Tag Archives: classical music

Jascha Heifetz’s Brahms and Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos

Johannes Brahms, Violin Concerto in D, Op. 77; Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35; Jascha Heifetz, violin; Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, cond. The 1879 premiere of Johannes Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D, Op. 77 elicited, as … Continue reading

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Èlia Lucas Quartet’s Introspecció

Èlia Lucas Quartet’s Introspecció is a delightful album of accessible jazz. This empathetic ensemble conveys a variety of moods in a collection whose overall aspect it uplifting and life-affirming. The young Catalonian pianist and composer has a wealth of music … Continue reading

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Lodestar Trio’s Bach to Folk

These days I particularly enjoy music that combines roots or folk music with other traditions including jazz and classical. The musicians of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland seem particularly adept at this sort of thing: Norwegian guitarist Jakob Bro, the … Continue reading

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Franz Joseph Haydn’s Piano Sonatas Numbers 29, 31, 34, 35 and 49, Emanuel Ax, piano

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) is one of the two giants of the Classical Period, the other being Mozart; like Mozart, Haydn’s music has been viewed in recent years, unjustly, as rococo, “snuff-box” music — charming, pleasant and good-natured. The name … Continue reading

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Various composers’ Horowitz Live and Unedited: The Historic 1965 Carnegie Hall Return Concert, Vladimir Horowitz, piano

Much has been written recently about the doom awaiting the classical music recording industry as labels slash budgets, terminate artist contracts and reduce the numbers of releases. Orchestras with long associations with record labels now find themselves with no recording … Continue reading

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Trio Mediaeval’s Messe de Tournai, Words of the Angel

The manuscript for the Messe de Tournai was discovered in the nineteenth century in the library of Tournai Cathedral. Its existence, as is so often the case with manuscripts of this period, owes as much to chance as anything else, … Continue reading

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Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma’s Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev Cello Sonatas

Matej Novak wrote this review. Of all the instruments of the orchestra, the cello is perhaps the most “human,” for lack of a better word. If you close your eyes, you can almost imagine the sounds the instrument produces emanating … Continue reading

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Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3, and Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3

Sergei Rachmaninoff, Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 44; Chanson Georgienne, Op. 4. No 4 (Utah Symphony Orchestra, Maurice Abravanel, cond.) Music by Russian composers in the twentieth century presents some interesting contrasts, not only between those who remained … Continue reading

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The Bowhouse Quintet’s Live in Ennis

The Bowhouse Quintet has created a beautifully arranged recording of Irish traditional music that will appeal to both folk and classical audiences. The use of multiple fiddles along with the cello and bass as rhythm section will feel familiar to … Continue reading

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Helen Sung’s Quartet+

Houston native Helen Sung has released six previous albums as leader, and the pianist also has appeard as guest on releases by Terri Lyne Carrington, Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry and Louie Bellson, among others. This, her seventh leader date, is … Continue reading

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