Despite the limitations of life in his Salzburg birthplace - and the patronage of a new and somewhat unsympathetic Prince-Archbishop - opportunities nevertheless presented themselves to Mozart. Following a commission for Il re pastore in 1775, he wrote a sequence of violin concertos that reveal his own performer’s understanding of the instrument. The concertos are suffused with elegance and refinement and charged with vivacity and wit. His mastery of solo violin cantilena is matched by prodigious melodic invention and moments of exotic colour, such as the Turkish episode in the Rondeau finale of K.219.

The places visited include St Petersburg, Peter the Great's new westward-looking capital, and the traditional capital, Moscow. In Ukraine we see Odessa with the famous Potemkin Steps and something of the surrounding countryside of a region that for long offered holiday resorts to those living in Moscow or St Petersburg.

Following up his recording of Britten’s Cello Suites, Daniel Müller-Schott is now exploring other areas of the repertory opened up by the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich. The Symphony for Cello and Orchestra was his first major work after the Cello Sonata of 1961.

REVIEW:

Having already given us Britten’s three cello suites, Daniel Müller-Schott here turns his attention to the composer’s Cello Symphony, putting him in a now four-way contest with Jamie Walton, reviewed by Paul Ingram in 33:1, Pieter Wispelwey, and Johannes Moser, the last two reviewed by me in 34:3 and 35:6, respectively. Britten’s Cello Symphony was not a work with which I was able to claim more than passing acquaintance before I received Pieter Wispelwey’s recording of the piece for review in 34:3. His performance with the Flanders Symphony Orchestra led by Seikyo Kim made a very deep and lasting impression on me. For his part, Moser turned in an equally searing account, though I found the West German Radio Symphony Orchestra Cologne under the direction of Pietari Inkinen not as gripping as the Flanders ensemble for Wispelwey.

Here we have the same West German Radio Symphony Orchestra as on Moser’s Hänssler CD, but under the baton of a different conductor, Jukka-Pekka Saraste. The question is: Can Müller-Schott match or perhaps even surpass Wispelwey and Moser’s intensely focused and emotionally draining performances? And if so, can the WDR Orchestra under Saraste match or surpass the same ensemble under Inkinen? The answer to both questions, I believe, is yes.

As the reader may be aware, Daniel Müller-Schott is one of my very favorite cellists among today’s top performing artists, and he doesn’t disappoint in this outstanding account of both works on the disc. Britten and Prokofiev, of course, present quite different musical narratives—the former, harrowing, hectoring, turbulent, truculent, and tragic, and while finally coming to rest on a major triad, not ending happily; the latter, for the most part, outgoing, sunny, and optimistic.

Alternately known as the Sinfonia Concertante, Prokofiev’s Symphony-Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, op. 125, should, by all rights, be a darker and more depressing work than it is. It dates, after all, from 1951, a time in the composer’s life after he’d returned to Soviet Russia, was in declining health, and was being criticized by the state’s stoolies for writing music that didn’t promote proletarian values. The piece, however, betrays its past in happier days, for the Symphony Concerto is actually a reworking of a much earlier Cello Concerto Prokofiev had completed in 1938, a score bearing the opus number 58.

The pairing of these two works on disc is a bit unusual—I’m hesitant to say unprecedented—but it works well in that each, in a way, is the other’s alter ego. What they have in common, of course, is that both were dedicated by their respective composers to the celebrated Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. For the Britten, I think I’d still give a very slight edge to Wispelwey, whose performance of the piece is emotionally shattering. But Müller-Schott isn’t far behind, and the Cologne orchestra plays better for Müller-Schott under Saraste than it did for Moser under Inkinen. So, if you like this particular coupling, there’s no reason to hesitate. Recommended.

FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

The works of Thierry Pécou have brought something back into contemporary European music that had almost been forgotten: the sound of Latin America. Thierry Pécou is French, and his Latin America is the product of a creative fantasy that grew out of a desire to explore the nearly extinct Pre-Colombian cultures of Central and South America. Any assumption, however, that these are simply the exotic longings of a European culture tourist would be false. Pécou, who grew up in a Paris suburb and graduated from the Paris Conservatory, has Caribbean ancestors, and so his musical search for roots is also a personal journey of discovery. He is at home in two cultures. One is the culture of career and daily life; the other continues to exist only as a projection arising from the depths of the individual personality – a world which, not only for Pécou himself, has become impossibly distant in a cultural and historical sense. Thierry Pécou’s dreamed landscapes of sound can also be seen as an expression of this search for the ruins of a lost culture. With ritualistic repetitive structures, mysterious depths, and strongly physical sounds, his music conjures up an archaic past, but the colors he uses are those of a symphony orchestra, even though these colors are often placed in unusual or exotic constellations. “My position is somewhat ambiguous, because I am a European, even though I have certain roots in these places (Central America). At the same time, I also want to better understand the Mexican people and their history, for example, and hopefully contribute to the search for their own truth and their own roots.” - Thierry Pécou

An eclectic collection, colourful and often arresting.

Mussorgsky’s Pictures were originally composed for the piano. In that form he created a spacious canvas necessitating something of a symphonic sound from the piano. This proved exquisitely demanding and only a few brave pianists, including Prokofiev, dared to scale its fearsome crags. Maurice Ravel, to whom we owe its renown, was paid 10,000 francs to orchestrate it for Serge Koussevitzky. But as one might look at and interpret a picture in many different ways so then different sonic paint brushes might offer alternative views and insights? Thus Leonard Slatkin’s notion to bring together an eclectic selection of arrangements, some quite outlandish, might seem fresh and appealing?

D. Wilson-Ochoa is the Nashville Symphony’s Principal Music Librarian and former horn player. His neat opening ‘Promenade’ [1] was arranged, using woodwinds, at first, then pizzicato strings. This walking bass/cello line leads into the orchestral build-up, to give the impression of the visitor arriving at the gallery with mounting excitement and anticipation of seeing its treasures. Sergey Gorchakov’s portrait of Gnomus [2] is simpler, more sober and menacing than Ravel’s; his colours darker. Walter Goehr’s ‘Promenade’ [3] is calmly introspective as the visitor passes thoughtfully on; it features sensitive use of solo strings, double woodwind and muted brass. Emile Naoumoff’s entrancing arrangement of Il vecchio castello [4] has, at its heart, a glistening piano solo with woodwinds and cellos sounding the lilting Italian Sicilienne – absolutely gorgeous. Van Keulen’s ‘Promenade’ [5] is a much grander walk while his Tuileries [6] is a perky arrangement full of childish mischief and high spirits. Wind and brass are delicately mixed - woodwinds supported by muted trombones and trumpet – to create an appealing pastel. Conductor/pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy makes an impact with four horns in unison. Low strings and heavy percussion are used to underline the heaviness of Bydlo his picture of the Polish cart on enormous wheels [7].

Carl Simpson’s ‘Promenade’ [8] is brief and straightforward but with an unexpected cheeky cheep anticipating – Ballet of the unhatched chicks [9]. Lucien Cailliet was a student of Vincent D’Indy, His arrangement exerts his imaginative faculties to the full, out Ravel-ing Ravel. He makes exuberant use of wood-block, rattle and a flutter-tonguing blast from the trumpet. Sir Henry Wood’s vision of the Two Jews … [10] markedly underlines the differences between the two: the rich one glowering and overwhelming and the cowering pauper. The next ‘Promenade’ [11] (and the one that Ravel left out) is by Lawrence Leonard. It’s grand too , in terms of its rich harmonies and orchestrations; carrying on the self-regarded magnificence - one might say - of the rich Jew. Leo Funtek’s picture of French women arguing around a market square in Limoges, Le marché [12] makes for a snappy riot of colour. Funtek surmounts its challenges of articulation through its brief 1:26 of presto writing. The Catacombae [13] of John Boyd, demonstrates his experience with wind, brass and percussion. It is a haunted subterranean vision and is more menacing than Ravel’s portrait. It leads seamlessly into Ravel’s own arrangement of Con mortuis in lingua mortua [14]. As David Nice says, “the French master’s subtle halos and shadows remain uniquely evocative.’ That wonderful orchestrator, Leopold Stokowski, adds his characteristically vivid colouring to The hut on fowl’s legs (Baba-Yaga) [15]. This is a satanic portrait using four trumpets and eight horns supported by shrill whistling upper woods, to evoke Baba-Yaga’s terror-filling flight.

The concluding The Bogatyr Gate at Kiev [16] is the most substantial picture. Douglas Gamley paints this massive gate in resplendent colours using to fine effect the chorus of the Nashville Symphony and an organ. What magnificence - magnificence to rival 1812!

Liszt’s first surviving piano concerto was sketched out in 1832, when the composer was 21. It was only orchestrated 17 years later, with the help of the young composer Joachim Raff. Its first performance in 1853 at Weimar was conducted by Berlioz. Revisions followed in 1857. Its three movements are cyclically connected. This striking live recording of Peng Peng’s articulate and polished reading is sturdy in the portentous episodes and sensitively shaded in the quieter and more introspective passages. Slatkin gives sterling support.

Rob Mathes’s arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra under its conductor Leonard Slatkin. It was conceived as a eulogy on the tragedy of 9/11. This performance - part grandiloquent, part restrained - is affecting.

Instead of the familiar Ravel orchestrations of Mussorgsky’s Pictures here is an eclectic collection of alternatives, always colourful and often arresting.

-- Ian Lace, MusicWeb International

St�phane Den�ve, Chief Conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR) leads his orchestra on this recording in interpretations of the music of French composer Arthur Honegger (1892-1955), works that count among Honegger's best known, including his Second and Third (the 'Liturgique') Symphonies, Rugby and Pacific 231, the latter two works brief bursts of considerable energy and impact. Honegger's mingling at the outer edges of the "Les Six" group of composers and his admiration, in this sense contradictory, of German music, including Wagner, gives his works peculiar piquancy.

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos 1 And 7, Departure - Utopia

Masterworks Wiener Philharmoniker & Yannick N�zet-S�guin Neujahrskonzert 2026 / New Year'S Concert 2026 / Concert Du Nouvel An 2026. For the first time, Yannick N�zet-S�guin will take the podium at the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert. The Canadian conductor, who has long been associated with the orchestra, is the Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Philadelphia Orchestra. In the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein, he will present, alongside popular pieces such as "Roses from the South" and the "Fledermaus Quadrille", five new works being performed there for the first time - including compositions by the American Florence Price (1887-1953) and Josephine Weinlich (1848-1887), who founded Europe's first women's orchestra. The New Year's Concert is one of the biggest events in classical music; it is broadcast to over 150 countries and reaches more than 150 million viewers.

Masterworks Wiener Philharmoniker & Yannick N�zet-S�guin Neujahrskonzert 2026 / New Year'S Concert 2026 / Concert Du Nouvel An 2026.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Holst: The Planets

The annual New Year's Concert in Vienna has been a major event for more than eight decades, since 1939, broadcast on television and radio. The concert has so far been conducted by world-famous maestros such as Herbert von Karajan, Lorin Maazel, Claudio Abbado, Carlos Kleiber, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Seiji Ozawa, Mariss Jansons, Franz Welser-M�st, Gustavo Dudamel, and others. As Austria's musical ambassadors, the Vienna Philharmonic sends people around the world a New Year's greeting in the spirit of hope, friendship, and peace - with lively and carefree yet nostalgic and profound music from the great repertoire of the Strauss family and their contemporaries.

MOZART Symphonie concertante, K 297b. 1 Quintet for Piano and Winds, K 452. 2 Oboe Concerto, K 314. 3 Dans un bois solitaire. 4 An Chloe. 5 Die Verschweigung 6 • Fernand Oubradous, cond; 1 Arthur Goldschmidt, cond; 3 O des Concerts Lamoureux; 1,3 Pierre Pierlot (ob); 1,2,3 Pierre Lefebvre (cl); 1 Jean Devémy (hn); 1,2 Maurice Allard (bn); 1,2 Irène Joachim (sop); 4,5,6 Yvette Grimaud (pn); 2 Ludwig Bergmann (pn); 4,5 Jean Germain (pn) 6 • ALPHA 800 (75:23)


Behind this imposing stack of headnotes is a historic collection of Mozart performances, made between 1938 (the first two songs) and 1951, and taken from the archives of Radio France. As must be clear, those were difficult years for music, and for life itself, in France. In the notes, Yvette Grimaud remembers that the Quintet recording was made (in 1948) when she was eating one meal a day. No one quite knew how the music they were making was going to be issued, and no one spoke about money. No one in fact spoke; they communicated through music, and seemed otherwise dumfounded.


So this is a holy recording to her. It is also eloquent, though not perfect. One hears in the first movement of the Piano Quintet the elegance of the winds, the sensitivity of the pianist, but one also hears Grimaud rush through several phrases, perhaps to give the sense of lightness, but disconcerting nonetheless. And one hears a prominent fluff by the usually impeccable horn, Jean Devémy. (There was of course no possibility of fixing such minor gaffes.) I find those problems more than compensated for by the beauty of the slow movement, in which horns and piano play with what Grimaud calls “serene amplitude.”


The Oboe Concerto and Symphonie concertante, featuring many of the same musicians, are similarly satisfying, though the sound of the concerto seems unnecessarily distant for a recording made, even on 78s, in 1951. I am less taken with the tremulous singing of Irène Joachim: she sounds a bit like the oboists of old, wavering and Victorian.


This is a collection for wind enthusiasts, I conclude, and as such, historically interesting as well as musically satisfying.


FANFARE: Michael Ullman

Philippe Gaubert: an all-round artist! The true calibre of Philippe Gaubert - a man who was a close friend of Honegger, Caplet, Lubin, Cortot, Thibaud, Paul Valéry, Barthou, Giraudoux and Tristan Bernard, to name but those - can only be fully appreciated when he is set in his historical and cultural context. His musical activities were multiple, but his teacher Paul Taffanel described him as 'the greatest flautist of his time'. The pieces presented on this recording show the ease and boldness of his playing and his wonderfully mellow tone. Of his interpretation of Madrigal, Edward Blakeman wrote: 'This is a highly individual performance with supple control of legato phrasing and changes of tempo. The warm flute tone displays an effective but very discreet use of vibrato.' Through Paul Taffanel Gaubert was engaged to stand in for musicians of the Orchestra of the Paris Opéra (violin and later, when he was only sixteen, principal flute). In 1905 Philippe Gaubert became assistant conductor to Messager at the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, and succeeded him in 1919. In 1922, he gave up playing the flute as a virtuoso because his lips were too sensitive. The recordings presented on this CD show the qualities that made him one of the great conductors of the French school. We notice, amongst other features, the perfect melodic line and admirable clarity (he guides the musicians firmly but without constraint); the absolute control (no trace of immoderation); the fine rendering of dynamics; the excellent balance between the different groups of instruments - quite a feat, considering recording conditions at that time!; and it is clear that he had a perfect overall view of each work. He also devoted a considerable part of his life to composition. Undertaking so many different activities concurrently meant that he had to be not only exceptionally healthy, but also very well organised in his working life. After winning the Second Grand Prix de Rome in 1905, he went on to compose almost eighty (unnumbered) works, including music for three films, a 'drame lyrique' (Sonia, 1912), two ballets and an 'épopée chorégraphique', chamber works, and a large quantity of orchestral music, some of which is presented on this recording. As a composer, conductor, instrumentalist and teacher, Gaubert was a fine example of the all-round artist. Indeed, specialisation was uncommon at that time. The change came about after the Second World War, with the arrival of LPs, and the subsequent glorification of conductors, Herbert von Karajan being a prime example. Exceptions, such as Leonard Bernstein or Esa Pekka-Salonen, nevertheless show that a great conductor can also be a first-rate composer. Gaubert's orchestral pieces show a perfect mastery of the instruments, fine melodic inspiration, a bold use of harmony, sparkling rhythms, and a well thought-out overall structure. It is high time that he - like many other French musicians whose reputations as composers have been eclipsed by their activities as conductors, Inghelbrecht, for example, or Martinon, to name but two - was given the credit he deserves as a composer.

This CD box set from BR-KLASSIK combines Mendelssohn's twelve string symphonies, his “Symphoniesatz“ in C minor (No. 13) and his early violin concerto in D minor in the form of studio recordings made by the Münchner Rundfunkorchester under its leader Henry Raudales. The violinist has won several awards and made numerous recordings with the orchestra as a conductor and soloist. (The Violin Concerto and Symphonies Nos. 1-6 have already been released separately). It was thanks to his father's penchant for organizing musical concerts in his family's Berlin apartment on Sunday mornings that the 11-year-old Felix Mendelssohn began to compose quite a long series of string symphonies, and also that the works were initially performed. The study of music and composition spurred the young composer on greatly; his diligence as well as his youthful creativity developed early, and he made astonishing progress. In 1821, he wrote the first half of his string symphonies, which together took less than two years to complete. During performances that formed part of the concerts at home, he always took over the direction of the chamber orchestra, which consisted of amateur and professional musicians from the Berlin court orchestra.

Mendelssohn’s early concerto for violin and string orchestra, written at around the same time for his violin teacher Eduard Rietz, was probably played in the same setting. Formally, it owes much to the concertos of Johann Sebastian Bach, but it clearly sounds like Mendelssohn. Ever since their long-lost manuscripts were successfully rediscovered in 1950, Mendelssohn’s early string symphonies have been a fixed part of the string and chamber orchestra repertoire. In the youthful freshness and carefreeness of these early works, one can already hear echoes of the instrumental masterpieces by this important symphonic composer of early Romanticism that were soon to follow.

REVIEW

The Belgian violinist Henry Raudales, originally from Guatemala and significantly promoted by Yehudi Menuhin, has been concertmaster of the Munich Radio Orchestra since September 2001.

These are gripping interpretations performed at a high technical level. They convince not only with exuberant temperament, tight rhythm, and great textures, but also express the melancholy of the Grave movements very well.

–Pizzicato (Remy Franck)

Handel, G.F.: Water Music / Sinfonias in B-Flat Major, Hwv 3

Recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Long Yu, the repertoire is centered on Bernstein's Serenade (after Plato's Symposium). The album also features a chamber arrangement of the Adagietto from Mahler's Fifth Symphony, "Never Enough" from the film The Greatest Showman, and Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending.

PAVLOVA Monolog. Old New York Nostalgia. Sulamith: Ballet Suite ? Yarolsav Kransnikov (vn); Rossen Milanov, cond; Moscow PO ? NAXOS 8.557674 (73:57)


Much of this program falls into the category of light classical, or pops music. Alla Pavlova, Moscow born and trained, now a resident of New York City, writes well-constructed material that is drenched in nostalgia, and yet each work on this program has a distinct profile. Monolog is an homage to the composer?s music-loving father, an amateur violinist. It is sweet and short, in just the right proportions; the brevity of the piece keeps the sentimentality of the music from welling over into sappiness. Old New York Nostalgia is also, at first blush, too simple and relentlessly tonal to have any lasting impact, and yet there is an integrity and good old-fashioned craft at the core of this writing that draws the listener in, and even encourages repeat hearings. Her memories tend to be sweet with little bitterness; even the ?Lullaby for the Twins,? a 9/11 tribute, oddly skirts any intense emotions.


The centerpiece of the program is Sulamith , a ballet suite based on the Russian writer Alexandre Krupin?s tale of a love affair between King Solomon and one of his servants, the eponymous young waif. The oriental flavor of the music brings to mind Rimsky and Scheherazade , less the soaring sumptuousness. That?s the rub; Pavlova, in all of the music on this CD, seems determined to keep her emotional burners on low, even as she flirts with coy melodrama. Her symphonies, which have also been recorded by Naxos, may tell a different story. Certainly, her voice is intriguing enough to merit an audition.


Rossen Milanov is a young conductor of Bulgarian origin and seems to be one of the more promising talents of his generation. He has become highly admired in Philadelphia, as the associate conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he has consistently displayed a sensitive ear for color and dramatic shape, which are appropriate attributes in this music. The Moscow ensemble is gently sonorous, warmly sympathetic to the music.


FANFARE: Peter Burwasser

Oberlin Music is proud to announce the release of Dr. Seuss' the Sneetches, a symphonic poem for narrator and symphony orchestra. Theodor Geisel's timeless children's tale about the perils of bigotry comes to vivid life through an inspired performance of Lorenzo Palomo's original score by the Oberlin Orchestra and spirited narration from actor John de Lancie (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Breaking Bad). Through the generosity of Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Lorenzo Palomo, all proceeds from the sale of this recording will support scholarships at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

Isata has a longstanding love for the music of Prokofiev and performed his Piano Concerto No. 3 for her solo debut at the BBC Proms in 2023. Now she explores the music of this great composer further, on this electrifying new album. As with her last solo album, celebrating Mendelssohn, here Isata offers a rounded portrait of Prokofiev: original solo piano compositions, piano transcriptions by the composer of his most beloved ballets scores - Romeo & Juliet and Cinderella - as well as the opera 'The Love for Three Oranges' with it's famous March.

It is a trite assumption that by association with Krzysztof Penderecki's Polish identity, a performance of his work by a Polish conductor and orchestra suggests itself to be naturally definitive. In this case however, it may be true. As a former student of Penderecki's, Antoni Wit brings authoritative insight to his direction of the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra on this three volume set of Penderecki's orchestral works. The pieces are not presented chronologically. Instead, each disc pairs earlier and later works, which provides a good comparison of the composer's earliest groundbreaking work to his later neo-romantic symphonies.
The first volume is an interesting mix of music, matching the retrospective Third Symphony with earlier and more innovative works such as 'Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima,' 'Flourescences,' and 'De Natura Sonoris 2.' These are pieces of great sonic and formal experimentation. 'Threnody' uses microtonal wails in the strings to deeply disturbing but beautiful effect. In 'Flourescences,' Penderecki uses percussion and polyrhythm sculpturally as much as to define rhythm. Strange metallic rumbling, a typewriter, and droning glissandi in the strings add to the atmosphere of a world where sounds, not pitch or harmony, govern form.
REVIEWS:
American Record Guide (5-6/00, pp.165-66) - Recommended.

Chin, Unsuk: Rocana / Violin Concerto

Verismo, meaning "realism," was a late-19th century movement in Italian opera that shifted the focus from kings and myths to ordinary people living vivid, emotionally charged lives. These operas confront love, jealousy, betrayal, and longing with unfiltered immediacy. The arias on this album are direct, lyrical, and often explosive, demanding a singer who can deliver both technical brilliance and raw human truth. Originally released in 1971, this reissue comes with new remastered HD audio for the first time. These were taken freshly from the pre-master tapes in the Decca vaults and bring a fresh and beautiful perspective to these historic recordings.

Luciano Pavarotti is captured at the height of his expressive power, interpreting the arias that made him a legend. From the soaring lyricism of Verdi to the heartfelt passion of Puccini, this definitive collection reveals Pavarotti's unparalleled gift for shaping a melody, illuminating a character, and touching the soul. Each track glows with renewed depth and presence, drawing listeners closer than ever to the unmistakable warmth and brilliance of the world's most beloved tenor. The album is reissued with newly remastered HD audio for the very first time. These were taken freshly from the pre-master tapes in the Decca vaults and bring a fresh and beautiful perspective to these historic recordings.