This San Francisco Symphony release proves to be a fitting send-off for music director Michael Tilson Thomas; there’s much to admire in the Seattle Symphony’s playing of Carl Nielsen’s first two symphonies; fiery energy from both violinist Arabella Steinbacher and the excellent Münchener Kammerorchester make their new disk a gem.
Seattle Symphony
Classical CD Reviews: Seattle Symphony plays Strauss & Langgaard, Offenbach’s “Folies symphoniques,” and Salonen conducts Beethoven & Strauss
The Seattle Symphony does right by Langgaard but not Strauss; Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Beethoven is micromanaged to death; Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester offers an ideal off-the-beaten-path Offenbach disc.
Classical CD Review: Seattle Opera’s Earthbound “Der Ring des Nibelungen” (Avie Records)
What one really wishes is that the Seattle Opera’s Ring Cycle had been released as a DVD.