Archive for The Arts Desk
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,…
The Arts Desk Reviews “One Movement Symphonies”
Graham Rickson reviews The Kansas City Symphony and Michael Stern’s recording of Barber, Sibelius, and Scriabin One Movement Symphonies on The Arts Desk: “[Barber’s Symphony No. 1 is] played brilliantly here, Michael Stern’s Kansas City Symphony having exactly the right tonal blend for this music. Brass have ample weight, and the strings sing. Scriabin’s Poem of Ecstasy receives a similarly ripe performance. … This Sibelius 7 is excellent. Stern’s transitions are seamless, and the trombone theme’s third…
The Arts Desk Declares Pittsburgh Symphony’s Tchaikovsky and Leshnoff a Winner
Graham Rickson praises the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 and Jonathan Leshnoff Double Concerto in The Arts Desk: “Quick warning: the Pittsburgh brass are borderline oppressive in Tchaikovsky’s opening fate motif, and it’s all for the good; this symphony’s initial bars should be scary if the journey from darkness to light is to feel convincing. … This is thrilling stuff – sample the Pittsburgh horns’ exultant big tune…
The Arts Desk Reviews Hermitage Piano Trio’s Rachmaninoff
The Arts Desk‘s Graham Rickson reviews the Hermitage Piano Trio’s GRAMMY®-nominated Rachmaninoff album: “This performance, from three Russian musicians, oozes soul. Cellist Sergey Antonov has a gloriously dark tone, and he’s well matched with violinist Misha Keylin. And what a beautifully balanced recording too, pianist Ilya Kazantsev’s Steinway captured with startling fidelity. This never once sounds like a contractual meeting between three starry soloists; it’s clear that these musicians have lived with this music for…
The Arts Desk Reviews Holst: The Planets
The Arts Desk’s Graham Rickson reviews Kansas City Symphony and Michael Stern’s recording of Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool: “Michael Stern’s Kansas City Symphony version is a blast… An audiophile’s delight as well as a musical treat, Stern gets pretty much everything right. You’ll hear things in this recording that you’ll struggle to discern on starrier versions, the marvel being that nothing feels forced or artificially spotlit. There’s a sepulchral brass chorale a few…
The Arts Desk Reviews John Williams At The Movies
The Arts Desk‘s Graham Rickson’s Classical CD Weekly column features a new review for the Dallas Winds and Jerry Junkin’s John Williams At The Movies recording! “The Dallas Winds is a rarity in that it’s a professional wind band, 50 woodwind, brass and percussion players tackling ‘an eclectic blend ranging from marches and Broadway show tunes, to soundtracks and big band standards’. This is an unabashedly popular release, but that’s all the more reason to…
Arts Desk Reviews Marvelous New Pittsburgh Symphony Recording
The Arts Desk reviews the new Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio recording in their Classical CDs Weekly feature: Order Now “This is the sort of performance you want to press into the hands of someone who’s never heard the piece. It’s marvellous, in so many ways, Honeck steering a near-ideal course between hysteria and sobriety. Lower strings are impressive from the outset, their sound pungent and full of weight.…