Kate Rockstrom
Kate Rockstrom regularly reviews classical music for Readings. She also performs as a flautist, as well as writing about music and books.
Review — 16 May 2012
Love & Longing, Magdalena Kozena
This is a very interesting meld of works, with three wildly different composers. Starting with Antonin Dvorak’s Biblical Songs for Voice and Orchestra, we go via France and Ravel’s tone…
Review — 16 May 2012
Mozart Piano Concerto No 20 & 21, Jan Lisiecki
I have always been told that Mozart is incredibly easy for the very young and the very old. Normally we have Mozart from those at the height of their career’s…
Review — 5 Jun 2012
Bach: Motets, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Firstly, although yes it’s very shallow, I love the cover of this album. I feel like it sums up Bach in a single picture, we’re always teetering on the edge…
Review — 25 Oct 2012
The Happiness Show by Catherine Deveny
[[catherine-deveny-rev]]Life is a funny thing. The people we meet, the connections we make and then the connections we lose.
I have always loved Catherine Deveny’s writing style and having a…
Review — 25 Apr 2012
Franck & Bartok, Pascal Roge
The main theme from the Symphony in D minor by Cesar Franck always sends shivers up my spine. It’s so sad and yet so uplifting at the same time. A…
Review — 25 Apr 2012
Dvorak: Symphony No. 7, Pierre Monteux
Pierre Monteux is a name that I was not familiar with when I opened this CD to listen. Right from the opening notes of the Dvorak Symphony No 7 though…
Review — 25 Apr 2012
Francaix: Chamber Music for Winds
Jean Francaix was one of the most prolific composers of the 20th Century. Although well known in certain circles, his music is often hard to find on recordings. He writes…
Review — 25 Apr 2012
Elgar: Cello Concerto & Orchestral Works, Sir Andrew Davis
Who doesn’t love the Elgar Cello Concerto. Always up there in the Top 10 works ever written it was originally made famous by Jacqueline du Pre. In this new release…
Review — 3 May 2012
Strauss: Die Frau Ohne Schatten
This is a really odd, although very interesting, production of Strauss’s ‘last romantic opera’ (his words). It is a reconstruction, almost like a documentary style presentation (without the cuts or…
Review — 9 May 2012
Massenet: Werther
The opera Werther is a tale of love, loss and family. Opera superstar Rolando Villazon takes the role of Werther in this new recording from Deutsche Grammophon. With Antonio Pappano…