Review: Ravel: The Piano Concertos, Miroirs (Pierre-Laurent Aimard; Cleveland Orchestra/Boulez)
Aimard and Boulez give a strong account of the first, more forceful than the norm, and the pianist’s technique is astonishing.
January 3, 2011
Review: Beethoven Violin Sonatas Vol. 1 (Alina Ibragimova, Cédric Tiberghien)
Volume 1 is a complete cycle of the Beethoven sonatas, which do not traverse the same range of styles or psychological landscapes as the piano sonatas, string quartets, or symphonies.
January 3, 2011
Review: Deutsche Barocklieder (Andreas Scholl, Markus Märkel)
A superb CD of delightful music that is refreshing to the ear.
January 3, 2011
Review: Mahler – Symphony No. 8 (Sydney Symphony/Ashkenazy)
Music of this heft really needs majestic phrasing and it certainly receives it here.
January 3, 2011
Review: Handel – Concerti Grossi (The Avison Ensemble / Pavlo Beznosiuk)
Handel’s Opus 6 set of concerti grossi is a textbook of string writing, which students have been studying for centuries.
January 3, 2011
Review: BARTÓK Piano Concertos 1 – 3 (Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, BBC Phil Orch / Noseda)
Any recording that fails to stress the contrasts between these pieces is missing something.
January 3, 2011
Review: Korngold – The String Quartets (Doric String Quartet)
If ever you needed a musical snapshot of Vienna between the wars, this is it.
January 3, 2011
Review: Mozart – Sonatas for Piano & Violin (Mitsuko Uchida, Mark Steinberg)
A sweeping portrayal of the depths Mozart was able to find within this most honed-back of all chamber ensembles.
January 3, 2011