Picks of the Year: 2005
As far as I can recall, this is the first year that I actually had difficulty narrowing down my list of most significant new releases to five. I’m not sure how to explain it, but I am certainly glad that …
BLOCH String Quartets: Nos. 1-4
BLOCH String Quartets: Nos. 1-4 • Griller St Qt • DECCA 475 6071, mono (2 CDs: 147:01) Let me clarify one point that may not be apparent from the headnote: Ernest Bloch composed five string quartets. The Griller Quartet recorded Nos. …
BLOCH: Israel Symphony . Suite for Viola and Orchestra. Suites (3) for Cello Solo. Méditation Hébraïque. From Jewish Life. Nirvana. Nigun
BLOCH: Israel Symphony. Suite for Viola and Orchestra • Dalia Atlas, cond; Slovak Radio Orchestra; Atlas Camerata Orchestra; Yuri Gandelsman, viola; vocal quintet • ASV CD DCA-1148 (66:48) BLOCH: Suites (3) for Cello Solo. Méditation Hébraïque. From Jewish Life. Nirvana. Nigun • Emmanuelle …
BLOCH Concerto Symphonique. Scherzo Fantasque. Hiver-Printemps
BLOCH Concerto Symphonique. Scherzo Fantasque. Hiver-Printemps • Alexander Tchernushenko, cond; State Academic Cappella of St. Petersburg SO; Halida Dinova (pn) • CHANDOS CHAN-10085 (62:03) This recent release offers what is, to the best of my knowledge, the third recording of Bloch’s piano …
BLOCH Symphony in E-flat. Evocations. Three Jewish Poems
BLOCH Symphony in E-flat. Evocations. Three Jewish Poems · Andrey Boreyko, cond; Malmö SO · BIS CD1183 (71:12) Here is a worthwhile new release of three major works by Ernest Bloch that span more than forty years and represent three different phases of his compositional …
Picks of the Year: 2002
Only four items that came my way this year met my own Want List criteria as neglected masterpieces of the past hundred years in superior performances. Samuel Barber’s choral music constitutes some of his best work. Admirers of the American …
Picks of the Year: 2000
During the past year I have been less thorough in keeping abreast of new releases (and, as some may have noticed, less prolific in writing reviews), because of a large-scale project that has been occupying me. It is my hope …
Picks of the Year: 1998
There are two worlds of classical music today, and they are increasingly distinct from each other. One is the world of superstar soloists, conductors, and their orchestras, who carry on a saprophagous relationship with a more or less fixed repertoire …
BLOCH Sacred Service. Schelomo. From Jewish Life (excerpts).
BLOCH Sacred Service. Schelomo. From Jewish Life (excerpts) · Ernest Bloch, cond; (pn);London Phil Ch and O; Marko Rothmuller (cantor);Zara Nelsova (vc) · PEARL GEM-0164, mono/analog (69:03) Like the recent Pearl release of Barber conducting Barber (Fanfare 25:5), this new issue offers the opportunity to hear a …
BLOCH Piano Sonata. Visions and Prophecies. Five Sketches in Sepia. Nirvana. In the Night. Enfantines.
BLOCH Piano Sonata. Visions and Prophecies. Five Sketches in Sepia. Nirvana. In the Night. Enfantines· Margaret Fingerhut (pn) · CHANDOS CHAN-9887 (71:26) Ernest Bloch composed relatively few works for piano solo, and what there is is performed and recorded infrequently, although none of it …