Decca

Classical Album Reviews: Beethoven Symphonies, Part 2 – Seiji Ozawa conducts the Seventh, François-Xavier Roth Leads the Fifth, and Thomas Adès conducts Beethoven & Barry

November 30, 2020
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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.

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Classical CD Reviews: François-Xavier Roth and Schumann, Herbert Blomstedt and Brahms, and Daniel Barenboim and Elgar

November 21, 2020
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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.

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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

October 22, 2020
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A round-up of fresh performances of Beethoven Concerti.

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Classical CD Reviews: The Tchaikovsky Project, Schumann Symphonies nos. 2 & 4, and Holst Orchestral Works

September 14, 2019
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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.

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Classical CD Reviews: Nancy Dalberg’s String Quartets, Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto, Osmo Vänskä conducts Mahler

August 22, 2019
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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.

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Classical CD Reviews: Hilary Hahn plays Bach and Sakari Oramo conducts Langgaard

October 29, 2018
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Hilary Hahn supplies a disc of immaculate Bach; conductor Sakari Oramo and the Vienna Philharmonic play music by Rued Langgaard to the hilt.

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Classical CD Review: A Superb Version of Leonard Bernstein’s “A Quiet Place”

July 13, 2018
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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.

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Classical CD Reviews: Leonidas Kavakos’ “Virtuoso,” Daniel Harding conducts Rameau and Berlioz, Ballet music by Roussel, Debussy, and Poulenc

August 31, 2016
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Three CDs from musicians to be reckoned with.

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Classical CD Reviews: Pygmalion’s “Rhinemaidens,” Johann Strauss’s “Der Zigeunerbaron,” and Aurora Orchestra’s “Introit”

June 12, 2016
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A superior classical music concept album, a reminder of how smart and sturdy Johan Strauss’s music can be..

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Classical Music CD Reviews: Emerson String Quartet and Renée Fleming Do Justice to Viennese Modernists; Jerusalem Quartet Play Beethoven String Quartets

August 29, 2015
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The Emerson String Quartet and Renée Fleming team up for one of the finest recordings of the year.

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