Gramophone Magazine’s Mark Pullinger reviews Thierry Fischer and the Utah Symphony’s Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky – Lieutenant Kijé Suite in their February 2020 issue: “Thierry Fischer pairs two contrasting Prokofiev film scores in this Utah Symphony release: the gritty, rarely heard cantata Alexander Nevsky and the quirky, satirical Lieutenant Kijé. The latter is… guaranteed to raise a smile. … Nevsky is given a sober reading here, the University of Utah A Cappella Choir and University of…
Gramophone Magazine features the new Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck Strauss: Elektra/Rosenkavaalier recording in the January 2017 issue: The recording packs a mighty punch from the initial Agamemnon motif, scything brass braying Elektra’s revenge theme. There is percussive glitter for Klytemnestra, whip cracks marking the arrival of her entourage. The full barbarism of Strauss’s score makes a searing impact, Orest’s murder of Klytemnestra especially brutal, yet there are moments of great tenderness too. Reference…