Markus Maskuniitty’s solo debut recording is stunning, Howard Shelley and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra play Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto with zest, and this is one of the strongestNew Year’s Concerts of the decade from the Vienna Philharmonic.
Ondine
Classical CD Reviews: Gerstein plays Busoni, Josefowicz plays Zimmermann, and Vähälä plays Szymanowski
Pianist Kirill Gerstein’s take on Busoni is exhilarating; the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra serves the forceful music of composer Bernd Alois Zimmermann, and violinist Elina Vähälä does right by Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto.
Classical CD Reviews: Bavouzet plays Mozart, Lintu conducts Lutoslawski, and Morlot’s Berlioz Requiem
Pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet delivers some fine Mozart; conductor Hannu Lintu brings rhythmic energy and textural transparency to the music of Witold Lutoslawski; Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra don’t do right by Berlioz.
Classical CD Reviews: Schumann’s Choral Music and Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang
Conductor Aapo Häkkinen explores Robert Schumann’s writing for chorus;Andrew Manze caps off his three-volume Mendelssohn symphony survey with a glorious performance of the oddball Symphony no. 2.
Classical CD Reviews: Lars Vogt plays Beethoven, James Ehnes plays Walton, Denis Kozhukhin plays Ravel & Gershwin, Francesca Dego plays Paganini & Wolf-Ferrari
Superb discs from pianist Lars Vogt, violinist Francesca Dego, pianist Denis Kozhukhin, and violinist James Ehnes on the viola.