Beginners Guides
Mahler – Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”) – A Beginners Guide
A guide to Mahler's First Symphony, with background, analysis and recommendations for the best recordings.
Orchestral
Album Reviews
Review: Respighi – Roman Trilogy – Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London perform Respighi's "Roman Trilogy" - "Roman Festivals", "Fountains of Rome" and "Pines of Rome".
Album Reviews
Review: Debussy – Images – Hallé, Sir Mark Elder
Hallé Orchestra and Sir Mark Elder perform Debussy's "Images" and “Prélude à L’après-Midi D’un Faune” with orchestral arrangements by Colin Mathews.
Album Reviews
Review: Rouse – Symphony No. 5, Supplica, Concerto for Orchestra – Nashville Symphony, Guerrero
Three contemporary orchestral works by the late Christopher Rouse: Symphony No. 5, Concerto for Orchestra and "Supplica", with the Nashville Symphony under Giancarlo Guerrero.
Best of
Editor’s Choice: The Best New Classical Music Albums, August 2020
The choices of the best classical music albums we covered on The Classic Review the past month.
Album Reviews
Review: Shostakovich – Symphony No. 13 (“Babi Yar”) – Russian National Orchestra – Karabits
Kirill Karabits and the Russian National Orchestra perform Shostakovich's 13th Symphony ("Babi Yar"), with bass Oleg Tsibulko.
Album Reviews
Review: Finzi – Clarinet Concerto – Vaughan Williams – Symphony No. 5 – Collins
Michael Collins conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra in Vaughan Williams' Fifth Symphony, and is the soloist in Finzi's Clarinet Concerto.
Album Reviews
Review: Zemlinsky – Die Seejungfrau – Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Albrecht
Marc Albrecht conducts the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra in Zemlinsky's "Die Seejungfrau" - Fantasy in for large orchestra after a fairy-tale by Andersen.
Album Reviews
Review: Beethoven – Symphony No. 9, Choral Fantasy – Bezuidenhout, Heras-Casado
Pablo Heras-Casado conducts the Freiburger Barockorchester in Beethoven "choral" Symphony. Kristian Bezuidenhout joins for the Choral Fantasy.
Beginners Guides
Bach – A beginners Guide
Where to start when you want to get to know the music of Bach, one of the leading figures in the late Baroque era? Here are 10 pieces…