Seiji Ozawa’s Symphony no. 7 and Leonore Overture no. 3 offers a memorable blend of color, atmosphere, purpose, and soul; François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles serve up a satisfactory, period-instrument Symphony no. 5; Thomas Adès’ take on Beethoven is concentrated and energetic, if a bit impersonal.
Decca
Classical CD Reviews: François-Xavier Roth and Schumann, Herbert Blomstedt and Brahms, and Daniel Barenboim and Elgar
Françoix-Xavier Roth delivers a must-have cycle of Robert Schumann’s symphonies; Herbert Blomstedt’s Brahms’s Symphony no. 1 is spacious, restrained, and – too often – dull; Daniel Barenboim’s latest Elgar installment features a regrettably unsung masterpiece.
Classical CD Reviews: Beethoven Concerti – Mutter, Ma, and Barenboim play the Triple Concerto, Martha Argerich plays the Piano Concerto no. 2, and Krystian Bezuidenhout plays the Piano Concerto no. 4
A round-up of fresh performances of Beethoven Concerti.
Classical CD Reviews: The Tchaikovsky Project, Schumann Symphonies nos. 2 & 4, and Holst Orchestral Works
Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic do justice to a lot of Tchaikovsky’s orchestral music, while John Eliot Gardiner and the London Symphony play Robert Schumann’s famously-dense orchestrations with clarity. But Michael Stern’s account of The Planets completely lacks mystery.
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: Hilary Hahn plays Bach and Sakari Oramo conducts Langgaard
Hilary Hahn supplies a disc of immaculate Bach; conductor Sakari Oramo and the Vienna Philharmonic play music by Rued Langgaard to the hilt.
Classical CD Review: A Superb Version of Leonard Bernstein’s “A Quiet Place”
Garth Edwin Sunderland’s new chamber adaptation of this opera’s score, is, to date, the Bernstein Centennial Year’s best and most important recording.
Classical CD Reviews: Leonidas Kavakos’ “Virtuoso,” Daniel Harding conducts Rameau and Berlioz, Ballet music by Roussel, Debussy, and Poulenc
Three CDs from musicians to be reckoned with.
Fuse Classical CD Reviews: Pygmalion’s “Rhinemaidens,” Johann Strauss’s “Der Zigeunerbaron,” and Aurora Orchestra’s “Introit”
A superior classical music concept album, a reminder of how smart and sturdy Johan Strauss’s music can be..
Classical Music CD Reviews: Emerson String Quartet and Renée Fleming Do Justice to Viennese Modernists; Jerusalem Quartet Play Beethoven String Quartets
The Emerson String Quartet and Renée Fleming team up for one of the finest recordings of the year.