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.
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Ancient Rome in Living Sound

Chants de l’Église de Rome: Période byzantine Ensemble Organum; Marcel Pérès, director Harmonia Mundi HMC 901218 This…

157

Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas: Three Essential Recordings

Piano Sonatas Nos. 1–9 — Barbara Nissman Newport NCD 60092, 60093 and 60094 Barbara Nissman’s complete cycle…

141

Prokofiev: The Love for Three Oranges

Complete Opera Gabriel Bacquier, Jean-Luc Viala, Hélène Perraguin, Vincent Le Texier, Georges Gautier, Didier Henry and Gregory…

124

Poulenc: Three Concertos

Piano Concerto; Concerto for Two Pianos; Organ Concerto Pascal Rogé and Sylviane Deferne, pianos; Peter Hurford, organ;…

133

Handel: Twelve Concerti Grossi, Op. 6

English Chamber Orchestra — Raymond Leppard Philips 426 465-2, 3 CDs Raymond Leppard approaches Handel’s twelve concerti…

192

Handel’s Water Music: Three Recordings

English Baroque Soloists — John Eliot Gardiner Philips 434 122-2 Gardiner’s Water Music has unusual vitality without…

115

Dowland Lute Songs: Alfred Deller

RECOMMENDED CD John Dowland: Lute Songs and Instrumental Music Alfred Deller, countertenor; Robert Spencer, lute; Consort of…

150

Bach Violin Concertos: Grumiaux, Krebbers and Holliger

RECOMMENDED CD J. S. Bach: Violin Concertos in A minor, BWV 1041, and E major, BWV 1042;…

125

John Adams: Shaker Loops

John Adams: Shaker Loops Shaker Loops began as a failure. That is not merely biographical decoration; you…

127

Carl Friedrich Abel: More Than a Footnote to Mozart

Carl Friedrich Abel is one of those composers who seems destined to appear in other people’s biographies….

103

Sir John Barbirolli

Jacqueline du Pré (cello) BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli Testament · SBT1388 There’s something almost unbearable about hearing…

129

Vladimir Ashkenazy

Concertgebouw Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy Decca · 4557982 · 3 hours 50 minutes Ashkenazy knows this music from the inside out, having…

110

Marin Alsop

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop Naxos · 8570714 · 64 minutes Marin Alsop takes the “New World” and strips away some…

114

Claudio Abbado

Deborah York (soprano) & Stella Doufexis (mezzo-soprano) Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado Berliner Philharmoniker · BPHR160081 · 95 minutes There’s something almost…

177

Ludwig van Beethoven

Mitsuko Uchida (piano) Decca · 4872064 · 73 minutes These three sonatas ask a pianist to let go of the piano-as-instrument…

136

Béla Bartók

Marmen Quartet BIS · BIS2693 · 67 minutes Pairing Ligeti’s two quartets with Bartók’s Fourth is such a smart bit of…

136

Samuel Barber

Johan Dalene (violin), Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Blendulf BIS · BIS2440 · 58 minutes Pairing Tchaikovsky with Barber is a smart…

136

Johann Sebastian Bach

Víkingur Ólafsson (piano) Deutsche Grammophon · 4835022 · 77 minutes Víkingur Ólafsson approaches Bach less like a monument to be dusted…

91

String Quartets Nos. 5-7 – Matthew Taylor

TAYLOR String Quartets Nos. 5, 6 & 7 Matthew Taylor (b.1964) Dante String Quartet, Allegri String Quartet,…

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Tartini: 30 Sonate piccole – Sheppard Skærved

TARTINI 30 Sonate piccole, Nos. 1-6 (c.1750-70) Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770) Peter Sheppard Skærved (violin) TOCCATA TOCC 0146…

121

Sweelinck Organ Works – Vogel and Kelemen

SWEELINCK Organ Works – Vol. 1 (Harald Vogel) / Organ Works (Joseph Kelemen) Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621)…

92

Strauss: Don Quixote – Darlington

STRAUSS Don Quixote Richard Strauss (1864-1949) Friedemann Pardall (cello), Mathias Feger (viola), Duisburger Philharmoniker/Jonathan Darlington ACOUSENCE ACO22012…

146

Arcangelo Corelli

Rachel Podger (violin) Channel Classics · CCSSA44422 · 67 minutes There’s something almost defiant about a program built entirely on unaccompanied…

118

Anton Bruckner

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck Reference Recordings · FR-733 · 63 minutes Bruckner never got to finish this one, and there’s…