Reference Recordings
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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A can’t-miss album of Bartók Ballets, Thierry Fischer continues to do right by the symphonies of Saint-Saëns, and a spirited recording of the “last great symphony in the German Romantic tradition.”
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JoAnn Falletta’s recording of Schreker’s orchestral works is fantastic; Manfred Honeck and his Pittsburgh Symphony make Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony shocking again, and Baiba Skride proves a strong advocate for Miklós Rózsa’s Violin Concerto.
Read MoreMatthias Goerne offers proof that he is the Wagner baritone of the day. And Thierry Fischer’s understanding of Mahler deserves our admiration.
Read MoreIt’s no secret that 2016 has already been a strong year for albums featuring new and recent music: now things get even better.
Read MoreThis is truly exciting, world-beating Beethoven, played with gusto and a kind of musical intelligence that you simply can’t take for granted.
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Arts Remembrance: In Memoriam — Tom Stoppard