“Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili is a phenomenon, and kudos to Sony Classical for snagging her! This is Chopin of the old school, with massive interposition of the performer between music and listener. And it’s glorious…. This is the kind of Chopin playing that people used to line up to hear.” –All Music Guide Check Our [...]
Category Archive for 'Classical'
“Mike Oldfield, the self-taught guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and producer, is chiefly remembered for his album-length ‘Tubular Bells’ composition, an eerie, fascinating, and conceptual piece that did so much to set the tone for the movie The Exorcist… This self-chosen set makes a great introduction to his life’s work, although ardent fans will no doubt [...]
Nicholas Ludford and Richard Pygott: Music from the Peterhouse Partbooks, Volume 2
Posted in Classical on Dec 6th, 2012
“The second volume in local a cappella choir Blue Heron’s releases of music from the Peterhouse Partbooks pays tribute to a pair of little-known English composers, Nicholas Ludford (circa 1490-1557) and Richard Pygott (circa 1485-1549). …[T]his CD, which was recorded last September at the Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill, [has] extraordinary sound — [...]
“Having reached the U.K. Top Ten for the first time, performed for the English National Opera in La Boheme and The Mikado, and received rave reviews for his role as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, Blackpool tenor Alfie Boe rounds off an incredible year with his fifth studio album, simply titled Alfie….Alfie should consolidate Boe’s [...]
“As more cellists record albums of solo works, there appears to be a growing demand for an expanded repertoire, beyond the handful of pieces that are usually performed. For this 2012 release on ECM New Series, Miklós Perényi has chosen three works of varying degrees of familiarity that show an awareness of the need to [...]
Jean Sibelius: Symphonies 1-4
Posted in Classical, Symphonies on Sep 19th, 2012
“[Paavo Berglund] made everything he did sound like Shakespeare, whether it was Beethoven, Brahms, Smetana, or Rachmaninov. But it was the conducting of Sibelius that he revolutionized…. The sound of his Sibelius is hard but not hard-edged; it’s all forest murmurs and oscillating universes. In his hands, the symphonies don’t develop, in the usual Western-music [...]
Jean Sibelius: Symphonies 5-7: The oceanides; Finlandia; Tapiola
Posted in Classical, Symphonies on Sep 19th, 2012
“[Paavo Berglund] recorded the complete symphonies three times; the middle set, done between 1984 and 1987 with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, makes for an inexpensive and readily available introduction…. Symphony No. 5 is a particular treat; Sibelius had swans in mind, and Berglund’s just keep getting whiter and whiter. As for ‘Tapiola,’ it’s a conversation [...]
“Schubert’s last great masses – No.5 in A flat and No.6 in E flat – are his greatest achievements in this genre…. They are much more substantial than the composer’s earlier masses, which still lie firmly within the classical tradition of Haydn and Mozart…. Wolfgang Sawallisch is renowned for his performances of Schubert’s church music, [...]
Georg Friedrich Händel: Die Acht Grossen Suiten
Posted in Classical on Sep 13th, 2012
“Sminova makes her ECM debut with these rarely collected suites. …It is apparent that she gave much thought and practice to the material and has made its transition to the modern piano a revelation. …The faster-paced pieces are dispatched with the Baroque tartness of the harpsichord while taking advantage of the tonal well afforded the [...]
“Johannes Moser’s performance on this album of modern works for cello and orchestra is impressive, as is the playing of WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln under the direction of Pietari Inkinen. …Moser plays with so much vibrato and tension… that it keeps the listener on the edge of his or her seat. …Overall, Moser’s artistry is not [...]
Frederick Converse: American Sketches
Posted in Classical, Orchestral Music on Sep 13th, 2012
“In the first decades of the 20th century, Frederick Converse (1871-1940) was known as one of the outstanding American composers of classical music, but his work is largely forgotten today. …Keith Lockhart…draws excellent, dramatic performances from the expert BBC Concert Orchestra. Dutton’s sound is detailed, clean, and spacious. The album should appeal to fans of [...]
Shostakovich: Symphones Nos. 2 and 15
Posted in Classical, Symphonies on Sep 13th, 2012
“There’s a lot to like in this recording of Shostakovich’s Second and Fifteenth symphonies with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra led by their young conductor, Vasily Petrenko. …This album is part of a complete cycle of Shostakovich’s symphonies, and…you may well be intrigued enough to check out other releases in the series.” –All [...]
“Canadian violinist James Ehnes, ably backed by the BBC Philharmonic under the energetic Gianandrea Noseda, sets himself a challenge here with an original and difficult program, and then meets all the challenges involved in this fine Bartók disc. …An excellent choice not only for Bartók’s concertos, but as an introduction to this giant of 20th [...]
Beethoven: Bagatelles
Posted in Classical on Sep 13th, 2012
“A bagatelle is a short, light composition, generally considered to be of little substance, yet the bagatelles of Ludwig van Beethoven are usually placed among his most sophisticated and elusive compositions, even though he called them ‘trifles.’ …The playing throughout is alert and exciting, and Osborne gives the music a mixture of wit and seriousness [...]
“The Three Tenors in Concert, recorded live in Rome in 1990, holds the distinction in the Guinness Book of World Records (in 2010) of being the best-selling classical album of all time… Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, and Carreras take turns singing opera arias, Broadway hits, and traditional Neapolitan songs, but on several tracks, the three [...]
“‘The Soviet Experience’ series continues with this set of early Shostakovich string quartets from the 15 years surrounding World War II, along with one unusual Prokofiev quartet of the same period. In addition to reflecting the situations in which he lived, Shostakovich’s quartets deal with a different kind of legacy as well: the Beethovenian tradition [...]
Peter Bloom & Mark Leighton in Concert at the Crane (DVD)
Posted in Chamber, Classical, Jazz, Performed at the Crane on Apr 23rd, 2012
Guitarist Mark Leighton and flutist Peter H. Bloom perform Suites, Sonatas & Standards, an eclectic concert of chamber music from diverse lands and eras, and favorite jazz standards from the Great American Songbook. Recorded live at the Thomas Crane Public Library on February 13, 2010 by Quincy Access Television. Check Our Catalog
Kevin Hubbard in Concert at the Crane (DVD)
Posted in Classical, Jazz, Performed at the Crane, Solo Guitar on Apr 23rd, 2012
Guitarist Kevin Hubbard presents a program of Classical Guitar with a Taste of Jazz, including classical pieces from all eras, jazz standards, folk songs from around the globe, and classical & jazz originals. Recorded live at the Thomas Crane Public Library on February 21, 2010 by Quincy Access Television. Check Our Catalog
Paul Cienniwa in Concert at the Crane Library (DVD)
Posted in Classical, Performed at the Crane, Solo Harpsichord on Apr 23rd, 2012
Enjoy a harpsichord recital of works from the French Baroque period, including pieces by Francois Couperin, Domenico Scarlatti and Johann Sebastian Bach. Recorded live at the Thomas Crane Public Library on January 24, 2010 by Quincy Access Television. Check Our Catalog
Steve Reich: WTC 9/11
Posted in Classical, Experimental, Rock/Pop on Apr 7th, 2012
“The piece’s concept is deceptively simple: recounting the tragedy through sampled voices, taken from those who responded to the attack in real time (air traffic controllers, FDNY officers), neighborhood residents, and those who cared for the victims afterward, reciting psalms while keeping watch over the bodies of the dead…Reich generates the musical material directly from [...]