Classical Playlist
Times critics share what they’ve been listening to lately.
MOZART: Piano Concertos No. 25 in C (K. 503) and No. 20 in D minor (K. 466)
Martha Argerich, pianist; Claudio Abbado, conductor; Orchestra Mozart
(Deutsche Grammophon 4379 1033)
The only problem with the artistry of Martha Argerich, one of the most brilliant pianists of modern times, is her occasional wild streak, something that has come out
especially in solo repertory. But with the right colleagues in chamber music and the right conductor in concertos, reined in just a bit, Ms. Argerich is often incomparable. She has an ideal colleague in the conductor
Claudio Abbado, who recorded two Mozart concertos with her live last March at the Lucerne Festival, now issued as a recording. The performances of the Concerto No. 25 in C and No. 20 in D minor are phenomenal, with
Ms. Argerich’s vibrant, colorful, imaginative playing held in check just enough by the masterly conducting of Abbado, who draws exciting playing from the festival’s Orchestra Mozart. That Abbado died
in January makes the recording even more special. (Anthony Tommasini)
FREDERIC RZEWSKI, Piano Music
Robert Satterlee, pianist
(Naxos 8.559760)
My favorite selection from this excellent sampling of Rzewski’s peerlessly strange and inventive music is “De Profundis” (1992), which makes characteristically
extreme demands on its pianist, who must recite Oscar Wilde’s crushing prison text while playing a difficult part, moaning, humming, making animal noises and, at one point, singing Mozart. (Zachary Woolfe)
SCHUBERT: ‘Winterreise’
Jonas Kaufmann, tenor; Helmut Deutsch, pianist
(Sony Classical 3795652)
With so many classic recordings of Schubert’s great song cycle “Winterreise” available, it would seem hard for a new one to break through. This one surely
will. The great tenor Jonas Kaufmann, working with the refined pianist Helmut Deutsch, his longtime accompanist, gives an uncommonly direct and elegant account of this haunting work. Many singers treat the piece
like a wrenching, in-the-moment drama that depicts the journey of a young, delusional loner, rejected by the woman he adores. Mr. Kaufmann reminds you that the story is told through a series of songs, which he sings
with wondrous subtlety and a kind of powerful simplicity, not to mention his trademark dark, rich vocal colorings (Tommasini).
‘VERDI’
Krassimira Stoyanova, soprano; Munich Radio Orchestra; Pavel Baleff, conductor
(Orfeo C 885 141 A)
A Bulgarian soprano too little known in America, Krassimira Stoyanova has a voice ideal for this Verdi repertory: firm and powerful, yet with silky flexibility. (Just listen to the
sustained focus of her phrases in “Pace, pace” from “La Forza del Destino.”) It’s grand declamation backed up by emotional truth. (Woolfe)
GOFFREDO PETRASSI: ‘Magnificat’ and ‘Salmo IX’
Sabina Cvilak, soprano; Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Regio Torino; Gianandrea Noseda, conductor
(Chandos CHAN 10750)
While an increasingly important figure on the international music scene, the Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda has also been working to acclaim at the Teatro Regio opera house
in Turin, Italy. This exciting 2013 recording features two sacred choral works from the 1930s by the 20th-century Italian master composer Goffredo Petrassi: “Magnificat” and “Salmo IX.”
The excellent chorus and orchestra of the Turin company give impressive, exhilarating performances. Petrassi (1904-2003), not as well known in America as he should be, emerges in these riveting scores as a distinctive
Neo-Classicist, rather like an Italian Stravinsky with operatic flair. (Tommasini)
‘THE SACRED SPIRIT OF RUSSIA’
Conspirare; Craig Hella Johnson, conductor
(Harmonia Mundi 807526)
This is music from the Russian Christmas liturgy, but there’s something about the luminous sheen of the choral writing, and of Conspirare’s fine performance, that
is really working for me as spring makes its halting entrance. (Woolfe)
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