Recently in Classical Category

The past year has seen a crop of excellent releases from the most talked-about rising stars in classical music, a varied set of neo-traditionalists who breathe life into the genre though fiery performances, scandalous outfits and bold programming choices. Astonishingly, none of them are older than 30.

The pianist who might get the most headlines is Lang Lang, whose well-styled programmatic flair has made him classical music's poster child. Using the same bold media-embracing panache of Lang Lang, plenty of other oversized talents have made waves through style and scandal: take the skirt length of Yuja Wang, who gets mentioned as classical music's Lady Gaga, or the Vogue spread by hunky violinist Charlie Siem. Perhaps less hyped but no less revered are gimmick-free recordings from violinists Alina Ibragimova, Arabella Steinbacher, Julia Fischer and Ray Chen.

This Cheat Sheet looks at some of the brightest young names in the classical world, many of whom have the talent and marketing smarts to expand the genre's audiences.

Alice Sara Ott
Beethoven
After critically successful recordings of Chopin and Liszt, 23-year-old German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott releases her first Beethoven set with a bold agenda: demonstrating the two distinct personalities of the composer using a pair of C-major sonatas, the Op. 2 No. 3 and the Op. 53 "Waldstein." The prior of these — light, mercurial and joyous — was dedicated to Haydn, and the latter — brooding and pensive — was written near the end of his life, when his hearing was failing. Ott capably bridges this divide with clean, confident playing, restraint in her pedaling and plenty of power.

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This Classical Roundup has a decidedly American bent: Leonard Bernstein and Hilary Hahn bring life to Ives, Mikhail Simonyan plays Barber, and Leonard Pennario rolls though Gottschalk. To round things out, and for a touch of international diversity, Matt Haimovitz takes on Arcade Fire (they're Canadian!) and The Anonymous 4 offer law-breaking 13th-century French songs. All that and more are waiting below. Enjoy.

For a sampling of every album mentioned below, go straight to our Classical Roundup: Fall 2011 playlist.


1. Hilary Hahn
Charles Ives: Four Sonatas
Fierce and dexterous, austere and blithe, Hilary Hahn's range makes her the perfect interpreter of Charles Ives' distinctly American violin sonatas, and this collaboration with pianist Valentina Lisitsa hits the mark. Ives' fundamental mood swings are handled brilliantly by the duo, which skates between savagely difficult technical passages and sentimental folk melodies (listen for the shattered rearrangement of "Turkey in the Straw" in the second movement of the second sonata).

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Fans of the new acoustic genre -- that realm of virtuosity and chops, where pop classical, smooth jazz and progressive bluegrass intersect -- are totally licking their chops over The Goat Rodeo Sessions. Bringing together cello master Yo-Yo Ma, Punch Brother Chris Thile, bassist Edgar Meyer and fiddler Stuart Duncan, this quartet is a real-deal supergroup, one that excels at expertly plucked string work and subtle dynamics. Though predominantly instrumental, this 11-track collection does feature low-key vocals on a few compositions. These include "Here and Heaven" and "No One but You." [Justin Farrar] Hear It Now!

Devoted readers of The Mix (hi, mom!) might remember that my last Friday Mixtape was called Piano Jamz, and consisted of jams featuring pianos. That playlist was kind of a happy accident: by simply culling together a bunch of songs I dug that featured one or more of those 88 keys, I managed to crisscross a whole slew of genres, eras, sounds, etc. It was a neat exercise, and so I've tried again, this time with horns. The brass in these jams is all over the place -- it's featured front and center, during solos, and is occasionally so cleverly deployed you won't even recognize it as brass at all (dig experimental saxophonist Colin Stetson's mind-bending "Judges," which is one guy, one horn, and no effects or loops (seriously)). Stylistically, we range from classic brawny rock to excitable indie rock to orchestral trip-hop to hip-hop to, of course, jazz. No Horn Jamz playlist would be complete without Gerry Raferty and Chuck Mangione, and for those who didn't know Biggie sampled it, be sure to check out Herb Alpert's "Rise." Finally, having come of age in the '90s Orange County ska revival scene, I had to throw in some No Doubt and Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Here's to stuff that blows.

Click here to listen to the entire playlist: Friday Mixtape: Horn Jamz

Classical artists don't typically rocket to the stardom in the manner of Aleksandra Kurzak, a Polish soprano whose startling talent made jaws drop when she debuted in London as Rosina in Rossini's Barber of Seville. Her sparkling solo debut leads off our early-fall Classical Roundup, in which she's joined by several other remarkable women, from a retrospective honoring violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter to Lara Downes' modern update on Bach's Goldberg Variations. Early September's other notable releases include a heart-wrenching Steve Reich/Kronos Quartet collaboration inspired by the September 11 tragedy and James Ehnes' expertly performed collection of three Bartok string concertos.

1. Steve Reich
WTC 9/11, Mallet Quartet, Dance Patterns
Steve Reich's minimalism has always had an unrelenting rhythmic urgency, but the themes of WTC 9/11 endow his driving ostinatos with a bleak, terrifying power. First, as the Kronos Quartet is accompanied by recorded emergency-response calls, Reich uses a simple device to chill the blood: a mechanical busy signal. The following two movements also employ spoken interviews and recordings of Muslim calls to prayer. These are complex choices that make the piece an emotionally raw, unflinching statement. Readings of So Percussion's Mallet Quartet and Reich's own Dance Patterns follow.

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Although notable new classical releases include a collection from American wunderkind composer Nico Muhly and a lovely early opera from Elizabeth Kenny, the 200th birthday of a 19th-century piano virtuoso, composer and alleged lady-killer has been dominating recent classical programming. Franz Liszt's dabbling in the dark side is the focal point of a grandstanding recording from Georgian prodigy Khatia Buniatishvili, but it's Nelson Freire's passionate program that frames the composer most eloquently. A lesser anniversary is also celebrated with Murray Perahia's presentation of Bach concerti (Perahia caused quite a flutter by recording these on a modern grand piano — not the harpsichord — a decade ago). Other notable releases include the Beethoven debut of Argentine pianist Ingrid Fliter and a set of Baroque works for cello by Lynn Harrell. Too stuffy for you? Cue up the accessible classical crossover upstarts 2Cello as they dabble with Guns N' Roses.

Nelson Freire
Liszt: Harmonies du soir
Nelson Freire might be the greatest — or at least most lauded — living Liszt ambassador, and this imaginative program brilliantly celebrates the composer's 200th birthday. There's a fiery authority to these performances, from the brisk, lyrical adrenaline of the opening Waldesrauschen No. 1 to the highly dramatic Valse Oubliée. Still, everything gets a thorough and critical examination, evident in the elastic tempos and aggressive lower registers of the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 3. Brilliant, bombastic and inspired, this demands awe for both the material and its interpreter.

Dutch violinist Janine Jansen's stirring reinterpretation of Vivaldi's Four Seasons met with strong sales and a bit of controversy from more conservative critics. Nobody doubts Jansen's keen musical ability or her devotion to the music, though, and here she continues to limit the size of the orchestra in order to increase her interplay with the backing ensemble. Jansen's interpretation is floridly romantic and further highlights the quiet-loud-quiet dynamics of the piece. Her lush, inventive work adds thrilling new dimensions to a work that seemed set in stone. — Nick Dedina Hear It Now!

Mike Patton performing classic Italian pop? Has the sky fallen, and thrasher hell frozen over? No, Patton just lived in Italy for a while. But here's the weird thing: He's a great crooner. These song sweep and slash, dip and soar, and Patton performs them with brio and just enough audio trickery to suggest something dark under the surface. (This is, of course, Mike Patton. How could there not be?) But overall he's extremely faithful to the originals, saving his menacing showmanship for the live act. The album went to No. 2 on the Billboard classical charts, against all expectations. — Sarah Bardeen Hear It Now!

Earlier this year, Mike Patton — he of Faith No More and Mr. Bungle fame — released what may be his most idiosyncratic project yet: Mondo Cane. Named for the 1960s Italian gross-out documentary that spawned, among other things, the Faces of Death series, Mondo Cane actually features Patton singing classic Italian pop from the '50s and '60s — with a full orchestra and a relatively straight face. If it sounds unlikely, it's not: Patton's ex-wife is Italian, and he spent the better part of six years in the country, learning the language and falling in love with the music. It's a bizarrely great album, one that randomly neared the top of Billboard's classical charts this year. If you knew nothing about Italian pop before Mondo Cane, let us introduce you to some of its delicious, over-the-top fabulousness with our playlist that mingles Patton's covers with the originals. And if you care to learn about the artists who influenced him, read on.

Julia Fischer
Bach Violin Concertos

This is a lively and vibrant performance of popular Bach violin concertos. This Decca recording presents Bach with what is likely both an authentic spirit and sound (one day we'll know -- through time travel). Star violinist Fischer performs on a 1742 period instrument, with perhaps the world's most respected Baroque orchestra. — Henry Bono

We all knew music was gonna be big in the Obama administration. After all, Will.I.Am almost single-handedly secured the youth vote in 2008 with that "Yes We Can" video. Then the First Couple had Beyonce serenading them at the inaugural ball, a kind of insane prom fantasy writ large. And they make no secret of their passionate love for Stevie Wonder. Obama even shared his iPod with Rolling Stone during the campaign, though it turns out he wasn't the first candidate to do it. (Bush had that distinction: 250 songs on a 10,000 capacity gadget. What does it mean?) Half the country fell back in their seats, saying to themselves, "He's got Jay-Z on his iPod too?" It made you feel like you could maybe ... maybe have a beer with the guy.

by Stephanie Benson

Can you do a Yurchenko two-and-a-half, an Onodi, a Tkatchev, a Gienger, a Pak salto, a Stalder shoot, a triple full -- wait, let’s make this easier -- can you do a cartwheel? We know you’ve been practicing your best “stick-it” moment since watching the one-two winning punch of gymnasts Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson in Beijing. But how about saving yourself a trip to the hospital and impress your friends with some Olympic trivia that has nothing to do with Michael Phelps, or um, Michael Phelps.

by Matty Karas

Gather 17,481 bands (not the official number, just my estimate) in one small place, and you're bound to experience some strange currencies and coincidences. Wednesday night in Austin, Texas, you were able to shuffle, in a matter of minutes, between the serene St. David's Church, where pioneering classical/minimalist/electronic composer Steve Reich cheered on several acts executing pieces he wrote for combinations of live and taped instruments, and the cavernous Buffalo Billiards, where a Manchester, U.K., pop duo The Ting Tings tackled their own songs pretty much the same way -- but different.

by Piotr Orlov

Even in election years, the music-and-politics story isn’t always about the soundtrack of the campaign trail. Sometimes it’s about the soundtrack behind the DMZ.

The New York Philharmonic Orchestra made news this week by traveling to North Korea to play what turned out to be a historic, internationally televised concert in Pyongyang on Tuesday. The visit took on both ambassadorial and artistic trappings. The trip was the first-ever to North Korea by an American cultural organization, and included the biggest delegation of Americans to visit the country since the end of the Korean War in 1953. It also included a Wednesday morning rehearsal during which members of the Philharmonic and the Orchestra’s musical director Lorin Maazel played with the State Symphony Orchestra of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, allowing for historic interaction between groups of people who may as well be ghosts to one another. (It may be the first of many: if reports of continued cultural exchange are to be believed, classic rock/blues legend Eric Clapton may be following the Phil to play for and with the North Koreans.)

2007 was a superlative year for music, and -- in its stubborn and eccentric ways -- classical music was a big part of the reason why. Amid larger signs of a music industry in turmoil, the classical institutions -- labels, concert promoters, orchestra administrators, performers, listeners, critics -- seem to have figured out that the Internet is surprisingly friendly to a thousand-year-old musical tradition. Here are the other reasons 2007 was a memorable year for classical music.

by Piotr Orlov

It was announced on Friday that Karlheinz Stockhausen, one of the great composers and music theorists of the 20th century, had passed away at his home in Kuerten-Kettenberg, Germany, on December 5. He was 79. No cause of death was announced.

Photo courtesy Chris Lee

Not long ago, the idea that classical musicians would be classified as either composers OR performers would have been regarded as curious. Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms all routinely performed or conducted their own music from the keyboard. Chopin, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff were known as brilliantly virtuosic pianists whose concerts were part recital and part heroic spectacle. Gustav Mahler and Leonard Bernstein were both the principal conductors and music directors of the New York Philharmonic. But although there are notable exceptions today (Pierre Boulez, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, to a lesser extent, John Adams) the composer-performer tradition seems on the wane.

By Tim Quirk

Poor indie rock. It’s not just unfashionable these days, it’s morally suspect. While a lot of me thinks that complaining Arcade Fire aren’t black enough is kinda like wondering why the New York Philharmonic doesn’t use more distortion pedals, I actually liked the New Yorker piece Sam makes fun of in the post below.

But I’m also deeply suspicious of any effort to make people feel bad about the music they like, and doubly so when such efforts cloak themselves in faux-populist clothing (hipsters declaring that the really cool kids don’t like hipster music is a lot like the Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy family who currently runs our country dismissing his opponent in the 2004 election as elite and out of touch with middle America). And since I’m in New York right now for the CMJ Music Marathon, which is pretty much a non-stop celebration of semi-popular indie rock, this stuff can’t help but percolate in my beer-soaked noggin (relevant aside: at the last indie-rock-tastic festival I attended in Austin, some guy behind me in the bar line at a Ponys show ridiculed me for buying a $4 Tecate instead of a $3 Pabst Blue Ribbon; I try my best to love my fellow human beings, but sometimes they make it very, very difficult).