Janos Gereben

Lovers of Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung may have differing recommendations, but surprisingly, there is one recording almost everyone agrees is a first choice.

John Adams is baaaack in his “fun chamber,” with a spirited, quasi-redux chamber symphony that pulsates with joy.

There are bigger spectator sports, but none with more participants than choral singing. Surprising but true: more Americans sing in choruses, chorales, choirs, glee clubs and other vocal groups — both professional and amateur — than engage in football, baseball, tennis, even Greco-Roman wrestling.

No music is an island and the San Francisco Symphony's performance of Mahler's Sixth Symphony is a case in point.