Ryan Ross
@ryanmross.bsky.social
Musicologist. Classical music devotee. Genealogy enthusiast.
www.ross-review.blogspot.com
www.ross-review.blogspot.com
My review of Pletnev’s new Chopin/Scriabin preludes recording. Yuck.
ross-review.blogspot.com/2026/01/reco...
ross-review.blogspot.com/2026/01/reco...
Recording Review #68: Mikhail's Mess
ross-review.blogspot.com
January 10, 2026 at 6:38 PM
My review of Pletnev’s new Chopin/Scriabin preludes recording. Yuck.
ross-review.blogspot.com/2026/01/reco...
ross-review.blogspot.com/2026/01/reco...
My review of SOMM’s new Samuel Coleridge-Taylor release. This one’s a winner.
classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2026/01/samu...
classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2026/01/samu...
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Orchestral Works (CD Review)
Classical Candor, classical music reviews, news, compact disc, CD, SACD, XRCD, XRCD24, HQCD, audio, stereo, orchestral, chamber, jazz, John J. Puccio
classicalcandor.blogspot.com
January 9, 2026 at 3:25 PM
My review of SOMM’s new Samuel Coleridge-Taylor release. This one’s a winner.
classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2026/01/samu...
classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2026/01/samu...
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was a very good composer.
January 8, 2026 at 3:22 AM
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was a very good composer.
Hot take: Pierre Boulez’s contributions to performance don’t measure up to the harm his polemics had on the Western classical tradition.
January 6, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Hot take: Pierre Boulez’s contributions to performance don’t measure up to the harm his polemics had on the Western classical tradition.
I won’t say Pletnev’s new Chopin/Scriabin disc is bad all the way the way through, but it’s forced and even a bit mannered.
Review to come.
Review to come.
January 5, 2026 at 6:12 PM
I won’t say Pletnev’s new Chopin/Scriabin disc is bad all the way the way through, but it’s forced and even a bit mannered.
Review to come.
Review to come.
“There is always a danger in musicology of making too much out of too little.”- Alan Walker, “Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times” (Picador, 2018), p. 478.
I’d say over 50% of musicology I read has this problem. Amplification of mere possibility, + impatience with the limitations of primary sources.
I’d say over 50% of musicology I read has this problem. Amplification of mere possibility, + impatience with the limitations of primary sources.
January 4, 2026 at 5:18 PM
“There is always a danger in musicology of making too much out of too little.”- Alan Walker, “Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times” (Picador, 2018), p. 478.
I’d say over 50% of musicology I read has this problem. Amplification of mere possibility, + impatience with the limitations of primary sources.
I’d say over 50% of musicology I read has this problem. Amplification of mere possibility, + impatience with the limitations of primary sources.
Okay, one area where Apple outdoes Spotify: 100,000-track playlists. Wow!
Ideal if you want to put a huge body of musical literature together and just marinade in it over months.
Ideal if you want to put a huge body of musical literature together and just marinade in it over months.
January 1, 2026 at 7:58 PM
Okay, one area where Apple outdoes Spotify: 100,000-track playlists. Wow!
Ideal if you want to put a huge body of musical literature together and just marinade in it over months.
Ideal if you want to put a huge body of musical literature together and just marinade in it over months.
There needs to be a #genelaogy software program that works like a wiki but that you can keep on your pc. Where you can write everything out in terms of sources and narratives, and connect profiles and facts as a secondary function. A special file type could work for this and replace GEDCOM.
January 1, 2026 at 4:47 PM
There needs to be a #genelaogy software program that works like a wiki but that you can keep on your pc. Where you can write everything out in terms of sources and narratives, and connect profiles and facts as a secondary function. A special file type could work for this and replace GEDCOM.
I’d like to quit X and move fully to Bluesky. But this place lacks the reach, variety, and engagement of X. I hate that microblogging is so fractured now.
December 31, 2025 at 6:29 PM
I’d like to quit X and move fully to Bluesky. But this place lacks the reach, variety, and engagement of X. I hate that microblogging is so fractured now.
Just got around to listening to the Huw Watkins Flute Concerto, Violin Concerto, and Symphony.
It’s certainly solid, well crafted fare w/ plenty of nice moments. But the entireties don’t really amount to much in terms of emotional impact. It’s honestly all pretty forgettable once the music stops.
It’s certainly solid, well crafted fare w/ plenty of nice moments. But the entireties don’t really amount to much in terms of emotional impact. It’s honestly all pretty forgettable once the music stops.
December 31, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Just got around to listening to the Huw Watkins Flute Concerto, Violin Concerto, and Symphony.
It’s certainly solid, well crafted fare w/ plenty of nice moments. But the entireties don’t really amount to much in terms of emotional impact. It’s honestly all pretty forgettable once the music stops.
It’s certainly solid, well crafted fare w/ plenty of nice moments. But the entireties don’t really amount to much in terms of emotional impact. It’s honestly all pretty forgettable once the music stops.
This is exactly right. Balakirev 1 needs more love in the concert hall. It’s a fabulous romantic symphony. No wonder Karajan recorded it.
You’ll see I am listening to this exact same disc right now. Balakirev’s Symphonies REALLY hit the spot for me, particularly No.1. What a work! I also really like his various overtures. Fine composer.
December 29, 2025 at 7:13 PM
This is exactly right. Balakirev 1 needs more love in the concert hall. It’s a fabulous romantic symphony. No wonder Karajan recorded it.
I just made a playlist of all 555 Scarlatti sonatas with piano performances only. Details to follow soon on my blog.
December 29, 2025 at 4:16 PM
I just made a playlist of all 555 Scarlatti sonatas with piano performances only. Details to follow soon on my blog.
Many now object to Schenker because of his racism.
I just think his kind of analysis isn’t that meaningful. It’s all a glorified Sudoku puzzle, not that important for experiencing the music in performance.
I just think his kind of analysis isn’t that meaningful. It’s all a glorified Sudoku puzzle, not that important for experiencing the music in performance.
December 28, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Many now object to Schenker because of his racism.
I just think his kind of analysis isn’t that meaningful. It’s all a glorified Sudoku puzzle, not that important for experiencing the music in performance.
I just think his kind of analysis isn’t that meaningful. It’s all a glorified Sudoku puzzle, not that important for experiencing the music in performance.
Nice to have regular access here again. As a Mississippi resident, I had to verify my age. My state and this app reached an agreement just very recently. Yay.
December 10, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Nice to have regular access here again. As a Mississippi resident, I had to verify my age. My state and this app reached an agreement just very recently. Yay.
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 27, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Happy Thanksgiving!
My review of Matthew Riley’s fine book, “English Diatonic Music, 1887-1955,” is up at Music & Letters.
academic.oup.com/ml/advance-a...
academic.oup.com/ml/advance-a...
November 22, 2025 at 6:16 PM
My review of Matthew Riley’s fine book, “English Diatonic Music, 1887-1955,” is up at Music & Letters.
academic.oup.com/ml/advance-a...
academic.oup.com/ml/advance-a...
My review of the recent Schiff recording featuring Lucerne performances of Scarlatti.
classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2025/11/dome...
classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2025/11/dome...
Domenico Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonatas (CD Review)
Classical Candor, classical music reviews, news, compact disc, CD, SACD, XRCD, XRCD24, HQCD, audio, stereo, orchestral, chamber, jazz, John J. Puccio
classicalcandor.blogspot.com
November 15, 2025 at 8:46 PM
My review of the recent Schiff recording featuring Lucerne performances of Scarlatti.
classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2025/11/dome...
classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2025/11/dome...
Always nice to receive one of these emails. :)
May 7, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Always nice to receive one of these emails. :)
This is a terrific cycle. Engerer really feels these pieces. She does nothing weird/off-putting; she’s just a performer accentuating what makes the music great.
April 9, 2025 at 10:02 PM
This is a terrific cycle. Engerer really feels these pieces. She does nothing weird/off-putting; she’s just a performer accentuating what makes the music great.