classical cd

After a rather ho-hum start to the year, there ended up being many, many wonderful new releases – many fully deserving a “Best of the Year” accolade. And even though there were lots of fair-to-middlin’ […]

What was Onyx thinking, releasing this right on the heels of JoAnn Falletta’s electrifying Naxos recording of this same theme and repertoire? It would be difficult for any recording to measure up with that still […]

If you think you know what Wilson is going to sound like in Walton’s 1st Symphony, you’re probably right. Though I was hoping against hope that he would surprise us and come up with something […]

Several fantastic, musically inspiring releases have graced my listening room over the past couple of months, and it has been a pleasure hearing and writing about them here on my blog. But among those, there […]

I keep remembering how the Marmen Quartet blew me away playing Ligeti and Bartok on their debut recording for BIS earlier this year. It’s one of those momentous recordings which comes so rarely that it […]

This is an enticing release – new orchestral works from American composer Kevin Puts played by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and their fabulous conductor, Stephane Deneve. It’s also interesting that it appears on the […]

After being bowled over by Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s recording of Bacewicz’s magnificent Symphonies 3 and 4 (2023 Chandos), I’ve been eagerly awaiting the follow-up disc and wondered why it’s taking so […]

I look forward to new recordings from JoAnn Falletta and her wonderful Buffalo Philharmonic. If ever there was a musical match made in heaven, it’s this conductor and orchestra. The program itself is very enticing too, […]

I like the Azica label, and I love discovering new string quartets, so this title instantly caught my eye – especially as they play Bacewicz’s very popular 4th Quartet. Everyone is playing it lately, at […]

I have several recordings from this group and have enjoyed them for the unusual repertoire they play and their highly blended sound. This is slightly different from many other groups which encourage soloistic playing from […]