THOMAS Desire Under the Elms

THOMAS Desire Under the Elms · George Manahan, cond; Jerry Hadley (Eben); Victoria Livengood (Abbie); James Morris (Cabot); London SO · NAXOS 8.669001-02 (2CDs; 2:06) In a short essay included in the program notes of this recent release in Naxos’s “American Opera Classics” series, commentator …

ROSNER Tragedy of Queen Jane. Concerto for Two Trumpets, Strings, and Timpani. A Millennium Overture. A Sephardic Rhapsody. String Sextet, “Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland”. Trombone Sonata. Besos sin Cuento.

ROSNER Tragedy of Queen Jane. Concerto for Two Trumpets, Strings, and Timpani. A Millennium Overture. A Sephardic Rhapsody · Nicholas Palmer, cond; Owensboro SO; Altoona SO; Robert Murray, Jonathan Martin (tpts) · ALBANY TROY-548 (74:55) ROSNER String Sextet, “Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland”. Trombone Sonata. Besos sin Cuento · Sestetto Agosto; Gregory …

Bassoon Power: PERSICHETTI Parable IV. G. WOLFGANG Moody Blues. TANSMAN Suite. CHIHARA Fleeting Shadows, Still Reflections; The Beauty of the Rose is in its Passing.

BASSOON POWER · David Breidenthal (bn); Gloria Cheng (pn) · CRYSTAL CD842 (61:07) PERSICHETTI Parable IV. DUTILLEUX Sarabande et Cortège. G. WOLFGANGMoody Blues. TANSMAN Suite. CHIHARA Fleeting Shadows, Still Reflections; The Beauty of the Rose is in its Passing. Z. SESTAK Five Virtuoso Inventions. David Breidenthal is a fine, sensitive musician, and has served …

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 …

Barber’s Vanessa at the Washington Opera

Barber’s Vanessaat the Washington Opera  This past October and November, the Washington Opera presented eight performances of Samuel Barber’s Vanessa, featuring Dame Kiri Te Kanawa in the title role, her only U.S. appearances in 2002. The production, staged by Stephen Lawless, was …

PICKER Thérèse Raquin

PICKER Thérèse Raquin · Graeme Jenkins, cond; Sara Fulgoni (Thérèse Raquin); Richard Bernstein (Laurent); Gordon Gietz (Camille); Dallas Opera O · CHANDOS CHAN-9659(2) (2 CDs; 1:49 &) As much as I enjoy reviewing new operas, I always find it difficult, and typically feel pressed by a …