Margaret Bonds is considered one of America’s most important 20th Century composers of color. And yet, because most of her work remains unpublished, little of it gets recorded. Which is why I was so excited to get this release. Malcolm J. Merriweather, the conductor of the Dessoff Choirs in New York City, has become a […]
contemporary classical music
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Share the joy of classical music: WTJU Classical Marathon airs Dec 9 – 15
Share the joy of WTJU Classical – December 9 – 15 We need your help to raise $40,000 and keep WTJU going strong! Diverse and wide-ranging as they are, the wonderful classical music pieces you enjoy on WTJU have common themes that echo through each performance. Themes that celebrate excellence and creativity… evoke the deepest emotions… and […]
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Mieczyslaw Weinberg Works for Violin & Piano works for me
Ewelina Nowicka is a composer as well as a violinist. I think it’s that additional talent that makes this recording special. Nowicka and pianist Milena Antoniewicz perform three early postwar works by Mieczyslaw Weinberg. Weinberg was one of the composers endangered by the Zhdanov Doctrine (along with his good friend Dmitri Shostakovich). He managed to […]
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British Cello Works – quality chamber music by women
When I present classical music on the radio, I never identify a composer by race or sex. I think it creates the impression that these are subsets of the main group of composers. There are composers, and there are women composers. Almost as good, but not quite. I don’t think that’s true, and (apparently), neither […]
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The quiet beauty of Dora Bright and Ruth Gipps concertos
Somm has done a real service to classical music with this release. It features piano concertos by two women — composers who deserve wider audiences. Both compositions by Dora Bright and one of the two Ruth Gipps works are world premiere recordings. All four works are beautifully constructed and enthusiastically performed. Dora Bright was born […]
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Mexican composer Alexi Aranda delivers satisfying concertos
Alexis Aranda is a composer whose star is rising — and not just in his native Mexico. Aranda’s style incorporates native folk traditions into a post-tonal classical language. The blend is exciting, accessible, and yields music of real substance. This release features three concertos by Aranda; a concerto for flute, another for piano, and a […]
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BBC Philharmonic give George Antheil its best
Chandos’ third installment in their George Antheil series features works from a variety of sources. It includes his Symphony No. 1 and several shorter works. To my ears, Antheil’s first symphony, “Zingareska,” is the least successful of his six. John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic give it their best. Their performance is first-rate. The underlying […]
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Postwar masterpieces from Havergal Brian
Havergal Brian’s reputation these days rests on his first symphony — a record-breaker in size and scope. Thanks to recordings like this one, a more balanced picture of this British composer emerges. The New Russia State Symphony Orchestra directed by Alexander Walker may be far from London, but they manage to capture the inherent Englishness […]
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British Tone Poems, Vol. 2 delivers on quality
This volume of British Tone Poems features outstanding works by lesser-known composers and lesser-known works by outstanding composers. Either way, it’s a win-win for the listener, especially with these performances. Rumon Gamba and the BBC Philharmonic deliver beautiful and insightful performances of a mixed bag of music. This round features two world-premiere recordings. And the program […]