This completes Leila Schayegh’s traversal of Jean-Marie Leclair concertos. This release completes the set of Op. 7 and Op. 10 violin concertos. LeClair was one of the premier violinists of the early 1700s. He’s credited with founding the French school of violin-playing. Bottom line: LeClair was a monster player — and he expected anyone performing […]
CD Review
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Franz Dimler Clarinet Concertos close to Mozart
Franz Dimler was a talented guy. He was hired as a French horn player at Mannheim in 1767. In 1778 he joined the Munich court as a double bass player. And all the while he composed: symphonies, concertos, quartets, and operettas. After his death in 1827, Dimler’s music lapsed into obscurity. So I’m happy to […]
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Michael Gielen’s Zemlinsky recording a welcome reissue
This is a rerelease of a 1989 recording. it’s the fourth in a series of reissues of Michael Gielen and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Gielen was an ardent champion of contemporary music. His attention to detail was legendary — and it’s an asset in this release. The featured work is Alexander Zemlinsky’s Lyric […]
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Collected Works of Beth Mehocic Rocks
This release presents a portrait of Beth Mehocic, a composer with a clear vision. The recordings come from a variety of sources, performed by various artists. Her official bio describes her as “a composer, poet, visual artist, filmmaker, and author.” She’s the composer-in-residence for the University of Nevada’s Dance Department. Her affinity for dance defines […]
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Sharon Kam presents three facets of Hindemith
The two things I like best about this release are 1) Sharon Kam’s playing, and 2) the program. The playing — Sharon Kam is a world-class performer. Listening to her play is always a joy. Her clarinet has a rich, dark tone that’s never muddy in the lower register. And her upper register is equally […]
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Marianna Martines Dixit Dominus has something to say
Musically, Marianna Martines was always in good company. She took keyboard lessons from Haydn. Metastasio — opera librettist and Poet Laureate of the Austrian Empire — was a close family friend. She played four-hand piano sonatas with Mozart. In her lifetime, she was highly regarded as a pianist, a singer, and a composer. This release […]
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Johann Wilhelm Hertel Concertos – light and airy
Johann Wilhelm Hertel is classed today as a transitional composer. He was active in the mid-1700s and wrote in the Empfindsamer Stil. The idea behind this “emotional style” was to express natural emotion. This was a departure from the formalized — and focussed — emotional expression of the Baroque. From the Empfindsamer Stil, Classical Era composers would go […]
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East-West Chamber Orchestra completes Weinberg series in fine style
This release completes Naxos’ cycle of Mieczyslaw Weinberg Chamber Symphonies. The East-West Chamber ORchestra released Nos. 1 and 3 back in 2019. They conclude with Nos. 2 and 4. The level of musicianship in the East-West Chamber Orchestra is quite high. Its members are an international group of concertmasters and soloists. In my review of […]
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Le jour variable — Stamitz anticipates Beethoven
If you’re not familiar with Carl Stamitz, this release is a good place to start. Carl Stamitz was the son of Johann Stamitz. Johann was the leader of the Mannheim Palace orchestra, the incubator of the classical style. The Mannheim School inspired both Haydn and Mozart. These composers took the Mannheim innovations to the next […]