Access Atlanta > Arts > Our Reviews > Archives > 2006 > December > 10 > Entry
Classical CDs you shouldn’t miss, from the minimalist and the master
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Steve Reich: Phases,” a five-CD set on the Nonesuch label. Grade: A+
As a kid, Steve Reich loved, above all, jazz by John Coltrane and Miles Davis, Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos and Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.” As a composer, Reich (along with Philip Glass and others) helped create a musical worldview called minimalism — a pleasurable, ear-catching style where a steady beat and traditional harmony are stripped down to the essentials and offer ecstatic delights.
Now 70, Reich is arguably America’s greatest living composer. His masterpieces bear the signs of enduring classics, and new-music groups across America will celebrate his music — Atlanta’s Bent Frequency will play a Reich tribute concert in the spring.
This new Reich retrospective box set makes a great introduction. A couple of years ago, when I wanted to introduce the best of today’s concert hall music to a friend who likes mostly pop and rock, I picked Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians” — the first of 14 works in the “Phases” box. Highly recommended.
(This five-CD set is exceptionally well-priced at $34.98 — but check online for discounts as low as $25.)
Beethoven: The Nine Symphonies, conducted by Bernard Haitink, a six-CD set on the LSO Live label. Grade: A-
Ludwig van Beethoven’s symphonies remain the spine of the classical repertoire. In recent years in Europe, however, the style in which they’re increasingly heard is shaped not by the big, plush orchestras that play them week after week but rather by period-instrument ensembles, with their fleet and crisp execution.
When senior maestro Bernard Haitink, an esteemed 77-year-old Dutchman, adopts many of the conventions of this historically informed movement, it’s clear the ground has shifted. In this set of live concert performances made over the past two years — the nine symphonies plus the Triple Concerto and “Leonore” Overture No. 2 — Haitink conducts Beethoven like it’s brand-new.
His interpretations have always been as much about architecture as lyricism. With the substantive and sweet London Symphony under his spell, Haitink still illuminates the music’s skeleton. There’s now a springy lightness in his interpretation, too, almost a restlessness to get around the next corner to find out what’s there. This set is remarkable, endlessly compelling Beethoven. On the orchestra’s own budget-priced LSO Live label, it’s also an unbeatable deal.
Permalink | | Categories: Classical Music
