CD and Book Reviews - my/maSCENA

CD Review | 2023 Syli d’Or Compilation (Les Disques Nuits d’Afrique, 2023)

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By Hassan Laghcha on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Montreal, World Music

2023 Syli d’Or Compilation La Tribu Salsa Band; Abondance; Lil K HPB Les Disques Nuits d’Afrique, 2023 This compilation includes nine tracks by the three world music finalists of the annual Syli d’Or competition, recorded during the gala evening at La Tulipe on April 27, 2023. One of the best salsa band in Quebec, La Tribu (Syli d’Or winner) presents beautiful pieces that remain true to the salsa tradition of 1970s New York, where this music took root. Thanks to the talents of its quartet of singer-actors, this colourful band stands out for its original blend of humour and fiery…

CD Review | Les Nuits de Paris: Dance Music from Folies Bergère to Opéra (Bru Zane, 2023)

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By Paul E. Robinson on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral

Les Nuits de Paris: Dance Music from Folies Bergère to Opéra Les Siècles (conducted by François-Xavier Roth) Bru Zane BZ2005, 2023 Bru Zane is devoted to the rediscovery and international promotion of French repertoire dating from 1780-1920. Les Nuits de Paris is the French equivalent of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert, devoted to music by Johann Strauss and his Viennese contemporaries. Les Siècles, the orchestra featured on this album (conducted by François-Xavier Roth), interprets this music on period instruments. The label and orchestra have collaborated on a number of successful recordings; this CD is no exception. The release pairs…

CD Review | Calcutta 1789 (Atma Classique, 2023)

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By Hassan Laghcha on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, World Music

Calcutta 1789 Notturna; Christopher Palameta, conductor Atma Classique, 2023 As the most recent addition to its world music catalogue, Atma Classique presents Calcutta 1789: À la croisée de l’Europe et de l’Inde, by Notturna, conducted by Christopher Palameta. A portrait of musical life in colonial India, this work illustrates early associations between Indian classical music, with its voluptuous, haunting melodies, and compositions by Purcell, Handel and J. C. Bach, among other European composers. The project highlights the complicity between the Notturna ensemble and musicians Uwe Neumann (sitar) and Shawn Mativetsky (tabla). Both Neumann and Mativetsky bring a musical depth and…

CD Review | Clara, Robert, Johannes: Atmosphere and Mastery (Analekta, 2023)

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By Kristen Whittle on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Classical, Orchestral, Romantic

Clara, Robert, Johannes: Atmosphere and Mastery National Arts Centre Orchestra (directed by Alexander Shelley) Analekta, 2023 Conductor Alexander Shelley and the National Arts Centre Orchestra present the third recording of a four-volume collection featuring three of the most iconic composers in the romantic-era: Clara Schuman, Robert Schuman and Johannes Brahms. Bru Zane is devoted to the rediscovery and international promotion of French repertoire dating from 1780-1920. Les Nuits de Paris is the French equivalent of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert, devoted to music by Johann Strauss and his Viennese contemporaries. The opening, Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat…

CD Review | Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, original 1874 version, ed. L. Nowak (Myrios Classics, 2023)

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By Paul E. Robinson on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral, Romantic

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major (original 1874 version, ed. L. Nowak) Gürzenich Orchestra, Cologne (conducted by François-Xavier Roth) Myrios Classics, 2023, MYR032D Total Time: 69:34 In 2024, the musical world will honour the birthday of Anton Bruckner, one of Germany’s greatest symphonists. We will undoubtedly see a veritable deluge of new Bruckner recordings in the next few months. François-Xavier Roth and his Gürzenich Orchestra, for example, have announced a complete cycle of his symphonies. This first CD suggests we are in for something special. Roth interprets the original 1874 version of the Fourth Symphony. It is very different…

CD Review | Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3. Isle of the Dead

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By Paul E. Robinson on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3. Isle of the Dead The Philadelphia Orchestra (conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin) DG 28948647781 Total Time: 123:20 (2 CDs) This 2-CD set completes Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra’s recordings for Deutsche Grammophon’s Rachmaninoff 150 celebration, which included the recent Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos (with Daniil Trifonov), and the 2021 release of Symphony No. 1 and the Symphonic Dances. While other performances have been outstanding, this recording of the Second Symphony disappoints. While there are many moments of great beauty, the work lacks passion, particularly at the climactic and final moments, at which point Nézet-Séguin…

CD Review | Schubert: Architect (Analekta, 2023)

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By Pietro Freiburger on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Piano, Romantic

Schubert: Architect Mathieu Gaudet, piano Analekta, 2023 Architect features Schubert’s Sonata in B major B. 575, the 2 Scherzi and Trio D. 593 and the Sonata in C minor D. 958. Gaudet continues to interpret Schubert masterfully—balancing lyricism and warmth with measure and sobriety. Sonata No. 9 D. 575, published posthumously, is interpreted in all four movements with vivid contrasts in sound and character. The Scherzo and the Allegro are exemplary in brilliance as well as composure, while the Andante is almost moving in intimacy and sweetness. These contrasts are also present in the 2 Scherzi. The first, reminiscent of…

CD Review | Schumann & Brahms (Decca, 2023)

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By Pietro Freiburger on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Piano, Romantic

Schumann & Brahms Benjamin Grosvenor, piano Decca, 2023 One of the most original and gifted pianists of our time, Benjamin Grosvenor’s playing is marked by its unconventionality, the sudden and extreme changes of colour, a unique management of time. His extremely clear and limpid touch make him a true genius of contemporary piano, and these qualities come to light in an impressive way on this CD. There is always a light in Grosvenor’s interpretations. Even in a complex and sometimes twisted piece like Kreisleriana, which opens this recording, the young pianist manages to locate a clarity and positivity so rare…

CD Review | Schumann: Kreisleriana & Geistervariationen – Widmann: Elf Humoresken (Analekta, 2023)

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By Pietro Freiburger on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Piano

Schumann: Kreisleriana & Geistervariationen – Widmann: Elf Humoresken Aaron Pilsan, piano Analekta, 2023 Austrian pianist Aaron Pilsan shows imaginative and intense pianism, as well as remarkable maturity despite his young age. Kreisleriana is interpreted with an appropriate inner turmoil. One of Schumann’s most complex works, the piece is played with incredible emotional variation. The contrast between the soul of Florestano and that of Eusebius, the eternal struggle between reason and feeling, is audible from the beginning. Piece No. 5, Sehr lebhaft, is emblematic of Schumannian poetics: endowed with an enormous emotional depth that cannot emerge in all its disruptive force…

CD Review | Brahms in Solitude (Self-published, 2023)

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By Meg Freer on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Piano, Romantic

Brahms in Solitude Jarred Dunn, piano Self-published, 2023 This album’s 11 pieces create a well-planned trajectory through Brahms’s poetic music, and Jarred Dunn demonstrates a natural ability in performing this music. The album opens with three pieces from Klavierstücke Op. 118, perhaps the most well-known opus of Brahms’s late piano music. Dunn gives us a taste of Brahms’s various meditative styles: first, the dramatic and emotional Intermezzo in A minor; then, the lyrical Intermezzo in A major (the Brahms Intermezzo), beautifully played with interior lines of counterpoint; and ending with the foreboding, intense, chromatically colourful Intermezzo in E-flat minor. Two…

Browsing: CD and Book Reviews

CD Review | 2023 Syli d’Or Compilation (Les Disques Nuits d’Afrique, 2023)

CD Review | Les Nuits de Paris: Dance Music from Folies Bergère to Opéra (Bru Zane, 2023)

CD Review | Calcutta 1789 (Atma Classique, 2023)

CD Review | Clara, Robert, Johannes: Atmosphere and Mastery (Analekta, 2023)

CD Review | Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, original 1874 version, ed. L. Nowak (Myrios Classics, 2023)

CD Review | Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3. Isle of the Dead

CD Review | Schubert: Architect (Analekta, 2023)

CD Review | Schumann & Brahms (Decca, 2023)

CD Review | Schumann: Kreisleriana & Geistervariationen – Widmann: Elf Humoresken (Analekta, 2023)

CD Review | Brahms in Solitude (Self-published, 2023)

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