Stay updated with breaking news from David Hinitt. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Dvoák: Takács Quartet Quartet 13; Andante appassionato / Fantasiestücke, Takács Quartet Hyperion CDA68413 (CD). 2023. David Hinitt, eng.; Andrew Keener, prod. Performance **** Sonics ****½
Byrd: Mass for five voices; Choral works The Gesualdo Six/Owain Park Hyperion CDA68416 (CD, 2023). Adrian Peacock, prod.; David Hinitt, eng. Performance ***** Sonics ***** Those who, like me, hauled ourselves through college music courses will remember being told that the Byrd Mass for five voices is a masterpiece, a claim soon belied when we were played a performance by some desiccated, monochromatic chorus. Had a recording like the new one by The Gesualdo Six been played instead, we might have agreed more readily with the academic judgment.
A sublime new recording by Stephen Hough teases out the bel-canto beauty of the celebrated cycle.