann and the Dmitri Ensemble plays Shostakovich Chamber Symphonies
Listening to Isabelle Faust’s performance of Schumann’s Violin Concerto I wondered why the piece has remained on the fringes of the repertoire for so long.
Fuse CD Reviews: Camerata Pacifica plays John Harbison; Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexander Melnikov perform Beethoven
Camerata Pacifica does right by John Harbison. And when it comes to Beethoven’s music for cello and piano, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexander Melnikov are tops.