Recordings Review: When the White Gloves Come Off

Jaap van Zweden and the New York Philharmonic play Beethoven.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

You like me: Jaap van Zweden and the New York Philharmonic.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2017 The New York Philharmonic.

The relationship between a conductor and an orchestra, particularly one where said conductor is signing a contract to become that ensemble's music director is a difficult thing to track. Public relations departments become surrounded by walls of silence. Questions from the media are deflected or restricted to carefully managed press conferences. With all that secrecy, one must rely on live performances and recorded documentation to assess such a relationship.

Recordings Review: He's No Hero, That's Understood

Paavo Järvi and the NHK Symphony Orchestra unleash Strauss tone poems.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Helmsman: Paavo Järvi leading the NHK Symphony Orchestra.
Photo by Belinda Lawley © 2017 NHK

The NHK Symphony Orchestra is one of the twenty-four professional ensembles that call Tokyo, Japan their home, a mind-boggling number to the critic who lives in a culture where the arts are treated as some sort of afterthought by those  who see to the dispersal of public funds for such matters. So far, the pairing of the orchestra with Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi has been a fruitful one. The first harvest from his term as music director is an exciting new recording, made in Suntory Hall of two very familiar Richard Strauss tone poems: Don Juan and Ein Heldenleben.

Recordings Review: A Breakout Performance

Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Uncaged: new Met maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads Mozart's
Die Entführung aus dem Serail.

The eyes of the opera world are currently on Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the fiery Quebecois conductor who, just last week was announced as the successor to James Levine at the Metropolitan Opera. So perhaps it is fitting that the recording under consideration this week is the third in his ongoing cycle of "major" Mozart operas for Deutsche Grammophon made in association with the Baden-Baden Festival. It is a much-needed new recording of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail with a starry cast and a new orchestral collaborator: the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. This two-CD set, released in 2015 fills a need. (The fourth, Le Nozze di Figaro, will be released July 8 of this year.)

Recordings Review: The Power of the Dude

Gustavo Dudamel's Mahler Ninth and Seventh.

by Paul J. Pelkonen

Gustavo Dudamel. Photo by Chris Lee.

In today's dwindling music industry, symphony recordings are becoming more and more infrequent. This makes the Deutsche Grammophon release of new recordings of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 7 and Symphony No. 9 important documents in charting the development of a young conductor. These two releases (both were recorded in 2012) under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel feature the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra (in the Seventh) and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (in the Ninth the two orchestras where Mr. Dudamel occupies the post of Artistic Director.

Recordings Review: All The Young Dudes

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts a Don Giovanni for our times.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Ildebrando D'Arcangelo in DG promotional art for Don Giovanni.
Image © 2012 Deutsche Grammophon/UMG

When a major label like Deutsche Grammophon puts out yet another recording of Mozart's Don Giovanni, it is a significant event. This 2012 set, (recorded live at a 2011 concert performance in Baden-Baden) is the Yellow Label's seventh, and the first in a new complete cycle of the major Mozart operas under the baton of conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Recordings Review: Moon Child

Cecilia Bartoli sings Norma.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The right hand of doom: Cecilia Bartoli as Norma.
Photo by Uli Weber © 2013 Decca Classics/UMG.

When an opera singer reaches a certain level of success, they are free to take on "dream" projects, singing roles that are perceived as being outside their regular repertory. Luciano Pavarotti dabbled in popular Italian song and made records with U2. Plácido Domingo is currently steeping himself in Verdi's baritone roles, and has even preserved his Simon Boccanegra for posterity. Last year, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli unveiled her interpretation of Bellini's Norma a work associated in the 20th century with superstar singers of the soprano register.