The Evergreen Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is a 70-piece Taiwanese ensemble. They’ve recorded eight albums for the CPO label. Although “evergreen” is in their name, none of the music they record would earn that title. But that’s not due to the quality of the music, just the stature of the composers. Franz Lachner was a respected […]
Classical music
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Newberry Consort’s lively Mexican Christmas
This is a live recording of a December concert given by the Newberry Consort. The program blends two strains of 17th Century Mexican music. One is the European-inspired sacred music of the church. The second is the folk-inspired music of the streets. This recording captures the raw energy and exquisite beauty of the performances. The […]
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#ClassicsaDay #November11 Week 3
November is the eleventh month. And so the Classics a Day team opted to make eleven the month’s then. The challenge is to post works that are numbered 11 in some fashion, either an opus number, a series number, or even a suite number. It turns out that there’s a lot of great music associated […]
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Laura Netzel Chamber Portrait worth admiring
Laura Netzel is one of those composers who should be better known. And that’s what the artists on this release hope to do. Netzel (1839-1927) was from Finland, but her family moved to Sweden when she was an infant. Netzel showed musical talent early on. She studied voice, piano, and composition (the latter with Charles-Marie […]
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Anne-Marie McDermott continues superb Mozart series
Anne-Marie McDermott has a very distinctive playing style, especially with Mozart. It’s delicate without being dainty. It’s expressive while neither being too emotive nor overly reserved. McDermott’s playing embodies what I like to think Mozart’s intentions were. But it’s playing that goes deeper than the notes. McDermott’s own personality makes these oh-so-familiar works sound fresh […]
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Michael Praetorius Christmas music given exceptional performances
Quick. Name a Michael Praetorius Christmas carol. OK, now name another besides “Lo, How a Rose Er Blooming.” There are several — as this release shows. Praetorius was a major contributor of music to the early Lutheran church. He published nine volumes of Musae Sioniae, collections of Lutheran chorales. And amongst this music were chorales […]
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Telemann Complete Violin Concertos Vol. 7 takes a side trip
In their liner notes, CPO assures us that this seventh volume of Telemann concertos is not the last. I suspect the program for this release prompted that hasty reassurance. One of the three concertos is by Telemann. The other two are doubtful — and one of those almost definitely not by Telemann. Usually, when a […]
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An Elizabethan Christmas – Fretwork’s gift to all
Fretwork marks its 35th anniversary with this holiday release. Although “holiday release” hardly describes this album. The celebration of Christmas was quite different than it is today. In fact, it was quite different from the Victorian Christmas traditions that now define the holiday. Advent, the time leading up to Christmas, was a time for mediation, […]
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#ClassicsaDay #November11 Week 1
November is the eleventh month. And so the Classics a Day team opted to make eleven the month’s then. The challenge is to post works that are numbered 11 in some fashion, either an opus number, a series number, or even a suite number. It turns out that there’s a lot of great music associated […]