Classical Explorer (Page 40)

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Conductor Richard Stamp in interview: Copland and Strauss

Conductor Richard Stamp in interview: Copland and Strauss

Richard Stamp, conductor It was a pleasure for Classical Explorer to chat with conductor Richard Stamp: this recent Signum disc presents the first release of recordings from 1990 (Copland) and 1991 (Strauss), vital repertoire in the freshest of performances. All the pieces date from the 1940s, embracing the end of

Cesti's 'La Dori' from Innsbruck: gender fluidity and tragicomedy

Cesti's 'La Dori' from Innsbruck: gender fluidity and tragicomedy

Unjustifiably neglected today, Pietro Antonio Cesti (1623-1669) was one of the most respected composers of Venetian Baroque opera

New Year's Day 2021 from Vienna with Riccardo Muti

New Year's Day 2021 from Vienna with Riccardo Muti

A beacon of light for today's world

York Bowen Piano Concertos

York Bowen Piano Concertos

Hyperion's series of recordings The Romantic Piano Concerto is one of the glories of our age. This is volume 46 and presents two concertos by a composer whose name is today known but not well known: York Bowen (1884-1961). Long-lived and prolific, Bowen's music is currently

Corelli's Concerti grossi, Op. 6

Italian Baroque

Corelli's Concerti grossi, Op. 6

Back in December, Classical Explorer reviewed a Naxos Christmas disc, Per la Notte di Natale [https://www.classicalexplorer.com/per-la-notte-di-natale-italian-christmas-concertos/]; on it was Corelli's so-called "Christmas Concerto," just one of the twelve concertos that make up his Op. 6 (published in 1712). Here, then, is the

Strong Son of God: Songs of Faith, Love and Nonsense

Strong Son of God: Songs of Faith, Love and Nonsense

Previous posts on Classical Explorer have centred around Somm Recordings' releases of string quartets - and indeed, there will be more. But let's pause and celebrate his vocal music in this brand new release from baritone Roderick Williams and tenor James Way, with Andrew West on piano.

94 Seconds of New Mozart: A Mozart Premiere

94 Seconds of New Mozart: A Mozart Premiere

On February 27, 2021, the web-based platform DG Stage brought is that rarest of phenomena, a modern premiere of a piece by Mozart, performed in the Great Hall of the Salzburg Mozarteum, on Mozart's 265th birthday. It only lasts a minute and a half, and is known as

English Songs à la française, with love from Canada

English Songs à la française, with love from Canada

What a lovely idea! Songs with English texts set by French composers sung by British Columbia born (now New York resident) baritone Tyler Duncan and his wife, pianist Erika Switzer. Venezuelan-born French composer (he moved to paris while still a child) Reynaldo Hahn's music has a beautiful, fragrant

Musical kaleidoscopes: Telemann Overture Suites in first recordings

Musical kaleidoscopes: Telemann Overture Suites in first recordings

Kaleidoscopic Telemann, in all his richness and vivacity

My Father Knew Charles Ives: The Music of John Adams

My Father Knew Charles Ives: The Music of John Adams

Those champions of new American music, the Nashville Symphony and Giancarlo Guerrero, turn their attention to the music of John Adams (born 1947; not to be confused with the composer John Luther Adams). Regular readers of Classical Explorer might wish to see this post as a logical extension of our

I diporti della villa in ogni stagione: Venetian Madrigals

I diporti della villa in ogni stagione: Venetian Madrigals

The seasons - in madrigals!

A handful of Salieri operas

A handful of Salieri operas

Salieri opera, I hear you say? He of Amadeus fame? I'm not really one for populist links, but that film did bring to the public's awareness the name of Antonio Salieri. Christophe Rousset has long believed in the importance of Salieri's music, and his

Timelapse: Orchestra of the Swan

Timelapse: Orchestra of the Swan

Based in Stratford-upon-Avon and founded in 2005, the Orchestra of the Swan has an adventurous approach to programming and the dissemination of its music. When I heard the ensemble in Stratford-upon-Avon [https://seenandheard-international.com/2020/10/revelation-and-luminosity-from-the-wonderful-orchestra-of-the-swan-in-stratford-upon-avon/] , the programme consisted of a heady mix of Max Richter, Undine Smith-Moore, Rameau

Elgar Partsongs (doubly) from Bavaria

Elgar Partsongs (doubly) from Bavaria

Discover Elgar choral works in beautiful performances

More than an Iron Foundry: the music of Alexander Mosolov

More than an Iron Foundry: the music of Alexander Mosolov

If you were expecting gritty dissonances with this disc, you'll be disappointed: it is full of fascination and, yes, joy

The many sides of Sabine Weyer

The many sides of Sabine Weyer

The Luxembourgan pianist Sabine Weyer's most recent disc, Mysteries, has just been released on the Ars Produktion label. It's at once a celebration of the music of Nikolai Miaskovsky - a composer who certainly warrants our attentions - and contemporary composer Nicolas Bacri on the Ars

Weinberg String Quartets

Weinberg String Quartets

When one sees "Volume One" on a cover and it's of a series as vital as this one, there is much cause for celebration

Opera Rara and Donizetti: Il Paria

Opera Rara and Donizetti: Il Paria

An international release through Warner Classics, this Donizetti Il Paria on the Opera Rara label was recorded in the studio - BBC Maida Vale, June 1-6, 2019 - prior to a performance at London's Barbican Centre. Il paria (The Pariah) was Donizetti's 20th full-length opera; it

Wind, Sand & Stars: The Orchestra of the Swan Digital Concert

Wind, Sand & Stars: The Orchestra of the Swan Digital Concert

A wonderful hour of music and storytelling

Plaisirs illuminés: Camerata Bern delivers a sensational programme

Plaisirs illuminés: Camerata Bern delivers a sensational programme

Fans of the music of Bartók who wonder what to listen to next need look no further than fellow Hungarian Sándor Veress' Musica concertante per 12 archi (Concertante music for twelve strings). Veress (1907-1992) was a student of both Bartók and Kodály; he taught the major Hungarian composers Ligeti

Vox Clara: Late Medieval Chant

Vox Clara: Late Medieval Chant

Although in one sense a Christmas disc (many of the texts sing about related subjects), it would be churlish to exclude this lovely disc on the basis we're now in January. Imagining the sounds of medieval Riga, and dispelling any sense of stuffy, voice-bound-to-text performance practice, this is

A composer like no other: Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji

A composer like no other: Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji

Mythologising about composers in general is rife: think Wagner, Beethoven; or Mozart with his Freemasonry and the alleged rivalry with Salieri. Few composers hold such a fascination as Sorabji (1892-1988), whose works are of magnificent length. His Opus Clavicembalisticum is a mammoth evening of knotty fugues and mind-bending complexity, all

I Wonder as I Wander ... James Newby

I Wonder as I Wander ... James Newby

Folksong and legend plays a huge part in this new recital by baritone James Newby and pianist Joseph Middleton, inspired by the idea of the "otherwhere": of the distanced beloved (specifically, the Beethoven An die ferne Geliebte was the catalyst for the programme, a piece Newby has been

Hymns of Love: tenor Dmytro Popov's recital disc

Hymns of Love: tenor Dmytro Popov's recital disc

Making a splash at London's Covent Garden as Rodofo Bohème in 2013, Dnytro Popov enjoys an international career. Notably, he was solo tenor in Teodor Currentzis' Verdi Requiem performances around Europe in 2019, but he has been active in many, many operatic roles, the most famous of

Manfredini: Twelve Concertos, Op. 3

Italian Baroque

Manfredini: Twelve Concertos, Op. 3

Once in a while a composer comes along who you just have to ask why don't we hear more of him? Francesco Manfredini is one such