CD and Book Reviews - my/maSCENA

Leonard Bernstein: Historical Recordings 1941-1961

By Paul E. Robinson on 23 December 2013 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral

Schumann: Symphony No. 2/Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 7/Mahler: Symphony No. 2/Beethoven: Symphony No. 9/Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring/Chavez: Symphony No. 4/Harris: American Creed, etc.Boston Symphony Orchestra/New York Philharmonic/Leonard BernsteinAudio Restoration: Lani SpahrWest Hill Radio Archives WHRA-6048 (11 CDs)*****Bernstein has been dead for over 22 years and nearly everything he recorded has been released and re-released. Dozens of broadcasts have been made available too. But there are still treasures to be found. This latest release contains invaluable rehearsal excerpts and some wonderful broadcasts with the Boston Symphony.Bernstein was a protégé of BSO music director Serge Koussevitsky and Bernstein…

“Journeys”

By Paul E. Robinson on 11 December 2013 CD and Book Reviews, Chamber Music, Contemporary

“Journeys”Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence Op. 70/Schönberg: Verklärte Nacht Op. 4Emerson String QuartetPaul Neubauer, viola II/Colin Carr, cello IISONY 88725470602***** The Emerson String Quartet reigns supreme among string quartets but it has recently undergone some major changes. The original cellist,David Finckel, was recently replaced, and after years with Deutsche Grammophon the group has switched to Sony. This new CD is the Emerson’s first recording for the new label and one of its last recordings with Finckel still in the cello chair. The recordings were made in 2012. I don’t recall these two works being coupled on a CD but the pairing…

Book Review: Charry’s Szell Biography Authoritative But Incomplete

By Paul E. Robinson on 17 December 2011 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral

by Paul E. RobinsonGeorge Szell: A Life in Music by Michael CharryUrbana: University of Illinois Press, 2011412 pagesOne of the conducting icons of my youth was George Szell. I had the good fortune to live within a few hundred miles of his home base in Cleveland and regularly heard Szell with his great orchestra in Cleveland, Toronto and at an annual Spring festival in London, Ontario. Many of Szell’s finest recordings come from this period. I idolized the man for his ability to galvanize an orchestra – whether through musicianship, by force of personality or fear, I wasn’t sure which…

Kimmo Pohjonen/Samuli Kosminen: Uniko

By La Scena Musicale Team on 16 June 2011 CD and Book Reviews, Chamber Music, Strings

Kimmo Pohjonen, accordion & voice; Samuli Kosminen, string & accordion samples, programming; Kronos Quartet (David Harrington, John Sherba, violins; Hank Dutt, viola; Jeffrey Ziegler, cello) Ondine ODE 1185-2 (51 min 49 s) *** Here’s a neat lesson in brand name recognition and the advantage of a dedicated fan base. The cover of this album is dark blackish brown with red streaks. The title and artists are given in tiny letters and it is necessary to look into the booklet to establish Pohjonen’s and Kosminen’s claim to composition and arrangement of the music (a commission for Kronos). Aside from credits and…

John Adams Portrait

By La Scena Musicale Team on 15 June 2011 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral, Piano, Strings

Angèle Dubeau, violon; Louise Bessette, piano; La Pietà Analekta AN 2 8732 (60 min 36 s) ***** Le compositeur américain John Adams s’illustre principalement dans le domaine de l’opéra et de la musique symphonique. Or, Angèle Dubeau et son ensemble La Pietà s’intéressent ici à son répertoire de musique de chambre avec pour résultat un disque très bien ficelé. Le duo pour violon et piano Road Movies est ici interprété avec la fougue qu’il mérite tandis que le quatuor à cordes John’s Book of Alleged Dances est présenté avec toute la fantaisie que le compositeur lui a conférée (on regrette…

Mahler: Symphonies Nos 1-10

By La Scena Musicale Team on 14 June 2011 CD and Book Reviews, Orchestral, Romantic

Vocal soloists; Schweizer Kammerchor; Zürcher Sängerknaben; WDR Rundfunkchor Köln; Kinderchor Kaltbrunn; Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich/David Zinman RCA Red Seal 88697 72723-2 (15 Hybrid SACD – 794 min 24 s/ DVD 80 min) ***** It used to be that a Mahler symphony cycle on record typically required a decade or more to complete. The sessions for this set began in 2006 and concluded last year. RCA threw in super audio (playable on conventional CD decks) recording and launched the cycle with military precision in 2007. The performances reached collectors in sequence, at mid-price and in short order. The appearance of this lavish…

Villa-Lobos Piano Music. As Três Marias, A Prole do Bebê, and Rudepoêma.

By Lucie Renaud on 1 November 2000 CD and Book Reviews

On this CD Marc-André Hamelin turns his attention to the music of Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos, who wrote some 200 piano works. Hamelin’s lightning finger-work (as in his dazzling Polichinelle) is both savage and poetic on this disc. Rudepoêma is the composer’s master-work and one of the most difficult pieces ever written, despite its inherent pianistic qualities. Hamelin gives it an intensive interpretation that lets the listener grasp the primitive influences (at times reminiscent of Le Sacre du printemps) and the polytonal effects so characteristic of Villa-Lobos. Even so, the refined subtlety of Hamelin’s playing is best demonstrated in the miniature…

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