Accentus Music
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Chopin: The Piano Concertos
Nikolai Demidenko (piano), Evgeny Kissin (piano)
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Antoni Wit
Anyone who (like me) has found themselves resistant to Kissin's toy-soldier showmanship...needs to hear his brilliant account of the Concerto in F minor...In pianism of bel canto beauty, Kissin... —
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Andris Nelsons conducts Brahms
Lucerne Festival in Summer 2014 Opening Concert
Sara Mingardo (alto)
Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Choir, Andris Nelsons
What a spine-tingling DVD this is...Nelsons is his own man; this was no stand-in performance, and the level of concentrated artistry here is phenomenal...the entire performance testifies to... —
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Barbara Hannigan: Concert & Documentary
Barbara Hannigan (soprano/conductor)
Mahler Chamber Orchestra
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Daniel Barenboim: The Warsaw Recital
Celebrating Frédéric Chopin’s 200th birthday. Live from the Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Daniel Barenboim (piano)
Not especially celebrated for his Chopin...Barenboim is - it goes without saying - a towering musician who is worth hearing here...Opening with the F minor Fantasia, Barenboim is on magisterial... —
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The Nobel Prize Concert 2010
Joshua Bell (violin)
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
For many the main event here is Joshua Bell who turns in a fine account of the Tchaikovsky Concerto, ably supported by Oramo...In the expansive opening Allegro moderato, both relish the inherent... —
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Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 & Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5
Baiba Skride (violin), Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Andris Nelsons
This Fifth might even be caricatured as vaguely retro...The Leipzig team works hard to invigorate old-school expressive intentions with precise, sometimes glorious playing...The concerto may... —
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Claudio Abbado conducts Brahms, Schoenberg & Beethoven
Mihoko Fujimura (alto)
The Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
This programme...was Claudio Abbado's final filmed recording. It shows him as fragile as he always was during his final years, and economical with gestures, but as wholly in command as ever...It's... —
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Barenboim brings a real sense of direction to the musical argument. The narrative can be seen moving inexorably towards a thrilling and purposeful coda...the Berlin Staatskapelle plays superbly... —
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Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3
Margarita Höhenrieder (piano), Leon Fleisher (piano)
Kammerphilharmonie Amadé, Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn
