I’m more than a fan. I think I’m even more than an aficionado. John Williams is an inspiration; a musical hero, really. And of course when I saw this production, I had to have it. Even though I have just about everything of his on CD (from original soundtracks, to Boston Pops albums and collections from other conductors, to non-film Classical music), I am thrilled to discover so many new things in this set. Not only some early soundtrack recordings, but interesting and insightful reading in a new interview with the 91-year-old maestro.   This is a Universal Music France pro ..read more

Every once in a while a disc comes along which is so pleasant - and such a pleasant surprise - it brings smile after smile. This disc of orchestral music from the unjustly neglected British composer, Dorothy Howell, does just that. And that isn’t faint praise. This program is pure joy - endlessly fascinating to listen to from beginning to end.   To my knowledge, only her single-movement Piano Concerto and the orchestral tone poem, Lamia, have been recorded before - both by Cameo Classics (2008/2010; reissued in a 2018 Lyrita box set), and the latter for Chandos in ..read more

I wouldn’t have even bothered with this CD - Decca is far from the esteemed label it once was 20 years ago. But since the Chicago Symphony has just announced this conductor will replace Riccardo Muti as its music director, I thought I’d give it a listen and see if they are making yet another ill-conceived decision.   I started with Debussy’s Jeux, one of my favorite of his works and not easy to bring off. All the stops and starts, endless rubato - it’s hard to hold together and even harder to make it danceable. Makela succeeds at the former (although I’m sure the orchestra can play this ..read more

There is a lot of wonderful music on this well-filled 2-CD set. (Each disc lasts more than 73 minutes.) It is all played with refinement and finesse by the Orchestre National de Lyon, led by their violinist-turned-conductor Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, who does a fine job bringing it all to life.   A lot of this music was unknown to me, at it includes at least four premier recordings. Not everything is a masterpiece, of course. There are a lot of long, rather drawn-out tone-poems here - all of it colorful and Impressionistic in a typical French way, but also a surprising amount of ..read more

​A Room of Her Own is a new collection of music for Violin, Cello and Piano, played by Neave Trio, continuing their exploration of Trios by female composers. I greatly enjoyed their previous Chandos album in the series, Her Voice, which included wonderfully original and imaginatively creative Trios by Louise Farrenc, Amy Beach and Rebecca Clarke. This follow-up disc contains one real masterpiece, the absolutely wonderful 1880 Trio by Cecile Chaminade, and other music which is perhaps a bit less creative and original - by Lili Boulanger, Germaine Tailleferre and Ethel Smyth ..read more

Before I get to this wonderful new symphony, which is the reason for acquiring this disc, let’s dispense with the fillers posthaste.   The Ravel is just fine - swift, efficient and pleasant, with some excellent woodwind playing. However, I was shocked at how extremely recessed the orchestra sounds on this recording, revealing the enormity of the vast, empty church in which it was recorded. In addition, the acoustic is more reverberant than usual with this orchestra - and curiously more so in this Ravel than in the remainder of this very same program. I’m glad Mr. Couzens fix ..read more

I listen to a lot of new music. And not just newly composed, but newly discovered (or revived) music. I am always excited when a record label records a neglected work from a known composer and I hear something for the first time.   After living with the standard repertoire warhorses my entire life, I’ve come to the point where discovering new music is essential - I simply must have it. And the more of it I hear, the more of it I need. And my first impressions of new music are a fair indicator of my ultimate response to it. However time and again, when I encounter something completely new ..read more

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