Classical

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a recording of 18th century flute quartets by the Mannheim Quartet. The group performs several of Mozart's quartets here on original instruments.

Musicologist H.C. Robbins Landon. His new book, "Mozart: The Golden Years," traces the most troubling and creative period of the composers life, the years 1781-91. During this period, Mozart completed three controversial operas, married and wooed his wife Constanze Weber, became entangled in financial difficulties, and lived through the death of his father. In this book, the second of two volumes on the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Landon, further explores the link between Mozart's "manic depressive disorder" and his creativity.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "Warm Evenings," the new album by cornet player Warren Vaché (pronounced va-SHAY). On this album, Vaché teams up with classical music's Beaux-Arts String Quartet.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews three reissues of music by composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Korngold was a success at both serious composition and writing music for the movies...among his film scores are the classics "The Sea Hawk," and "The Adventures of Robin Hood."

Violinist Shlomo Mintz. Mintz was born in Moscow and emigrated with his family two years later to Israel. He made his concerto debut at age 11 with Zubin Mehta, and has continued to appear with Mehta each season since. Mintz is considered one of the foremost violinists of this generation.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new compact disc of Beethoven sonatas played by renowned Irish pianist John O'Conor.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new recording of works by Sir Michael Tippett. Tippett is generally considered the greatest living British composer. He's in the U.S. for the world premiere of his fifth opera, "New Year," in Houston on October 27.

Dutch recorder player and conductor Frans Brüggen (BROO-gen). He's one of the world's preeminent recorder players. In 1981, he formed the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century which uses period instruments for its repertoire of Renaissance and Baroque music.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a recording of two new works by the Soviet Union's leading female composer, Sofia Gubaidulina.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz has a review of a never-before-recorded Kurt Weill (Vile) opera. Weill is best-known for his collaborations with playwright Bertolt Brecht, such as "The Threepenny Opera" and "The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahogany".

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new RCA Victor recording called Marian Anderson: Bach, Brahms, Schubert. The album also includes a recording of Marion Anderson's 1955 debut performance at the Metropolitan Opera singing an aria from Verdi's "A Masked Ball".

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.