Gramophone Magazine started the New Year with a January 2020 review for the Kansas City Symphony and Michael Stern’s Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool in the Sounds of America section: “The Kansas City Symphony seize the day, and night, on their new recording under music director Michael Stern. Some performances of The Planets focus more on the score’s colourful surfaces than on its dramatic mysteries and jubilance but Stern’s concept pays close attention to every alluring…
Gramophone Magazine’s June 2016 issue features a new review for Jerry Junkin and the University of Texas Wind Ensemble’s Wine Dark Sea recording! “The repertoire for wind ensemble is vast and colourful. On their dynamic new release, The University of Texas Wind Ensemble and conductor Jerry Junkin take up four recent, worthy examples. Along with superbly balanced and vibrant playing, the performances confirm that American composers have no shortage of imagination when writing for wind,…
Donald Rosenberg reviews San Francisco Ballet Orchestra’s new Bizet recording in the November 2013 issue of Gramophone Magazine: “Bizet sounds like a cross between Schumann and Brahms as transported to the layered textures of the orchestra. The atmospheres lean towards the brooding and dramatic, and Weingartner takes every opportunity to add sonic interest by passing figures among instrumental sections. The San Francisco musicians give the score a performance that balances tonal depth with expressive intensity.…