Archive for Uncategorized – Page 9
“Thoughtful and Thought-Provoking” Tchaikovsky
John Quinn reviews Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 and Dvořák Rusalka recording in MusicWeb International: “In summary Honeck’s performance of this symphony is a thoughtful and thought-provoking rendition of a score that can suffer from over-familiarity.” —John Quinn, MusicWeb International Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 Dvořák: Rusalka Fantasy (arr. Honeck/Ille) Pittsburgh Symphony OrchestraManfred Honeck, Music DirectorFR-720 Reference Recordings Amazon iTunes Native DSD Arkiv Music
The Wall Street Journal Features Utah Symphony and “Switch”
The Wall Street Journal published a double-review of recent percussion concerto performances and featured the Utah Symphony and Colin Currie’s performance of Andrew Norman’s Switch at Carnegie Hall: “…the Utah Symphony and its music director, Thierry Fischer, presented Mr. Norman’s “Switch,” with Mr. Currie as the intrepid, energetic soloist. When the concerto began, the percussionist was nowhere in sight. A few minutes later, he bounded onstage from the auditorium and began his solo perambulations, moving…
Pittsburgh Symphony Tchaikovsky/Dvořák is “Outstanding”
“Any new disc from this particular team is usually an event, and this one keeps up the trend. It’s unusual to find a leading conductor who doesn’t seem set on setting down complete cycles of everything. Manfred Honeck’s discography is highly selective, and all the better for it.… Honeck’s careful handling of Tchaikovsky’s dynamic markings pays enormous dividends. Some passages exist on the very edge of audibility and the ffff explosions will rattle your sash…
Kansas City Symphony Recording Preview Concert This Week!
Thursday, June 23, 2016 – 7pm Join Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony at the Kauffman Center’s Helzberg Hall for a FREE concert featuring repertoire from their next exciting RR project! More Information Program Barber: Symphony No. 1 Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 Scriabin: Poem of Ecstasy
Pittsburgh Symphony Tchaikovsky/Dvořák is “electrifying”
“I believe most of you would agree that not many composers quite match Tchaikovsky when it comes to conjuring up a sense of ‘drama’ in music. And especially the way he applies some of the most beautiful melodies to emotionally passionate moments is quite gripping. Include his preponderance for extensive tension escalation and perfectly timed release, and you have the perfect recipe for electrifying music. He certainly knew how to create vivid images in music.…
Utah Symphony’s Dawn to Dust in July issue of Gramophone Magazine
Kate Molleson reviews the Utah Symphony’s Dawn to Dust recording in the July issue of Gramophone Magazine: “This disc contains premiere recordings of the three works commissioned by the Utah Symphony to celebrate its 75th birthday, and as a bright and upbeat showcase for the orchestra it does its job nicely.…First comes the five-movement EOS (the goddess of the dawn) by Augusta Read Thomas, who knows what she wants from an orchestra…This is neat, well-crafted…
Dick Hyman Receives NEA Jazz Master Award!
Long time RR artist pianist Dick Hyman was named a 2017 NEA Jazz Master Fellow, the nation’s highest honor in jazz! He will receive a $25,000 award and be honored during a tribute concert on Monday, April 3, 2017 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. “Hyman is a piano virtuoso who—Zelig-like—has been known for playing in any style he wants. A masterful improviser, he is also a composer of concerti and chamber music, and…
Pittsburgh Symphony’s Tchaikovsky/Dvořák in Klassisk Musikkmagasin!
The Norwegian Klassisk Musikkmagasin‘s 2016 Issue Number 2 features a rave review for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s latest release: “Manfred Honeck’s reading of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony – the so-called (not by Tchaikovsky) ‘Pathétique’ – will send shivers down your spine: not only is the interpretation fiercely driven and the playing thrilling, but the recorded sound has a visceral physical impact. And if that weren’t already enough, Honeck adds a 20-minute fantasy on…
ClassicalEar Reviews Dawn To Dust
ClassicalEar‘s Colin Anderson gives a four-star rating to the Utah Symphony’s new Dawn To Dust recording: “One thing is certain, that the Utah Symphony and music director Thierry Fischer are going places. This superbly recorded anthology reports a top-drawer orchestra. Augusta Read Thomas’s EOS (Goddess of the Dawn) pulsates with life and suggestion, orchestrated with colour, a gleaming score conveying very likeable music to the ears.… Much is promised at the beginning [of Andrew Norman’s…
HRAudio Gives Five Stars To Wuthering Heights!
“For much of the work Floyd writes in an expressive parlando style that allows the words to be clearly heard even when the voices are competing with large orchestral forces. The dark brooding orchestral score is, even allowing for the tragic nature of the story, mellifluous and often lushly romantic in the style of Puccini and Samuel Barber as, for example, in Edgar’s aria “Then marry me Cathy and make me whole again” (Act 2…
Carlisle Floyd’s “Wuthering Heights” is Now Available!
Our First Ever Opera Release! Florentine Opera Company Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Joseph Mechavich, conductor Buy It Today! Reference Recordings Amazon iTunes ArkivMusic The Florentine Opera Company® brings American opera composer Carlisle Floyd’s operatic masterpiece, based on the classic English novel by Emily Brontë, to life. Floyd’s score takes you to the heart of Catherine and Heathcliffe’s devastating love story. Carlisle Floyd’s canon of operas is amongst the most performed by any living American opera composer,…
What Critics Have Said about Carlisle Floyd’s Wuthering Heights
A “throwback” 1993 review from a performance of Carlisle Floyd’s Wuthering Heights in The Christian Science Monitor: “American composer Carlisle Floyd has wrapped music admirably around the Bronte story. He gives the drama added intensity with a score that is timed to the characters’ moments of passion, scorn, and rage. The music is stark and brooding, but for a contemporary piece (it was commissioned by the Santa Fe Opera in 1958), it is multilayered enough…
Pittsburgh Symphony’s “Tchaikovsky” a “Monument”
“This recording of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Pathétique’ is a ‘monument’ in every sense of the word. … Conveying ideas to an orchestra is one thing, but letting an orchestral body of around 100 musicians carry them out like clockwork, as if holding everyone on a personal string, can only be done if musicians believe in their master and have confidence in what he is asking them to do. This makes a Chef stand out from the crowd.…
A Note from Florentine Opera Director William Florescu
William Florescu, Florentine Opera General Director This is a unique and exciting Florentine Opera recording. Carlisle Floyd’s Wuthering Heights, an unjustly neglected American gem, made its Florentine debut in this world premiere recording. This performance marked the premiere for a full-length Florentine Opera concert production on the Harris Theater Stage of the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. We had the honor of welcoming Carlisle Floyd to guide this exceptional creative team and shape…
Carlisle Floyd’s Wuthering Heights a “Powerful Representation”
“Wuthering Heights is one of the few operas by Carlisle Floyd that isn’t based on an explicitly American story. Emily Brontë’s novel is set in Yorkshire, amid the moors that give the tale its famous atmosphere. But whether it’s English gothic or Southern (American) gothic, Floyd has a way with stories drenched in melodrama and mysticism. … But the real star here is conductor Joseph Mechavich, who guided the orchestra and voices through Floyd’s often…