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Now Available for 40% OFF! This release gives you excellent renditions of two American classics, but there’s more to it. Barbara Hannigan’s An American Dream? opens like a fairground at dusk — lights still glowing, colors a little faded, music carrying memories more than promises. Hannigan has said she once felt awe toward America, and […]
Let’s talk about Mahler’s Symphony # 7. It’s quite different from Mahler’s other symphonies, and some feel that it is far from Mahler’s best effort. I disagree! Over the years I’ve become quite addicted to it. Here’s some of what I wrote about a year ago when featuring Ivan Fischer’s excellent recording: “Mahler’s Seventh Symphony is […]
Ravel is not without his moments that call for fireworks— The descent into madness at the end of La Valse is an example. But Ravel was a meticulous craftsman who prized clarity and balance. Stravinsky called him a “perfect Swiss Watchmaker” in that regard. Igor said it with a smile, I think. The two Piano […]
Elim Chan is the new Music Director Designate of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, becoming the official MD in September of 2027. She’s had an amazing career so far, and the level of excitement over her appointment in San Francisco is wild! Chan’s first concert since the appointment was described as “rapturous,” “exhilarating,” and “a hero’s […]
Certainly there is no shortage of excellent recordings of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, and there are some fine ones available on Native DSD. You may remember that I have been especially positive about Peter Takac’s complete set of the sonatas in the past, and if you’re looking for a complete set, you’d be hard pressed to […]
Stravinsky’s “Big Three”, The Rite of Spring, Firebird, and Petrushka, are literally cultural icons. Hundreds of recordings, new and re-releases, have had a huge presence in concerts and in record sales. They each have a bold narrative, and are written for big orchestras. But the three neoclassical works on this album, Apolon Musagete, Dumbarton Oaks, […]
A memory crossed my mind the other day. I was attending a 6 week Summer Session at UC Berkeley in 1963, and one of my classes was Chorus, with longtime conductor and professor, Dr. Edward Lawton. I was in the chorus for the Summer Concert, Berlioz’ Grande Messe des Morts. It was a wonderful experience! […]
In the first half of my 50 + years as a radio personality, I was exposed to hundreds of ho-hum albums of songs from movies. The last thing I wanted to hear was another version of the Theme from The Apartment, or the Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet. And that’s why I avoided spending […]
It’s easy to lump composers together simply because they are contemporaries, or they come from the same place or area. I’ve written about this before in relation to Sibelius and Nielsen. The “Nordic” similarities seem stretched– Denmark (Nielsen) is traditionally more aligned in culture with Germany and continental Europe. Finland (Sibelius) is more aligned with, […]
I love Dvorak’s Cello Concerto and I have since I first heard it in the 1962 recording with Janos Starker, backed by Dorati and the LSO. I would never want to be without it, but this one with Pieter Wispelwey, backed by Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra is my choice for a modern, […]
I didn’t know much about Polish-American pianist and composer, Leopold Godowsky (1870-1938). I saw his name occasionally, but it wasn’t until I spent some time with his Java Suite that I wanted to know more. Godowsky is celebrated for his extraordinary technical imagination and his ability to transform the piano into an almost orchestral instrument. […]
I have loved the music of Erik Satie since… Well, I admit it, since I was first exposed to his Gymnopedies, no 2 as interpreted by Blood Sweat and Tears in their landmark 1968 album. I wasn’t alone in this. I’d been enjoying Debussy, Ravel, and Poulenc for years, and when I finally explored Aldo Ciccolini’s recordings […]