Category: Recordings

Bach’s monumental Mass in b minor exists in an abundant quantity of period performances to the point where one might ponder the wisdom of adding yet another to the shelf.

There is much to admire in Masaaki Suzuki’s Bach performances with the Bach Collegium Japan, and this recording of excerpts from the St. Matthew Passion will remind the listener of the diverse ways in which this is so.

Among the recent releases on DVD of Rolf Liebermann’s productions of operas from the Hamburg Opera conceived for television in the late 1960s, Beethoven’s Fidelio is impressive for the use of the medium of film to bring out the personal aspects of this intensive opera.

Presented in its fine line of ìOriginals,î Deccaís reissue of Soltiís famous 1967 recording of Verdiís Requiem is actually offered with another fine recording, the same conductorís 1977/78 performance of the Quattro pezzi sacri.

In recent years, Emmanuelle HaÔm has achieved prominence at the helm of several baroque operas, including Monteverdiís LíOrfeo and Handelís Rodelinda and Giulio Cesare.

Although Jacobus Vaet, Antonius Galli and Pieter Maessens are little-known composers today, this impressive recording featuring their music, the debut recording by the ensemble Cinquecento, may serve as a cautionary reminder that modern familiarity is often the fruit of circumstance and not necessarily a reliable measure of artistic achievement.

Last year saw Cecilia Bartoli’s recording dedicated to the memory, and repertoire, of the early 19th century singer Maria Malibran, “Maria.”

There may be no name more famous in the world of film music than that of Bernard Herrmann. William Perry, however, is a name unlikely to set off many bells.

Of these three productions staged for the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the beautifully dressed Entf¸hrung and refined Tancredi present the company as a theater for tasteful, stylish productions, just a tad on the dull side.

I’ve rarely seen a performance of Tristan und Isolde where I was quite so conscious of the singers’ teeth.