2007 – Walter Simmons

Picks of the Year: 2007

wswebmaster on November 25, 2018

Once again I’ve been unable to come up with five recent CDs that meet my criteria of great, little-known 20th-/21st-century music, definitively performed and expertly recorded. However, I hasten to emphasize that I do not attribute this to any diminution …

SHOSTAKOVICH: Sonata for Violin and Piano. Jazz Suite No. 1. AUERBACH: Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano. Lonely Suite

wswebmaster on November 25, 2018

SHOSTAKOVICH Sonata for Violin and Piano. Jazz Suite No. 1 (trans. M. Gluzman). AUERBACH Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano. Lonely Suite • Vadim Gluzman (vn); Angela Yoffe (pn) • BIS CD-1592 (67:16) Lera Auerbach is a remarkably gifted woman, now in her …

RAUTAVAARA: Garden of Spaces. Clarinet Concerto. Cantus Arcticus

wswebmaster on November 25, 2018

RAUTAVAARA Garden of Spaces. Clarinet Concerto. Cantus Arcticus • Leif Segerstam, cond; Helsinki PO; Richard Stoltzman (cl) • ONDINE ODE-1041-2 (59:08) The Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara seems to have emerged as one of the world’s foremost living composers of “contemporary classical music.” Celebrating …

PASATIERI: Frau Margot

wswebmaster on November 25, 2018

PASATIERI Frau Margot • Lauren Flanigan (Frau Margot); Morgan Smith (Ted Steinert); Patricia Risley (Kara Sondstrom); et al. soloists; Joseph Illick, cond; Fort Worth Opera Orchestra • ALBANY TROY 965/966 (2 CDs; 1:59) Albany Records continues its commitment to the music of …

PANUFNIK: HOMAGE TO POLISH MUSIC

wswebmaster on November 25, 2018

PANUFNIK HOMAGE TO POLISH MUSIC • Mariusz Smolij, cond; Polish Ch O; Hanna Turonek (fl); Igor Cechoco (tpt) • NAXOS 8.570032 (57:58) Hommage à Chopin. Old Polish Suite. Jagiellonian Triptych. Concerto in Modo Antico. Old Polish Music—Divertimento after Janiewicz Although he lived …

PANUFNIK: Heroic Overture. Landscape. Symphony No. 3, “Sinfonia Sacra.” Symphony No. 5, “Sinfonia di Sfere”

wswebmaster on November 25, 2018

PANUFNIK Heroic Overture. Landscape. Symphony No. 3, “Sinfonia Sacra.” Symphony No. 5, “Sinfonia di Sfere” • John Storgårds, cond; Tampere Phil O • ONDINE ODE 1101-5 (75:27) The music of Sir Andrzej Panufnik appears today to have a small but dedicated following—at least in the …

HANSON: Merry Mount

wswebmaster on November 25, 2018

HANSON Merry Mount • Gerard Schwarz, cond; Richard Zeller (Wrestling Bradford); Lauren Flanigan (Lady Marigold Sandys); Louise Marley (Plentiful Tewke); Walter MacNeil (Sir Gower Lackland); Charles Robert Austin (Praise-God Tewke); Northwest Boychoir; Seattle Girls’ Choir; Seattle S Ch and O • NAXOS …

BLOCH: Piano Quintets: No. 1. String Quartets: No. 5

wswebmaster on November 25, 2018

BLOCH Piano Quintets: No. 1. String Quartets: No. 5 • Pro Arte Quartet; Howard Karp (pn)• LAUREL LR-853 (ADD; 67:01) In 1991 Laurel released a CD comprising Ernest Bloch’s two piano quintets, performed by pianist Howard Karp and the Pro Arte …

BARBER Vanessa & Interview with Barber

wswebmaster on November 25, 2018

BARBER Vanessa • Dimitri Mitropoulos, cond; Eleanor Steber (Vanessa); Rosalind Elias (Erika); Nicolai Gedda (Anatol) et al; Ch of the Vienna State Opera; Vienna Philharmonic • ORFEO C653 0621, mono/AAD (2 CDs: 126:12) Live Broadcast: Salzburg Festival 8/16/58& Interview with Barber (in German and …

SCHUMAN: Symphonies: Nos. 3, 5. Judith

wswebmaster on November 25, 2018

SCHUMAN Symphonies: Nos. 3, 5. Judith • Gerard Schwarz, cond; Seattle SO • NAXOS 8.559317 (67:45) William Zagorski reviewed this recent release in Fanfare 30:5, so I will try to keep my comments brief. First of all, I should mention that only the …