Monthly Archive: August 2014
SAINT-SAENS: Piano Trio No. 1 in F; Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor – Aquinas Piano Trio – Guild
Two exceptionally vibrant readings of the Saint-Saens Piano Trios should give any lover of Gallic chamber music a delicious hour.
“Love Duets” – Ailyn Perez, sop./ Stephen Costello, tenor/ BBC Sym. Orch./ Patrick Summers – Warner Music
The awaited debut of the two young Americans together makes a good, if not perfect, impression.
BYRD: “The Three Masses”; Ave verum corpus – Choir of Westminster Cathedral/ Martin Baker – Hyperion
Three Byrd masses without parody movements.
SCHUMANN: Complete Symphonic Works, Vol. II = Symphony No. 2 in C Major; Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major “Rhenish” – WDR Sinfonieorchester Cologne/ Heinz Holliger – Audite
Tasteful and enthusiastic, these readings of Schumann by Heinz Holliger capture an esprit entirely appropriate to the occasion.
BRUCKNER/ LUNA: “Bruckner Unknown” – [TrackList follows] – Ensemble ViennAyres/ Ensemble Weiz Linz/ Hard Chor Linz – Preiser
Fine scholarship meets fine musicians.
HINDEMITH: Hérodiade – Inscape* – Sono Luminus
A vastly underrated score is given a worthy performance.
The Animals – The Best Of The Animals [TrackList follows] – Abkco Music vinyl
This British Invasion band adhered to blues roots.
The Jazz City Workshop [TrackList follows] – Bethlehem
An album filled with solid ideas and exceptional playing.
Audio News for August 29, 2014
AudioControl Launches M8 Surround Theater Preamp; CEA SAys Consumer Confidence High for 2014; Batter Named Gracenote CEO; A Synaesthesia Music Festival in Australia
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet No. 14 in c-sharp, Op. 131—Jasper String Quartet – Sono Luminus
Not quite ready for prime time, though the seeds of greatness are there.
Harp Music of Debussy, Charriere, Thomas, d’Almivare and Blank [TrackList follows] – Duo-harpists Geneviève Chevallier and Christine Fleischmann – VDE-Gallo (Gall)
Lovely assortment by Swiss harp duo Chevallier and Fleischmann.
Oscar Shumsky. violin = Works of BACH, BEETHOVEN TELEMANN, MOZART, RACHMANINOFF, HINDEMITH, SCHUBERT, KREISLER, SCHUMANN, SAINT-SEANS & Others – with various soloists & orch. – Doremi (3 CDs)
Virtuoso Oscar Shumsky receives a generous part of his long overdue tribute as a master violinist of extraordinary range and accomplishment.
FAURE: Requiem; Cantique de Jean Racine; Messe basse—Gerald Finley, bar./ Tom Pickard, treble/ Choir of King’s College, Cambridge; Orch. of the Age of Enlightenment/ Stephen Cleobury – King’s College
A reconstruction of the 1889 premiere for a liturgical setting.
“Music for Alfred Hitchcock” = HERRMANN, WAXMAN, TIOMKIN, ELFMAN – Danish Nat. Sym. Orch./ John Mauceri – Toccata Classics
Some of the best symphonic scores for Hitchcock movies, including some first recordings.
DEBUSSY: Preludes, Book 2 [TrackList follows] – Hristo Kazakov, piano – self
Hristo Kazakov concludes a brace of fine Debussy Preludes albums.
“Behind the Lines” [TrackList follows] – Anna Prohaska, sop./ Eric Schneider, p. – DGG
Bold and gutsy, this latest outing from Prohaska sets a new bar.
MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto in e; JOHN ADAMS: Violin Concerto – Chad Hoopes, v./ MDR Leipzig Radio Sym. Orch./ Kristjan Jarvi – Naïve
Hang on to your seat! At nearly four minutes faster than most Mendelssohn recordings, Hoopes is in a hurry. Adams is magnificent.
STENHAMMAR: Serenade; Excelsior!; Interlude from “The Song” – Royal Flemish Philharmonic/ Christian Lindberg – BIS
Excellent performances and sonics distinguish this fine trio of works by the Swedish composer, conductor and pianist.
Audio News for August 26, 2014
Harman Seminar: “The Science of Loudspeaker-Room Calibration”; DGG Starts World’s First Classical Label Streaming App; Denon First with Dolby Atmos AVRs
Four Horns And A Lush Life [TrackList follows] – Bethlehem
This is an album that captures the ear and the imagination of the listener.
STRAVINSKY: The Rite of Spring; Symphony of Psalms – SWR Sym. Orch. of Baden-Baden and Freiburg; Choir and Orch. of the French Nat. Radio Orch./ Jascha Horenstein – Pristine Audio
Pristine has a coup in this reissue of classic readings of Stravinsky by Jascha Horenstein, a true evening of exemplary musicianship.
PEHR HENRIK NORDGREN: Concerto for Clarinet; Symphony No. 1 – Christoffer Sundqvist, clar./Folk ensemble/Finnish Radio Sym. Orch./ Juha Kangas – Alba
Pretty interesting works by this talented eccentric.