Thomas Fasano

Tom Fasano has been writing reviews of classical music recordings for the past quarter century. He's finally making them public on this blog.
213

CPE Bach Keyboard Works by Pletnev

C.P.E. Bach: Sonatas, Rondos, and Fantasies Mikhail Pletnev, piano. Deutsche Grammophon 459 614–2. Recorded 1998. Released 1999….

174

Chaliapin Boris Godunov – 1928 Covent Garden

Chaliapin’s Boris: A Voice from Beyond This isn’t just a historic release. It’s a séance. Guild Historical…

148

Piazzolla Orchestral Works – Dutoit Montreal

Piazzolla: Orchestral Works Daniel Binelli, bandoneon; Eduardo Isaac, guitar; Louise Pellerin, piano; Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal/Charles Dutoit…

221

Tennstedt Mahler Fifth and Das Lied

# Tennstedt’s Mahler: The Authority of Long Acquaintance The reissue of Klaus Tennstedt’s 1978 Fifth Symphony and…

247

Lekeu Adagio with Barber and Britten

A Modest Lekeu Discovery, Indifferently Served This Pavane disc—reissued, one assumes, from an earlier album though the…

163

Frescobaldi Keyboard Works by Colin Booth

Frescobaldi: Keyboard Music Colin Booth, harpsichord and organ Soundboard SBCD 201 [76:19] Colin Booth makes harpsichords. He…

217

Finnissy Piano Works – Ian Pace Explores

Michael Finnissy: Piano Works Ian Pace, piano Metier MSV CD92027 [76:02 + 70:49] The trouble with Finnissy—and…

157

Massenet Werther – Tagliavini and Tassinari in Italian Style

Massenet’s Werther in Italianate Splendor Ferruccio Tagliavini (Werther), Pia Tassinari (Charlotte), Marcello Cortis (Albert), Vittoria Neviani (Sophie);…

226

Grieg Lyric Pieces – Håkon Austbø

Grieg’s Miniature Worlds, Beautifully Inhabited The Lyric Pieces constitute one of the great ongoing projects in piano…

161

Bach Brandenburg Concertos – Il Gusto Barocco

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-51 (1721) Il Gusto Barocco/Jörg Halubek (harpsichord) rec. 3-4 August…

160

Holmboe: Environmental Preludes and Chamber Works

Holmboe’s Environmental Elegies Vagn Holmboe’s final decade saw him turning—unexpectedly, perhaps—to nature. Not the Romantic sublime, mind…

150

Kusser Theatrical Overtures – Franco-German Baroque Fusion

Kusser’s Theatrical Overtures: A Glimpse into the Franco-German Baroque Crossroads Johann Sigismund Kusser—who Gallicized his name to…

182

Horenstein Beethoven Symphonies – Pro Musica Vienna

Beethoven: Symphonies nos. 5 and 6; Overtures (Coriolan, Egmont, Leonore no. 3, The Creatures of Prometheus, The…

144

Barry Mills Chamber Music from Brighton

A Postman’s Pastoral: Barry Mills’s Unassuming Mastery Here’s something you don’t encounter every day—a Brighton postal worker…

167

Gershwin Orchestral Works – Wild and Fiedler

Gershwin: Orchestral Works Earl Wild (piano); Boston Pops Orchestra/Arthur Fiedler RCA Red Seal 74321 68019 2 [70:02]…

174

Handel Coronation Anthems – Cleobury and Kings College

Handel’s Royal Music in Regal Surroundings Stephen Cleobury knows something about pageantry. After all, he’s spent decades…

148

Matthus: Das Land Phantásien – Orchestral Fantasy

Matthus’s Fantasy World Deserves a Wider Audience Siegfried Matthus—one suspects he gets tired of explaining he wasn’t…

163

Mendelssohn Piano Concertos – Thibaudet and Blomstedt

Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Variations sérieuses; Rondo capriccioso Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano; Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra/Herbert…

145

Gossec Symphonies by Orchestra de Bretagne

# Gossec’s Symphonies: Germanic Form in Gallic Dress François-Joseph Gossec: Four Symphonies Symphony in C, Brook 85;…

156

Handel Concerti Grossi by Boyd Neel Orchestra 1936-38

Handel’s Concerti Grossi Through the Lens of Pioneering Modernism Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 Boyd Neel Orchestra…

164

Mozart Piano Sonatas – Brendel at Seventy

Mozart Piano Sonatas Alfred Brendel Philips 468 048–2 [74:36] There’s something quietly momentous about hearing a great…

168

Peter Philips Motets – Tudor Consort Naxos Recording

Peter Philips: Cantiones Sacrae (Motets for Five Voices) The Tudor Consort/Peter Walls Naxos Early Music Series 8.555056…

127

Duphly Harpsichord Pieces – Meyerson Elegant Miniatures

# Duphly’s Elegant Miniatures—When the Room Overwhelms the Instrument Jacques Duphly: Pièces de Clavecin** Mitzi Meyerson, harpsichord…

191

Benjamin Frankel Film Music – Queensland Symphony Orchestra

Benjamin Frankel: Film Music Vol. 2 Queensland Symphony Orchestra / Werner Andreas Albert CPO 999 809–2 [67:13]…