Catégorie : Reviews
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Furtwangler conducts Wagner
The original podcast (narration in French, English and German subtitles) When people talk about Furtwängler, a certain cliché springs to mind for far too many music lovers. Furtwängler is supposedly a ponderous, slow conductor, embodying the Germanic tradition and a sweeping, extreme expressiveness. He is thus often compared to Otto Klemperer and contrasted with Toscanini.…
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Severin von Eckardstein and Konstantin Emelyanov live recordings at the Salle Cortot
French version following the English one The Les Nuits du Piano de Paris Festival, which regularly stages concerts at the Salle Cortot, adjacent to the École Normale de Musique de Paris (link here: https://lesnuitsdupianoparis.fr/index.html ), is releasing two outstanding concerts: the first by Severin von Eckardstein, recorded on 17 December 2024, and the second by…
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The Goldbergs make me sad
Quite recently, harpsichordist Julien Wolfs brought out a fabulous version of the Goldberg Variations. It was totally refined, beautifully expressive, full of arpeggios, so essential that ornamentation would have seemed superfluous. But listening to it recently I realised – again, in fact – one thing: the Goldberg Variations make me sad. I’m not saying there’s…
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Fantastic Schumann’s Fantasy by Nikolai Lugansky
Recently, Nikolai Lugansky has had a knack for getting people talking about him. Musically speaking, in a good way. A very good way, in fact. A compelling album devoted to Beethoven’s late works, followed by a Wagner album featuring his own transcriptions of selected excerpts. A marvellous album, constantly alert, where the fantastic rubs shoulders…
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My favorite 2025 recordings
What records will you remember from 2025? Which ones made a particular impression on me, and which ones will go down in history? Here’s a brief overview of the recording year that’s just gone by, backed up by reviews and personal opinions – all subjective, of course! Let’s start with the piano. Yunchan Lim has…
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Furtwangler conducts Beethoven
The original podcast (narration in French, English and German subtitles) After trying to show what made Furtwangler’s Brahms so special, I’d like to talk to you about the conductor’s vision of Beethoven’s symphonies, and why this vision, even if it’s a purely personal opinion, is as brilliant as it is problematic. Not in the sense…
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Kristiina Poska continues her reference recording of Beethoven’s symphonies with the Flanders Symphony Orchestra
Kristiina Poska, conducting the Flanders Symphony Orchestra, seems to have embarked on the greatest recording of Beethoven’s symphonies since Frans Brüggen, confirming this once again with a new opus featuring Symphonies Nos. 5 and 8. The first volume was devoted to Symphonies Nos. 1 and 7. It offered a brilliant interpretation of the ‘Apotheosis of…
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A refined Berlioz under the baton of Klaus Mäkelä, albeit still a little forced
It’s no secret that if there’s one name that’s been on the rise for several years now, it’s that of Klaus Mäkelä. An absolute prodigy, a pupil of Jorma Panula, an orchestral sound of total fullness, a joy no doubt linked to something intuitive, but do we really need to go over all that again?…
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Masaaki Suzuki conducts the greatest German Requiem since the Golden Age
Masaaki Suzuki conducting the German Requiem. Miku Yasukawa, Jochen Kupfer, the Bach Collegium Japan. And a masterpiece. Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan have already produced a Mass in B Minor of sublime lightness, a Johannes Passion of total commitment – recorded live in Köln -, without doubt the most beautiful Christmas Oratorio ever recorded,…
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Brillant Classics gives a vibrant tribute to the art of Sergio Fiorentino
‘He is the only other pianist’, said Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. This April 2025, Brillant Classics is devoting an extremely exhaustive edition – 26 CDs – to the legacy of one of the greatest Italian pianists of the twentieth century. Having devoted most of his career to teaching, Sergio Fiorentino (1927-1998) was recorded mainly at the…
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