The haunting, unsettling opening moments of the Glyndebourne premiere of Peter Eˆtvˆsí ìLove and Other Demonsî promised much, with sensitive playing by the solo celesta and harp, flutter-tongued flutes, and jarring bass stings.
Month: August 2008
SZYMANOWSKI: Songs, Op. 31 and Op. 49.
The lyricism characteristic of the instrumental music of Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) is at the core of his songs, and the two collections found on this recording represent his vocal music well.
Karajan on DG, EMI
The 100th anniversary of his birth inevitably produces a flood of releases from the catalog of conductor Herbert von Karajan.
SMETANA: Dv? vdovy (The Two Widows)
Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884) is, perhaps known best for his opera The Bartered Bride (1863, rev. 1870), a touchstone of comic opera fused with eastern-European nationalism and, as much as that work has much to offer, his other efforts deserve attention.
HINDEMITH: Mathis der Mahler
Premiered in 1938 in Zurich, Mathis der Maler was then the most recent of Paul Hindemithís provocative operas.
STRAUSS: Der Rosenkavalier ó Hamburg 1992
Der Rosenkavalier (‘The Knight of the Rose’): Komˆdie f¸r Musik in 3 acts.
Medieval Christmas
The festal days of Christmas, New Yearís, St. Stephen and St. Thomas Becket are rich in musical celebration, and this recording from the Orlando Consort brings together a wide range of organa, motets, chansons, and carols to remind us of that fact.
Festival diary: Strange music, odd wallpaper
http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment/Festival-diary-Strange–music.4388565.jp
Edinburgh festival: Valery Gergiev – a Tsar on the side of the masses
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/08/14/bmgergiev114.xml