Just as the major labels no longer represent the best (or even the most) of what is happening today in classical music recordings, neither do
It helps Simon Rattle and his Berlin players that Christian Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic (on DG) already have set the bar in Ein Heldenleben
This is a disgusting performance. Granted, Schubert’s Ninth is a very difficult work to play and conduct, but there is no excuse for treating it
This is a boring, disappointing disc, containing a smooth (to the point of being comatose) reading of the Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Ah, memories! I vividly recall when this boring Turangalila-symphonie was released on LP, how Gramophone’s critic compared it to Esa-Pekka Salonen’s then-recent Philharmonia recording for
Obviously, EMI wanted this recording to complete its Rattle Mahler cycle–heaven knows why, because it’s the least interesting, least insightful, most poorly played and worst-recorded
Messiaen’s music is almost performer-proof. I say this not to be critical, nor to damn this mostly excellent interpretation with faint praise. It’s just that
Fidelio is an opera that’s rarely taken lightly; casting is as serious a matter as orchestral preparation and conductorial approach. The available recordings attest to
There was a time when a conductor interpreting a Beethoven symphony examined the score, brought his own artistic insights to bear in combination with his
This very fine collection offers Alexander Gibson’s enthusiastic and seriously underrated performances of Stravinsky’s three orchestral symphonies and Ode. More to the point, these are