Soprano Ruby Hughes’ album is fine, well played, sung, and programmed; baritone Christoph Prégardien delivers vocal works by Mahler, Alexander von Zemlinsky, and Max Reger with warmth; soprano Diana Damrau is in her glorious prime singing the songs of Strauss.
Bis
Classical CD Reviews: “Aspects of America: The Pulitzer Edition,” Morton Gould “Symphonettes,” and Lindberg conducts Bernstein
Lovers of American music, don’t miss Aspects of America: The Pulitzer Edition ; Lindberg’s recording of Leonard Bernstein’s first two symphonies lacks a compelling command of the musician’s singular voice; the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra tackles four pieces by Morton Gould.
Classical CD Reviews: Luciano Berio’s Coro, Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass,” and Shostakovich’s “Babi Yar”
The relative infrequency of big Berio releases makes new recordings of his major works into significant, contemporary music events; Dennis Russell Davies’ new recording of Bernstein’s Mass is done in by lax vocals and a paucity of emotional consistency; Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra supply a great Shostakovich Thirteenth Symphony.
Classical CD Reviews: Nancy Dalberg’s String Quartets, Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto, Osmo Vänskä conducts Mahler
Nancy Dalberg’s string quartets are worth getting to know, Wynton Marsalis’s violin concerto receives an electrifying performance, and Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra continue to churn out a less than necessary Mahler cycle.
Classical CD Reviews: Bartók Ballets, Saint-Saëns Complete Symphonies vol. 2, and Korngold’s Symphony in F-sharp
A can’t-miss album of Bartók Ballets, Thierry Fischer continues to do right by the symphonies of Saint-Saëns, and a spirited recording of the “last great symphony in the German Romantic tradition.”
Classical CD Reviews: Jurowski conducts Rachmaninoff, Yiddish Cabaret, and Russian Masquerade
Vladimir Jurowski’s new recording of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony no. 1 is a tightly-played, exciting reading; The Yiddish Cabaret’s only real offense relates to poor labeling; The transcriptions in Russian Masquerade are played with spunk and vitality.
Classical CD Reviews: “American Symphonies,” Anna Shelest plays Rubinstein, “The Romantic Piano Concerto vol. 76”
Anna Shelest’s new recording of piano-and-orchestra pieces by Anton Rubinstein is one of those albums that makes you want to rethink Rubinstein’s relative neglect in the broader canon – almost.
Classical CD Review: Vänskä’s Mahler Six, Harding’s Mahler Nine, Louise Farrenc Symphonies, Handel & Haydn Society plays Haydn and Mozart
Two Mahler symphonies, one sluggish the other intense, while symphonies composed by Louise Farrenc, Mozart, and Haydn are done right.
CD Reviews: Smetana String Quartets, 2018 New Year’s Concert, Haydn: An Imaginary Orchestral Journey, and Lindberg conducts Bernstein
Pražák Quartet’s Smetana is keeper, Sir Simon Rattle’s Haydn is a loser, and Lindberg’s “On the Waterfront” is a knockout.