I had not heard James Lee III’s music before I received this release. And shame on me. This gifted African-American composer has a rare talent for melody and orchestration. And he has a musical imagination that’s well-served by those talents. Lee writes, “I want to compose music to reach to the inner soul of the […]
contemporary classical music
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Simone Lamsma recovers Rautavaara’s Lost Landscapes
This release features works written in the final years of Rautavaara’s life. In 2004 a ruptured blood vessel brought him near to death — and six months in the ICU. That experience changed the composer’s creative output. It affected the types of music he wrote and their emotional centers. Violinist Simone Lamsma plays a selection […]
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Niklay Shugaev excels with underrated 20th Century cello works
The three works have one thing in common. They’re all works for cello and orchestra, composed by Italians in the mid-20th Century. And that’s about all they have in common. Gian Malipiero’s work is a full-blown cello concerto. Giorgio Ghedini’s is a neo-classical composition for two cellos (and orchestra). Alfredo Cansala’s is an unassuming Notturne e […]
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Naxos launches Claudio Santoro Symphonic Series
How familiar are you with classical music outside Europe? I thought I was pretty well-versed. I could even name some composers from Brazil — like Heitor Villa-Lobos. But I wasn’t at all familiar with his contemporary, Claudio Santoro. And that’s some oversight. Over the course of his life, Santoro served about every musical role in […]
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Christopher Gunning Concertos – Enjoyable and Engaging
In the liner notes, Christopher Gunning wrote the following. “My aim has been to provide the soloist with something enjoyable yet technically challenging to play.” I’d say he also provided the audience with something enjoyable and engaging to listen to. This release collects three concertos that show Gunning hits what he aims for. The performances […]
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New York Youth Symphony Excel with Composers of Color
This release features music by three female African-American composers. Florence Price was active in the 1930s and is just now coming into her own. Valerie Coleman and Jessie Montgomery are contemporary composers, building on Price’s legacy. The New York Youth Symphony gives these works some fine performances. The players may be young, but their technique […]
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Xiaoya Liu Delivers with Carl Vine Sonatas
This release presents all four of Carl Vine’s piano sonatas. And they’re all world premiere recordings. I’ve enjoyed every album of Vine’s music I’ve heard. And I’m surprised there aren’t more than a dozen or so available. Vine’s had a long and distinguished career in Australia. He started as a pianist and composer for theater […]
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British Piano Concertos – no fireworks, just great tunes
What sounds do the words “Piano Concerto” conjure up? The bombast of Grieg or Tchaikovsky? The tumult of Beethoven? Well, there are other approaches. This release features six short concertos by British composers. All are classically trained. Some remained in the classical field. Others migrated to film and television soundtracks. No matter. All these works […]
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Pancho Vladigerov Orchestral Works 3 — Keep ‘Em Coming
This makes the sixth collection of Vladigerov recordings reissued by Capriccio. I’m not sure how many are left in the archives, but I say keep ’em coming. Pancho Vladigerov almost single-handedly established a classical music tradition in Bulgaria. He was the first Bulgarian to compose piano trios and violin sonatas. And as a teacher, Vladigerov […]