BLOCH String Quartets: Nos. 1-4

wswebmaster on November 24, 2018

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 Concerto Symphonique. Scherzo Fantasque. Hiver-Printemps

wswebmaster on November 24, 2018

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

wswebmaster on November 22, 2018

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

wswebmaster on November 22, 2018

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

wswebmaster on November 22, 2018

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

wswebmaster on November 22, 2018

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).

wswebmaster on November 22, 2018

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 …

Picks of the Year: 1994

wswebmaster on November 22, 2018

This year’s Want List offers a feast for those in search of accessible treasures of twentieth-century music. Two releases highlight the achievements of master composers in media for which they enjoyed a special affinity, while the other three bring to …