{"title":"Marin Alsop","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"falkenberg-debussy-the-moons-symphony-alsop-parry-london-symphony-orchestra-london-voices","title":"Falkenberg: The Moons Symphony \/ Alsop, London Symphony Orchestra","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eInternational award-winning composer Amanda Lee Falkenberg has composed a dynamic new work that merges music and science. The seven-movement symphony dramatizes past, present and future moon explorations, and highlights discoveries that have been made in our search for other worlds that could possibly sustain life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThrough seven exhilarating movements, concertgoers will experience a stunning space adventure that focuses on the stories of these fascinating moons. But what uniquely defines this symphony is its planetary core message which culminates in the 7th movement, dedicated to Earth-Moon. This final movement offers a discovery of a different kind and provides a unique opportunity to view our planet united and whole, from the surface of the Moon, a breathtaking, life-changing experience referred to as THE OVERVIEW EFFECT. The impact of such a privileged sight has inspired a call to action from Astronauts and as a result  has propelled them to share this profound perspective shift with all of us here on Earth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThrough the persuasive and powerful forces of music, the symphony offers Earthlings a chance to contemplate who and where we are in the universe. In 42 minutes they will be taken on an emotional journey, marveling at the wonders of these moons, the beauty of our planet, and possibly even experience their own perspective shift as crew-mates aboard this spaceship we cruise, Earth. This is the story of THE MOONS SYMPHONY.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLearn more through the project's \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/musichfstudios\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eYouTube channel\u003c\/a\u003e!\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGrowing up in the Barossa Valley, composer Amanda Lee Falkenberg had a better view of the starry night sky than most. Such a view doubtless inspired this seven-movement choral symphony, a majestic evocation of three moons circling Jupiter, two orbiting Saturn and one from Uranus, as well as our own moon. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn inquisitive and intrepid explorer, Falkenberg involved astronomers and astronauts in her quest to summon up each moon as vividly and accurately as possible. This research is reflected not only in the music but in the economically expressive sung texts which she also composed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOut of hundreds of moons, Falkenberg’s choice illustrates enormous diversity: from Jupiter’s volcanic Io to oceanic depths of its sister Europa, then to the vast expanses of Saturn’s Titan, the mighty geysers of tiny Enceladus, the enormous canyons of Uranus’ Miranda and the magnetic force of Jupiter’s Ganymede. Finally, and most importantly, the symphony celebrates earthrise as seen from the surface of the moon, issuing a heartfelt call for all humanity to unite. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUnabashedly cinematic in style, Falkenberg’s score naturally pays homage Holst’s ground-breaking depiction of the planets, while also echoing film music great John Williams and occasionally Bernard Herrmann. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFalkenberg’s passionate and creative adaptation of the film music genre is firmly embraced by the committed artistry of the London Symphony under Marin Alsop and the warm cohesion and crystalline diction of the London Voices directed by Ben Parry, who recorded the choral music separately due to COVID restrictions. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Moons Symphony \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003eoffers a precious and timely perspective on our own fragile planet that we would do well to heed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-- Limelight\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signum Classics","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012458336490,"sku":"635212073025","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4129457-2878294.jpg?v=1778247905"},{"product_id":"new-orchestral-music-the-art-of-sailing-at-dawn-rhapsody-symphony-no-1-pluto","title":"M. Brouwer: Rhapsodies \/ Alsop, ORF Vienna RSO","description":"Rhapsodies is the fourth album on Naxos dedicated to the lauded American composer Margaret Brouwer - renowned for her music's lyricism, imagery and emotional power. Marin Alsop conducts the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra in this programme of world premiere recordings including Symphony No. 1 'Lake Voices' and the dazzling Rhapsody, Concerto for Orchestra.","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012703506666,"sku":"636943993323","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4335131-3177951.jpg?v=1778198941"},{"product_id":"adams-city-noir-fearful-symmetries-lola-montez-does-the-spider-dance-orf-vienna-radio-symphony-orchestra","title":"Adams: City Noir \u0026 Other Orchestral Works \/ Alsop, ORF VRSO","description":"\u003cp\u003eJohn Adams’ City Noir was inspired by the cultural and social history of Los Angeles, with the composer himself calling it ‘an imaginary film score’, while Fearful Symmetries exemplifies his steamroller motor rhythms. The album ends with a capricious ‘Spider Dance’ of memorable rhythmic drive – a work dedicated to Marin Alsop who leads the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra in these performances.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMarin Alsop has been quietly championing John Adams abroad—and now at the Met Opera conducting his El Nino— for decades. A new Naxos recording with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra demonstrates her flair and feeling for his distinctive idiom. City Noir, premiered by the LA Phil in 2009, is a vivid, multi-textured score inspired by mid-20th century urban California. With its jazz inflections and brooding canvases, the debt to the City of Angels and film noir are equally clear. This is the work’s third recording but well worth acquiring for Alsop’s theatrical bite and detailed interpretation. Punchier than Robertson and livelier than Dudamel (though Robertson’s ravishing sonics make for essential listening), she holds the attention with a sure eye for the work’s architectural twists and turns. The companion piece is Fearful Symmetries from 1988, one of Adams’s most infectious scores and yet only receiving its second outing on disc. Alsop takes the chugging basic pulse a tad faster than the composer’s own recording without sacrificing any of the infinite variety to be found in Adams’s orchestral details. It’s a joyous, carefree work and beautifully recorded. The same goes for the recorded premiere of Lola Montez Does the Spider Dance. Happily rehabilitated after getting the chop from Girls of the Golden West, this six-minute essay in wriggling cross rhythms is laced with sardonic wit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- Musical America (Clive Paget)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Adams’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eCity Noir\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ehas been pretty well represented on disc in the fifteen years since its 2009 premiere: Marin Alsop’s new recording of the score with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony is the work’s fourth. In general, this celebration of the city of Los Angeles benefits from her approach. It’s swift and characterful...\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eits structure emerges nicely intact in Alsop’s hands. The central “The Song is for You” boasts a series of idiomatic solos (especially from alto saxophone and trombone), at times seeming to channel Gershwin. [The]\u003c\/span\u003e ORF’s woodwinds, trumpets, and jazz drummer really shine here. By about any measure, this is some brash and chill Adams.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEven more welcome is the pairing’s account of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eFearful Symmetries\u003c\/em\u003e, a half-hour-long study in rhythm and texture that’s only been recorded once before. Granted, that earlier release was led by the composer and it’s aged well. But Alsop’s new take is downright invigorating. The conductor brings a strong sense of drive to the music, drawing out a beautiful blend of colors – from invitingly swooning saxophone quartet playing to unexpected synthesizer colors – from her forces. What’s more, hers is a reading that manages to vigorously illuminate the sophistication of Adams’s compositional language, circa 1988. It’s a keeper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- The Arts Fuse\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012705112298,"sku":"636943993521","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4302757-3148368.jpg?v=1778229371"},{"product_id":"henze-nachtstucke-und-arien","title":"Henze: Nachtstucke und Arien \/ Alsop, VRSO","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHans Werner Henze was initially an avant-garde composer but Nachtstücke und Arien symbolised his departure from dodecaphonic writing, to the annoyance of his contemporaries Boulez, Nono and Stockhausen at Darmstadt. With this new direction Henze’s music became highly rhapsodic, as heard in the challenging but lyrical solo cello that suggests the intimate texts of the Englische Liebeslieder. Referring to Goya, Los Caprichos captures the strangeness of this artist’s visions with long-breathed melodic lines and fleeting changes of texture, from military-sounding bustle to moments of profound stillness. Marin Alsop is chief conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, which she leads at Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Musikverein, and on recordings, broadcasts and tours. Her discography includes acclaimed Naxos recordings of symphonies by Brahms with the London Philharmonic, Dvořák with the Baltimore Symphony, and Prokofiev with the São Paulo Symphony. The first and only conductor to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, Alsop received the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award and was the first woman to conduct the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms. She is director of graduate conducting at the Peabody Institute and holds honorary doctorates from Yale University and The Juilliard School.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell6_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eHans Werner Henze's rigorously constructed and orchestrated works require careful and well-prepared performances, and that’s just what they get here from conductor Marin Alsop and the Vienna Radio Symphony. This might, in fact, make a good initial Henze album, for it leads the listener into his music in a logical way. All three pieces respond to extramusical models in different ways. He is not everybody’s cup of tea, but this release realizes his ideas exceptionally well.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012756459754,"sku":"747313418176","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4038066-2775837.jpg?v=1778241244"},{"product_id":"lee-iii-voyages-orchestral-music","title":"Lee III: Voyages - Orchestral Music \/ Alsop, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn Voyages, prolific American composer James Lee III takes the listener on a colorful journey through his endlessly creative orchestral music; painting biblical imagery in Beyond Rivers of Vision and celebrating the joyous Feast of Tabernacles in Sukkot Through Orion's Nebula, using well-known spirituals to celebrate the life of abolitionist Harriet Tubman (Chuphshah! Harriet's Drive to Canaan) and reflecting on the ongoing fight for freedom through his grandfather’s personal experiences in WWII (A Different Soldier’s Tale). His music is played here by the renowned ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell0_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eAlthough there may be some in the audience who may be skeptical of music by composers who are pretty much unknown to them, especially contemporary composers, they are in for a treat, for \u003cem\u003eChuphshah! \u003c\/em\u003eis an entertaining, very listenable piece, as are all the compositions on this remarkable AVIE recording. From the opening measures of \u003cem\u003eSukkot Through Orion’s Nebula, \u003c\/em\u003ewith their snare, bass drum, brass, and percussion excitement, you know right away that this is going to be a fun recording for both musical and audio reasons. In his liner note essay, Lee describes Sukkot as “a festive work for orchestra,” and it is certainly that. Next up is the longest composition on the program, the four-movement \u003cem\u003eA Different Soldier’s Tale\u003c\/em\u003e, based on stories that Lee’s grandfather told him about his experiences in World War II. As you might expect from such a description, it contains some passages of drama and turmoil, as well as passages of pathos and reflection. \u003cem\u003eBeyond Rivers of Vision\u003c\/em\u003e is in three movements, of which Lee observes “for the most part the form in these pieces is fantasia-like or rhapsodic.” The music has an otherworldly characteristic to it at times that stands in contrast to the drama of the \u003cem\u003eSoldier’s Tale.\u003c\/em\u003e The CD closes with the afore-mentioned \u003cem\u003eChuphshah! Harriet's Drive to Canaan, \u003c\/em\u003ewhich is based on aspects of the life of Harriet Tubman. His liner note essay is insightful and helpful in understanding what he is attempting to do in all four compositions, but especially so for this one.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e As I indicated at the outset, this release is a treat both musically and sonically. The music is energetic and assertive, with plenty of orchestral effects that will show off a good audio system. The engineering team has done a good job, Alsop and the orchestra sound as though they are having a good time playing this mostly extroverted music, and the end result is a highly recommendable release from an exciting young composer. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e-- Classical Candor (Karl W. Nehring)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Avie Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012784509162,"sku":"822252250725","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4063799-3144228_1617e129-7e4b-4564-b130-2d7e9173c12a.jpg?v=1778240197"},{"product_id":"american-classics-barber-capricorn-concerto-alsop-143215","title":"American Classics - Barber: Capricorn Concerto \/ Alsop","description":"\u003cp\u003eIncludes work(s) by Samuel Barber.  Ensemble: Royal Scottish National Orchestra.  Conductor: Marin Alsop.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012882256106,"sku":"636943913529","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/705005.jpg?v=1778294704"},{"product_id":"dvorak-symphonies-no-7-8-alsop-baltimore-175871","title":"Dvorak: Symphonies No 7 \u0026 8 \/ Alsop, Baltimore Symphony [Blu-ray Audio]","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis is an audio-only (i.e., with no video content) Blu-ray disc playable only on Blu-ray players.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In these recordings from Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, Dvo?ák’s most darkly dramatic and passionate symphony, the Seventh, is coupled with his Eighth, notable for its dramatic contrasts, Bohemian lyricism, and a seemingly spontaneous flow of thematic ideas. ‘Alsop’s Baltimore orchestra parades a refined tonal profile that pays its own special dividends…Alsop should please both the eager newcomer…and the seasoned collector. There’ll be no disappointment on either score.’ (Gramophone) ‘This splendidly recorded performance [Symphony No. 7] stands very high among available readings.’ (BBC Music Magazine)\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Sound format: PCM Stereo \/ DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Naxos AudioVisual","offers":[{"title":"Blu-Ray","offer_id":46012890284266,"sku":"730099001069","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1796846.jpg?v=1778397152"},{"product_id":"mahler-symphony-no-1-marin-alsop-baltimore-121084","title":"Mahler: Symphony No. 1 \/ Alsop, Baltimore Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis remarkably original work, with its recurring quotations from the composer’s own songs, notably Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer) and Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy’s Magic Horn), is the perfect expression of one of Mahler’s most quoted sayings, “The symphony is a world; it must contain everything”. The opening movement, filled with sounds that Mahler remembered from his childhood, depicts “Nature’s awakening from the long sleep of winter”, and is followed by an exuberant scherzo and trio based on a Ländler. The disturbing slow movement funeral march, based on the children’s song Frère Jacques, is unlike anything that had been heard before, and the symphony concludes with music of thrilling dramatic intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell12_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eIn the finale the brass section is given its opportunity to step forward and they really deliver the goods. The trumpets, tuba, braying horns and tam-tam are thrilling in their impact. There is no distracting applause at the end of the symphony, thank goodness, and this allows for a few seconds thought before realising what a cracking performance has just taken place.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e–\u003c\/span\u003eMusicWeb International\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell11_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eThis is a thoughtful performance, very reined-in for the most part, though when Alsop finally lets her Baltimore forces off the leash in the closing peroration the effect is so starling that it blows you away. Earlier on, there are moments when you feel she’s held too much back, particularly in the scherzo, which is overly deliberate. But the sense of wonder of the first movement, together with the ironies of the later funeral march, are breathtakingly done, and all that hard to balance counter-point is beautifully clear. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e– Guardian (UK)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012901785834,"sku":"747313220779","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2042958.jpg?v=1778319881"},{"product_id":"prokofiev-symphonies-nos-1-classical-2-dreams-165670","title":"Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 1 'classical' \u0026 2; Dreams","description":"Prokofiev had written two symphonies as a student but his first numbered work in the genre was the Classical Symphony, completed in 1917.  This evokes, melodically though not necessarily harmonically, the world of Haydn and Mozart, and it has remained one of his most popular works.  The Second Symphony, by contrast, is a work of ‘iron and steel’ (in the composer’s words), a symphony of conscious modernity and visceral power.  Dreams, a ‘symphonic tableau’, reveals the potent, early influence on Prokofiev of Scriabin.  Of Marin Alsop and the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra’s recording of the Fourth Symphony and The Prodigal Son [8.573186], International Record Review wrote: ‘Conductor and orchestra both shine with the excitement of a special relationship in the ascendant’.","brand":"Naxos AudioVisual","offers":[{"title":"Blu-Ray","offer_id":46012908404970,"sku":"730099004466","price":8.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2795067.jpg?v=1778387952"},{"product_id":"marin-alsop-conducts-peter-and-the-wolf-284230","title":"Marin Alsop Conducts Peter and the Wolf and other Fairytales \/ Britten-Pears Orchestra [Blu-ray]","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ca class=\"links\" href=\"\/marin-alsop-conducts-peter-and-the-wolf-284224\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlso available on standard DVD\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e These live performances from Snape Maltings Concert Hall present some of the most popular classical works for younger audiences. Their perennial appeal is a result of vivid melodies, witty instrumental characterisation, and in three works, the use of spoken texts to illuminate the narrative. Whether composed to amuse, entertain or educate, each possesses marvellous vitality, lyricism and bravura. The performances are conducted and narrated by Marin Alsop, one of the world’s most inspirational musical communicators.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e -----\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e REVIEW:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The chamber orchestra used for Saint-Saens's Carnival of the Animals, with two solo pianists, is of excellent quality. By far the most frequently played section, The Swan, is beautifully performed by the principal cello of this student ensemble.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The video was made in 2017 and 2018, the young people having had the good fortune of working with the conductor, Marin Alsop. The resulting concerts were filmed with Alsop acting as narrator, that narration becoming more serious as she takes us through The Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra, a searching test for the young players who give a very creditable performance. As one would expect from the Snape Malting's venue, the sound quality is excellent, the result being a highly desirable gift for the children in your life.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e – David's Review Corner (David Denton)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos AudioVisual","offers":[{"title":"Blu-Ray","offer_id":46012909715690,"sku":"730099010269","price":15.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3731017-2499992.jpg?v=1778385097"},{"product_id":"bernstein-symphonies-nos-1-2-alsop-baltimore","title":"Bernstein: Symphonies Nos. 1 \u0026 2 \/ Alsop, Baltimore Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eLeonard Bernstein’s legendary 1943 Carnegie Hall conducting début brought his name to national attention, and the event was followed a few months later by the triumphant reception of his \u003ci\u003eSymphony No. 1\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003e‘Jeremiah.’ \u003c\/i\u003eThis major symphonic statement explores a crisis in faith and employs Jewish liturgical sources, its final movement, \u003ci\u003eLamentation\u003c\/i\u003e, being an anguished cry at the destruction of Jerusalem. Sharing the theme of loss of faith, \u003ci\u003eSymphony No. 2 ‘The Age of\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eAnxiety’ \u003c\/i\u003etakes W.H. Auden’s poem of the same name and follows its four characters in their spiritual journey to hard-won triumph.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s great to see this music being played with such conviction. We all know that Alsop is a superb Bernstein conductor, and Naxos already has a terrific account of the First Symphony from James Judd and the New Zealand Symphony, but this newcomer is, if anything, even finer–certainly sonically–and conducted with even more pizzazz. In the central Profanation movement, Alsop really does outdo Bernstein himself; the playing of the Baltimore Symphony here is sensational, and in the finale Jennifer Johnson Cano sings with great sensitivity and a beautiful tone. The tragic climaxes hit you right in the gut.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In the Second Symphony, Jean-Yves Thibaudet offers a first class account of his solo part. The Masque is especially outstanding–virtuosic but at the same time nicely “cool.” Prior to that, in the opening variation sets, Alsop knits the music together expertly, ensuring that the glum bits never bog down, and that the entire first part builds inexorably to its exciting conclusion. The following Dirge is is a barn-burner, and somehow after all of this the Epilogue never turns hollow. Again, I don’t think that Bernstein could have done better, and as suggested above the engineering is also rock solid and brilliant by turns. A marvelous release by any standard.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e – ClassicsToday (David Hurwitz, \u003cstrong\u003e10\/10\u003c\/strong\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012922986730,"sku":"636943979020","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3525271.jpg?v=1778292651"},{"product_id":"hindemith-nusch-nuschi-tanze-sancta-susana-mathis-966157","title":"Hindemith: Nusch-Nuschi-Tänze - Sancta Susana - Mathis der Maler","description":"\u003cp\u003ePaul Hindemith’s life was dominated by the events of the two world wars. In 1917, his discovery of contemporary Expressionist poetry and drama transformed him from a talented student to Germany’s leading new composer. His one-act operas Sancta Susanna and Das Nusch-Nuschi date from this period. Sancta Susanna – Hindemith’s first masterpiece – combines religious and erotic symbolism into an eerie narrative that was shocking for its time, whereas the dance suite from Das Nusch-Nuschi emphasises the plot’s origin as a Burmese comedy. The three symphonic movements from the opera Mathis der Maler refer to the three panels of the Isenheim Altarpiece by Renaissance painter Matthias Grünewald, but also graphically reflect Hindemith’s own artistic struggles in Nazi Germany.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012927148266,"sku":"747313428373","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4018130-2773971_0e0e3771-dd78-4e6d-b25b-2bffd36dc983.jpg?v=1778250233"},{"product_id":"prokofiev-symphony-no-3-scythian-suite-alsop-95676","title":"Prokofiev: Symphony No 3, Scythian Suite... \/ Alsop","description":"This fourth volume in Marin Alsop’s acclaimed Prokofiev symphonic cycle features two of his most viscerally exciting works. Using material salvaged from his opera The Fiery Angel, the Third Symphony was hailed by Serge Koussevitzky at its 1929 première as ‘the best symphony since Tchaikovsky’s Sixth’. Originally commissioned as a ballet by Sergey Dyagilev but rejected as un-danceable, the Scythian Suite has become a popular orchestral showpiece, while Prokofiev retained a lifelong fondness for his dark-hued early symphonic sketch Autumn.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  Review:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  Even die-hard fans will admit that Prokofiev's seven symphonies aren't always magnificent and Marin Alsop's elegant lucidity provides only a partial solution to the problem. She gets unfailingly good string playing, often more sensitively nuanced than that of her rivals, but her Sao Paulo team does tend to 'normalize' the invention, smoothing away rough edges in a manner that not everyone will find idiomatic. Still, Alsop's reading works on its own terms, and if she makes the music sound as much like Roussel as Stravinsky one can perhaps discern why Serge Diaghilev chose to reject the Scythian Suite as insufficiently Russian.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  – Gramophone","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012972957930,"sku":"747313345274","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2873544.jpg?v=1778288866"},{"product_id":"prokofiev-symphony-no-6-waltz-suite-alsop-74916","title":"Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6 \u0026 Waltz Suite \/ Alsop, Sao Paulo Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis fifth volume of the Prokofiev’s complete symphonies joins a series of acclaimed recordings from the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra with its principal conductor and music director Marin Alsop. Critics have warmly welcomed each release of this edition, from volume 1 with the Fifth Symphony from 2010, which “comes up trumps in a dramatic yet highly polished performance… an outstanding achievement” (BBC Music Magazine), to the “unfailingly good string playing, often more sensitively nuanced than that of her rivals…” (Gramophone) of volume 4’s Third Symphony.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell5_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eMarin Alsop turns up with an excellent reading of the Sixth almost in spite of herself. Something in the work speaks, if not to her, then to the orchestra, which plays with fervor and intensity fully befitting the music and with considerable sensitivity to the many shades of darkness that Prokofiev here puts on display. Alsop seems more to be carried along with the music than to shape it—her overly fast finale, indeed, almost derails the movement’s effectiveness. But the performance as a whole turns out to be very successful indeed, with the gradations of Prokofiev’s anti-triumphalist writing coming through clearly and the sectional stability of the orchestra allowing the symphony’s many themes and unusual balances to emerge to fine effect. The reality must be that Alsop is responsible for shaping this very fine performance, but it almost feels as if the orchestra is playing without a conductor, with suppleness and sectional sensitivity that bring forth, all in all, a very impressive reading. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell5_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eAlsop seems a stronger presence in the six-movement and altogether lighter \u003cem\u003eWaltz Suite,\u003c\/em\u003e in which Prokofiev recycled three pieces from \u003cem\u003eCinderella,\u003c\/em\u003e two from \u003cem\u003eWar and Peace\u003c\/em\u003e and one from an abandoned film project, \u003cem\u003eLermontov,\u003c\/em\u003e into a half-hour suite that explores three-quarter time from a wide variety of angles and with numerous emotional high and low points. Again the orchestra delivers first-rate playing, and the result is a highly interesting juxtaposition of a 1945–47 symphony that is very serious indeed with a 1946–47 suite that remains determinedly on the frothy side.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e– Infodad.com\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Marin Alsop and the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra continue their Prokofiev series for Naxos with his sixth symphony, written as an elegy for the victims of the second world war but condemned as anti-Soviet and banned in 1948, a year after its completion. Alsop and her players handle the great climactic moments with elan but the central threnody lacks the compassion of, for example, Sakari Oramo’s recording with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. The vibrant Waltz Suite, however, really swings, with some stylish solo playing in all sections of the orchestra.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e – Guardian\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012986654954,"sku":"747313351879","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3435675_cd61ebd7-b76d-4bdb-a61c-abbe95a3d77c.jpg?v=1778306582"},{"product_id":"bartok-the-wooden-prince-alsop-bournemouth-symphony-144885","title":"Bartók: The Wooden Prince \/ Alsop, Bournemouth Symphony","description":"In the years leading up to World War I, Bartók occupied himself with a series of works for the theater. He completed his first stage work Bluebeard’s Castle in 1911. 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He crafted the work as a symmetrical, tripartite symphonic poem, with the final section recalling materials from the first part in reverse order.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Marin Alsop is the first conductor ever to receive the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship and was the first musician to win both Gramophone's \"Artist of the Year\" award and the Royal Philharmonic Society's Conductor's Award in the same season.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012987212010,"sku":"747313053476","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1312775_3670967d-467b-4dcc-a24b-4774b61aa8a6.jpg?v=1778225033"},{"product_id":"adagio-chillout-234777","title":"Adagio Chillout","description":"\u003cp\u003eIncludes work(s) by various composers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012997992682,"sku":"730099678322","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/652384_dc5bd022-cd18-4390-81bc-a9677e8f29eb.jpg?v=1778382526"},{"product_id":"takemitsu-orchestral-works","title":"TAKEMITSU: Orchestral Works","description":"Now regarded as one of the most important composers of the second half of the twentieth century, Toru Takemitsu was the first Japanese composer to gain international status.","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013010149610,"sku":"747313276028","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/941894.jpg?v=1778334290"},{"product_id":"prokofiev-symphony-no-7-other-orchestral-works-95708","title":"Prokofiev: Symphony No. 7 \u0026 Other Orchestral Works \/ Alsop, Sao Paulo Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eSergey Prokofiev’s final years were clouded by ill-health, and the Seventh Symphony was his last significant work, full of poignant nostalgia and restrained but deeply expressed emotion. The Love for Three Oranges consolidated Prokofiev’s reputation in the West in the 1920s, both this and the satirical tale of Lieutenant Kije producing two of his most popular suites. This is the final volume of the acclaimed cycle of Prokofiev’s Symphonies with the Sao Paolo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e -----\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell3_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eAlsop captures the lyrical aspects of the Seventh work really well. She also has the advantage of a superior recording in the acoustically friendlier Sala São Paulo. The orchestra is superb throughout, but special mention should be made of the woodwinds that have notable solos in the work.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e– MusicWeb International\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThis is one of the most desirable Sevenths on disc. The Sao Paulo orchestra are in good shape, and continue with a display of their refined tonal quality through the remainder of the disc, the creamy double-bass solo at the opening of the Romance in the Kije Suite worthy of special mention. Commendable inner detail, but play the disc at a very high volume to bring it to life.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e – David's Review Corner\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013014016234,"sku":"747313362073","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3740255.jpg?v=1778279014"},{"product_id":"daugherty-route-66-marin-alsop-bournemouth-symphony-134917","title":"Daugherty: Route 66 \/ Marin Alsop, Bournemouth Symphony","description":"\u003cimg src=\"\/graphics\/p10s10.gif\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Michael Daugherty manages to have his musical cake and eat it too. His music's eclectic \"pop\" elements rub shoulders with thoroughly modern compositional techniques. Time Machine, for example, requires three conductors, but its various textural layers and rhythmic complexities never sound confused. Indeed, its ticking woodblocks sound very much like Daugherty--something similar occurs at the start of Ghost Ranch, inspired by paintings by the always marvelous Georgia O'Keefe. Both this latter work and Sunset Strip are triptychs in the grand tradition of Ives (Three Places in New England) and Debussy (La mer). \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Route 66, by contrast, is a seven-minute cross-country travelogue, and one of Daugherty's best-known works (after the expansive Metropolis Symphony). Marin Alsop has established herself as a champion of Daugherty's music, and performs all of it with obvious commitment. The Bournemouth orchestra, particularly its brass section (horns and trumpets), makes the most of the numerous solo opportunities that Daugherty offers the players. Naxos' engineers do an excellent job capturing the music's wide range of colors and, in Time Machine, its spacial elements. 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Anna’s background in electro-acoustic music and her fascination for a variety of multi-media – including poetry, visual art and videography – combine to create rich and exhilarating textures of popular appeal.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe five works on Anna Clyne: Mythologies were written over a 10-year period between 2005 and 2015. The performances on the album feature the BBC Symphony Orchestra and four internationally-acclaimed conductors. Masquerade, commissioned by BBC Radio 3 to open the Last Night of the Proms 2013 and conducted by Marin Alsop, captures the spirit of that quintessentially English tradition. The title evokes an 18th-century outdoor festivity featuring fireworks, acrobats and street entertainers. This Midnight Hour, conducted by the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo, encapsulates the modernity and decadence of two European poets, Nobel Prize-winning Spaniard Juan Ramón Jiménez and Frenchman Charles Baudelaire. Oramo also conducts The Seamstress, a single-movement violin concerto in all but name, featuring soloist Jennifer Koh as well as the whispered voice of Irene Buckley reciting the work’s inspiration, a poem by William Butler Yeats.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMore poetry by a Nobel laureate, the Irishman Seamus Heaney, inspired Night Ferry; conducted by Andrew Litton, the work conjures crashing waves and weathered seafaring. The album concludes with rewind, conducted by André de Ridder. It’s a wild romp imagining the backwards scroll of a video tape complete with glitches, skips and freezes.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMythologies became an instant media and popular success when it was released in October 2020 – “hands-down one of the half-dozen best classical albums of 2020”, according to New York Music Daily. The album is now presented in both a CD version and as a magnificent 2-LP set. The splendor of the glossy gatefold and 180-gram vinyl in particular is an appropriate match for Anna’s enormous palette of colors and special effects.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI found her music colourful, full of energy and overflowing with ideas which grip you from first to last. The present release of her compositions spanning the decade from 2005 up to 2015 thus offers a fine survey of her recent orchestral music and there is no better place to begin with than the first work recorded here, the short \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eMasquerade,\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e a brilliant concert-opener if ever there was one. The music skips along with high spirits until it concludes with a quotation from John Playford's \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe English Dancing Master\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e which comes as a surprise - although I for one would not be surprised to learn that that very tune had already been there since the very beginning but cleverly and subtly disguised. Anyway, this short and brilliant work presents Anna Clyne's music-making in a nutshell, as it were.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThese superb works receive committed readings from all concerned and, besides singling out the BBC Symphony Orchestra playing at its customary best, I would like to draw attention to Jennifer Koh's impressive take on the violin part in \u003cem\u003eThe Seamstress\u003c\/em\u003e, one of the gems in this collection. I hope that many will derive as much musical pleasure from this very fine release as I have, and that it will not take too long before more of Clyne's orchestral music is committed to disc.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-- MusicWeb International\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eMythologies\u003c\/em\u003e is an apt title choice for this striking collection by London-born composer Anna Clyne (b. 1980). However ancient mythological tales might appear at the surface level, their archetypal themes resonate across the ages, as relevant today as when they were born, and they're fantastical in nature too, populated as they are with gods and mythical beasts. In similar manner, Clyne's music exudes an era-transcending quality in these phantasmagoric pieces, some of which stretch out for twenty minutes at a time. The Grammy-nominated composer is a tale-spinner whose creations transport the listener to dazzling realms.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCertainly a key part of the recording's appeal has to do with unpredictability: in not conforming to long-established scripts, the pieces are able to unfold in any number of stylistic directions, even if ultimately each develops in accordance with her sensibility.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-- Textura\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Avie Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013100654826,"sku":"822252243420","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3856699-2628777.jpg?v=1778253033"},{"product_id":"kernis-flute-concerto-air-symphony-no-2-269972","title":"Kernis: Flute Concerto, Air \u0026 Symphony No. 2 \/ Slatkin, Alsop, Peabody Symphony","description":"Pulitzer Prize- and GRAMMY® Award-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis’s Flute Concerto was inspired by and written for Marina Piccinini. 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From the crisp vitality of the youthful ‘Classical’ Symphony to the viscerally exciting Third, the Fifth Symphony which for Prokofiev represented ‘the grandeur of the human spirit’ and the deeply moving and heartfelt Sixth Symphony, this is an unforgettable collection crowned by the bittersweet Seventh Symphony, the composer’s final significant work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePast praise of previously released volumes included in this set\u003c\/em\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProkofiev: Symphonies No 1 \"Classical\" \u0026amp; 2 \/ Alsop\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWithout minimizing the Second’s violent energy, Alsop plays the piece with a vivid sense of its long melodic lines. The first movement, in particular, has plenty of excitement but also a certain lyrical emphasis that gives the music something to be excited about. It’s very convincing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs for the Classical Symphony, well, just about everyone does it well, and while I can imagine a first movement with a touch more snap to its rhythms, the performance picks up steam as it goes, culminating in a delightfully crisp account of the finale. The early tone poem “Dreams” drifts about prettily for ten minutes, sounding like Debussy or Scriabin or basically anyone but Prokofiev. Does it deserve greater exposure? Perhaps not, but this lovely performance makes as strong a case for it as you might imagine possible. Vivid sonics make this the best release in this series so far.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e – David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProkofiev: Symphony No. 7 \u0026amp; Other Orchestral Works \/ Alsop\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlsop captures the lyrical aspects of the Seventh work really well. She also has the advantage of a superior recording in the acoustically friendlier Sala São Paulo. The orchestra is superb throughout, but special mention should be made of the woodwinds that have notable solos in the work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e– MusicWeb International\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013240541418,"sku":"747313603831","price":36.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3940299-2691495.jpg?v=1778227264"},{"product_id":"prokofiev-symphony-no-5-the-year-1941-186769","title":"Prokofiev: Symphony No  5, The Year 1941 \/ Alsop, Sao Paulo Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eWritten in 1944, Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony is one of his greatest and most complete symphonic statements. At its première he himself called it “a symphony of the grandeur of the human spirit”. The first movement couples considerable strength with unexpected yet highly characteristic twists of melody. After a violent scherzo followed by a slow movement of sustained lyricism, with a fiercely dramatic middle section, the finale blazes with barely suppressed passion. The Year 1941 is another wartime work, a symphonic suite written in response to the German invasion of the Soviet Union. This is the first volume a of complete cycle of the Prokofiev Symphonies with the OSESP and Marin Alsop, the orchestra’s newly appointed principal conductor.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell18_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eAlsop is evidently a sympathetic interpreter of Prokofiev, because the tempo and pacing always feel spot-on, and the character of the music rings true. Naxos offers exceptional reproduction of the vivid instrumental colors with appropriately resonant acoustics, so this series starts off brilliantly, with worthy performances that sound terrific.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e– AllMusicGuide.com\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013307322602,"sku":"747313302970","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2002832.jpg?v=1778310764"},{"product_id":"bernstein-anniversaries-fancy-free-suite-overture-to-126479","title":"Bernstein: Anniversaries, Fancy Free Suite, Overture to Candide \u0026 Overture to Wonderful Town \/ Alsop, Sao Paulo Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe sparkling overture to Leonard Bernstein’s 1956 musical Candide immediately found a prominent place in concert programs all over the world and is now one of his most frequently performed pieces. Many of Bernstein’s best loved works drew inspiration from the city of New York, and this is true both of the three sailors pursuing female conquest in the ballet ‘Fancy Free,’ and of the rip-roaring swing rhythm and big tunes from the musical ‘Wonderful Town.’ Bernstein celebrated his friends and family with his ‘Anniversaries’- piano vignettes heard here for the first time in colorfully expanded orchestrations. Marin Alsop is an inspiring and powerful voice in the international music scene who passionately believes that “music has the power to change lives.” She became music director of the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra in 2012 and made history in 2013 as the first female conductor of the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms, which she returned to conduct in 2015. As a student of Leonard Bernstein, Alsop is central to his 100th anniversary celebrations, conducting Bernstein’s ‘Mass’ at the Ravina Festival, where she serves as musical curator for 2018 and 2019.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013310238954,"sku":"636943981429","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3572605_0ba8ccdc-44af-4c27-b497-923b26bfffe5.jpg?v=1778276565"},{"product_id":"gershwin-porgy-bess-highlights-alsop-philadelphia-orchestra","title":"Gershwin: Porgy \u0026 Bess (Highlights) \/ Alsop, Philadelphia Orchestra","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Marin Alsop present a live recording with highlights of Gershwin’s self-proclaimed American “Folk Opera” \u003cem\u003ePorgy and Bess\u003c\/em\u003e, together with a stellar cast and the Morgan State University Choir.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince its premiere in 1935, \u003cem\u003ePorgy and Bess\u003c\/em\u003e has been one of the most significant early attempts to create American classical music inspired by African American styles such as jazz, Spirituals, and the blues. The hard-knock life at a Charleston waterfront tenement is presented here by an outstanding cast including Lester Lynch (Porgy), Angel Blue (Bess, Clara, and Serena), Chauncey Packer (Sportin’ Life) and Kevin Short (Crown and Jake).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMarin Alsop is one of today’s most acclaimed conductors, and the first woman to serve as the head of a major orchestra in the United States, South America, Austria and Britain. The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the world’s preeminent orchestras. Multi-award-winning soprano Angel Blue is one of the most promising voices of her generation, while Chauncey Packer is arguably one of the greatest and sought-after Sportin’ Life interpreters today. Lester Lynch and Kevin Short each enjoy a flourishing stage career, as well as a vast PENTATONE discography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\" id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell6_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\"\u003eSoprano Angel Blue has already shown she can meet—and exceed—the vocal and dramatic demands of playing Bess in the recent Metropolitan Opera production, and so it's not surprising that her lovely voice is the highlight of this disc of excerpts from George Gershwin's emotionally powerful opera. Not only does Blue own Bess' classic songs but she also sings Clara's \"Summertime\" and Serena's \"My Man's Gone Now\" with equal parts power and finesse and an ability to grab the listener from the get-go. Lester Lynch's Porgy and Chauncey Packer's Sportin' Life provide superb vocal support and Marin Alsop conducts an expertly-chosen group of excerpts, strongly performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra and Morgan State University Choir.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e-- The Flip Side\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PENTATONE","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013318103274,"sku":"827949088360","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3973029-2713628.jpg?v=1778260099"},{"product_id":"bernstein-1600-pennsylvania-avenue-suite-slava-cbs-59913","title":"Bernstein: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Suite, Slava!, CBS Music \u0026 A Bernstein Birthday Bouquet \/ Alsop, Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra","description":"This recording brings together music from some of Leonard Bernstein's best-loved scores with seldom heard occasional works and premiere recordings. From the iconic musical West Side Story, the hot-blooded dance number 'Mambo' embodies the show's dramatic tensions. 'Slava!' celebrates Bernstein's friend and colleague, the cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, in music reworked from the daring show 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, from which the Suite rescues further highlights. 'CBS Music' has not ben heard since the broadcasting giant's 50th anniversary celebrations in 1978, while the 'Birthday Bouquet' takes the form of affectionate musical tributes from eight composer colleagues to one of the twentieth century's greatest musicians. Marin Alsop is an inspiring and powerful voice in the international music scene who passionately believes that \"music has the power to change lives.\" She became music director of the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra in 2012 and made history in 2013 as the first female conductor of the BBC's Last Night of the Proms, which she returned to conduct in 2015. As a student of Leonard Bernstein, Alsop is central to his 100th anniversary celebrations, conducting Bernstein's 'Mass' at the Ravina Festival, where she serves as musical curator for 2018 and 2019.","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013400875242,"sku":"636943981320","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3572604.jpg?v=1778282986"},{"product_id":"barber-piano-concerto-die-natali-alsop-prutsman-75497","title":"Barber: Piano Concerto, Die Natali \/ Alsop, Prutsman","description":"Here at last we have a recording of Barber's marvelous Piano Concerto to rival (if not surpass) the classic Szell\/Browning recording for CBS (Sony), a performance which that company inexplicably has managed to reissue everywhere in the world except in the one place that it should: the U.S. While Szell and his Clevelanders remain unbeatable in terms of rhythmic precision and disciplined ensemble, Marin Alsop and her Scottish players offer ample excitement and drive, while pianist Stephen Prutsman certainly compares favorably to John Browning's pioneering effort (his later, more sedate remake for RCA doesn't factor into this particular equation at all). \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Prutsman puts steel into the music where required (the opening cadenza and much of the finale), but he offers a slow movement of great delicacy and tenderness too. He knows when to back off and let the orchestra have the spotlight, and together with Alsop manages a genuine dialog in such passages as the finale's second calm episode (music that's pure Prokofiev in its ironic wit). It's interesting how closely this finale resembles that of Ginastera's First Piano Concerto, composed at the same time, and both seem to be taking the finale of Bartók's Second Piano Concerto as a model. In any case, aside from Szell\/Browning, there is no finer performance of this work available, and it's very well recorded to boot.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e As for the couplings, the catchy Commando March plays itself, and Die Natali, a marvelously inventive fantasia on Christmas carols, receives a lovely performance. Why this charming piece isn't hauled out every December and played to death, as it surely deserves to be, is a genuine mystery. Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance features an excellent \"meditation\", brooding but not too slow, that yields to a vividly detailed but somewhat underpowered \"dance of vengeance\", just fractionally under tempo and lacking the ultimate hysterical frenzy (as in Munch\/Boston) at the climaxes. However, given the overall excellence of the other items on offer, this isn't a major liability, and for the Piano Concerto alone this disc will be an essential acquisition for anyone who cares about Barber's music.\u003cbr\u003e --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013414113514,"sku":"636943913321","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/450897.jpg?v=1778326222"},{"product_id":"bartok-concerto-for-orchestra-music-for-strings-235295","title":"Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra; Music for Strings, Percussion \u0026 Celesta \/ Alsop, Baltimore Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eBéla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, one of his greatest works, was written in the United States after the composer was forced to flee Hungary during World War II. It is not only a brilliant display vehicle for each instrumental section but a work of considerable structural ingenuity that unites classical forms and sonorities with the pungency of folk rhythms and harmonies. Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta explores darker moods through a score of marvellously poised symmetry. This release follows Marin Alsop’s ‘riveting’ (Gramophone) Baltimore Symphony recordings of Dvorák’s symphonies.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell5_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eMarin Alsop leads a splendid performance of the oft-recorded Concerto for Orchestra, full of character, whether in the jocular “games of pairs” second movement, the ensuing spooky elegy, or the finale that begins (seemingly) a touch reserved but takes off like a shot in the coda. It’s a memorable and wholly successful effort, excellently engineered to boot.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e– ClassicsToday.com (D. Hurwitz)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013443965162,"sku":"747313248674","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1987210.jpg?v=1778319855"},{"product_id":"american-classics-barber-knoxville-summer-of-1915-94435","title":"American Classics - Barber: Knoxville - Summer Of 1915, Essays For Orchestra","description":"\"None of the performances on this new release is less than superb; moreover, no one who has been using the Naxos series to build his library of Barber works risks being disappointed by this or any of the other releases...this new Naxos release is especially notable for its extremely rich yet transparent sound quality and for painstakingly shaped phrasing by the Scottish National Orchestra.\"\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Walter Simmons, Fanfare\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013474144490,"sku":"636943913420","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/639269.jpg?v=1778283781"},{"product_id":"adams-nixon-in-china-alsop-orth-dedominici-183115","title":"Adams: Nixon In China \/ Orth, DeDominici, Alsop, Colorado Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"She leads the score with grand sweep and understanding, and her Colorado forces bring out its colors vividly; moreover, she inspires her cast to sing as if they're having a great time with this no-longer-new but still odd opera.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Nonesuch's 1987 recording of this opera, produced when the work was new, was revelatory. Though clearly a piece of mimimalism, it did not rely only on endless repetition; indeed, Adams' musical language was varied enough to make Nixon in China a fascinating opera despite very little action and a somewhat unrevealing text by Alice Goodman. The Nixons and the events of the 1972 visit came across as oddly shallow. It's clear now that that was the point: Nixon's first-act rant, \"News has a kind of mystery\", is much the key to the opera. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e It also seems wittier and more purposefully ironic now, with Kissinger's villainy almost overshadowed by his ladykilling; Pat Nixon's innocence almost charming (we've seen worse since); Madame Mao's berserk aria even more pointedly wacky and funny; and the contrast between Chou En-lai's philosophizing and Richard Nixon's simplemindedness clearer than ever. During the toasts in the third scene of the first act, Chou's toast, an eloquent paean to the future (\"Our children race downhill unflustered into peace...\"), is accompanied by even arpeggios; when Nixon's clichés take over (\"a vote of thanks to one and all who made this possible\"), we're jarred into paying attention to his mundanity by disconnected, disparate tones. It's masterly.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Each scene in the first act still strikes me as a few minutes too long, but Act 2, particularly with the spectacular and varied music for the surreal opera performance, is riveting. The frustrating last act is oblique in its dramatic thrust (it features personal reflections from all of the characters except, tellingly, Kissinger), but it is food for thought even if it is a dramatic anti-climax. It's a strange, quiet way to end an opera--but take it for what it is.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e This new recording, taken from a live performance at Denver's Ellie Caulkins Opera House in June, 2008, is brilliant. It is sonically way ahead of the Nonesuch (which was recorded at a very low level), thus making it possible to understand almost every word, and Marin Alsop's tempos are slightly slower than Edo de Waart's, which also helps comprehension. She leads the score with grand sweep and understanding, and her Colorado forces bring out its colors vividly; moreover, she inspires her cast to sing as if they're having a great time with this no-longer-new but still odd opera.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Robert Orth's Nixon has just the right amount of self-parody that \"playing\" Nixon requires--the distance between 1987 and now is very long and we can sense ironies from our vantage point that we were blind to then. Maria Kanyova's Pat also seems more sympathetic while remaining as publicly simple as she always was, and Kanyova's voice and diction are splendid. Marc Heller handles Mao's high tessitura, sometimes bordering on madness, with great character and flavor. Chen-Ye Yuan's Chou is beautifully sung and he captures both the character's joylessness and intelligence. Thomas Hammons (also on the Nonesuch recording) uses his dark, growling bass to show us everything we need to know about the cynical Kissinger, and Tracy Dahl, as Madame Mao, is pretty frightening, even while delivering her Queen of the Night-like aria.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e There's not much to decide between this set and the Nonesuch, which is still available. As mentioned, this new one is sonically superior (and cheaper), but otherwise it's pretty much a tie. Naxos, like Nonesuch, supplies a libretto; Nonesuch's booklet has superb essays and a better synopsis.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e --Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com (\u003cstrong\u003e10\/10\u003c\/strong\u003e!)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025331146986,"sku":"730099902274","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1569044.jpg?v=1778337231"},{"product_id":"brahms-symphony-no-4-hungarian-dances-alsop-176877","title":"Brahms: Symphony No 4, Hungarian Dances \/ Alsop, London PO","description":"\u003cb\u003eTop Brahms!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Here it is: the final release in the set of Brahms symphonies from Marin Alsop with the London Philharmonic. Previous reviews have praised just about every aspect of this new Naxos cycle, and while I admit to arriving somewhat late on the scene I have to admit that all expectations are realised.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e So that you know where I’m coming from, my formative introduction to the symphonies of Brahms came with the 1983 live cycle on DG with Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic. The influence of those initial impressions of intensity and edgy freedom of expression are of course hard to shake, but there is always more than one way to skin a great piece of music, and later on I was as likely to be found settling down with a good book and Herbert von Karajan’s 1989 recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic. Other versions have passed my way as well – Günter Wand’s 2001 RCA cycle with the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra for instance, and those lovely old Bruno Walter recordings with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra now on Sony, which still sound surprisingly good given their vintage.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e If done properly, Brahms’s symphonic writing means that you will have read the same page a multitude of times in that ‘good book’ you have in your hand while listening. The content and meaning of the words will remain as obscure as at the first attempt as your ears and attention are absorbed and enthralled by the lush musical garden that gradually unfolds through your loudspeakers, or in my case headphones. With Alsop and the LPO you might as well give up on reading at all, and give yourself over to a feast of wonderful music-making.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Marin Alsop’s tempi are measured and sustained in what seems to me an ideal way in this symphony. The first movement seems at first urbane and restrained, but the ceiling is set high, and there is plenty of room for bite and drama in the music – never hurried or unstable, but with a gloss of perfect preparation which seems to allow the listener to plunge directly and deeply into Brahms’s inspired vision. The same is true of the second Andante moderato movement, in which the winds initially shine with lush resonance. Intonation is crucial here, and the LSO’s wind and brass are spot on – playing as one. The timing and anticipation is beautifully measured in advance of the ‘big tune’ at 8:55, which is turned out here without histrionics, but as a noble and almost infinite field of sound – a bounteous source for a composer like Elgar, whose own ‘Enigma’ variations spring immediately to mind.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e A lightness of touch is required of the third movement’s Allegro giocoso, and Alsop blows away any cobwebs which may have gathered in a sweep of freshness. There’s a slightly anticipatory rhythm at 4:23 caused by an edit, but this will hopefully only be noticeable to fully trained and overly picky reviewers. The final movement brings back the measured, sustained feel of the first, but with that extra turbulence, and those quicksilver touches of detail in the orchestration pointed subtly and superbly by all concerned in this recording. I was wondering if that slow central section wasn’t just a little too slow and lingering, but the re-entry of the full orchestra at around 6:00 is made all the more magical for being delayed for that extra few ounces of ‘down-time’, and the final run builds in intensity to create a fully satisfying close.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The Hungarian Dances presented here are the ‘leftovers’ from Brahms’s own orchestrations of nos. 1, 3 and 10, covered in volume 2 of this series. The dances here have been newly orchestrated by Peter Breiner in an imaginative commission from Naxos especially for this recording. Breiner’s versions respect Brahms’s orchestral resonances for the most part, but inject quite a bit of extra jazzy impact and violinistic Hungarian idiom, emphasising some of those seriously fun syncopations with extra percussion and brass. There is a danger of creating a set of little P.D.Q. Bach monsters here, but with the essence of Brahms’s ideas held largely intact I admire the way Breiner has stretched these pieces just enough to make them into genuine orchestral showpieces, without turning the smiles they bring into disrespectful guffaws.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e I think the way is clear – I simply must have the rest of this set.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Dominy Clements, MusicWeb International\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025355395306,"sku":"747313023370","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1136429.jpg?v=1778328134"},{"product_id":"brahms-symphony-no-1-overtures-alsop-london-234837","title":"Brahms: Symphony No 1, Overtures \/ Alsop, London PO","description":"Okay, we all know that at this point no one needs a new Brahms cycle, but this first installment has one thing going for it: Marin Alsop appears to be a fine Brahms conductor. She begins the First Symphony with an introduction that would have made Klemperer sit up and take notice: it's that grand and imposing. Happily, she also launches the allegro (exposition repeat retained) with genuine thrust and energy, while her generous rubato as she relaxes into the second subject is effortlessly managed--and she builds to the recapitulation with plenty of excitement and rhythmic tension. This is the genuine article, make no mistake. The slow movement reveals the same beautifully controlled transitions, the tempo nicely flowing, marred only by an insensitive solo violin, too closely miked.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The third movement reveals one other small flaw in the performance: rather faceless wind playing from clarinets and oboes (to some degree a function of the forward string balances and generous reverberation that otherwise serves the music to impressive effect). Alsop builds the brooding introduction to the finale with an unerring feel for the music's atmosphere, though I wish she had launched the movement proper with a swifter account of the \"big tune\". To her credit, though, she doesn't lurch forward at the forte counterstatement, but rather accumulates energy naturally. The coda goes really well, with an impressive feeling of culmination, and Alsop takes care to make the trombones audible in the final bars, a nice touch that sets the seal on a very distinguished effort.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The two overtures are no less impressive. Of course, the Academic Festival is practically unkillable, but Alsop's pointed rhythms help project the music's joyous humor while preventing the familiar tunes from sounding foursquare. Her Tragic Overture is one of the best, at a tempo remarkably close to Ancerl's benchmark interpretation--which is to say slowish and implacably serious. At this speed, the rich harmonies of the second subject and throughout the development really tell, and the climaxes have time to register with the necessary impact. I look forward very much to the next installments in this series.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e As I said, the market doesn't really need this, but Naxos is right to let Alsop shine in the music she identifies with most strongly, and her Brahms certainly qualifies. Besides, wonderful though it is to conduct lots of Barber, Reich, and Glass, the fact remains that careers are made in the standard repertoire, where comparisons with illustrious interpretations past and present are made. Certainly on evidence here Alsop has nothing to fear from the competition. If the rest of this cycle remains at this high level (that is, if she pegs the finale of the Second Symphony and becomes one of the very few conductors to play the Third really well), then I would say her reputation will be secure for some time to come.\u003cbr\u003e --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025515663594,"sku":"747313242825","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/705057.jpg?v=1778293159"},{"product_id":"dvorak-symphonies-no-7-8-alsop-baltimore-68165","title":"Dvorak: Symphonies Nos. 7 \u0026 8 \/ Alsop, Baltimore Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell0_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eMaking a major mark in this repertoire isn’t the easiest thing for any conductor to do, not with so many distinctive performances already on disc. But Alsop has a genuine affinity for the composer’s music, and can clearly deliver the goods. \u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell0_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eAlsop holds her own in terms of the big picture, leading a performance of the Seventh that ultimately carries substantial expressive weight. It is the same for Symphony No. 8, which emerges with lots of character and warmth. In both works, the BSO produces a vivid, disciplined sound. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e– Baltimore Sun\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025554788586,"sku":"747313211272","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1654357.jpg?v=1778254590"},{"product_id":"prokofiev-symphony-no-5-the-year-1942","title":"Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 - The Year 1941","description":"Written in 1944, Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony is one of his greatest and most complete symphonic statements. At it's premiere he himself called it \"a symphony of the grandeur of the human spirit\". The first movement couples considerable strength with unexpected yet highly characteristic twists of melody. After a violent scherzo followed by a slow movement of sustained lyricism, with a fiercely dramatic middle section, the finale blazes with barely suppressed passion. The Year 1941 is another wartime work, a symphonic suite written in response to the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Marin Alsop has been Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2007, a relationship now extended to 2015. Currently Conductor Emeritus of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Laureate of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, since 1992 she has also been Music Director of California's prizewinning Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.","brand":"Naxos AudioVisual","offers":[{"title":"Blu-Ray","offer_id":46025602171114,"sku":"730099003162","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2042962.jpg?v=1778387783"},{"product_id":"prokofiev-romeo-juliet-alsop-baltimore-symphony-226822","title":"Prokofiev: Romeo \u0026 Juliet \/ Alsop, Baltimore Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eBased on Shakespeare’s most famous romantic play, Prokofiev’s realization of Romeo and Juliet as a full-length narrative ballet was audacious in its day. It was written during a period of artistic turmoil under a Soviet regime in which arguments raged over such fundamental aspects as the choice between a happy or tragic ending. Famous movements such as the ‘Dance of the Knights’ have helped maintain Romeo and Juliet as Prokofiev’s best-loved stage work. Marin Alsop’s acclaimed cycle of Prokofiev’s Symphonies has been described as “an outstanding achievement” by BBC Music Magazine. Alsop is an inspiring and powerful voice in the international music scene who passionately believes that “music has the power to change lives.” She is recognized across the world for her innovative programming and for her deep commitment to education and the development of audiences of all ages.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell2_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eThis recording is typical of Alsop’s clear-headed approach, revealing her thorough mastery of details, balanced phrasing, close attention to the orchestral sound, and fidelity to the score, which provides many challenges in its episodic structure. This first-rate performance may remind listeners of the classic complete recordings by Previn and Ozawa, and even though those recordings are still readily available, Alsop’s shows that Romeo and Juliet can still inspire a fine interpretation in the digital era, making this recording essential listening for Prokofiev fans.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e– AllMusicGuide.com (B. Sanderson)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025915728106,"sku":"747313353477","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3772552_d5f8494c-ece7-4d03-a162-fe98bd0c6d70.jpg?v=1778247461"},{"product_id":"tchaikovsky-sym-no-4-romeo-juliet-ov-95353","title":"Tchaikovsky: Sym No 4, Romeo \u0026 Juliet Ov \/ Alsop, Et Al","description":"TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 4 \/ Romeo and Juliet","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025956557034,"sku":"747313571420","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/431777_033e18bc-00f4-402b-ae6a-2d43ad956f20.jpg?v=1778338973"},{"product_id":"prokofiev-symphonies-no-1-classical-2-alsop-235433","title":"Prokofiev: Symphonies No 1 \"Classical\" \u0026 2 \/ Alsop","description":"Marin Alsop’s Prokofiev cycle with the São Paulo Symphony began disappointingly with the Fifth, improved dramatically with the Fourth, and now hits its stride with the Second. Composed, allegedly, with “steel and iron,” or “fire and ice,” or “potassium chloride and sodium bicarbonate,” or whatever, I suspect this work would receive greater respect had it been written by Shostakovich, whose early idiom it somewhat resembles. The major difference is that Shostakovich had the great good fortune to be persecuted by Stalin for his youthful transgressions, while Prokofiev had the sense to get the hell out of Dodge and return much later, a “reformed” man.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Also, no one ever chastised Honegger for cribbing the opening of the first movement in his own “Liturgique” Symphony a couple of decades afterwards. The truth is that the music is really much less nasty than its reputation would suggest, and the first movement, while certainly noisy, actually contains a number of distinctive and appealing musical ideas. So, for that matter, does the concluding second movement, a theme followed by six highly inventive variations. Without minimizing the music’s violent energy, Alsop plays the piece with a vivid sense of its long melodic lines. The first movement, in particular, has plenty of excitement but also a certain lyrical emphasis that gives the music something to be excited about. It’s very convincing.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  As for the Classical Symphony, well, just about everyone does it well, and while I can imagine a first movement with a touch more snap to its rhythms, the performance picks up steam as it goes, culminating in a delightfully crisp account of the finale. The early tone poem “Dreams” drifts about prettily for ten minutes, sounding like Debussy or Scriabin or basically anyone but Prokofiev. Does it deserve greater exposure? Perhaps not, but this lovely performance makes as strong a case for it as you might imagine possible. Vivid sonics make this the best release in this series so far.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  – David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025957638378,"sku":"747313335374","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2794595.jpg?v=1778184220"},{"product_id":"american-classics-copland-symphonies-alsop-bournemouth-so-117159","title":"Copland: Symphonies \/ Alsop, Bournemouth Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eAll of these works predate Aaron Copland's populist American ballets, but they reveal perhaps even more tellingly just what a talented and individual voice he had right from the start. The most important piece here is the Short Symphony (a.k.a. Symphony No. 2), a stunning essay in rhythmic lyricism that was considered all but unplayable when written in 1933--so much so that Copland rewrote it as a sextet. This performance hasn't quite the sharpness and sizzle of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra recording for DG, but the Bournemouth Symphony under Marin Alsop shows itself more than capable of mastering the music's intricacies. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The other two performances are even finer. Alsop catches the bittersweet lyricism of the First Symphony's outer movements very affectingly, while the whirlwind central scherzo is dazzling. The same observation holds true of the Dance Symphony, which works its way to a fine frenzy in a finale that strikingly anticipates the mature composer of the 1940s. Copland's bright, open textures come across well in the problematic acoustic of the Poole concert hall; this is one of Naxos' better recordings from this locale, graced with some really impressive bass sonorities. This is an intelligently planned and impressively executed disc.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025990930666,"sku":"636943935927","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1446694.jpg?v=1778323890"},{"product_id":"american-classics-bernstein-serenade-etc-alsop-et-234979","title":"American Classics - Bernstein: Serenade, Etc \/ Alsop, Et Al","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-size:12pt\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eBernstein?s Serenade\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003efor solo violin, strings, harp, and percussion was inspired by Plato?s \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSymposium \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003eand the composer described it as a ?series of related statements in praise of love.? This is the only performance I know which treats it that way, rather than as a snazzy solo concerto. It?s partly to do with conductor Marin Alsop?s measured approach to tempo: the work bounces along, but the syncopated rhythms never race out of control, and moments of excitement are never whipped up in order to generate a buzz. It?s also partly to do with the soloist. Philippe Quint?s smooth-toned violin persuades and cajoles: there are flights of fancy, but there is also reasoned argument. In short, this really does sound like a group of articulate protagonists in intellectual parlay (a situation Bernstein himself loved to be in). Marin Alsop was a protegee of the composer, and here she salutes his memory by taking the program of the Serenade\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003eseriously. The aforementioned sections of the Bournemouth orchestra are disciplined and tight.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThe ballet score, \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFacsimile\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003eperhaps needs to be drawn out of its shell a little more; it is the least flashy of Bernstein?s early concert works. Alsop and the orchestra do it justice, but this is one of those rare cases where only the composer (on Sony and Deutsche Grammophon) can bring it to shining life. Jerome Robbins?s ballet was set to a nihilistic scenario of ?post war malaise and the spiritual vacuum of modern man,? to quote the notes. (I thought the post-war era was optimistic! Robbins should have been around now.) The music is, likewise, a little gray, though Bernstein?s natural ebullience peeps through whenever it can. In any case, the playful moments need to be more playful, the dramatic \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003efortes\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e a little more dramatic than they are allowed to be here. The prominent piano part is nicely integrated into the orchestral fabric in this spacious recording.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFacsimile \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003eis an exception to my theory (which I?m sticking to) that, generally, Bernstein?s music speaks for itself and it?s musicality suffers when points are over-emphasized or climaxes inflated. The late Divertimento (written for the centenary of the Boston SO) provides a good example. Once more, Alsop reins in the highjinks and as a result, the piece seems more substantial and less ?occasional? than usual. These works are available in the composer?s recordings and many other fine interpretations exist (such as Hilary Hahn?s dazzling Serenade, with David Zinman conducting the Baltimore SO on Sony?if it?s still around) but Naxos gives us more than mere bargain-basement versions. These are smart, sharply realized, well-recorded performances. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Phillip Scott\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025991323882,"sku":"636943924525","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/778393.jpg?v=1778189601"},{"product_id":"brahms-ein-deutsches-requiem-a-german-requiem","title":"Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem)","description":"As featured at the 2013 London Proms on August 17th, Marin Alsop conducts Brahms's a German Requiem, which is almost certainly triggered by the death of his mother in 1865. It is of his greatest and most popular works, quite unlike any previous Requiem. With texts taken from Luther's translation of the Bible and an emphasis on comforting the living for their loss and on hope of the Resurrection, the work is deeply rooted in the tradition of Bach and Schuutz, but is vastly different in character from the Latin Requiem of Catholic tradition with it's evocation of the Day of Judgement and prayers for mercy on the souls of the dead.","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026111713514,"sku":"747313299676","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2290492.jpg?v=1778291823"},{"product_id":"brahms-symphony-no-3-haydn-variations-alsop-171708","title":"Brahms: Symphony No 3, Haydn Variations \/ Alsop, London PO","description":"\u003cimg src=\"\/graphics\/p10s10.gif\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Marin Alsop's recordings of Brahms' first two symphonies were good, at times very good, but not great. In particular, for all her basic musicality, the performances lacked a certain element of excitement, never mind actual risk-taking. So my expectations for this Third, the toughest of them all to conduct, were not that high. After all, some really great Brahmsians, including Toscanini and Furtwängler, have really screwed up this symphony. The latter's performances especially constitute some of the most hideously embarrassing documents ever left by a theoretically great artist. Indeed, in the entire history of the work on disc, there have been perhaps seven or eight truly great performances: Walter (Sony, stereo), Levine (RCA), Wand (his first one with NDR, on RCA), Klemperer (EMI), Jochum (EMI, with this orchestra), Dohnanyi (Warner\/Teldec), and perhaps most surprisingly, Solti (Decca).\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e To this select list, add Alsop. This is not a judgment made lightly, but this is one hell of a fine performance of this most elusive symphony, perhaps closest in character to Dohnanyi's Cleveland version. It's interesting to note the dearth of German or central European orchestras in the above list, and this fact holds a clue to Alsop's success: her ability to keep the textures from becoming too heavy, and to keep Brahms' bass lines moving. Ordinarily, and particularly in the First and Fourth Symphonies, the typically dark, rich German bass is just the ticket, but not here. This symphony, with its obvious homage to Dvorák's Fifth in the same key, and its frequent recourse to syncopated rhythms in the middle registers of the orchestra, needs as much space around the notes as is consistent with lively tempos and well-sprung rhythms.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Part of the problem is of Brahms' own making. While the last three movements offer some of his finest orchestral writing, especially for the woodwinds, the first movement often comes across as a clogged-up mess. Conductors overcompensate for the lack of audible detail by playing the music too slowly. Alsop keeps the music moving, but also clarifies the underlying rhythm quite splendidly. As an example, consider the transition from the first to the second subject, and later on, the triplet accompaniments to the finale's heroic second subject. This is very good Brahms conducting: the tension never sags, no important details go unobserved (note the nicely touched-in contrabassoon just before the recapitulation), and nothing detracts from the evolving symphonic argument.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The Andante features beautifully blended wind playing in its serene outer sections and just the right touch of mystery in the central chorale. Alsop takes great care to observe the written dynamics, a big plus in the ensuing Poco Allegretto, which sounds so much better minus the usual excess of espressivo. Best of all, the finale is spectacular: swiftly exciting, with very present timpani and a tremendously explosive (but remarkably transparent) central climax. The coda captures that special, autumnal glow that Brahms builds into the scoring, but without sacrificing sufficient momentum to bring the work to a fulfilling (as opposed to a merely exhausted) conclusion.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The Haydn Variations makes an excellent coupling, and is equally well done. Alsop's excellent command of rhythm once again is very much in evidence, particularly in the Vivace fifth variation, and even without those darker, heavier bass lines the final passacaglia builds quite effortlessly to a joyous conclusion. Vividly detailed sonics seal the deal. The truth is that very few conductors manage to do all of the Brahms symphonies equally well, which is why the modern tendency to do them in fours is such a pity. This effort bodes well for the conclusion of Alsop's cycle, but at the same time it will be a tough act to follow. I hope she can do it; in the meantime, I'm more than happy to recommend this superb new recording as strongly as possible. [1\/22\/2007]\u003cbr\u003e --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026160308458,"sku":"747313243020","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1018580_acb71bbb-55fa-41b6-bf6d-d62a3957c03e.jpg?v=1778341931"},{"product_id":"dvorak-symphony-no-9-symphonic-variations-alsop-235139","title":"Dvorák: Symphony No 9, Symphonic Variations \/ Alsop, Baltimore Symphony","description":"This recording by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Marin Alsop is the first of three discs of Dvorak symphonies taken from live performances at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026179379434,"sku":"747313071470","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1252084.jpg?v=1778338917"},{"product_id":"american-classics-glass-heroes-symphony-the-light-94459","title":"American Classics - Glass: Heroes Symphony, The Light","description":"In his 1996 Fourth Symphony, Philip Glass reworked six out of the ten tracks from David Bowie's Heroes album into orchestral pieces that function both as independent entities and integral symphonic components. It isn't necessary to know the original Heroes in order to appreciate how Glass manipulates the essentially simplistic melodic content by way of striking harmonic juxtapositions, rhythmic vamps laced with unpredictable accents from the percussion, and orchestration that's cannily varied yet clear enough to take down by dictation. In The Light, Glass also generates considerable textural and dramatic mileage from the simple, undulating motives heard at the work's outset. What prevents the signature repetitive modules from running into the ground or sticking in the mud is the composer's unerring sense of when to introduce a new idea, slightly alter a chord voicing, or vary the instrumentation. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e One main difference between Marin Alsop's interpretations and Dennis Russell Davies' premiere recordings on Nonesuch concerns engineering philosophy. On Naxos, the Bournemouth Symphony emerges in a more natural, concert-hall perspective as you might perceive from a dead-center orchestra seat in a vibrant but not overly resonant hall. The Russell Davies recordings reproduce their orchestras (the American Composers Orchestra in the Symphony, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra in The Light) at relatively close, detail -oriented range and pack a more immediate punch. For example, in Alsop's slightly faster rendition of the symphony's fourth-movement Sons of the Silent Age, the antiphonal cross-rhythms midway through the work converge to more fluid and blended effect. By contrast, Russell Davies' slower, more heavily accented version beefs up the harps and low brass. And while Alsop begins V 2 Schneider (the final movement) at a bright clip that ever-so-slightly slows down within the first minute, Russell Davies is rock steady. Although I lean toward Russell Davies' recordings (which result from the composer's production team), Alsop's equally world-class interpretations unquestionably convey their own character and validity.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e --Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026296393962,"sku":"636943932520","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1018558.jpg?v=1778333120"},{"product_id":"bernstein-mass-sykes-alsop-baltimore-so-94451","title":"Bernstein: Mass \/ Sykes, Alsop, Baltimore Symphony","description":"\u003cp\u003eLeonard Bernstein's own version bettered? Yes, indeed! This is, handily, the best sung, best played, most intelligently interpreted recording of Mass currently available. Of course, Bernstein's rendition always will have sterling qualities, including some wonderful solo singers with really characterful \"pop\" and Broadway voices, but for its sheer musical integrity combined with the advantage of the composer's final revisions to the score, this version is unbeatable. Jubilant Sykes, as the Celebrant, easily outclasses Alan Titus' very fine premiere recording of the role. His voice has more edge; he's more at ease with the various pop idioms; he sounds radiant at the work's opening and grows increasingly desperate as it proceeds. This only serves to make his climactic breakdown tragically believable.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The various street singers are, one and all, terrific. \"God Said\" becomes the work's comic climax, which is as it should be. \"I believe in God\", \"Confession\", \"World Without End\", and \"Thank You\" are both idiomatic and beautifully sung. The children's choir sounds luminous in the Sanctus, while the adult chorus, from Morgan State University, sings with gusto as well as immaculate diction, with every word clearly comprehensible. Marin Alsop knits the whole ensemble together with infallible insight and verve. Her tempos, a bit different from Bernstein's, quicker here (\"God Said\"), a touch slower there (the wild dance in the Offertory), are no less right.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e It's all fabulously recorded with a glittering impact that never turns unduly aggressive. The multi-textural layering in the climactic Dona Nobis Pacem comes across as both musically and physically overwhelming. Mass has its detractors, but when performed with this kind of conviction the piece can be inexpressibly moving. Alsop never has made a finer recording--it's both a tribute to her mentor Leonard Bernstein, as well as to her exceptional talent as an exponent of his music.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com (\u003cstrong\u003e10\/10\u003c\/strong\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026318348522,"sku":"636943962220","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1550343.jpg?v=1778333012"},{"product_id":"discover-music-of-the-20th-century-95488","title":"Discover - Music of the 20th Century","description":"\u003cp\u003eIncludes work(s) by various composers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026347053290,"sku":"636943816820","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/772485.jpg?v=1778333084"},{"product_id":"american-classics-a-sampler-68417","title":"American Classics -  A Sampler","description":"American music is culturally diverse and exciting, mirroring all the best America has to offer. The last two centuries have seen an extraordinary flowering of musical life in the United States. In recognition of the many gifted American men and women of music, Naxos is pleased to present the American Classic Series.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e When complete, this series will consist of over 200 titles, exploring the full spectrum of American concert music. All the familiar names are there: Copland, Ives, Grofé, Barber, and Sousa but so are many others such as: Bennett, Dédé, Foote, McKay, and Siegmeister all of whom have contributed to the rich musical tapestry that is American.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e All of us at Naxos invite you to journey with us as we set out to discover America.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cimg src=\"http:\/\/www.arkivmusic.com\/graphics\/covers\/thumb\/42\/424185.JPG\" height=\"74\" border=\"0\"\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.arkivmusic.com\/classical\/listPage.jsp?page_size=100\u0026amp;list_id=422\"\u003eClick Here\u003c\/a\u003e for the complete  \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.arkivmusic.com\/classical\/listPage.jsp?page_size=100\u0026amp;list_id=422\"\u003eNaxos American Classic Series\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026360422634,"sku":"636943911822","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/373625_76d36a49-e5df-4f0b-b439-5d76553b0e9d.jpg?v=1778184690"},{"product_id":"american-classics-barber-orchestral-works-vol-2-234957","title":"American Classics - Barber: Orchestral Works Vol 2 \/ Alsop","description":"\u003cp\u003eLyricism and obsessive patterns are finely realised by the RSNO, while conductor Marin Alsop shows a keen sensitivity to both scores and balances their rhetoric with the clean-edged clarity of their textures. In addition, her performance of the now-ubiquitous Adagio for Strings is a model of restraint, proving the saying that less equals more. Attractive sound, with a wide range and plenty of definition.    - BBC Music Magazine   \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026395779306,"sku":"636943908822","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/356070.jpg?v=1778349710"},{"product_id":"glass-symphonies-nos-2-3-alsop-bournemouth-113220","title":"Glass: Symphonies Nos 2 \u0026 3 \/ Alsop, Bournemouth Symphony","description":"The competition is full-priced, from Nonesuch, and the formidable Glass-specialist and collaborator Dennis Russell Davies. On sonic grounds, I’d prefer this new Naxos disc of two symphonies from the mid 1990s. Davies is irreproachable as a Glass conductor, but in the case of these works, I find the Nonesuch recordings a touch claustrophobic, with much of the air sucked out of the acoustic. The older Glass\/Naxos disc was even more successful in this regard (the Violin Concerto on 8.554568) but this is pretty good sound, captured by Tim Handley in the Concert Hall, Lighthouse, by the busy harbor at Poole in Dorset, England. The bustling, maritime setting seems to infect the music-making, especially for the rousing finale of the Second Symphony, like an Olympic yacht-race through a choppy sea on a bright, bracing morning. American symphonies used to stumble at the finale obstacle (so did symphonies everywhere) but through patient application of his familiar style, and his patented modal, orchestral dynamism, Glass whizzes around the course with no faults or penalties. This should make converts of anyone who enjoys symphonies from Bax to Bernstein. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Elsewhere, the dark and brooding moods are never overplayed or undersold by Marin Alsop. This isn’t the world’s most virtuosic band, but they rarely, and only very slightly sound strained by Glass’s high-lying violin lines. More performances from the big-name orchestras would bring a more expressive, forthright performing tradition, and maybe a faster finale for the Third. Glass’s Indian roots are often on display (there’s an Eastern cut to his thematic jib, here), but expressive results are fruitful. There are some reminders of other symphonists. In the Second it sometimes seems Alan Hovhaness, Lou Harrison, and Bill Schuman have met up for a drink with Sibelius, who is playing the Widor Toccata over there in the corner. Glass’s individual symphonism works, though, in this 43-minute piece, thanks to the skillful manipulation of orchestral contrasts as a structural device, a legacy, maybe, of his film-score experience. The Third Symphony is closer to the Glass mainstream, in four short movements for strings alone. Here, Alsop’s patient approach brings out the meaning in the music, away from the talk of polyrhythm and process. There’s fear, anxiety, and dismay (the world) behind some of those sunny repetitions, and physicality in the dance rhythms. Well-caught pizzicatos in the second movement, too, and an expressive solo display from the violin in the edgy, pulsating third section, which is a major success in this tense, sensual reading.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e I wholeheartedly recommend this release (the first of a cycle, I trust), and again salute Philip Glass for doing it his way. The music deserves the widest exposure and popularity, and it deepens with acquaintance. This Naxos CD transformed my opinion of these works.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Paul Ingram, FANFARE\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Philip Glass' symphonies are unique among the composer's output for their relative harmonic and thematic complexity. Listeners put off by Glass' endlessly repeated arpeggios will be relieved to find scant evidence of them in these works. Instead, like his opera Beauty and the Beast, Glass spins long melodic lines that go through many harmonic permutations before they are inevitably repeated. Thus, Symphony No. 2's first movement creates an air of expectation, something that Glass maintains through shifting instrumental timbres and stimulating dynamic contrast as the movement builds, Bolero-like, to a grand climax. After the soothing, somewhat meditative sonic environment of the slow movement, the finale breaks in with its agitated dance rhythms. This movement has the least harmonic variety of the three, and listeners unsympathetic to Glass' method may experience repetition fatigue.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Symphony No. 3 is almost radical in its use of traditional forms, including chaconne and rondo. Glass replaces the expansiveness of the earlier work with a highly concentrated thematic process that packs substantially more musical ideas into only slightly more than half the former symphony's duration. The second movement is particularly interesting, with its compound meters and hints of Bartók. Marin Alsop brings her long familiarity with the composer's music to her convincing performances of both works, although she faces strong competition in the No. 3 from Glass specialist Dennis Russell Davies, who leads a slightly more compelling rendition with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. For its part, the Bournemouth Symphony plays keenly, maintaining enthusiasm and rhythmic exactitude even in the more repetitious passages. Naxos' warm and spacious recording presents the music with a compelling impact. [12\/03\/2004]\u003cbr\u003e --Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026396041450,"sku":"636943920220","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/683493.jpg?v=1778343568"},{"product_id":"american-classics-harris-symphonies-3-4-folksong-94422","title":"American Classics - Harris: Symphonies 3 \u0026 4 \"Folksong Symphony\" \/ Alsop, Colorado Symphony Orchestra","description":"I have to confess that I was a bit concerned at the opening of this new performance of Roy Harris' Third Symphony, where Marin Alsop and the otherwise very good Colorado Symphony fail to match the urgency and passion of Bernstein's benchmark Sony recording. Once the piece gets moving, however, the music quickly builds to an explosive account of the big fugue, with brilliant contributions from the brass, while the tragic conclusion with its pounding timpani pedal is perhaps the most intense yet captured on disc. Certainly no one has made the final bars sound more convincing or inevitable. Just a touch more drive at the very beginning and this might have been the new reference recording for the work, but as it is my reservations are minuscule and it's definitely a \"keeper\".\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Having a modern recording on hand of the delightful \"Folk Song Symphony\" certainly adds to the disc's attractions. There's only one other that enjoyed general circulation, Golschmann's on Vanguard, and heaven only knows if it's still available. In any case, this one is definitely superior sonically, though I marginally prefer the earlier version's quicker tempos in Western Cowboy and Negro Fantasy (the second and sixth movements, respectively). Alsop still has the edge, though, in terms of both singing and playing, and her quicker sections pack an even bigger punch than the Vanguard release. This is a really attractive work that ought to be better known. If the composer in question had been English\/Irish (and some of the tunes actually are: The Girl I Left Behind Me, a.k.a. The Wandering Laborer, also appears in Hamilton Harty's \"Irish\" Symphony), we'd no doubt have a plethora of modern recordings from which to choose. Never mind: this one will do very nicely.\u003cbr\u003e --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026399744234,"sku":"636943922729","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/941910.jpg?v=1778337909"}],"url":"https:\/\/arkivmusic.com\/collections\/marin-alsop.oembed?page=2","provider":"ArkivMusic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}