Sony Classical

Classical Album Reviews: Anna Clyne’s Sumptuous “Shorthand” and Isata Kanneh-Mason’s Intense “Mendelssohn”

September 16, 2024
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Composer Anna Clyne’s collection of works for mostly solo instruments offers enormous musical satisfaction; pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason knows how to craft an enticing program and advocate for it.

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Classical Album Review: Martin Fröst’s “Ecstasy and Abyss” — A Mixed Bag of Mozart

May 27, 2023
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The best items in this all-Mozart album are the concertos.

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Classical Album Reviews: Dvořák’s Poetic Tone Pictures, Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, & “Immensity Of”

December 23, 2022
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A trio of reviews of recordings that include sadly neglected pieces by Dvořák, pianist Mitsuko Uchida’s phenomenal Diabelli Variations, and a haunting, arresting round-up of new music by the Departure Duo.

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Classical Album Review: Igor Levit’s “On DSCH” — Exhausting But Astonishing

February 14, 2022
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A major release by a pianist who, just in his mid-thirties, is already one of the most intelligent and satisfying musicians on the circuit.

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February Short Fuses – Materia Critica

February 1, 2022
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Each month, our arts critics — music, book, theater, dance, and visual arts — fire off a few brief reviews.

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Classical Album Review: Attacca Quartet’s “Of All Joys” — Crafting a Space All its Own

December 17, 2021
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Taken together, the selections on Attacca Quartet’s latest release is something of a meditation on the human condition.

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Classical CD Review: Vienna Philharmonic’s 2021 New Year’s Concert

February 21, 2021
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The VPO’s performance doesn’t want for energy or purpose because of the lack of a crowd. Rather, there seems to be an internal imperative to the ensemble’s music-making that isn’t always apparent at these events.

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Classical CD Reviews: Uri Caine’s “The Passion of Octavius Catto,” Bernard Hoffer Chamber Music, and Igor Levit’s “Encounter”

December 11, 2020
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Uri Caine’s score about the life and murder of a 19th-century civil rights icon is direct and potent; touching documentation of Richard Pittman’s advocacy for the inventive composer Bernard Hoffer and a demonstration of the sheer musical excellence of Boston Musica Viva; Igor Levit’s keyboard playing is dynamic, precisely articulated, vividly felt, and beautifully voiced.

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Classical CD Reviews: A Roundup of Beethoven Symphonies

August 11, 2020
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Evaluations of a smorgasbord of Beethoven symphony recordings.

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Classical CD Reviews: Andris Nelsons conducts Shostakovich, Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Cello Concerto, Project W

May 20, 2019
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Arguably, the strongest entry in the BSO’s complete Shostakovich symphony cycle thus far; Esa-Pekka Salonen’s 2016 Cello Concerto is emotionally direct and, at times, simply gorgeous; the resurgence of interest in the music of Boston-educated composer Florence Price is a good thing.

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