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CapRadio new classical releases for 'Sound Advice'

Posted: April 19, 2019

In this week's edition of Sound Advice, Morning Classical host Kevin Doherty focuses on recent releases in the world of classical music. From new releases to new takes on old favorites to the most recent recording on the Organ at Notre Dame, Kevin Doherty highlights some of his favorite albums from the past several months. We'll hear singers from different ends of the vocal spectrum, an Oingo Boingo songwriter and Simpson's composer's violin concerto, Beethoven, and Bach. Here's what's new and noteworthy in the world of classical music:

"Fourth Movement from Eleven Eleven" performed by Sandy Cameron and conducted by John Mauceri
Composed by Danny Elfman

Most of us know Danny Elfman as a film composer and frequent collaborator of Tim Burton or the Simpsons' theme scribe. Some of us probably remember him from his days as the front man for the quirk rock group Oingo Boingo. But about 15 years ago, Elfman decided to try his luck as a composer for the concert hall, hence his most recent work, a violin concerto called "Eleven Eleven." Like any great film composer, his music is driven by narrative even though there technically is no story to be had.

He loves to create a sonic fantasy world for the listener. Musically, Elfman taps into everything from cinematic to neo-romantic to Shostakovich (after whom he claims to have modeled the concerto), and his own quirky sensibilities. We'll play a snippet from the fourth movement toward the end that's got a little bit of everything, including violinist Sandy Cameron's virtuosity. Cameron is a Tour de force. She barely lets up during this entire 45-minute concerto that was written for her.

"Ah! Fuggi Rapido" from Orlando Furioso performed by Cecilia Bartoli & Ensemble Matheus
Composed by Antonio Vivaldi

Cecilia Bartoli has released a brand new Vivaldi album. What's interesting about this is that Vivaldi is known for his instrumental works as he wrote over 200 concertos for violin.

He wrote a significant number of operas but they garnered little to no recognition until Cecilia Bartoli released her first album of Vivaldi songs 20 years ago. That album sparked a renewed interest in the vocal works of Vivaldi and here Bartoli is, two decades later, with a new batch of songs.

If nothing else, I want to remind listeners of the artistry and incredible flexibility of Bartoli's voice. Her command of Vivaldi's melismatic material is uncanny. The precision is amazing.

Read the full articl and listen to the playlist here: