Studio recordings of full operas are not so common anymore, but among the few positive side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic was that it did spawn several. This one sounds a bit buttoned-up, perhaps because of the restrictions of the time; the album was made in the summer of 2021, and the contributions of the Transylvania State Choir were downloaded from afar (actually, this would be hard to tell by listening), but there is a lot that is distinctive about the performance of this Verdi opera, whose tragicomic quality has made it a special favorite in modern times. Verdi moved the action from Sweden to Boston to circumvent a censorship restriction; nowadays, the Swedish setting is generally preferred, but the curious American colonial setting somehow seems to fit the mixture of elements in the opera, loading political intrigue onto the old comic trope of the masked ball. The biggest news is the presence of tenor Freddie De Tommaso in the lead role of Riccardo. He has been bubbling under the surface of the opera scene, and with this recording, he takes a major step into the spotlight. Consider one of his big numbers, like "Forse la soglia attinse" in Act III, for an idea of why his performance is bringing to mind some of the greats who have recorded this opera. He is ably backed by a strong cast, including the rougher but powerfully dramatic Lester Lynch as Renato, making a compelling contrast with De Tommaso and Saioa Hernández as Amelia. This vocally strong Un ballo in maschera is well worth the attention of Verdi lovers.© James Manheim /TiVo

The international success of after its premiere in 1859 completely overshadowed all of Gounod’s subsequent operas. He had known Goethe’s masterpiece for two decades and brought to the text his gifts for memorable melody and rich orchestration. Added to this, the plot of Faust’s ageing and the heroine Marguerite’s redemption, offered the opportunity for the most spectacular stage effects. Heard here in its 1864 London version with an additional air and without spoken dialogue or ballet, Faust represents 19th-century French opera at its peak. © Naxos

Admirers of Colin Davis' legendary Berlioz performances know that his 1974 recording of Symphonie fantastique was an outstanding LP in the Philips catalog, and that it has been reissued several times since on CD, each time to renewed praise. Davis is almost ideal for this work, which is precariously balanced on the knife edge between Classicism and Romanticism; few other conductors have the intellect and temperament to control the Apollonian and Dionysian impulses in Berlioz, and the sympathy for both the elegant and grotesque aspects so evident in this revolutionary masterpiece. This performance is a classic rendition that will satisfy both casual listeners and connoisseurs: there are no controversial choices made here (e.g., in the manner of Roger Norrington's period instrument recording, or dubious decisions, as in Paavo Järvi's wildly Romantic but distorted reading). Instead, Davis takes the Concertgebouw Orchestra through all the intense passions and hallucinations of Berlioz' over-the-top program, yet at the same time observes all the formal aspects of the work, preserving its shape and trajectory. Handled this way, Symphonie fantastique is compelling as a story of love, death, and the supernatural, and also fully convincing as a symphony, albeit one extended beyond the conventions of its time and filled with many innovations. This reissue is highly recommended.© TiVo

This 2010 recording of Tchaikovsky's eternally popular Swan Lake ballet, with Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra might be ideal for dancing, but it is less ideal purely as a listening experience. On the whole, and in most of its parts, theirs is a highly dramatic and very fast-paced performance, filled with plenty of vigor, energy, color, and contrast. The score requires more pathos and bathos than depth and profundity, and Pletnev elicits from the Russian musicians a sweetly soulful and wholly polished performance. But this version misses the lightness and buoyancy of Gennady Rozhdestvensky's classic account of the work, a performance that sacrifices none of the work's drama, and allowing it space to dance. Pletnev's recording has many virtues, though, and the listener may find a place on the shelf for both his and Rozhdestvensky's versions. Ondine's sound is clean and lush, with plenty of detail. © TiVo

The Orchestre Divertimento and its conductor, Zahia Ziouani, often juxtapose European repertory with music from other parts of the world. Ziouani, who is of Algerian background, has a particular interest in the music of that country. She could not have found a composer whose works were more congenial to such a project than Camille Saint-Saëns, who visited Algeria no fewer than 18 times and composed a Suite algérienne, Op. 60, that is heard here, broken up and interspersed with Arabic music. What makes Ziouani's project unique is that there are not two types of music here but three. Many of the Saint-Saëns works are preceded by improvisations in the classical Arabic idiom, on oud, qanun, a traditional viol, derbouka, and the riqq drum. These are quite a musical distance from Saint-Saëns, but Ziouani introduces contemporary Arabic songs, of a semi-popular nature, as an intermediate step. The sets are mostly in related tonalities. This is an ingenious idea that sheds light on both Saint-Saëns, on what he heard when he heard Algerian music, and on the nature of contemporary popular traditions that are rooted in the classical music of the world. The Saint-Saëns performances themselves are entirely creditable, and the album is well recorded at a couple of different locations. A unique release that makes one want to hear more from this distinctive ensemble. © James Manheim /TiVo

Together with the Berlin-based Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester (DSO) Mari Kodama and her husband Kent Nagano have now completed the recording of all of Beethoven's piano concertos by jumping, as it were, back in time twice: the last element of this recording series that has spanned more than 13 years was Beethoven's concerto "number nought" (WoO 4) – personally edited by Mari Kodama from the autograph score. The original manuscript of this piano concerto is kept at the State Library in Berlin. This is not a completed score, because there is no orchestration. That said, Beethoven annotated the short score, especially in the first two movements, with indications as to which instrument was to play which part. The orchestra score which is available today was written in the early twentieth century based on those annotations. The only problem is: "Today, armed with the knowledge we now have acquired about the young Beethoven, we would perform this concerto quite differently in places," explain Mari Kodama and Kent Nagano in unison. They therefore present a very personal adaptation that emerged during rehearsal with the orchestra and at the recording sessions, and which reflects Kodama's and Nagano's individual image of Beethoven. They aim to make audible the exuberant freshness and urgent sense of awakening in the young, almost childlike Beethoven's writing shortly before his artistic powers were to burst forth, the joie de vivre and vital energy in a style that owes something to the playfulness of both Haydn and Mozart. That is Mari Kodama's intention, and she plays it in precisely such a versatile manner. Combined with the classical canon of the piano concertos nos. 1–5, the resulting comprehensive edition is complemented by the Triple Concerto for piano, violin and cello op. 56, the Rondo WoO 6 and the Eroica Variations op. 35, offering insight into the artist's longstanding involvement with her musical companion Ludwig van Beethoven. And the recordings of his works seem to lead the listener through the composer's life. "If you play all of them, it is like accompanying Beethoven on a journey through his life," explains Mari Kodama, and Kent Nagano adds: "You acknowledge the musical genius and at the same time you recognise the development of European music, because Beethoven was undoubtedly its pioneer." He led the way in changing the structure, form and harmony of music, just as there was an equally radical shift in the world around him; after the French Revolution society and business and the incipient industrial revolution began to alter the way people lived. "He is and remains an optimist, someone who can do no other than believe in what he wishes to communicate to us through his music," explains Kodama. She says this helps her. The fact that she herself is an optimist can partly be attributed to Beethoven. Kodama, Nagano and the DSO – one might imagine them almost as a trio where all the musicians have blind faith in each other and are therefore able to produce a degree of musical intensity that brings the young Beethoven back to life. © Berlin Classics