As a contemporary of Strauss and Schoenberg, it was inevitable that Alexander Zemlinsky’s brilliance would be overshadowed.

Find out why the German violinist waited until now to record Mozart’s Concertos. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Isabelle Faust is an exemplar of the new generation of Modern String Players who have assimilated the techniques of Historically Informed Performance with cross-pollination, inspiring a pragmatic hybrid style. The sickly constant vibrato and bland homogenised phrasing of yesteryear is replaced with a clean-cut sound of impeccable intonation and rhythmically alert rhetorical gestures, effortlessly articulated by her phenomenal bowing technique, (as heard in her breathtakingly beautiful performances of the Mendelssohn Concerto on tour in Australia this year). Faust’s self-effacing persona and collaborative spirit is evident from her various partnerships in chamber music, while the breadth of her repertoire choices and her interest in contemporary works reveals a sharp musical intellect. Yet the end results are music-making of a stimulating spontaneity with a complete freedom from stylistic dogma. This latest release is a perhaps surprising collaboration with Il Giardino Armonico, one of the first Italian groups to embrace HIP. Their early recordings of Vivaldi were a shock to the system with their abrasive rustic accents, but in later years, changes of personnel have refined their sound and they are truly magnificent here under long-term director and co-founder Giovanni Antonini. Accents are as crisp as ever but not so grating… Continue reading…

Four of Nørgård’s finest reveal the breadth of his singular mind.

It was the famous gift of 20,000 francs from the aging Paganini that allowed Berlioz to take time out from the drudgery of music journalism in 1839 and devote himself to a new work. Romeo and Juliet had been close to his heart since his then muse and now wife had played the heroine a decade earlier – but Berlioz was never one to choose the obvious. Shakespeare was too sublime to risk throwing it away on the Opéra (who had recently massacred his Benvenuto Cellini), so the French maverick embarked upon his third, and most unusual symphony to date. The result was a unique hybrid that even now struggles to find a home in the concert hall. A pity, as with a little imagination (and enough money for the substantial forces), it is full of drama, poetry and intensely original orchestral passages. In short, a masterpiece. Robin Ticciati has proven himself heir to Colin Davis with his Berlioz series on Linn (a fresh Fantastique, a moving L’Enfance du Christ and a very special Nuits d’Été) and this last instalment is, if anything, even finer. The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra plays superbly and the Linn engineers achieve a fine separation…

The French conductor (and close associate of Maria Callas), who thought of himself as Viennese, has passed away at 92. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The Finnish composer shocked many in the establishment when he embraced a popular mysticism with his musical angels.

From Hobart to Berlin, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Principal shares her hopes, inspirations and passions. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

If you want a collection of bombastic, second-rate piano concerti in which Rachmaninov’s parentage is obvious, then this is the disc for you. However, there are some gems, such as Hubert Bath’s 1944 Cornish Rhapsody (A Lady Surrenders) and Richard Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto for Dangerous Moonlight (1941). On the other hand, I don’t think much of Shostakovich’s music for The Unforgettable Year (1951), steeped in musical rhetoric of the worst type and possibly written to order by the authorities. Similarly vacuous is Kenneth Leslie-Smith’s music for The Women’s Angle (1952) and Nino Rota’s unusually poor music for The Glass Mountain (1949).Charles Williams’ charming music for The Apartment (1949) is far better. Richard Rodney Bennett’s journeyman music for the overrated Murder on the Orient Express is not the best film music he ever wrote, whereas Jack Beaver’s music for The Case of The Frightened Lady (1940), is first class. After pages of arpeggios it was a relief to hear Dave Grushin’s On Golden Pond (1981) for piano. Finally, Carl Davis’ elegant and freewheeling music for Pride and Prejudice (1985) is arguably the best music on the disc. Valentina Lisitsa plays all the music very well, and the orchestral… Continue reading Get…

I enjoyed this Brahms cycle. Fortunately, Asher Fish is not a member of the “Brahms Lite” Chapter or a Chailly/Gardiner – style speed merchant. What’s more, unlike the hapless, battle-jacketed George W Bush standing on the deck of that aircraft carrier, under a sign proclaiming “Mission Accomplished”, Asher Fisch really has accomplished his “mission” to transform the West Australian Symphony Orchestra from merely good into a potentially great instrument, on the strength of theses performances at least. It plays with confidence, sheen and finesse. The buoyant galumphing rhythm of the opening movement of the First Symphony is just right (no repeat observed – presumably because of the plan to fit this and the Second Symphony on a single CD) without diminishing the inherent drama. The second and third movements are really like lightly scored serenade movements buffering two huge epic book-ends, but it’s here the quality of the woodwind phrasing (and the depth of the orchestra’s talent) becomes apparent. This is warmly shaped, with oboe and clarinet solos notable but also a lovely extended reverie by concertmaster Jackson duetting with horns. The Finale, with its deliberately tentative opening, is always problematic but Fisch guides his players through treacherous shoals… Continue reading Get unlimited…

Sydney ensemble round off a stunning season with plenty of Sturm und Drang.

Sir Simon’s new Berlin cycle on the orchestra’s home label combines the HIP with a roundly Romantic underbelly. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in