Monthly Archive: March 2014
Scottish Chamber Orchestra 40th Anniversary = WAGNER: Siegfried Idyll; SIBELIUS: The Tempest Suite No. 2; MOZART: Symphony No. 41 “Jupiter” – Linn
The musical salute to the 40th Anniversary of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra assembles three glowing performances from master musicians.
Audio News for March 14, 2014
SeeSpace Hits Kickstarter Goal for InAir TV; HDTracks and Liztic LLC Partnership; Onkyo Works on Wireless System with Imagination Technologies; New Video Game Has 35GB of Uncompressed Audio
HINDEMITH: Concerto for Clarinet & Orchestra; Quintet for Clarinet & String Quartet; Sonata for Clarinet & Piano – Richard Stoltzman, clar./Tashi/ Yehudi Wyner, p./ Slovak Radio Sym. Orch. /Kirk Trevor – Navona
Great to have all these somewhat neglected masterworks all on one CD!
The Last Days On Mars, Blu-ray (2013)
Interesting Irish indie sci-fi feature, but the zombie-averse should skip it.
The 2014 Portland Jazz Festival
11 days of amazing live jazz preserving the legacy and future of jazz in Portland OR
Tubby Hayes – Tubby’s New Groove – Candid (1959)/ Pure Pleasure Records (2013) – mono vinyl
1959 tracks from a great British tenor sax player.
ROSSINI: Complete Overtures • 2 [TrackList follows] – Prague Sinfonia Orch./ Christian Benda – Naxos audio-only Blu-ray
Second volume of the audio-only Blu-ray series of Rossini Overtures from Naxos.
“The Lyric Clarinet ” = Music by GUASTAVINO, DEBUSSY, POULENC, SCHUMANN, BRAHMS, SCHUBERT, et al. [TrackList follows] – F. Gerard Errante, clar./Philip Fortenberry, Voltaire Verzosa, p. – Ravello
A very pleasant discovery (or rediscovery), especially for clarinetists.
GEORGE ANTHEIL: Ballet Mecanique; A Jazz Symphony (both original versions) – Boston Modern Orchestra Project/ Gil Rose – BMOP sound
A lot of noise plus a sort of rip-off of Rhapsody in Blue, but fun nevertheless.
ERNEST JOHN MOERAN: In the Mountain Country [TrackList follows] = Benjamin Frith, p./ Ulster Orch./ JoAnn Falletta – Naxos
An excellent collection of works by a composer who deserves greater recognition.
Audio News for March 11, 2014
Archival Disc Proposed by Sony & Panasonic; Neil Young’s Pono Actually Happening; Krell Offers Two Preamps
“KURT ATTERBERG Orchestral Works, Vol. 2” = ATTERBERG: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 8 – Gothenburg Sym. Orch./ Neeme Jarvi – Chandos
Excellent performances of symphonies by this important Swede.
SCRIABIN: Piano Sonatas Nos. 4 & 5; Waltz; 2 Poems; RAVEL: Valses nobles et sentimentales; Sonatine; La Valse – JK Lim, p. – Warner Classics
An imaginative, if willful, demonstration of keyboard virtuosity by HJ Lim, who combines two keyboard titans under one banner.
Craig Handy – Craig Handy and 2nd Line Smith [TrackList follows] – OKeh
New Orleans meets Jimmy Smith on Craig Handy’s mightily swinging Okeh label debut. Craig Handy – Craig Handy and 2nd Line Smith [TrackList follows] – OKeh
Ender’s Game, Blu-ray (2013)
For me it was as bad as Starship Troopers, but this writer liked the filmed version of Orson Scott Card’s book…Ed.
“An Amadeus Affair” – BUSONI: Duettino concertante. MOZART: Sonata For Two Pianos K. 448. LISZT Reminiscences de Don Juan. MOZART: “Soave sia il vento”; Grand Scherzo; Ragtime alla Turca – Greg Anderson & Elizabeth Joy Roe, duo-pianos – Steinway & Sons
A totally delightful combination of bubbly Mozart for two pianos.
Martha Argerich, Vol. I = Vintage Mozart from the youthful firebrand Argerich – Doremi
Vintage Mozart from the youthful firebrand Argerich, here dazzling in one of the Mozart concertos she never recorded commercially.
DUKAS: Comp. Piano Works – Laurent Wagschal, p. – Timpani
Wagschal’s interpretations are very satisfying, but if you buy, make sure the technical flaw in the recording has been corrected.
BEETHOVEN: Missa Solemnis cond. by Harnoncourt, Blu-ray (2013)
Revelatory? Not quite, but certainly new and different, more from an interpretative standpoint than an orchestral one.
Tanglewood 75th Anniversary Celebration, Blu-ray (2013)
Tanglewood at 75 Concert.
Devo – The Complete Truth About De-Evolution (2014)
New Wave video pioneers still resonate!
Love and Loss = MONTEVERDI: Madrigals – Arcangelo/ Jonathan Cohen, dir./ James Gilchrist, tenor – Hyperion
Monteverdi as fine as this is always welcome, even to a very competitive catalog.