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 — 26 Jan 2020
Stuart Greenbaum by John Stanton, Ron Baglind & Luke Howard
What would you do in your final hour? If you had but one hour left, how would you express yourself? Through words, music, art? Stuart Greenbaum posits this question with…
Review — 26 Jan 2020
Les Sons et les Parfums byJanina Fialkowska
‘Sounds and Perfume’ is the perfect name for this enchanting piano album. Originally from Baudelaire’s poem, Debussy borrowed the full title ‘Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du…
Review — 21 Oct 2019
Mozart: Piano Trios
There is something so assured in this recording of Mozart’s Piano Trios. A deft touch at the piano, a sense of style to the violin melodies and a warm…
Review — 21 Oct 2019
Richard Strauss by Lucerne Festival Orchestra & Riccardo Chailly
There is silence. We wait … and wait … and then, out of this heavy hush, the trumpet speaks those famous notes. Riccardo Chailly brings his understanding of opera drama…
Review — 22 Sep 2019
Terry Riley: Sun Rings by Kronos Quartet
2019 is the fiftieth Anniversary of the moon landing. So I think that this is the perfect time for the first ever recording that intersperses sounds from space with classical…
Review — 24 Jun 2019
Sir John Tavener: The Protecting Veil by Matthew Barley and Sinfonietta Riga
When the first thing you see, as a performer, is the phrase ‘Transcendent With Awesome Majesty’, you know you’re going to be in for something epic. John Tavener wrote those…
Review — 24 Jun 2019
Rise by Jess Gillam
Last year was a historic year for the BBC Young Musician awards. They had their first ever saxophonist in the finals. Now to those who don’t know, this is a…
Review — 22 Apr 2019
Franz Schubert: Sonatas & Impromptus by András Schiff
The piano is a fascinating instrument that went through many iterations before it became what we know it as today. Originally known as the ‘fortepiano’, it was the first keyboard…
Review — 25 Mar 2019
Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos and Works for Solo Piano by Jan Lisiecki
It is very interesting listening to a recording when you know the soloist has chosen the orchestra and the repertoire. You would not have thought it would make such a…
Review — 25 Feb 2019
Shostakovich: Under Stalin's Shadow by Andris Nelsons & Boston Symphony Orchestra
I can think of no more fitting title for this complete series of Shostakovich’s symphonies performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra than ‘Under Stalin’s Shadow’. Born in 1906, Shostakovich suffered…