Classical Music
The bore of the world
Give this one a miss
Schumann/Mahler: Symphonies 1&2 (Naxos)
Schumann cannot be ignored
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Sixth Symphony (Hyperion/ICA Classics)
As shattering as any work of its era
Don’t shoot the pianists, protect them
Conductors should leave accompanying to the collaborative pianists
Verdi shines, despite everything
A gloomy production of a glittering opera
Gustav Mahler: 5th symphony (Pentatone)
Its ethos in Mahler remains inimitable
Franz Schubert: String quintet/Quartettsatz (Chandos)
Intimations of life’s fragility
Jean Sibelius: Orchestral songs (LAWO)
The themes are cruel and cold
Alban Berg: Violin concerto &c. (Chandos)
A stunning marriage of the tragic and the erotic
Prokofiev, Tcherepnin: The Bark of Yearning (Avi-music)
This is prime Prokofiev
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