(Side note: I am moving in a couple of days, so this will be my last post until I have settled in at my new place. It will probably be a two-week hiatus, or something like that.) Here’s a great experimental album that I’ve had the pleasure of discovering. It features clarinetist David Rothenberg playing … More Current Listening: David Rothenberg & Bernhard Wöstheinrich – Adaptations
I am quite new to Markus Reuter, but this recent release by him has already converted me into a fan of his music. Markus Reuter is a musician, composer and producer whose works have spanned many musical genres. His album Mundo Nuevo here contains music recorded live with the band Stick Men during May and … More Current Listening: Markus Reuter – Mundo Nuevo
Morton Feldman’s Violin and Orchestra might not be regularly performed, but it is a great composition that should not be ignored. It is a very delicate piece that is not quite a concerto (at least not in the conventional sense). This recording by ECM features Carolin Widmann as the soloist, supported by the Frankfurt Radio … More Favourite Recording: Carolin Widmann Plays Feldman’s Violin and Orchestra
I don’t know if I’ve said this before, but I consider Ligeti’s Violin Concerto to be one of the best violin concertos ever written. Here, we have a fantastic performance of it by violinist Christina Åstrand. In addition to Ligeti’s concerto, we also have Per Nørgård’s Violin Concerto Helle Nacht and his Sonata The Secret … More Favourite Recording: Ligeti and Nørgård Violin Concertos from Christina Åstrand
Before I started listening to this recording, I did expect it to be good; but this recording surpassed my expectation! Van Cliburn was completely right when he said that Nobuyuki Tsujii’s performance has “the power of a healing service.” This recording finds the young pianist perform the classic Rachmaninov’s second Piano Concerto with conductor Yutaka … More Current Listening: Nobuyuki Tsujii’s Rachmaninov Concerto No.2 and Liszt
It’s everyone’s favourite composer: Karlheinz Stockhausen! Okay, maybe not. Stockhausen’s music is notoriously difficult, but his Mantra is quite accessible compared to many of his other works (providing you have open ears). The work is scored for two pianos, with woodblocks, crotales, and electronics (ring modulation). The structure of the work is, of course, complex, … More Current Listening: Pestova and Meyer Play Stockhausen’s Mantra
If you’re not currently tired of listening to too much Chopin’s E minor piano concerto from the recent Chopin Piano Competition, here’s a very good performance of the concerto from pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, joint winner of the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. This is a live recording and features the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra … More Current Listening: Nobuyuki Tsujii’s Chopin Piano Concerto No.1 and more
Sorry for the lack of updates lately! I’m moving soon, so I’ve been busy with many things. Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with my complaining. Anyhow, this post is about Patricia Kopatchinskaja’s recording of violin concertos by three Austrian composers: Gerd Kühr, Gerald Resch, and Otto M. Zykan. Kopatchinskaja is one of the most … More Current Listening: Kopatchinskaja Plays Concertos by Kühr, Resch, Zykan
Toshio Hosokawa is a Japanese composer whose music combines influences from Western music and traditional Japanese music (and Japanese philosophy). He was also a student of the great Korean-born composer Isang Yun. This release by Naxos presents three beautifully crafted concerto works by Hosokawa: the Horn Concerto Moment of Blossoming (with soloist Stefan Dohr), the … More Favourite Recording: Hosokawa’s Horn, Piano and Cello Concertos
Akio Yashiro was a Japanese composer who had studied under French composers such as Nadia Boulanger, Tony Aubin, and Olivier Messiaen. While he didn’t write many concert works, two compositions performed in this recording show that Yashiro was a very fine composer. Pianist Hiromi Okada is the soloist on the Piano Concerto, and both the … More Current Listening: Akio Yashiro’s Piano Concerto, Symphony from Okada and Yuasa
