Reviews
Review – Comet Come to Me – Me’shell Ndegeocello
This record is thing of rare beauty and a feast for the ears and the heart. Me'Shell Ndegeocello's 11th album 'Comet Come to Me' is arguably her finest collection of songs to date; all of which are enriched and enhanced by lush instrumentation that slips seamlessly and cohesively between genres from chilled r'n'b through dub [...] Continue Reading
Review – Bernarda Fink sings Mahler Lieder
Bernarda Fink sings Mahler Lieder Bernarda Fink mezzo-soprano Anthony Spiri piano Gustav Mahler-Ensemble Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich Andrés Orozoco-Estrada Harmonia Mundi HMC 902173 Though born in Argentina, Bernarda Fink is of Slovenian extraction and her husband (a diplomat rather than another musician) is Austrian, so perhaps one can infer a special spiritual connection with Mahler: after all, [...] Continue Reading
Review – Mahler Orchestral Songs – Gerhaher & Connolly
MAHLER Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Kindertotenlieder, Ruckert-Lieder. Christian Gerhaher, Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal / Kent Nagano. Sony Catalogue Number: 88883701332 | Format: CD 57mins MAHLER Das Lied von der Erde. Sarah Connolly, Toby Spence, London Philharmonic Orchestra / Yannick Nézet-Séguin. London Philharmonic Orchestra Catalogue Number: LPO0073 | Format: CD 64 mins Charles Dutoit, the erstwhile [...] Continue Reading
Review – Bartók Piano Works – Alain Planès
As this is the first occasion on which I have had the privilege of offering a Review for the Les Aldrich Website, I thought I would set out the basis on which I will review the music I am given. My intended reader is definitely not an avid reader of Gramophone magazine, or the “Just [...] Continue Reading
Review – Brahms String Quintets – Takacs Quartet
While Johannes Brahms almost always deployed classical forms and tonality to express Romantic emotional states and ideas, his attitude towards classicism changed significantly as he aged. A few weeks ago, I played Melnikov’s rendition of the first two piano sonatas for Harmonia Mundi back to back with the recently released Tackas Quartet’s Hyperion recording of [...] Continue Reading
Review – Stravinsky Oedipus Rex – J.E. Gardiner & LSO
Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, written between 1925 and 1927 and dedicated to Serge Diaghilev, is a polyglot creation. Set to a Latin translation of an original French text by Jean Cocteau, with a narration in French, which is often given in the language of the audience, it is a free adaptation of the Greek drama by [...] Continue Reading
Review – Handel Tamerlano – Xavier Sabata
The seemingly inexhaustible Handel opera bandwagon continues to roll with this new recording of Tamerlano. A collaboration between French label Naïve and the production company of Vienna-based countertenor Max Emanuel Cenčić, it is timed to coincide with the recent launch – at the opera house of the Palace of Versailles, no less – of a [...] Continue Reading