home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- January 2, 1984MUSICBEST OF '83
-
-
- Classical
-
- Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (Archive). Trevor Pinnock leads
- his crack English Concert in crisp, exuberant performances.
-
- Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin: Two Portraits (Deutsche
- Grammophon). Bartok's bloodcurdling ballet gets an elemental
- reading from Claudio Abbado and the London Symphony.
-
- Elliott Carter: Night Fantasies; Piano Sonata (Nonesuch). One
- of the landmarks of 20th century keyboard music, the Sonata
- (1945-46) is definitively interpreted by the late Paul Jacobs.
-
- Copland: Short Symphony; Ives: Symphony No. 3 (Pro Arte).
- Quintessential slices of orchestral Americana, lovingly realized
- by Dennis Russell Davies and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
-
- Charles Tomlinson Griffes: Piano Music (Nonesuch). Griffes'
- unique brand of American romantic impressionism gets a
- persuasive reassessment from Noel Lee.
-
- Philip Glass: Koyaanisqatsi (Antilles). The minimalist sound
- track from the movie stands on its own as a symphonic suite of
- rare power and passion.
-
- Janacek: Jenufa (London). The greatest of Leos Janacek's nine
- operas gets a recording worthy of its stature from Sir Charles
- Mackerras and Soprano Elizabeth Soderstrom.
-
- Puccini: La Rondine (CBS Masterworks). Kiri Te Kanawa,
- Placido Domingo and Conductor Lorin Maazel star in Puccini's
- unaccountably neglected confectioner's delight.
-
- Verdi: Falstaff (Deutsche Grammophon). Renato Bruson is an
- autumnal Sir John in Carlo Maria Guilini's bittersweet live
- recording.
-
- Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Philips). Soprano Hildegard
- Behrens is a stellar Wagnerian in Leonard Bernstein's
- incandescent performance of the most erotic of operas.
-
-
- Rock and Jazz
-
- David Bowie: Let's Dance (EMI America). Smooth and elegant,
- like the edge of a new knife, this sharp, soulful album marked
- Bowie's return to top form.
-
- Culture Club: Colour by Numbers (Virgin). Lead Singer Boy
- George may look like Peter Pan at a transvestite Mardi Gras, but
- this band purveys a straight and joyous brand of pop.
-
- Wynton Marsalis: Think of One (Columbia). Mathematical
- arabesques on the trumpet by a 22-year old who is fast turning
- from a prodigy into a world-class pro.
-
- Malcolm McLaren: Duck Rock (Island). The year's funniest and
- most slaphappy dance record mixes Zulu chants, New York City
- Jump-rope songs and hip-hop street culture into an
- anthropological jamboree.
-
- Randy Newman: Trouble in Paradise (Warner Bros.). Part
- stand-up comedy, part The Day of the Locust: Newman's best since
- 1972's Sail Away.
-
- Linda Ronstadt and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra: What's New
- (Asylum). Nine standards, done straight, by a pop queen
- collaborating with an old orchestra master. It must have seemed
- crazy, but it's a hit and seemingly effortless tour de force.
-
- Paul Simon: Hearts and Bones (Warner Bros.). The finest album
- yet by one of the best songwriters in anybody's neighborhood.
-
- Talking Heads: Speaking in Tongues (Sire). SoHo soul and
- uptown rhythm: nobody mixes it up better.
-
- U2: War (Island). Righteous rock with social savvy, fierce as
- a street fight.
-
- X: More Fun in the New World (Elektra). The New Wave rolls on:
- if William S. Burroughs fronted a garage band, it would sound
- like this.
-
-