Each month, our arts critics — music, book, theater, dance, television, film, and visual arts — fire off a few brief reviews.
Ondine
Classical Album Review: Thomas Adès’s Tuneful “Märchentänze”
As the composer moves from youth to middle age, Thomas Adès is unique among his contemporaries for his singular embrace of melody, harmony, and form.
September Short Fuses – Materia Critica
Each month, our arts critics — music, book, theater, dance, television, film, and visual arts — fire off a few brief reviews.
Classical Album Reviews: Mendelssohn Violin Sonatas and Piano Concertos
Some substantial works by composer Felix Mendelssohn remain overlooked.
Classical Album Review: A Completely Refreshing “Americascapes”
A terrific album, commandingly played, that adds to our knowledge and appreciation of this too-long neglected repertoire.
Classical Album Review: Žibuoklė Martinaitytė’s “Saudade” — Engrossing and Accessible Recent Orchestral Music
Taken together, these four pieces showcase a composer whose handling of the orchestra is expert and whose sense of form, in these works at least, feels unerringly right.
Classical Reviews: Boston Modern Orchestra Project plays Harold Shapero, Peter Lieberson’s “Songs of Love and Sorrow,” and Charles Ives’s Complete Symphonies
Discs dedicated to overlooked composers Harold Shapero and Peter Lieberson are well worth your attention. Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra don’t do well by Charles Ives’ final symphony, but the three preceding symphonies fare better.
Classical CD Reviews: François-Xavier Roth conducts Mussorgsky and Ravel, Manfred Honeck conducts Tchaikovsky and Leshnoff, and Mikolajus Čiurlionis Orchestral Works
François-Xavier Roth and his period ensemble Les Siècles serve up freshness of playing and conviction of interpretation; Manfred Honeck is a conductor who can draw compelling, electrifying accounts of the standard canon as if on cue; the verdict’s mixed on the music of Lithuanian-born composer Mikalojus Čiurlionis.
Classical CD Reviews: James MacMillan’s Viola Concerto, Magnus Lindberg’s “Accused,” and Richard Rodney Bennett Orchestral Works
James MacMillan’s Viola Concert is a magnificent addition to the repertoire; the debut recording of Magnus Lindberg’s song cycle Accused leaves a bit to be desired; a fetching, brilliant gathering of orchestral music by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett.
Classical CD Reviews: Christian Tetzlaff plays Beethoven & Sibelius, Rachel Barton Pine takes on Dvorak & Khachaturian, and Wagner’s “Siegfried “
Christian Tetzlaff’s brilliant account of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto makes for a great album; Rachel Barton Pine’s versions of Dvorák and Khachaturian violin concertos are songful; orchestrally, Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra’s Sigfried is unfailingly colorful and fresh.