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Best Classical of 2017 – I

Best Classical of 2017 – I

by | Jan 6, 2018 | Best of the Year

Best of the Year Classical List for 2017 Recommendations by Steven Ritter Mahler: Symphony No. 8 – Mormon Tabernacle Choir/ Utah Symphony/ Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings Spectacular, moving, and, well, what else do you need? Link to Review       GORDON GETTY: The Canterville Ghost – Oper Leipzig/ Gewandhausorchester/ Matthias Foremny – Pentatone A splendid addition to the Getty catalog, one of his best works. Link to Review     SHOSTAKOVICH:  Symph. No. 5; BARBER: Adagio for Strings – Pittsburgh Symph. Orch./Manfred Hobeck – Reference Recordings A breathtaking release of crushing power. Link to Review   Recommendations by Gary Lemco Reiner conducts Wagner  Pristine Audio PASC 517 Fritz Reiner’s legacy of Wagner from shellac sources proves memorably striking, given a fine restoration by Pristine Audio. Link To Review       Beethoven: Symphonies 4 & 7 – Koussevitzky/BSO – Pristine Audio PASC 515 Previously unreleased Beethoven performances by Koussevitzky and BSO add significant documents to that conductor’s recorded legacy.   Link To Review       Kathleen Ferrier Remembered   Somm CD 264 The restoration of long-buried Kathleen Ferrier archives warrants our unconditional praise and support. Link To Review        Dvorak: String Quartet, Op. 105; String […]

BARTÓK: Violin Concerto No. 2; Concerto for Orchestra – Augustin Dumay, violin/Orch. symphonique de Montreal/ Kent Nagano – Onyx Classics (2 CDs bound as book)

BARTÓK: Violin Concerto No. 2; Concerto for Orchestra – Augustin Dumay, violin/Orch. symphonique de Montreal/ Kent Nagano – Onyx Classics (2 CDs bound as book)

by | Jun 28, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

BÉLA BARTÓK: Violin Concerto No. 2; Concerto for Orchestra – Augustin Dumay, violin/Orch. symphonique de Montreal/ Kent Nagano – Onyx Classics ONYX4138 (2 CDs), 81:35 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] (5/13/16) ****: Excellent performances that rank with the best. The music of Béla Bartók is, of course, by now standard orchestral fare and he is largely considered one the twentieth century’s most innovative and ingenious composers. There have been literally hundreds of recordings of these two present works – arguably his two most familiar – the second Violin Concerto and the Concerto for Orchestra. So how do these performances compare with some of the many others? I think very favorably indeed. For the second Violin Concerto, I admit I have always greatly enjoyed the old Yehudi Menuhin rendition under Antal Dorati and for a much more recent and very genuinely “Hungarian” take I strongly recommend the somewhat obscure recording by Barnabás Keleman with the Hungarian National Philharmonic. This version with Augustin Dumay is excellent; a bit more ‘refined’ than some versions that seem more “raw” especially in the finale. Dumay is a violinist and conductor of international renown who has played with a number of major orchestras worldwide. He is also […]