• Johannes Brahms

    András Schiff (piano/director), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment ECM · 4855770 · 94 minutes There’s something genuinely bracing about hearing these concertos stripped of their usual romantic weight, and that’s exactly what Schiff and the period-instrument OAE deliver here. The Blüthner’s lean, wiry sound refuses to let Brahms sink into plush upholstery, so all that dense contrapuntal writing […]

    JOHANNES BRAHMS | 26.08.04

  • Alfred Schnittke

    Raul Mikson (tenor), Maria Melaha (soprano), Karolina Kriis (soprano), Marianne Pärna (alto), Ave Hännikäinen (alto), Toomas Tohert (tenor), Kaia Urb (soprano)Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Kaspars Putniņš BIS · BIS2292 · 59 minutes Pairing Schnittke and Pärt on one program feels almost inevitable once you hear it — both composers wrestling with silence, faith, and the sacred through such different […]

    ALFRED SCHNITTKE | 26.08.04

  • Beethoven: Cello Sonatas

    Paul Watkins (cello), Alessio Bax (piano) Signum · SIGCD969 · 1 hour 49 minutes Beethoven basically invented the cello sonata as a genuine conversation between equals, and that’s exactly the balance Watkins and Bax chase here — neither player content to just accompany the other. What strikes you across all five sonatas is how much they let the early […]

    BEETHOVEN | 26.08.04

  • Arvo Pärt

    Tui Hirv (soprano) & Rainer Vilu (baritone)Latvian Radio Choir, Vox Clamantis, Riga Sinfonietta, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir & Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Tonu Kaljuste ECM · 4764825 · 67 minutes Pärt’s tintinnabuli style can sound almost simple on paper, just voices and bells of sound moving in careful steps, but the emotional weight it carries here is enormous. The title […]

    ARVO PäRT | 26.08.04

  • Karita Mattila

    Karita Mattila (soprano) & Martin Katz (piano) Ondine · ODE1100-5 · 76 minutes There’s something electric about hearing Mattila on home turf, and this Helsinki recital captures exactly that charge — a singer completely unguarded, pushing her voice into corners she doesn’t always explore on the studio-bound discs. Martin Katz deserves real credit too, matching her risk for risk […]

    KARITA MATTILA | 26.08.04

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