Moritz Moszkowski was one of the most successful concert pianists of the 1890s. His fame today rests mainly on a small selection of his piano works that test the virtuosity of the performer. But this Polish composer wrote so much more; chamber music, concertos, and orchestral music. With this release, Toccata Classics launches an ambitious […]
Romantic period
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A Fine Collection of Opéra-Comique Overtures
Michael Halász and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra deliver an attractive selection of French Opéra-Comique overtures. The genre evolved over time, from light, frothy entertainment to more serious and realistic subjects. But the overture was always a curtain-raiser. And that’s just what we get. Maestro Halász keeps things moving. Orchestral contrasts are suitably dramatic, […]
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Henri Vieuxtemps Works for Violin and Orchestra Demand Virtuosity
Henri Vieuxtemps was one of the greatest violin virtuosos of his age, considered by some to be Paganini’s successor. Not surprisingly, most of his compositions were for the violin (including seven concertos). This release features some of Vieuxtemps’ shorter works for violin and orchestra. But shorter doesn’t necessarily mean easier. As violinist Reto Kuppel remarked, […]
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Henry Cotter Nixon orchestral series finishes strong
Toccata Classics have completed their Henry Cotter Nixon series. And I see the logic of their release schedule. Nixon spent most of his career outside of Victorian London, and therefore in the margins of British music. He didn’t have the resources available to his cosmopolitan colleagues and composed accordingly. The first volume of his orchestral […]
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Plawner Quintet perform important chamber music from Poland
Stanislaw Moniuszko is considered the father of Polish national opera, and one of the country’s most important composers of the mid-19th Century. This release features his two string quartets. It also has a piano quintet by Juliusz Zarebski, one of Poland’s leading composers of the late 19th Century. The members of the Plawner Quintet have […]
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Emil Mlynarski Violin Concertos deserve wider audience
In Poland, Emil Mlynarski (1870-1935) is a major musical figure. He was the founding conductor of the Warsaw Symphony in 1901. He was also a virtuoso violinist who studied with Leopold Auer. And he studied composition with Nicolai Rimsky-Korsokov. Mlynarksi’s noted for incorporating Polish traditional music into his works. This release features his two violin […]
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Il Furibondo deliver with Max Reger String Trios
Il Furibondo, violinist Liana Mosca, violist Gianni de Rosa, and cellist Marcello Scandelli, are quite impressive. The musicians regularly perform in early music groups with period instruments. In this recording, they show equal proficiency with modern instruments. In many ways, their dual skill sets make the trio uniquely suited to Reger’s music. Max Reger considered […]
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Solomiya Ivakhiv Double Concerto Project spans labels
This is something unusual — a recording series spread across different labels. Violinist Solmiya Ivakhiv and pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi wanted to record the double concertos of Haydn and Mendelssohn. While preparing, they discovered two other neglected works. Johann Nepomuk Hummel, a contemporary of Haydn, had also written a double concerto for violin and piano. And […]
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Nancy Dalberg string quartets finally get their due
Nancy Dalberg (1881-1949) is an important composer in Denmark, and her star is (finally) rising outside her native land. Dalberg studied with Carl Nielsen and wrote a large number of orchestral, chamber, and vocal works. She was the first Danish female composer to write a symphony, but she’s best remembered for her three string quartets. […]