Album reviews

  •   Marcos Balter, by Kat Keers Classical Playlist: András Schiff, Janine Jansen, Rebekah Heller and MoreThe New York Times ArtsBeat, Nov. 13, 2013 A playlist of a different kind than the sort this blog is known for, and an attempt at solving the recent problem of too many worthy recordings and not enough space in

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  • Swing shift.

    Sometimes the road ahead is simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time…and knowing the right people. Back in the spring of 2000, with my illustrious public-relations career at an impasse after BMG Classics eliminated almost everyone in the department, I got an interesting offer from Larry Blumenfeld, then the

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  • Laurie Spiegel in 1971, by Stan Bratman "Rediscovering the Electronic Music Godmothers"The New York Times, Nov. 25, 2012 Observations, elaborations and ameliorations to follow.

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  • ELGAR, CARTER – Cello ConcertosAlisa Weilerstein, cellist; Berlin Staatskapelle, conducted by Daniel BarenboimDecca 001759202; CDThe New York Times, Oct. 28, 2012 Not that you'd have known it if you only read this review on the web, but I made a bone-headed error that found its way into print on Sunday: Kol Nidre, the barely acknowledged

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  • Morton Feldman: 'Crippled Symmetry'The Feldman Soloists.Frozen Reeds fr 1/2; two CDsThe New York Times, Sept. 30, 2012 When I bought my copy of this superb new recording just under two months ago, mail order direct from the label was among your few options for acquiring it. It's still a good one, but U.S. record collectors

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  • Legacy tour.

    "Avant-Garde Dancing Feet, Tickling Composers' Minds"The New York Times, March 18, 2011 An article about the making of Music for Merce, a newish 10-CD box set issued by the invaluable New World record label. The box is devoted to a well-chosen cross-section of the myriad musical scores that came into being through the auspices of

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  • Just due.

      CD REVIEW: Ben Johnston: String Quartets 1, 5, 10Kepler QuartetNew World Records 80693-2; CD.The New York Times, February 20, 2011 Amazon / Ariama / ArkivMusic / Forced Exposure / H&B Recordings Direct A review of the second volume in an invaluable series devoted to the complete string quartets of Ben Johnston, an amazing, undersung

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  • Divine madness.

    Fritz Wunderlich and Hubert Giesen perform Schumann's Dichterliebe. "Getting to Know Schumann Again, with Some Favorites"The New York Times, December 17, 2010 Here's another of those occasional roundups in which the classical-music critics of The New York Times pick their favorite recordings to represent this or that composer: here, Schumann, whose 200th birthday was celebrated

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  • Higher and higher.

    CD REVIEW: 'Ombra Cara: Arias of George Frideric Handel'Bejun Mehta, countertenor; Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, conducted by René JacobsHarmonia Mundi HMC 902077; CDThe New York Times, November 28, 2010 Amazon / Amazon MP3 / Ariama / ArkivMusic / Barnes & Noble / eMusic / iTunes

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  • Say my name.

    CD REVIEW: 'Music of Tribute, Vol. 6: Berg'Ieva Jokubaviciute, Vladimir Valjarević, pianists; Marjorie Elinor Dix, mezzo-sopranoLabor Records LAB 7086; CDThe New York Times, November 14, 2010 Amazon / Amazon MP3 / ArkivMusic / Barnes & Noble / Classics Online I've been an admirer of Ms. Jokubaviciute's playing for some time now, based on hearing her

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  • Album review: Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles, Diamonds in the DarkSugar Hill Records, 2007Time Out New York, June 7–13, 2007Five stars (out of five) Had Boston-based singer Sarah Borges come along in the mid-1960s, she surely would have been roped into the Capitol stable alongside like-minded mavericks such as Wanda Jackson, Merle Haggard and

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