Cover2021.qxd 3/28/2021 3:19 PM Page 1 American Record Guide independent critics reviewing classical recordings US $7.99 May/June 2021 Index to Overviews OVERVIEW . .FORMAT OVERVIEW . .FORMAT American Composers (J/A 1995) . .Book ONLY Mahler (J/A 2012) . .Book / PDF American Symphonies (J/A 2007) . .Book / PDF Mendelssohn (N/D 2008) . .Book / PDF American Music (N/D 2007) . .Book / PDF Mozart Concertos (M/J 2008) . .Book / PDF Bach (N/D 1997) . .Book / PDF Mozart Operas (J/F 2002) . .Book ONLY Bach Keyboard (J/A 2005) . .PDF ONLY Mozart Symphonies (N/D 2001) . .Book ONLY Ballet (N/D 2012) . .PDF ONLY Music since 1975 (S/O 2001) . .Book ONLY Bartok (M/A 2001) . .Book ONLY Nielsen (M/J 2004) . .Book ONLY Beethoven Piano Sonatas (M/J 2002) . .Book ONLY Operetta, Part 1 (S/O 2017) . .Book / PDF Beethoven Quartets (N/D 2006) . .Book / PDF Operetta, Part 2 (N/D 2017) . .Book / PDF Beethoven (J/A 2003) . .Book ONLY Overtures, Part 1 (J/F 2011) . .Book / PDF Berlioz (M/J 2007) . .Book / PDF Overtures, Part 2 (M/A 2011) . .Book / PDF Brahms (S/O 2006) . .Book / PDF Overtures, Part 3 (M/J 2011) . .Book / PDF Brass (S/O 2005) . .Book / PDF Piano Trios (M/J 2009) . .Book / PDF British Orchestral (J/F 2010) . .Book / PDF Program Music (S/O 1999) . .Book ONLY Britten (M/A 2012) . .Book / PDF Prokofieff (J/A 2004) . .Book ONLY Bruckner (M/J 2006) . .Book / PDF Rachmaninoff (M/J 2019) . .Book / PDF Cello (M/A 2009) . .Book / PDF Respighi (J/A 2010) . .Book / PDF Cello Concertos (N/D 1998) . .Book ONLY Russian Favorites (J/A 1996) . .PDF ONLY Chopin (J/A 2011) . .Book / PDF Russian Music beyond Tchaikovsky, Choral Masterpieces (N/D 2000) . .Book ONLY Part 1 (J/F 2004) . .Book ONLY Debussy & Ravel (J/F 2000) . .Book / PDF Russian Music beyond Tchaikovsky, Part 2 (M/A 2004) . .Book ONLY Dvorak (S/O 1998 ) . .Book ONLY Russian Operas (M/J 2003) . .Book ONLY English Symphonies (S/O 2010) . .Book / PDF Saint-Saens (M/A 2000) . .Book ONLY Favorite Violin Concertos (S/O 1996) . .Book ONLY Schubert (N/D 2003) . .Book ONLY Favorite String Quartets (S/O 1997) . .Book ONLY Schumann (S/O 2004) . .Book ONLY Film Music (M/A 1998) . .Book ONLY Shostakovich Symphonies (N/D 2009) . .Book / PDF French & German Operas (M/A 2008) . .Book / PDF Shostakovich other (M/A 2006) . .Book / PDF French Favorites (N/D 1999) . .Book ONLY Sibelius (J/A 2014) . .Book / PDF Great American Symphonies (M/J 2015) .Book / PDF Spanish Music (S/O 2002) . .Book ONLY Guitar Music (S/O 2003) . .Book ONLY R Strauss (M/J 2005) . .Book / PDF Handel Orchestral & Messiah (N/D 2002) .Book ONLY Stravinsky (M/J 2001) . .Book ONLY Handel Operas (J/F 2003) . .Book ONLY Tchaikovsky (J/F 2001) . .Book ONLY Haydn (M/A 2019) . .Book / PDF Verdi (M/J 2000) . .Book ONLY Historic Conductors (M/J 1998) . .Book ONLY Wagner (J/A 2002) . .Book / PDF Italian Opera (S/O 2000) . .Book ONLY Woodwinds (N/D 2005) . .PDF ONLY Liszt (J/A 2016) . .Book / PDF American Record Guide Vol 84, No 3 May/June 2021 Our 86th Year of Publication PAST EDITORS www.AmericanRecordGuide.com e-mail: [email protected] Peter Hugh Reed 1935-57 Reader Service: (513) 941-1116 James Lyons 1957-72 Milton Caine 1976-81 Editor: Donald R Vroon John Cronin 1981-83 Layout: Ray Hassard Doris Chalfin 1983-85 Grace Wolf 1985-87 RECORD REVIEWERS Paul L Althouse Allen Gimbel Joseph Magil Allan Altman Todd Gorman James McCutcheon Alan Becker Philip Greenfield Catherine Moore Stephanie Boyd Patrick Hanudel David W Moore Charles Brewer James Harrington Robert A Moore Robert Delcamp Roger Hecht Don O’Connor John Dutterer Sang Woo Kang David Reynolds Stephen Estep Ned Kellenberger Bruno Repp Nathan Faro Barry Kilpatrick Jack Sullivan Elliot Fisch Bradley Lehman Michelle Thomson Gil French Ralph Locke Donald R Vroon William J Gatens Peter Loewen Contents Here & There: News from the Classical World 2 Compact Disc Covers Rediscovered 6 Critical Convictions 9 CD reviews by Composer 12 Collections 117 The Newest Music 162 Videos 166 Word Police Festival: Trendy Words 174 Back Issues 176 Our colorful cover art is Pastels by Tiffany Shaw-Diaz, www.tiffanyshawdiaz.com AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE (ISSN 0003-0716) is published bimonthly for $48.00 a year for individuals ($58.00 for institu- tions) by Record Guide Productions, 4412 Braddock Street, Cincinnati OH 45204. Phone: (513) 941-1116 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.americanrecordguide.com Periodical postage paid at Pontiac IL. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to American Record Guide, 4412 Braddock Street, Cincinnati, OH 45204-1006 Student rates are available on request. Allow eight weeks for shipment of first copy.Outside USA add $27.00 postage. All subscriptions must be paid with US dollars or credit card. Claims for missing issues should be made within six months of publication. Contents are indexed annually in the Nov/Dec or Jan/Feb issue and in The Music Index, The International Index to Music, and ProQuest Periodical Abstracts. Copyright 2021 by Record Guide Productions. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. American Record Guide 1 Here & There Austrian conductor David Danzmayr, 41, will succeed Carlos Kalmar as music director of the Oregon Symphony as of this coming season. He is chief conduc- tor of the Zagreb Philharmonic and music director of the ProMusica Cham- ber Orchestra, composed of musicians from across the US. Appointments, Awards, & News Robert Spano, who turns 60 contract expires on July 1. on May 7, signed a three-year Also, Melissa Ngan, 40, suc- contract to become music ceeded Edward Yim as pres- director of the Fort Worth ident in February. She came Symphony effective August 1, from Chicago where she was 2022. Until then, he will be founder of the Chicago- music director-designate. He based new music group succeeds Miguel Harth- Fifth House Ensemble that Bedoya who leaves in July after 20 years. Spano established the Fresh Inc himself leaves the Atlanta Symphony after 20 Festival, which has commis- years at the end of this season. He has been sioned over 200 new works over 10 years and FWSO’s principal guest conductor since 2019 provided professional development to emerg- and will relocate to Fort Worth. ing artists. Andreas Delfs, 61, signed American conductor James a five-year contract to Gaffigan, who turns 42 this become music director year, became principal of the Rochester (NY) guest conductor of Nor- Philharmonic on Sep- way’s Trondheim Sympho- tember 1, succeeding ny Orchestra and Opera in Ware Stare who leaves at February with immediate the end of this season. effect through the end of Delfs held the same posi- next season. He is currently chief conductor of tion with the Milwaukee Symphony from 1997 the Lucerne Symphony and principal guest to 2009, during which time the MSO was the conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philhar- first American orchestra to visit Cuba. He also monic. held the same position with the St Paul Cham- ber Orchestra from 2001 to 2004 and stayed on Lithuanian Mirga Grazynite- two more years when the orchestra replaced Tyla, 34, music director of the conductors with artistic partners. For years his City of Birmingham Symphony home has been “just down the road” in Tru- since 2016, will relinquish her mansburg NY. position in 2022, becoming instead the orchestra’s principal Two changes at New York’s American Com- guest conductor. She said she posers Orchestra: George Manahan, 69, will wanted to “step away from the organizational leave after 11 years as music director when his and administrative responsibilities” and con- 2 May/June 2021 centrate instead on “purely musical activities”. the first woman in 140 years to Also, as the mother of two children under the hold the position and also age of 3, she wants to “balance her working becomes the BSO’s first CEO. life” better. She has been with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Riccardo Chailly, 68, music director of the almost 30 years, most recently Lucerne Festival Orchestra since succeeding as president and COO. Claudio Abbado in 2016, extended his contract until 2026. He also has been music director of David Lomeli, 36, becomes La Scala since 2015. Santa Fe Opera’s chief artistic officer on May 1. It’s a newly British conductor Jonathan titled position following the Nott, 58, not only renewed departure of Artistic Director his contract as music and Alexander Neef to become artistic director of the Gene- director of the Paris Opera. va-based Orchestre de la Lomeli had been director of Suisse Romande as of Sep- artistic administration for the tember 1, 2021, but the new Dallas Opera. contract is permanent, building on his success with Tenor Russell Thomas, the orchestra since 2017. 44, is the new artist-in residence at the Los Alevtina Ioffe, 41, Angeles Opera through became music director 2024, succeeding in February of Moscow’s Matthew Aucoin. He Mikhailovsky Theatre. will play a substantial She is the first woman to role in artistic plan- become music director ning and casting, and of a major Russian per- in the administrative side of the company’s forming arts institution. day-to-day operations. She has an extensive background in opera James Darrah, and children’s theater. who turns 37 this The Mikhailovsky pres- year, became artis- ents traditional and experimental productions. tic director and chief creative offi- Gail Samuel becomes president of the Boston cer of Long Beach Symphony on June 21, succeeding Mark Volpe Opera in February after his legendary 23-year tenure. Samuel is with a three-year The Endellion String Quartet—violinists Andrew Watkinson and Ralph de Souza, violist Garfield Jackson, and cellist David Waterman—has disbanded.