The Flying Dutchman

Sacked from his job in Riga and pursued by his creditors, Wagner did what anyone else in his position would have done – he made a run for it. Under the cover of darkness he slipped across the heavily-policed border into Prussia with his wife Minna and their trusty Newfoundland dog Robber, pinning their hopes…

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Tchaikovsky: Destroyer of Scores

Published on Primephonic 12 June 2018. With his unerring gift for gripping drama, exuberant orchestration, piquant harmonies and large, memorable tunes, Piotr Tchaikovsky was a hugely popular and influential composer. But even as he cranked out one masterpiece after another, he was plagued with doubts and he occasionally destroyed musical scores that he was unhappy…

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Music of Star Wars: Story of the Success

With his 51st Academy Award nomination this year for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, it’s clear that the composer John Williams is still at the top of his game even after a career spanning six decades which has produced a string of award-winning film scores including those for Jaws, Superman, E.T., Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park,…

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Reviews: April 2018

Russian Piano Concertos Alexander Glazunov, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Rachmaninov, Alexander Scriabin, Anton Rubinstein, Moritz Moszkowski, Sergei Bortkiewicz, Nikolai Medtner, Alexander Mosolov, Anton Arensky, Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov, Boris Tchaikovsky, Xaver Scharwenka, Sergei Lyapunov, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Aram Ilyich Khachaturian, Ignacy Paderewski, Mili Balakirev, Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky. Various Artists Brilliant Classics 15 CDs 95520 (2018)…

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Reviews: April 2018

Joseph Haydn Piano Trios Hob XV 14,18,21,26 & 31 Trio Wanderer Harmonia Mundi 902321 (2018) Confident, nimble playing with sparkling passagework and seemingly effortless cohesion among the players make these joyful performances by the Trio Wanderer of Haydn’s perennially youthful Piano Trios a delight from start to finish. Even with generally more brisk tempos than…

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Review: Sebastian Di Bin

Russian Music Sebastian Di Bin, piano Rachmaninov: Six Moments Musicaux, Op 16 Tchaikovsky: Dumka, Op 59 Scriabin: Fantasia, Op 28 Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No 7, Op 83 Centaur CRC 3587 (2017) Rachmaninov’s somewhat disingenuously titled Moments Musicaux are far removed from Schubert’s gentle miniatures; big-boned, moody and impassioned, it’s clear from the lilting opening bars…

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Press Releases: April 2018

Bohuslav Martinů Double Concertos Lawrence Foster, Mari Kodama, Momo Kodama, Sarah Nemtanu, Deborah Nemtanu, Magali Demesse, Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille PENTATONE PTC 5186658 Bohuslav Martinů’s distinctive musical voice, which infuses the great Czech tradition with modern idioms,  is showcased in this captivating survey of his concertante works, performed by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille conducted…

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Press Releases: November 2017

Ludwig van Beethoven Symphonies 6, 7 & 8 Rafael Kubelik, Orchestre de Paris, Wiener Philharmoniker, The Cleveland Orchestra PENTATONE PTC 5186250 PENTATONE’s third release from Rafael Kubelik’s acclaimed Beethoven cycle of symphonies in its Remastered Classics series is his commanding reading of the sixth, seventh and eighth symphonies performed by the Orchestre de Paris, the Vienna…

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Press Releases: October 2017

Benjamin Britten Paul Hindemith Violin Concertos Arabella Steinbacher, Vladimir Jurowski , Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin PENTATONE PTC 5186625 Breathtaking virtuosity flows seamlessly with expansive lyrical passages and fiendish passagework in this commanding performance by Arabella Steinbacher of the restless and technically demanding violin concertos of Britten and Hindemith in this new release from PENTATONE, with…

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Press Releases: September 2017

Ludwig van Beethoven Symphonies 1 & 4 Rafael Kubelik, London Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra PENTATONE PTC 5186248 The latest release in the Remastered Classics series from PENTATONE is Rafael Kubelik’s sprited and acclaimed reading from the 1970s of Beethoven’s first and fourth symphonies, performed with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Delightful,…

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