Zubin

This is a fantastic performance, both orchestra and conductor have this music in their bones, the playing and recording are first class…

If you want a good sampling of Copland's orchestral works, then this 2-CD compilation comes highly recommended, with excellent performances of works such as Appalachian Spring, Quiet City, El Salón México and others. (Presto Classical)

“La forza del destino” (The Force of Fate), premiered in St. Petersburg 1862, is one of Verdi’s most important opera compositions. Its plot is complicated and combines a sequence of interlaced unfortunate strokes of fate. Donna Leonora is the centre of events, together with her brother Don Carlo di Vargas and her lover Don Alvaro. The story was originally set in 18th century Spain, however the French director Nicolas Joël established the action in a slightly later period, in the time of the Empire, the early 19th century.

Munich’s new Ballo in maschera has received much critical acclaim: ‘This production shows what a utopia opera can be’ (Abendzeitung). Ten years after stepping down as music director of the Bavarian State Opera, Zubin Mehta returned to Munich in March 2016 to celebrate his 80th birthday conducting Verdi’s masterpiece for the first time in a staged production. His cast features some of today’s finest Verdi singers: soprano Anja Harteros, singing Amelia for the first time and ‘filling every note with Verdian intensity’, tenor Piotr Beczala as a ‘visually and vocally dashing Riccardo’ and George Petean as an ‘exemplary’ Renato (Neue Musikzeitung).

With this 7th symphony concert conducted by Zubin Mehta featuring the baritone Thomas Quasthoff, the Staatskapelle Dresden initiated its Mahler celebrations due to the composer’s 150th birthday in 2010. Mehta has been one of the outstanding personalities of the international music scene for years. Already at the age of 25 he conducted the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic as well as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1994 he has been closely associated with the Staatskapelle Dresden. Thomas Quasthoff is one of the most important and versatile singer of our time. Three of his CD recordings have been awarded with the Grammy.

With this 7th symphony concert conducted by Zubin Mehta featuring the baritone Thomas Quasthoff, the Staatskapelle Dresden initiated its Mahler celebrations due to the composer’s 150th birthday in 2010. Mehta has been one of the outstanding personalities of the international music scene for years. Already at the age of 25 he conducted the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic as well as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1994 he has been closely associated with the Staatskapelle Dresden. Thomas Quasthoff is one of the most important and versatile singer of our time. Three of his CD recordings have been awarded with the Grammy.

The most devoted fans of the Three Tenors (José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti) may already have the music included in this album of greatest hits taken from their concerts in Rome (1990), Los Angeles (1994), and Paris (1998), but for listeners new to the singers, this disc makes a good introduction. The repertoire is weighted toward the Latinate, featuring primarily popular song and opera excerpts from Italy, Spain, and Latin America, but also included are songs from The Merry Widow, Carousel, Singin' in the Rain, and West Side Story. Most of the music has a strongly Romantic, emotionally charged, lyrical feeling that's enhanced by the lush orchestral arrangements.