... read more »

Among the concertos of Beethoven and Brahms, these two have always been stepchildren. One reason is their extreme difficulty; both composers were pianists, so Beethoven wrote an idiomatic part only... read more »

Gorgeously recorded so that all of Shostakovich's eerieness of texture (and harps) can be heard, Haitink's performance of the Fifth symphony is pretty wonderful. The bare landscape of the first... read more »

Mstislav Rostropovich is the world's greatest cellist, and he has actually made at least five recordings of this greatest of all cello concertos. I have a certain preference for his later version,... read more »

... read more »

Mstislav Rostropovich is one of the few musicians who can create a larger-than-life experience through the combined forces of exceptional music, a beautiful instrument, and uncommonly facile... read more »

Mstislav Rostropovich's 75th birthday is the occasion for this two-disc set of prime recordings by the protean artist. The Dvorák Concerto with Karajan's overrefined conducting, one of the better of... read more »

Since its release on LP in the mid-1950s, Fritz Reiner's rendition of the Concerto for Orchestra has stood as the standard against which all other recordings of the work are measured. Even after... read more »

Anyone who has ever gamely tried and failed to absorb, enjoy, and--especially--understand the complex works of Schoenberg, Mahler, Strauss, or even Philip Glass will allow themselves a wry smile... read more »

... read more »