Great as it is -- and, let's face it, it's the greatest symphony ever written -- the Ninth Symphony isn't Beethoven's greatest choral-orchestral work. His greatest choral-orchestral work, as Beethoven was the first to point out, was the Missa Solemnis. After all, the Ninth may be great through and through, but it's only choral-orchestral in the ...
David Zinman's second venture in recording Gustav Mahler's symphonies for RCA Red Seal is a brisk and propulsive reading of the Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Resurrection," one upon which he and the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra appear to have lavished all their energies and skills. This hybrid SACD package presents the massive work on two discs -- one ...
With Kim Novak's smile, Grace Kelly's style, and Ingrid Bergman's sensuality, Renée Fleming's recording of Richard Strauss' Daphne is a Hitchcock heroine made into music. His final hymn to love and death and transformation, Strauss' Daphne is another in a long line of radiantly virginal female leads who come to a bad end, in this case, being ...
Judged on its clarity of detail and faithfulness to the score, this recording of Mahler's majestic Symphony No. 8 ranks as one of the most exacting and authoritative ever made. Yet there are less tangible aspects to which the excellence of this performance must be attributed. Riccardo Chailly paces this symphony in long, confident strides, neither ...
This album of highlights from George Frederick Handel's Messiah presents the best-known instrumentals, arias, and choruses from this hallowed work on 19 tracks, performed in Baroque period style by the Arnold Schoenberg Choir and Concentus Musicus Wien, led by the redoubtable Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Crisp rhythms, distinctive tone colors, and lean ...
Most years have had their share of interesting Mahler releases, but 2008 counts as a banner year, thanks to the series of Valery Gergiev's live performances on LSO. With a subjective First, a powerful Sixth, and a convincing Seventh, this formidable conductor has given reviewers and listeners a great deal to consider and discuss, often resulting ...
Writing an extended secular oratorio in this day and age is a quixotic enterprise for all but the most renowned or well-connected composers; the genre, which requires soloists, chorus, and orchestra, is expensive to produce and is not much in favor with orchestras and audiences. Daniel Börtz, one of Sweden's leading composers, has the standing ...
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