Classical Period

Beethoven’s Wordless Recitatives

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Ludwig van Beethoven may not be the first composer who comes to mind when considering recitative- the sung dialogue that links arias and other musical numbers in an opera or oratorio. Beethoven wrote only one opera, Fidelio, which uses more spoken dialogue than recitative. He spent almost ten excruciating years revising the work, writing four different overtures, and enduring harsh criticism, until finding success with the final 1814 version. So it’s interesting that operatic …

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New Release: Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s Marriage of Figaro

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Today marks an exciting and long-anticipated release in the world of opera: conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s brand new live concert recording of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and an all-star cast. Nézet-Séguin was recently named successor to James Levine at the Metropolitan Opera, perhaps the most visible opera post in the world. This disk, recorded live at the 2,500-seat Baden-Baden Festspielhaus, is the latest in a series of Mozart operas Nézet-Séguin has released on the Deutsche Grammophon label. …

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How Important Are Conductors?

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“Is the conductor really doing anything, or is he/she just for show? I mean, couldn’t you guys play without someone standing on a podium and waving their arms?” This is the unexpected question once posed to me by an audience member after a Richmond Symphony concert. It’s pretty much the same question that comes up in this classic comedy bit from Seinfeld. Recent news that the Dallas Symphony Orchestra paid outgoing Music Director Jaap van …

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Pugnani’s Largo Espressivo: Three Classic Recordings

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Chances are good that you’ve never heard of Gaetano Pugnani (1731-1798). The eighteenth century Italian violinist and composer of numerous chamber works and operas has long been overshadowed by his more esteemed contemporaries, Mozart and Haydn. He may be most famous for a piece he didn’t even write: Fritz Kreisler’s Preludium and Allegro, a showpiece originally attributed to Pugnani as part of Kreisler’s elaborate musical hoax. (Kreisler’s Tempo di Minuetto also erroneously bore Pugnani’s name). …

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Meet 15-Year-Old Violinist Daniel Lozakovitj

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This week, Deutsche Grammophon announced that it will begin a ‘long-term association’ with 15-year-old Swedish violinist Daniel Lozakovitj. Lozakovitj, the youngest musician currently signed to the label, will record one of the violin repertoire’s most mature works in his first release: the Beethoven Violin Concerto. Lozakovitj was 13 when he gave this performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K. 216 with Vladimir Spivakov and the Moscow Virtuosi. He plays with a combination of effortless, …

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Frank Almond’s “A Violin’s Life,” Volume 2

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Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Frank Almond released the second volume of A Violin’s Life last week. An exciting companion to his 2013 disk, the recording celebrates the 300 year history of the 1715 “Lipinski” Stradivarius, a violin once owned by Giuseppe Tartini. The two volumes are the first modern recordings to feature the instrument, which resurfaced in 2008 after spending years in a bank vault. In January, 2014 the “Lipinski” briefly fell into the hands …

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The ATOS Trio Plays Mozart

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Last month, the Berlin-based ATOS Trio released The Czech Album, a recording featuring piano trios by Dvorák and Smetana. Rather than perform the famous “Dumky” Trio No. 4, they chose Dvorák’s less well known Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor, Op. 65. It’s a piece filled with spicy Czech folk rhythms, lush melodies, and the rich, passionate Romanticism we often associate with Brahms. The final movement blends playfulness and wistful nostalgia. You can hear the ATOS …

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