Adagios Archive
DVORAK: Stabat Mater – Soloists/Radio Sym. & Choir of Bavarian Radio/ Mariss Janssons – BR Klassik
This live performance maintains an air of piety and devotion requisite to its powerful musical occasion. DVORAK: Stabat Mater, Op. 58 – Erin Wall, sop./ Minoko Fujimura, mezzo-sop./ Christian Elsner, tenor/ Liang Li, bass/ Choir of the Bavarian Radio/ Bavarian Radio Sym. Orch./ Mariss Janssons – BR Klassik 900142, 77:55 [Distr. by Naxos] (1/8/16) *****: When discussing Dvorak’s epic 1876-80 Stabat Mater (in b minor) with the late choral conductor David Randolph, I came to realize the innate difficulty of sustaining the musical tension of “a work consisting of basically ten adagios,” in Randolph’s words. Indeed, only one movement, the fifth, indicates a tempo that includes quasi allegretto. A series of personal tragedies – especially among his children – may have triggered Dvorak’s fascination with texts illustrating the pain of Mary in the face of her son’s crucifixion. Pietistic and emotionally introverted, the score embraces a deep sense of lamentation and tragic loss, colored only occasionally by moments of grudging optimism. My first recording of the work, led by the venerable Dvorak master, Vaclav Talich, projected a staid dignity and breadth of conception, and the present realization (rec. 24-26 March 2015) from Munich makes a worthy successor. From the expansive […]
Arrau at Tanglewood = MOZART: Piano Sonata No. 5 in G Major; Piano Sonata No. 8 in A Minor; Fantasie in C Minor; Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Minor; Piano Sonata No. 17 in B-flat Major; Piano Sonata No. 18 in D Major – Claudio Arrau, p. – Music & Arts (2 CDs)
A previously unreleased all-Mozart recital by Claudio Arrau from Tanglewood should prove indispensable to the connoisseur of great keyboard playing.
BEETHOVEN: The ‘Late’ String Quartets (Nos. 12 thru 16) – Tokyo String Quartet – Harmonia Mundi (3 discs)
A superbly engineered recording of the greatest string quartets ever written, played by one of the world’s finest ensembles.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
