Archive for Review
Sonograma Rave Review for Handel’s Jephtha
“David Portillo is presented with charisma, self-confident, with a spectacular vocal dexterity in the role of Jephtha. We would like to highlight the countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, who was very strong, and the brilliant soprano Lauren Snouffer as Iphis, who gave an equally impressive reading. We were surprised by the expressive singing of Clara Osowski as Storgè. Finally, we liked the pure voice of Neal Davies, bass-baritone playing Zebul, and the vocal presence of Katelyn…
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 & Bates Resurrexit in The New York Times
The New York Times‘ “5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now” column features Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 & Bates Resurrexit recording: “simply excellent… the effect in practice is magical… Even more than in his terrifying account of the Bruckner’s Ninth, you get the sense that he holds the composer in awe. And it’s difficult not to feel a similar reverence for the players of the Pittsburgh…
Gramophone Praises Kansas City Symphony’s Brahms Reimagined Orchestrations
Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony’s Brahms Reimagined Orchestrations recording receives a strong recommendation from Gramophone Magazine in the August 2024 issue: “Listening to these polished performances, I marvel that the Kansas City Symphony was founded as recently as 1981. Kudos, then, to Michael Stern, who’s stepping down as music director after 19 seasons, for helping to make the KCS a worthwhile destination on the musical map. Indeed, given Reference Recording’s crystalline sound (courtesy…
David Hurwitz Reviews Kansas City Symphony’s Brahms Reimagined Orchestrations
Thank you to ClassicsToday.com’s David Hurwitz for this wonderful recommendation of the Kansas City Symphony and Michael Stern’s Brahms Reimagined Orchestrations recording!
Classical Candor Celebrates Our Bruckner Symphony No. 9 Catalog
With Bruckner’s 200th Anniversary celebrations underway, Classical Candor critic Karl Nehring has a double-feature on our two recordings of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra and Stanisław Skrowaczewski: “Honeck and his orchestra deliver a powerful performance that indeed offers glimpses both of the divine and of the existential abyss. The recording was pulled together from live performances by the engineering team from Soundmirror, the recording firm…
Atlanta Audio Club Reviews Spanish Impressions
Phil Muse reviews the Hermitage Piano Trio’s Spanish Impressions recording in the Spring issue of Atlanta Audio: “Two years ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing the CD by the Hermitage Piano Trio of Rachmaninoff’s two Trios élégiaque and a transcription of his Vocalise. As their debut CD, it made a fine calling card for these Russian ex-patriots now living and performing in the United States, by name: Mischa Keylin, violin; Sergey Antonov, cello; and…
Fanfare RAVE review for Schubert by Candlelight
Fanfare’s January/February 2024 issue features a rave review for Sergei Kvitko’s Schubert by Candlelight recording: “For every dozen pianists who record Schubert’s evergreen Moments musicaux and Impromptus, there is rarely one who plays with the presence and artistic maturity of Sergei Kvitko. There are stretches of this live recital from Madrid in 2022 when Kvitko’s depth of expression evoked echoes of classic Schubert pianists on the order of Edwin Fischer and Artur Schnabel. It isn’t surprising that…
MusicWeb International Review for Spanish Impressions
“This is a most interesting program, comprising four late Romantic Spanish piano trios, none well-known, with a good deal in common stylistically but with sufficient differences to avoid any sense of repetition.… I had not encountered the music of Mariano Perelló before… He was a renowned violinist and a member of the prominent ensemble Trio Barcelona. While his Tres Impresiones do not specifically reference Spanish dances, they are there throughout. Each movement begins impressively.… These are good…
Classical Candor Reviews The Complete Beethoven Piano Concertos
Classical Candor‘s Karl Nehring recommends Garrick Ohlsson, Sir Donald Runnicles, and the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra‘s recordings of The Complete Beethoven Concertos! “warm and comfortable both in sound and performance. This is not the lean and swift sort of Beethoven playing that we have come to hear more often owing to the many “historically informed performance” and/or “original instruments” Beethoven recordings in the marketplace. Ohlsson’s playing on his Steinway sounds rich and expressive, and…
Atlanta Audio Club Reviews Schubert by Candlelight
The December issue of the Atlanta Audio Club features a new review for Sergei Kvitko’s Schubert by Candlelight release from Phil Muse: “It presents the essence of the piano genre of Franz Schubert, whose music, underneath its deceptive charm, skilfully concealed a restless spirit that was contiually pushing the envelope in the interest of ever-greater lyrical beauty, expressiveness and harmonic daring. Schubert did this so well, it might have escaped us in a less-insightful account…
The Absolute Sound Gives Five Stars to Garrick Ohlssohn’s Complete Beethoven Piano Concertos
The Absolute Sound‘s Paul Seydor gives Five Stars across the board to Garrick Ohlsson, Sir Donald Runnicles, and the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra‘s recordings of The Complete Beethoven Concertos! “This fabulous set of the five Beethoven piano concertos was a highpoint of the Grand Teton Music Festival, where they were performed and recorded over a single weekend in July 2022. The soloist is the great Garrick Ohlsson, whose playing has wonderful character and personality,…
AllMusic Selects Spanish Impressions as a November Highlight!
Spanish Impressions is an AllMusic November Highlight with a 4.5 Star rating for the Hermitage Piano Trio! “The Hermitage Trio’s performances are impressive. All its members are of Russian background, but the deeply lyrical mode works well in this repertory, which would seem to have gems aplenty to offer.… Another major draw is the sound from the reliably strong engineering team of Reference Recordings, here working at Skywalker Sound in California; the famed Keith Johnson had a hand in…
The Arts Desk’s New Favorite Beethoven Concertos
Graham Rickson of The Arts Desk reviews Garrick Ohlsson, Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, and Sir Donald Runnicles’ Complete Beethoven Piano Concertos recording: “the results are impressive even by this label’s high standards. There’s a palpable bloom and warmth to the sound, Ohlsson’s deft rhythmic sense ensuring that things never feel complacent. Take the effervescent finale to the first concerto, the interplay between orchestral winds and soloist perfectly judged. Concerto No. 2 is another treat,…
WTJU Rave Review for Spanish Impressions
“This is the second Reference Recordings release of the Hermitage Piano Trio. And it’s just as good as the first.… The Hermitage Piano Trio doesn’t fail to impress. Their performances are clean, clear, and precise. And more importantly, they’re musical. They internalize the essence of Spanish music. And they deliver it with the energy and attitude it requires.… Great performances impeccably recorded. What else would you expect from Reference?” —Ralph Graves, WTJU See the full…
The Arts Desk Reviews “Stunning” Manfred Honeck and Pittsburgh Symphony’s Tchaikovsky & Schulhoff
“New releases from this particular conductor/orchestra combo still feel like an event. You won’t find box sets of Beethoven or Mahler in Manfred Honeck’s Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra discography, Honeck preferring to record single discs of pieces he’s fond of, often with striking couplings. So it is with this new Tchaikovsky 5… Honeck’s urgency is thrilling, the first movement’s “Allegro con anima” swift and exciting. This orchestra’s dark, voluptuous timbre feels entirely right for the piece, the Pittsburgh…