The Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia is one of my favorite concert orchestras to watch on YouTube. They present full length concerts in excellent sound and high-quality videography – with expert, knowledgeable camera operators who zoom […]
This may sound like a strange observation, but for me, one of the stars of this show, aside from the composer and the conductor, is the orchestra “leader” (or as non-British orchestras call them, the […]
A fantastic debut album from the fantastic Pacific Quintet. Unity themed, it combines composers from 6 different nationalities, 5 of which correspond to the home countries of the players (Bernstein being the “extra”). The booklet is […]
I have enjoyed many CDs over the years from the Belgian chamber ensemble, Oxalys. On the Fuga Libera label, the Mozart and Ries Flute Quartets are simply glorious. And more recently on Passacaille, entire albums of […]
One wonders why. Why record more Mozart symphonies? What’s special about these that merits a recording of them? Seriously, BIS – a clarinet player who has decided he wants to be a conductor and you’re […]
I’ve been on Pentatone’s case lately – for good reason. (Please see my blog for reviews.) However, this latest release is a bit different. And a lot better than what I’ve been hearing from the […]
The Miro Quartet has been around since 1995, and astonishingly, 3 out of the 4 original members are still part of the group today. (The current 2nd violinist joined them in 2011). They haven’t made many […]
I had high hopes for this release. I love these 3 masterpieces from Dutilleux‘s first creative period, and to have them all on one CD (over 78 minutes of music) is very enticing. They are […]
Here’s another sensational French string quartet that I’ve recently discovered, which instantly joins two of my other favorite French string quartets at or near the top of the list – Quatuor Hanson and Quatuor Diotima. Although […]
I recently wrote about Klaus Makela’s slick Debussy/Stravinsky Decca recording with the Orchestre de Paris, finding it superficial, completely devoid of character and interminably boring. And then there’s this – whatever it is John Wilson is […]
