Featured Musician: A Maazel Celebration

The discs under consideration here.

Jeremy Lee writes

DG’s Big Bernstein Box, Vol. 1

Jeremy Lee writes

I will start this review with a bold statement:  of all the oft-recorded conductors that have ever lived, no-one has had such a high proportion of great musicianship, great playing and great sonics in their discography than Leonard Bernstein on Deutsche Grammophon.  This is particularly remarkable given

Giulini in Vienna

Jeremy Lee writes

This 15CD box contains all of Giulini’s DG recordings with the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna Symphony, including his concerto recordings.  A substantial proportion of the recordings featuring the Vienna Philharmonic would be considered “Late Giulini” (around mid-1980s), a style that was

John Ogdon’s Fascinating RCA Legacy

Jeremy Lee writes

To mark the 25th anniversary of the passing of British virtuoso pianist John Ogdon in 1989, RCA has wisely exhumed his complete recordings for the label, and since Ogdon did not record prolifically for RCA (most of his recordings are for EMI) this original jacket collection fits snugly on 6 discs at

Avdeeva in Hong Kong: Concert Review

Leonard Ip writes

With Avdeeva being the first female after Martha Argerich to have won the first prize of the Chopin Competition, and videos of her performances showing a thoughtful artist with a technique to burn (what a Wagner-Liszt Tannhauser Overture!), expectations were high on this recital. It wasn’t, however,

Trifonov: The Carnegie Recital

Leonard Ip writes  [translated from the Chinese by Jeremy Lee]

Trifonov won the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011, and two years later, on 5^th February, 2013, exactly a month before his 22^nd birthday, he reached another milestone in his career:  his Carnegie Hall debut.  Trifonov’s artistic achievement is

Comprehensive Review: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 on piano

Jeremy Lee writes

After Top Ear’s previous two comprehensives, both on Brahms (the 4th symphony and Ein Deutsches Requiem respectively), we’ve decided we should do our third one on a smaller single work.  Therefore, I present you with a comprehensive review on what is arguably the most overplayed Liszt piece ever written: 

Berman/Giulini Liszt Concertos

Leonard Ip writes

Liszt’s piano concertos are well-served on CD. Richter’s studio recordings with Kondrashin are justly legendary, complemented by excellent modern versions such as Zimerman/Ozawa and the more recent Nebolsin/Petrenko. Berman recorded these performances with Giulini and the Vienna Symphony in 1976 and they were

Bertrand/Amoyel’s A-one Alkan Cello Sonata

Jeremy Lee writes

Alkan was a master of form, and the way he manipulates Classical forms such as the sonata form and variation in such a magical way deserves to be learnt from.  His Cello Sonata is exactly that:  perfect proportions, subtle modulations and astonishingly beautiful melodies come together to create