Review: Britten, Ravel, Kleinsinger: The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra; Mother Goose Suite; Tubby the Tuba (SSO/Northey)
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra plays the Ravel better than it does the Britten.
January 12, 2011
Review: Tchaikovsky – The Nutcracker (Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Rattle)
Tchaikovsky’s ballets are the chick flicks of classical music, but like the best chick flicks they can be witty and reveal a light touch.
January 11, 2011
Review: Debussy: Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra; Ravel: Piano Concerto in G; Concerto for the Left Hand; Massenet: Piano works (Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, BBC Symphony
Bavouzet plays all the music exquisitely. Never lacking power, his pianism is also elegant and feather light.
January 11, 2011
Review: Brahms: Symphony No 4, Beethoven: Coriolan Overture (Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique; The Monteverdi Choir/Gardiner)
At first glance, Gabrieli and Schütz, glorious as they are, seem to be at odds with the symphony.
January 11, 2011
Review: Goetz, Wieniawski: Piano Concertos (Hamish Milne)
The performances by soloist and orchestra are first-rate but nothing can make these works very original.
January 11, 2011
Review: Prokofiev, Ravel: Piano Concertos (Anna Vinnitskaya)
A young Russian virtuoso, Anna Vinnitskaya, takes a considered and personal approach to the work.
January 11, 2011
Review: Sibelius: Symphonies (New Zealand SO/Inkinen)
These performances don’t surpass the likes of Karajan or Kletzki but they are thoroughly recommendable.
January 3, 2011
Review: Bassoon Concertos (Karen Geoghegan, BBC Philharmonic/Noseda)
The main item on the disc is a recently-discovered concerto by Gioachino Rossini, or at least attributed to him by some scholars.
January 3, 2011