Capriccio
There are already countless fine documents of the Sibelius Concerto, but Canadian violinist James Ehnes finds new angles from which to examine this favorite; Frank Dupree is a dexterous keyboardist whose grasp of Nikolai Kapustin’s jazzy style is assured.
Bohuslav Martinů, one of the greatest Czech-born composers, reveals a dark-comic sensibility in his rarely performed “Knife” and “Bridge” operas.
Moissey Vainberg’s opera powerfully evokes the brutality of Hitler’s extermination camps and the moral ambiguity of postwar Germany.
Egon Wellesz’s Weimar era critique of the cruelty of nations that are victorious in war still rings hauntingly true.
Dohnányi and Schnitzler’s “pantomime” The Veil of Pierrette receives its first, and resplendent, recording.
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.
New recordings of Peter Schmoll and His Neighbors and of Euryanthe pose an embarrassing question: why is the opera repertory so narrow?
Salome is not the only strong opera based on an Oscar Wilde play. This one-acter by Zemlinsky deserves a place in the repertoire today.
Fine recordings of symphonies by neglected American composers Florence Price and George Antheil; and a curious album from Cornelius Meister and the ORF Radio-Sinfonieorchester Wien.
A winning reminder of Sir Neville Marriner’s impressive stylistic range as a conductor, a fine recording of a much-loved and -played Richard Strauss tone poem, and a striking, powerful presentation of the string quartets of James MacMillan.
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