@ryanmross.bsky.social
Musicologist. Classical music devotee. Genealogy enthusiast. www.ross-review.blogspot.com
Some things seem like they never end while you're experiencing them:
-Driving across Texas
-Getting a root canal
-Waiting in line at the DMV
-Pierre Monteux getting through Brahms 2
Iβm honored to be chosen for the Music Library Associationβs 2026 Eva Judd OβMeara Award for my review of Byron Adamsβs and Daniel Grimleyβs βVaughan Williams and His Worldβ in Notes.
12.02.2026 21:33 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Your music isnβt great just because your story is sad.
12.02.2026 15:22 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
My review of the new Avril Coleridge-Taylor recording:
classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2026/02/avri...
Saddened to hear of TamΓ‘s VΓ‘sΓ‘ryβs death. A very fine pianist who left behind some terrific Chopin recordings among other things.
06.02.2026 15:02 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
My review of Chandosβs new Bennett/Duke Violin Concertos release.
classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2026/02/benn...
My review of Diyang Meiβs Bowen and Walton Viola Concertos.
classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2026/01/bowe...
Martyn Brabbins sounds like the name of a hobbit.
25.01.2026 16:48 β π 3 π 1 π¬ 2 π 0
My review of PaavoΒ JΓ€rvi's new Mahler 1 with the Tonhalle-Orchester ZΓΌrich.
ross-review.blogspot.com/2026/01/reco...
My review of Eric Luβs new Schubert Impromptus Recording.
ross-review.blogspot.com/2026/01/reco...
My review of Onyxβs recent Butterworth/Holst recording featuring Andrew Manze and the RLPO. @loveinner.bsky.social
classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2026/01/butt...
Review coming today or tomorrow. Will post. Positive.
14.01.2026 16:57 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0I agree with you on Manzeβs RVW symphonies. What did you think of his recent Butterworth/Holst disc?
14.01.2026 16:52 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 2 π 0Iβm very much enjoying Eric Luβs new Schubert Impromptus recording. He has a wonderful touch and great musical instincts.
13.01.2026 18:04 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
My review of Pletnevβs new Chopin/Scriabin preludes recording. Yuck.
ross-review.blogspot.com/2026/01/reco...
My review of SOMMβs new Samuel Coleridge-Taylor release. This oneβs a winner.
classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2026/01/samu...
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was a very good composer.
08.01.2026 03:22 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Great disc.
07.01.2026 13:38 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Hot take: Pierre Boulezβs contributions to performance donβt measure up to the harm his polemics had on the Western classical tradition.
06.01.2026 15:06 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0He did some good stuff early on. But this just seems like someone trying to eke out territory in well-trodden repertoire. Of course many critics are eating it up. Theyβre just thrilled with anything differentβ¦doesnβt have to be good.
05.01.2026 19:16 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0I wonβt say Pletnevβs new Chopin/Scriabin disc is bad all the way the way through, but itβs forced and even a bit mannered.
Review to come.
βThere is always a danger in musicology of making too much out of too little.β- Alan Walker, βFryderyk Chopin: A Life and Timesβ (Picador, 2018), p. 478.
Iβd say over 50% of musicology I read has this problem. Amplification of mere possibility, + impatience with the limitations of primary sources.
A composer Iβve steadily come to admire a great deal. Took a while and lots of listening, but now I love plenty of his works.
03.01.2026 13:50 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0I mean, the reality is that there are a lot more people on Twitter/X. And it has a lot more variety of dispositions among its users. But I come here because many people interested in the same things I am migrated here.
02.01.2026 01:20 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Okay, 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.
Best American symphonies Iβve heard in alphabetical order by composer:
Barber 1
Copland 3
Creston 2
Hanson 4
Harris 3
Piston 2
Still 1
Thompson 2
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.
01.01.2026 16:47 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0I mean, I found it nice. But its best qualities mostly have to do with craft. It doesnβt have the tunes or drama of a good Elgar or Vaughan Williams symphony. Without those I think youβre taking about a more limited appeal.
01.01.2026 14:19 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
