There are fistfuls of notes and some tremendous technical skill. But, with a couple of notable exceptions, the readings of some of the cornerstones of the solo piano repertoire by each pianist lack direction.
Harmonia Mundi
Classical CD Reviews: Kevin Puts — Choral Music, Symphony no. 4 and Hanns Eisler — Songs (Harmonia Mundi)
New discs from Harmonia Mundi: One explores the music of Pulitzer prize-winner Kevin Puts, the other focuses on the songs of Hanns Eisler, and it is one of the most fascinating albums to come from any label so far this year.
Fuse CD Reviews: The Nutcracker Suites (Harmonie Ensemble/New York and Steve Richman); Veni Emanuel (Choir of Clare College, Cambridge/Ross and Haigh)
Two new releases from Harmonia Mundi celebrate the sacred and secular sides of the Christmas season.
Classical CD Reviews: Harmonia Mundi Serves up First-Rate Performances of Schubert and Elgar
Harmonia Mundi has, of late, released a series of excellent Schubert albums.
CD Reviews: Isabelle Faust plays Bartók; Wolfgang Rihm’s Symphonie “Nähe fern”; Tokyo String Quartet plays Dvorak and Smetana; Thea Musgrave’s Chamber Works for Oboe (Harmonia Mundi)
A round-up review of new releases from Harmonia Mundi — an invigorating crop of albums.
Classical CD Reviews: Gloria Cheng’s The Edge of Light, Matthias Goerne’s Erlkönig, and Emmanuelle Bertrand plays Shostakovich
The winter doldrums may be upon us, but the first few months of 2013 have been anything but uninteresting when it comes to releases from Harmonia Mundi (HM).
Fuse Classical CD Reviews: “Barber: An American Romantic” (Conspirare) and “Imogen Holst: Choral Works” (Choir of Clare College, Cambridge)
This recording makes as strong a case for Barber’s unjustly neglected choral music as any: it’s a disc not to miss.
Classical CD Reviews: Three of the Nineteenth Century’s Greatest Quintets
Chamber music fans will know that the current season will be the last for the extraordinary Tokyo String Quartet (TSQ), which opted to disband rather than replace retiring violinist Kikuei Ikada and violist Kazuhide Isomura.
Fuse Concert Review: A Lively Anonymous 4
The Anonymous 4 went through their medieval and early Renaissance paces, vibrato-less but historically informed and performed.
Classical Music Review: Stile Antico Enchants Singing Tudor Music for Christmas and Advent
Most importantly, there were the amazing, booming acoustics of St. Paul’s, which favored the soaring soprano voices that were, for me, the reason to see this excellent ensemble.