Anders Eliasson isn’t as well-known outside of Scandinavia as he should be. This release should help remedy that. Eliasson had an epiphany when he attended the Royal Swedish Academy of music in the 1960s. As he wrote, “It was a time of unbearable self-denial. Metrical rhythms, melodies, even particular intervals were all taboo in contemporary […]
contemporary classical music
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Hans Werner Henze: Nachtstücke und Arien worth exploring
Even when he was the darling of the Darmstadt avant-garde, Hans Werner Henze was his own man. In time he moved away from the aggressive modernism of that school — literally and musically. Werner settled on an island in the Gulf of Naples, where he became a neighbor of William Walton. At the same time, […]
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Pál Hermann Complete Surviving Music Vol. 2 ensures legacy
Volume One in this series featured Pál Hermann’s orchestral works. This volume presents his surviving chamber and instrumental music. “Surviving” is the operative word in this series. Pál Hermann (1902-1944) was one of the foremost cellists of the 1930s. This Hungarian artist was also an innovative composer. He had studied with both Béla Bartók and […]
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Poul Ruders Dream Catcher – An Accordion Showpiece
In America, most people don’t consider the accordion a symphonic instrument. In northern Europe, though, it’s a different matter. Danish composer Poul Ruders isn’t the only classical musician to write for the instrument. He’s definitely one of the more talented, though. Sound and Simplicity is fairly new work, completed in 2018. Ruders subtitled it “Seven Pillars […]
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Solomiya Ivakhiv – Poems & Rhapsodies original and beautiful
In my previous review of Solomiya Ivakhiv’s releases, I praised her playing and her programming. I have to do the same here. Poems & Rhapsodies is a showcase album, but a refreshingly original one. Mercifully absent are Ravel’s “Tzigane,” and Massenet’s “Meditation from Thais.” Yes, those are masterworks, but everybody’s recorded them. Ivakhiv mixes some familiar […]
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Paul Lansky Angles — great chamber music
This is volume 17 of Bridge’s Paul Lansky series. It presents four recent compositions by Lansky. And it’s an album I really like. The works vary in forces and show this composer at the top of his game. “Four’s Company” (2018) was composed for David Starobin’s guitar class. The work takes four very simple concepts […]
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Amy Beach Works for Piano Duo Twice as Nice
Everything is relative. This release features music by a relatively obscure composer. Further, it features a relatively obscure part of her catalog. The result is a program of exceptionally well-crafted music. Music that reveals new depths with repeated listening. I wish Amy Cheney Beach was as familiar with audiences as other 20th Century composers. Her […]
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Kaveli Aho Double and Triple Concertos – Definitive Performances
Finnish composer Kaveli Aho is a symphonist. His ideas seem best-suited to large-scale works. Among those large-scale works are 36 concertos, including the two on this recording. And within the subset of concertos, these two are also large-scale. One is a double concerto, the other a triple concerto. Aho composed his double concerto for cor […]
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Robert Trevino upgrades the repertoire with Americascapes
Maestro Robert Trevino is certainly adventurous. It’s not enough for him to program an album of four American composers. No, he had to choose four composers who are seldom programmed. And he also goes even further and programs works that are rarely recorded — even for these composers. Bravo. La mort de Tintagiles is one of […]