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SCHUMANN: Cello Concerto in a; Sym. No. 2 in C Major – Jan Vogler, cello/ Dresden Festival Orch./ Ivor Bolton – Sony

SCHUMANN: Cello Concerto in a; Sym. No. 2 in C Major – Jan Vogler, cello/ Dresden Festival Orch./ Ivor Bolton – Sony

by | Feb 6, 2017 | Classical CD Reviews

Suave and elegant Schumann played in natural, heroic manner by all principals. SCHUMANN: Cello Concerto in a, Op. 129; Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61 – Jan Vogler, cello/ Dresden Festival Orch./ Ivor Bolton – Sony 88985372122, 59:06 (12/2/16) ****: Clara Schumann once referred to the people of Dresden as “Philistines,” convinced that, after six years’ habitation in the city, “no musician could be found.” With a prospective move to Duesseldorf, the entire Schumann family felt a renewed vigor, and Robert conceived his Cello Concerto in fifteen days of October 1850.  Curiously, despite extensive correspondence with cellist Emil Bockmuehl about the virtuosic capacities of the piece, Schumann opted for relative restraint and economic compression of the musical materials.  Still, Clara Schumann lauded the work’s Romantic fervor, its “vivacity, freshness and humor, its euphony and deep feeling.”  Schumann had already demonstrated his penchant for through-composed cyclic form, connecting each of the movements thematically, with the middle movement’s serving as a kind of intermezzo-recitative before the 6/8 finale recycles motifs heard earlier in the form of jittery dance. In the Violin Concerto in d minor, Schumann presses even further into this experiment in form, though one could argue that the […]

PHILIP GLASS & ROBERT WILSON: Einstein on the Beach, Blu-ray (2016) 

PHILIP GLASS & ROBERT WILSON: Einstein on the Beach, Blu-ray (2016) 

by | Dec 31, 2016 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

Still Philip Glass’ most important work in a stunning production! PHILIP GLASS & ROBERT WILSON: Einstein on the Beach, Blu-ray (2016)  Production: Chatelet Theatre, Paris Performers: The Philip Glass Ensemble/The Lucinda Childs Dance Company/Antoine Silverman, Helga Davis, Kate Moran/Michael Reisman (cond.) Robert Wilson (stage director)/ Don Kent (screen director) Studio: Opus Arte (2 discs) [10/28/16] (Distr. by Naxos) Video: 1.33:1 (4:3) color Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, PCM Stereo Length: 263 min. Ratings: Audio: ***1/2  Video: ****  Like it or not, Einstein on the Beach remains Philip Glass’ most defining work. It is what gave him a large amount of name recognition and – at the time – ‘word on the street.’  I first became aware of Einstein in 1976, mainly by reading new music journals. I quickly bought the vinyl set of the original cast recording on the now defunct art label, Tomato Records, which I still have to this day. Einstein on the Beach is the work that paved the way for Glass’ work going beyond the small and somewhat sparsely attended concerts of his ensemble (of which I attended several) to his film scores such as the still powerful Koyaanisqatsi and the more “true” opera, Satygraha.  It […]

MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde – Kathleen Ferrier, mezzo/ Set Svanholm, tenor/ NY Philharmonic/ Bruno Walter – Pristine Audio

MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde – Kathleen Ferrier, mezzo/ Set Svanholm, tenor/ NY Philharmonic/ Bruno Walter – Pristine Audio

by | Nov 5, 2016 | Classical Reissue Reviews

Andrew Rose revives Kathleen Ferrier’s American debut, in her first Bruno Walter-led “Symphony of Songs” by GUSTAV MAHLER. MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde – Kathleen Ferrier, mezzo-soprano/ Set Svanholm, tenor/ New York Philharmonic/ Bruno Walter – Pristine Audio PACO 137, 58:20 (mono) [avail in var. formats from www.pristineclassical.com] ****: In this, Andrew Rose’s restoration of 18 January 1948 performance of Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde at Carnegie Hall under Bruno Walter, the great Kathleen Ferrier (1912-1953) made her American debut. The tenor solo has Set Svanholm (1904-1964), the Swedish operatic talent who had assumed much of the repertory that was dominated by Lauritz Melchior. Recorded history now has four interpretations of this mighty score with Bruno Walter, who gave the world premiere 20 November 1911. The performance here at Carnegie Hall possesses a decisive urgency, occasionally making Svanholm enter ahead of the beat.  What we crave always and forever remain Ferrier’s vocal timbre and lyrical stamina, which appear to gain strength and fervor as this evening’s rendition evolves. The music well-combines the contradictions in Mahler’s character: his cosmopolitanism and complete orchestral mastery and security, even as the otherwise distant, detached nature of the poetry becomes emblazoned in […]