My usual explanation in this space: I am especially interested in piano and choral music, plus symphonies, so that’s what I get the most promos of. Other stuff obviously gets through my filters, but the percentages of what comes in inevitably affect what comes out, i.e. this list. That said, in terms of number of centuries spanned, rather than genres or formats or whatever, I think I'm covering as much or more musical territory than most critics. By the way, look for a shorter list of my favorite classical reissues of 2012, to follow in a day or two.
1. Tokyo String Quartet, Jon Manasse, Jon Nakamatsu Brahms: Piano Quintet, Clarinet Quintet (Harmonia Mundi) There were recordings this year that were more important in terms of bringing new repertoire to light, or featuring young artists, or bringing classical into the 21st century, or being more controversially newsworthy. Examples of all of those follow.
1. Tokyo String Quartet, Jon Manasse, Jon Nakamatsu Brahms: Piano Quintet, Clarinet Quintet (Harmonia Mundi) There were recordings this year that were more important in terms of bringing new repertoire to light, or featuring young artists, or bringing classical into the 21st century, or being more controversially newsworthy. Examples of all of those follow.
- 1/2/2013
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
When I was growing up, New York 's best (now long-defunct) classical radio station, Wncn, played only American composers' music each Fourth of July. With the classical world dominated by Europeans, this was a welcome and educational corrective. In the history of American music, independence wasn't achieved until the 20th century; 19th century composers such as John Knowles Paine and George Whitefield Chadwick studied in Europe and blatantly imitated European models. Listening to their music "blind," few would guess they were Americans. There was Revolutionary War-era vocal writer William Billings, but his originality was more a lack of proper technique. Continuing Wncn's tradition, here's a look at true American classical. music.
There is a bit of chauvinism in this article, as "American" here refers not to all the Americas (North, Central, and South) but rather the colloquial usage in the United States to mean that country's residents (hence, the Mexican Carlos Chavez,...
There is a bit of chauvinism in this article, as "American" here refers not to all the Americas (North, Central, and South) but rather the colloquial usage in the United States to mean that country's residents (hence, the Mexican Carlos Chavez,...
- 7/4/2012
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Here's what I have to say to all the people who bemoan the state of classical music: My classical list is the last one I'm posting (as has often been the case) because there were so many great releases to listen to that I didn't finish until now.
I want to once again admit the biases operating in my best-of-the-year classical lists: I am most interested in the piano, choral, and symphonic literatures. I’m happy to listen to other things when they come my way, but those are what I seek out, vastly tipping the balance in their favor (tipping the balance against opera is the increasing disinclination of record companies to send promos for new opera recordings unless one specifically asks -- and even that is no guarantee). Also note: no reissues or compilations here. That disqualified even the first box-set appearance of David Zinman's fine Mahler cycle,...
I want to once again admit the biases operating in my best-of-the-year classical lists: I am most interested in the piano, choral, and symphonic literatures. I’m happy to listen to other things when they come my way, but those are what I seek out, vastly tipping the balance in their favor (tipping the balance against opera is the increasing disinclination of record companies to send promos for new opera recordings unless one specifically asks -- and even that is no guarantee). Also note: no reissues or compilations here. That disqualified even the first box-set appearance of David Zinman's fine Mahler cycle,...
- 1/5/2012
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Few films in recent years have yielded such widely differing reactions—among critics and paying punters alike—than Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island. On the very same day that the psychological thriller was ecstatically reviewed by three contributors to Radio 4's Front Row programme, I received a caustic text-message from a London-based friend of mine who's a veteran freelance contributor to numerous respected outlets: "Embalmed tosh. Already penned in - not pencilled - as one of the year's worst."
But there's one group which has been pretty much unanimous in its praise of Scorsese's phantasmagoric potboiler—or rather, one specific aspect of it. I refer to those legions of hapless individuals who clean up movie auditoria, scooping up the remnants of our cheesy nachos and soggy popcorn. Sometimes referred to as "ushers," these folk hover patiently until the public have exited the cinema-screen—which, these days, is usually a matter...
But there's one group which has been pretty much unanimous in its praise of Scorsese's phantasmagoric potboiler—or rather, one specific aspect of it. I refer to those legions of hapless individuals who clean up movie auditoria, scooping up the remnants of our cheesy nachos and soggy popcorn. Sometimes referred to as "ushers," these folk hover patiently until the public have exited the cinema-screen—which, these days, is usually a matter...
- 4/5/2010
- MUBI
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