When Itzhak Perlman recorded this disc, many critics were surprised by the sobriety and quiet poetry of his interpretation, as though his many fine chamber-music recordings did not provide ample evidence of Perlman's qualities as a "serious" musician. Although beautifully written for the instrument, Beethoven's sole Violin Concerto does not offer many opportunities for the kind of virtuoso ...
Long regarded as the quintessential interpretation of the most popular and best-loved symphony ever written, this performance of the Fifth has everything: passion, precision, drama, lyric beauty, and a coiled fury in the first movement that sets your pulse racing from the very first note. Carlos Kleiber has made very few recordings in his distinguished career, but almost all are special. If you ...
This album, which catapulted Polish composer Henryk Górecki to into the international spotlight, takes texts born in pain and turns them into statements of affirmation through the use of music that ebbs and flows in mystic minimalism. The clear voice of soprano Dawn Upshaw, singing the Polish texts, is a large part of the success of this particular recording, but the music, contemporary without ...
As one of the UK's leading opera singers, bass-baritone Bryn Terfel is known and universally admired for his recordings and live performances. He has, however, taken time out to head back to Wales and record a disc of songs and hymns from his homeland. To quote "Cymru Fach", "There's a place for the whole of her in my heart, dearest Wales. Each mountain, each valley, each river, dearest Wales. ...