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When I was young I was very impressed by music from “big” motion pictures. There was Miklos Rozsa (Ben Hur, El Cid, Quo Vadis), Alex North (Spartacus), Bernard Hermann (Vertigo and other Hitchcockian delights), Dimitri Tiomkin (Giant, Lost Horizon, High Noon), and others. Aaron Copland, Prokofiev, and other “classical” composers also wrote music for films. But the most […]
I was looking through some releases from last year when I was reminded of this award winner. Sebastian Stanley’s Rachmaninoff album showcases his masterful playing, and HR’s superb recording quality. Rachmaninoff has a special place in my life. I began piano lessons just 7 years after his death. I’ve always seen the modern side of […]
Everybody knows Prokofiev’s ballets, and his 5th Symphony. I can’t think of a single work by Prokofiev that I don’t like. Well… there is an opera that takes some effort. The Firey Angel was commissioned in the early 1920s, but not performed in its entirety until after Prokofiev’s death. There is (to my […]
I’d like to put out some praise for “warhorses.” There’s a reason they hang around. People like them! And occasionally a conductor will come up with a new performance that reminds us why. This recording was the 2020 Orchestral Album of the Year at NativeDSD. Rimsky-Korsakov was one of the great orchestrators, bringing new color and life […]
This lovely, haunting album of Czech orchestral songs is a real winner. It’s a followup to last year’s Folk Songs, winner of Album of the Year in the vocal category. This new one from Magdalena Kozena, backed by the Czech Philharmonic with Sir Simon Rattle conducting, is even more attractive to me because 14 of these […]
I’ve been listening for too many years, and loved too many different recordings of the 5 Beethoven Piano Concertos to settle on absolute favorites, but this set comes very close, and it has kept me smiling since it was released last year. The estimable Garrick Ohlsson with Sir Donald Runnicles conducting the Grand Teton Music […]
When I went to check the mailbox today I was greeted by a cloudless sky. The temperature was perfect. Our large bay tree is perfuming the entire yard. And just when I thought things couldn’t be better, a hummingbird came by to check out the honeysuckles! Was I dreaming? It truly was an amazing moment. Believe it or not, […]
I first “discovered” Benjamin Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem in 1963 with Andre Previn’s premiere album as conductor of the St. Louis Symphony. I bought the album because it had Aaron Copland’s Red Pony Suite, and while I love that, it was Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem that made this a favorite LP. It was commissioned in 1939 by […]
Golda Schultz, supported by seven other fine soloists, takes us on a delightful excursion through the three Mozart/da Pointe operas, Don Giovanni, Le nozzi di Figaro, and Cosi fan tutti. The album is dedicated to the five strong female characters in these three operas, and she brings strength to each, navigating the sometimes difficult arias perfectly. Conductor […]
Pentatone has a rising star! Venezuelan Rafael Payare has been making a name for himself for the past few years, and these two newer releases from Pentatone are lighting up my listening room. I have so many great Mahler 5’s, and I’ve praised many of them right here. But this new one from Payare with […]