Word: soloists
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Reagan Messer, as Tybalt, skillfully portrays the dark vengefulness of the character through sharp jumps and cold, forbidding demeanour. A frigid, severe expression and haughtily up-tilted nose make soloist Nadia Thompson a perfect Lady Capulet, though there is no conceivable reason why her character should be on pointe. Oddly enough, Pelzig throws in a hint of incest between Tybalt and Lady Capulet--maybe it's just the acting, but they certainly seem a little too uncomfortably close throughout the ballet...
Though far from a world-class soloist, Rieu is a perfectly respectable violinist and conductor, and he has a knack for picking danceworthy tempos. His slickly polished albums may not be especially demanding, but they aren't gimmicky either; he doesn't play reggae versions of Tales from the Vienna Woods or pose in a G-string for publicity shots. All he does is look handsome and make music--a concept as old-fashioned as the music he makes. Therein, in fact, may lie the real secret of his success: the perpetually hummable tunes of the 19th century waltz king...
...Kong with China, this seductively savory multicultural stew is shaping up as the classical-music event of the summer. The 72-minute work was telecast worldwide July 1 from the handover ceremonies in Hong Kong, and the first recording, conducted by Tan and featuring Yo-Yo Ma as cello soloist, was rushed into print by Sony the following week, debuting in the No. 5 slot on the Billboard classical chart...
...intonation, vocal virtuosity and care for a song's mood, to Bing Crosby than to any top singer of the past 30 years. The under-the-balcony tenorizing of It's Now or Never, the final detonation of pain and taunt in Are You Lonesome Tonight?, the choir-soloist power of the hymn He Touched Me--his voice breaking poignantly at the end of the hymn, as if he had just seen Jesus--these still thrill and haunt. So does his desire to please an audience of kids and grandmas instead of comfortably occupying a niche, as almost every...
Somehow energized after a second movement that lacked much cohesion of thought between the soloist and orchestra, Zacharias dove into the finale with visible enthusiasm. He slammed his powerful left hand into the bass line during at least two tuttis, and practically cued the cellos himself during the recapitulation. He pushed every beat with an ardor that made up for his interpretation's lack of spaciousness...