A radiant sound

In its review of the recording of Jules Massenet’s opera Don Quichotte, the specialist publication Opera News focussed on the “convincing and utterly enthusiastic” performance and “staggering brilliance” of Ferruccio Furlanetto who sang the title role. Valery Gergiev “leads the work at the height of his powers with the flexibility of an expert, an orchestral atmosphere and a brilliant feeling for the details.” American newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that “Gergiev’s characteristic electric-fast tempos and the forthright Mariinsky chorus do wonders for the Spanish-flavored choruses,” calling the recording acoustic itself “radiant” and stating that “the opera is indeed reborn.”

The release of a recording of Dmitry Shostakovich’s First and Second and Rodion Shchedrin’s Fifth Piano Concerti: according to America’s Fanfare magazine, which gave the disc five stars, “when you listen to, it the unity between Valery Gergiev and Denis Matsuev in relationship to the development of the music material and, even more importantly, their excellent accord all become clear.”

Germany’s Rezension also awarded a disc of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies released on DVD and Blue-Ray its highest rating of five stars.