Classical music

Classical Music critic Lloyd Schwartz looks at how different recorded performances of music can influence a listener's understanding of the piece.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new release of Mozart's comic opera, "The Abduction from the Seraglio." It's a 1961 performance of a little known German comedy by Mozart, but Lloyd says it compares favorably with his best known Italian works.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new album by pianist Garrick Ohlsson. Ohlsson has a reputation for highlighting obscure works; this time Ohlsson performs a little-known work by Debussy, as well as one of Debussy's most famous pieces.

Classical Music Critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a collection of waltzes by members of Vienna's Strauss family. The album is conducted by Carlos Kleiber, son of the great Viennese conductor Erich Kleiber.

Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the first album by the trio New Winds, whose members have experiences in both jazz and classical music. Clarinetist J.D. Parran has played with an improviser's collective called The Black Artists Group, saxophonist Ned Rothenberg plays with a band that does covers of 60s songs, and flutist Robert Dick has played primarily with classical ensembles.

Classical Music Critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews two recent reissues of composer Benjamin Britten conducting two of his works, "Albert Herring" and "Billy Budd."

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a recording of what he considers two of Mozart's most beautiful works of chamber music for string quartet and winds. The recording features the British Gabrieli String Quartet.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new release of performances of four violin concertos by Fritz Kreisler. Kreisler, an Austrian who died in 1962, was probably the most renown violinist in the world in the period between the two World Wars. The double compact-disc set, which also includes three shorter pieces, is released on the Music and Arts label.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new recording of music originally written for The Ballets Russes. The five ballets featured in the recording all have music written by French composers, among them Erik Satie and François Poulenc.

Classical Music Critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the final three performances of the PepsiCo Summerfare Arts Festival at Purchase, New York. For ten years, the Pepsi-Cola company has underwritten an annual international arts festival that will best be remembered for its ambitious presentations of operas by Mozart and Handel that were directed by Peter Sellars. In this segment, Lloyd reviews performances of Mozart's three great Italian operas, "The Marriage of Figaro," "Don Giovanni" and "Cosi fan tutte."