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CD Review | Prokofiev, Nemanja Radulović, Warner Classics

By Heather Weinreb on 3 April 2026 CD and Book Reviews

Prokofiev Nemanja Radulović, violin; Philharmonia Orchestra; Santtu-Matias Rouvali, conductor; Johan Dalene, violin; Laure Favre-Kahne, piano; Les Trilles du Diable Warner Classics, 2026 Serbian violinist Nemanja Radulović’s latest album transports us into Prokofiev’s ironical and highly characterized musical universe. Every note is played with intention and artistry. Radulović’s phrasing draws us into the mercurial intricacies of Prokofiev’s music, which is marked by frequent and often sudden shifts in character. He inhabits each musical persona with conviction and moves between them with such agility that the narrative thread remains intact. In Cinderella, for example, his subtle rubato and accelerandos evoke the atmosphere…

CD Review | Stravinsky: Sankofa, The Soldier’s Tale Retold

By John Gilks on 3 April 2026 CD and Book Reviews

Stravinsky: Sankofa, The Soldier’s Tale Retold & Histoire du soldat Suite Art of Time Ensemble; Andrew Burashko, musical director Leaf Music, 2026 Sankofa takes the music and the basic plot of Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat and reframes it as the story of a young man of African heritage trying to join the Canadian army in Nova Scotia in 1914. Titilope Sonuga’s English-language libretto keeps the basic rhyming couplet structure of the original as well as the interactions with the Devil in multiple guises and it works really well. The piece was performed, in a fully staged version, by Art of…

CD Review | Nkeiru Okoye: When the Caged Bird Sings, Naxos

By Kaitlyn Chan on 3 April 2026 CD and Book Reviews

Nkeiru Okoye: When the Caged Bird Sings Rita Coburn, narrator; Angela Brown, soprano; Christie Dashiell, mezzo-soprano; Issachah Savage, tenor; Jubilant Sykes, baritone; Cyrus Chestnut, piano; EXIGENCE Vocal Ensemble; University of Michigan Choirs; Eugene Rogers, chorus master; University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra; Kenneth Kiesler, music director Naxos, 2026 It is rare to find a project so carefully considered as award-winning composer Nkeiru Okoye’s When the Caged Bird Sings. This “musical celebration,” as deemed by Okoye, draws on a wealth of African-American culture and history, alluding to Black writers, activists, athletes, politicians and more. The title itself recalls American poet Maya Angelou’s…

CD Review | Chor Leoni: This Air | This Earth

By Kaitlyn Chan on 2 February 2026 CD and Book Reviews

Chor Leoni: This Air | This Earth Tina Chang, piano; Jonathan Lo, cello; Vivian Chen, harp; Julia Nolan, saxophone; Chor Leoni; Erick Lichte, conductor Independent, 2025 The latest release from the Vancouver-based choir Chor Leoni features two major works commissioned by the organization. Beginning with “High Flight,” a six-movement piece by Canadian composer Don Macdonald, this album explores life and death—with special consideration paid to emotional and physical legacies. This theme is expanded upon in Dr. Melissa Dunphy’s “The Things We Leave Behind,” which captures snapshots of people’s lives via the items they leave behind after dying. This album is…

CD Review | Louis Couperin: Complete Works. Jean Rondeau

By Justin Bernard on 2 February 2026 Baroque and Early, CD and Book Reviews, Classical Music

Louis Couperin: Complete Works Jean Rondeau, harpsichord Erato, 2025 While most keyboard players succumb to modern tastes and decide to perform baroque composers on the piano, Jean Rondeau remains devoted to the sounds of the harpsichord. Under the French musician’s fingers, we are enveloped by the depth and vibration of this plucked string instrument. For his latest release on Erato, Rondeau offers us one of the most important projects of his artistic life: a complete Louis Couperin in no less than 10 volumes, totaling nearly 300 of his works. In the illustrious Couperin family, it is indeed the uncle to…

CD Review | Jan Järvlepp: In Flanders Fields

By Heather Weinreb on 2 February 2026 CD and Book Reviews

Jan Järvlepp: In Flanders Fields, Earth Song & The Lord’s Prayer London Voices; members of the London Symphony Orchestra | Benjamin Marquis Gilmore, leader; Ben Parry, conductor Navona Records, 2025 In Flanders Fields, an EP of choral pieces, not only features John McCrae’s famous poem, but also includes choral settings of the Lord’s Prayer and a 19th-century speech by Chief Seattle, which pleads for environmental unity. Performed with crystal clarity by London Voices, these pieces are cinematic and approachable. Jann Järvlepp is known for combining classical forms with pop and jazz elements, composing in what he describes as “the newer…

CD Review | Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins

By John Gilks on 2 February 2026 CD and Book Reviews

Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins Wallis Giunta, mezzo-soprano; Jennifer France, soprano; Katarina Andreasson, violin; Benjamin Herzl, violin; Swedish Chamber Orchestra; HK Gruber, conductor BIS, 2026 There are actually three pieces on this new SACD release of music by Kurt Weill. All are performed by the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by HK Gruber, with various soloists. The first and longest is the “ballet with song,” The Seven Deadly Sins, given in the English translation by W.H. Auden and Chester Kalman. It tells the story of the two Annas, who perform, turn tricks and generally misbehave during a tour of major U.S.…

CD Review | Sayeh Roshan, Ali Kian Yazdanfar, Brigitte Poulin

By Justin Bernard on 2 February 2026 CD and Book Reviews

Sayeh Roshan Ali Kian Yazdanfar, double bass; Brigitte Poulin, piano Leaf Music, 2025 Sayeh Roshan is the new project by Ali Kian Yazdanfar and the type of album that can be enjoyed as much by listening to it as by reading the liner notes. The double bass player here puts himself at the crossroads of Persian and western cultures on one hand, and new music and folklore on the other. Along with Brigitte Poulin at the piano, he brings to life new works, most of which were specially commissioned for this project. The composers used for this fascinating blend of…

CD Review | György Kurtág: Játékok, Brigitte Poulin, piano

By Justin Bernard on 2 February 2026 CD and Book Reviews

György Kurtág: Játékok Brigitte Poulin, piano Leaf Music, 2025 Játékok is one of György Kurtág’s most ambitious projects. The Hungarian composer, who will soon be 100, began the work in 1973, but has never really finished it. In 2017 and later in 2020, he added new pieces to what is now an impressive collection of miniatures in 10 volumes. In the tradition of Robert Schumann’s similar set of short solo piano works, Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood), Kurtág revisits the theme of childhood and creates a wide musical panorama with little hints at the idea of games (játékok in Hungarian). For…

CD Review | What if?, Joel Miller, Leaf Music

By Justin Bernard on 14 November 2025 CD and Book Reviews

What if? Joel Miller, saxophones and composition; Ensemble Resonance New Music: Andrew Reed Miller, double bass; Danielle Sametz, violin; Joël Cormier, percussion; Silvio Pupo, piano Leaf Music, 2025 With his latest Leaf Music release, What if?, Joel Miller and his fellow musicians invite us to enjoy a multifaceted musical experience, drawing naturally on his own musical universe as a composer. The first five tracks, written by Miller himself, bring a smile to our faces. Each one is quite distinctive from the others, demonstrating the diversity of this jazz-inspired universe, often set to a danceable rhythm. The only regret is that…