On the Record: December 2023
Bartók is the starter this month with Mahler, Rachmaninov, Bruckner and Respighi the substantial main course. Offenbach provides the perfect soufflé to finish.
Bartók is the starter this month with Mahler, Rachmaninov, Bruckner and Respighi the substantial main course. Offenbach provides the perfect soufflé to finish.
Mozart heads up this month with Igor Levit and Víkingur Ólafsson hot on his heels. Vocal delights include Sarah Connolly’s Mahler and miraculous choral music by Stephen Hough.
This month we are in vocal heaven with period instrument Rodgers & Hammerstein, Shakespearean song, an operatic take on Wuthering Heights, and a resurrected Parsifal.
Handel’s tree-hugging despot enjoys a lively new outing, the Philly aces Rachmaninov, Christian Li explores Mendelssohn, and Offenbach’s Peruvian soufflé fizzes with fun.
Danes complete their Prism project, Bychkov delivers a blistering Resurrection, outstanding Beethoven from Ohlsson in the mountains, and Piers Lane goes to town . . . again!
Osmo Vänskä’s Mahler cycle continues with a sublime Ninth, quirky programs from Zubin Kanga and Anna Prohaska, and a Rota rarity.
The King’s Singers celebrate “Tom and Will”, Poles propel Weinberg string quartets to the top of the list, and it’s another great month for women composers.
This month, Tim Mead’s Beauteous Softness does what it says on the can, there’s new music from First Nations composers, and classics from Benjamin Grosvenor and the Brodskys.
Biber’s Mystery Sonatas, Fabio Luisi’s Nielsen cycle impresses, and Matthias Goerne presents Schubert in Technicolor.
This month, Roderick Williams gussies up English songs, Ravel and Arnold receive ardent advocacy, and a trio of suppressed Jessye Norman recordings sees the light of day.
This month, Meyerbeer gets his just desserts, it’s Elgar, Jim, but not as we know it, and is this the best Mahler Five ever?
This month features a striking operatic debut, the latest pianistic fireworks from Aussie-born barrister Paul Wee, plus outstanding new releases from Krystian Zimerman and Hilary Hahn.
This month features orchestral music by Dvořák, Weill and Vaughan Williams, plus a Hollywood epic and intriguing recitals from Igor Levit and Víkingur Ólafsson.