Music reviews

"Bruckner's Eighth Symphony is the zenith of symphonic writing." — Sergiu Celibidache Is this the best symphony ever written? Quite possibly: even if it is...

Review – Bruckner Symphony 9 with completed finale (Schaller completion 2018) / Philharmonie Festiva, Gerd Schaller (conductor) / Hänssler ClassicGerd Schaller has recorded completions of...

This is Brahms as it should be. Bold, grand, shamelessly romantic. Of course, Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin have given us first-rate symphony cycles...

Underrated. Skrowaczewski was an underrated conductor in his lifetime. Yes the press would review the CDs he would release on smaller record labels but...

The expectations run high when there is a new Suzuki release with his Bach Collegium Japan. It is really hard to find a weak...

These are heartfelt, brilliant performances of the two warhorses. The playing here is not lightweight but rather brooding, revealing the dark colours of Rachmaninov's music. Both orchestra and pianist perform the concertos impeccably.

The 16 symphonies of Allan Pettersson have often been described as music of pain, anguish, and sadness. They are unlike those of any other...

This is an exceptional Mahler 3rd. Having compared a dozen CDs before writing this review, I can attest it displaces a lot of the...

Review - Beethoven Symphony 7, Berliner Philharmoniker / Kirill Petrenko (Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings)It's always a pleasure to see new releases from the once-renowned Berlin...

This is one of the most all-round satisfactory (digital) cycles of the Schubert symphonies. Gunter Wand has been called a master of the core German...