Welcome to ‘Dodd’s Discoveries’, a review series from NativeDSD Senior Music Reviewer Bill Dodd. This series focuses on Bill’s latest selections, with new reviews regularly. And the best part… the albums featured in the most current review will be available at a reduced price! Click the button below to see all of Dodd’s Discoveries and to find the current album(s) on sale.
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Strauss: Ein Heldenleben – Mahler: Ruckert-Lieder€17,99 – €34,49 -
Mahler: Symphony No. 5€17,99 – €34,49
Pentatone has a rising star! Venezuelan Rafael Payare has been making a name for himself for the past few years, and these two newer releases from Pentatone are lighting up my listening room. I have so many great Mahler 5’s, and I’ve praised many of them right here. But this new one from Payare with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra was a joy to hear from the very first. It’s exciting, holding nothing back!
And there’s Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, and Mahler’s Ruckert-Lieder, recently released! My first exposure to A Hero’s Life was about decades ago with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, on a super-hifi Columbia recording. It was certainly lively, but a bit over-cooked. Others through the years impressed me, but the piece never became one of my favorites. But this one, whiles certainly exciting, exposes far more layers of feeling than I’ve heard before. It’s a bit different in spots, but it all sounds… right! And its peaceful ending leads beautifully into Mahler’s Ruckert-Lieder, with the crystal clear voice of Sonya Yoncheva.
I don’t care how many recordings you may have of the works on these two albums. Stop what you’re doing and check them out. Plug in your headphones and listen!
I know, I get a bit excited sometimes.
