Monthly Archive: September 2015
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 9 in d minor; R. STRAUSS: Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, Op. 28 – Philharmonic Sym. of New York/ Bruno Walter – Pristine
Bruckner 9th by Walter in superb fidelity from a private collector.
Alceo Galleria conducts R. STRAUSS, WAGNER, DVORAK, RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, TCHIAKOVSKY, ROSSINI – Opus Kura (2 CDs)
A “sleeper set” by a fine conductor.
Bill Evans – The Complete Fantasy Recordings – Fantasy /Concord Music Group – (9-CDs)
A terrific CD set for all Bill Evans fans.
John Hollenbeck – Songs We Like a Lot [TrackList follows] – Sunnyside
A follow-up to his 2013 Grammy-winner Songs I Like a Lot.
Dave Douglas – High Risk [TrackList follows] – Greenleaf Music
A true cutting-edge jazz trumpet player.
VILLA-LOBOS: Symphony No. 12; Uirapuru; Mandu-çarará – Sao Paulo Sym. and Children’s Choir/ Isaac Karabtchevsky – Naxos
Thrilling music that is well-played and beautifully recorded.
Audio New for September 28, 2015
Panasonic Announces Blu-ray, DVD and HDD Recorder; New Apple iPod Nano; Hi-Res Audio Pros & Cons; Consider the FiiO X1 Hi-Rec Audio Player Before You Buy
LUTOSLAWSKI: Piano Concerto; Symphony No. 2 – Krystian Zimmerman, piano – Berlin Philharmonic/Simon Rattle – DGG
A brilliant modern piano concerto from a Polish master.
Christian McBride Trio – Live At The Village Vanguard – Mack Avenue
A vivacious recording from an expressively accomplished trio.
Izzy Young – Talking Folklore Center (2015)
A fine documentary on the early folk movement – sincere and heartwarming.
Ray Charles In Person – Atlantic Records/ Pure Pleasure Records – vinyl
The historical value trumps the admittedly non-audiophile quality acoustics…
Romantic Metamorphoses – VIEUXTEMPS, ZEMTSOV, BLOCH, BIZET- Cathelijne Noorland, piano/ Dana Zemtsov, viola/ Channel Classics
An intriguing collection with a personal connection to Ms. Zemtsov.
“The Butterfly Lovers” = Works for Violin and Chinese Orchestra [TrackList follows] – Lu Siqing, violin / Taipei Chinese Orch. / Chung Yiu-Kwong – BIS
An interesting fusion of East and West well worth investigating.
SIR HUBERT PARRY: I was Glad & other choral works – Westminster Abbey Choir / Onyx Brass / Daniel Cook (organ) / James O’Donnell – Hyperion (CD or hi-res download)
English Cathedral choral and organ music from Westminster Abbey in very fine hi-res sound.
BACH: Brandenburg Concertos (complete) – Los Angeles Phil. Orch./ Pinchas Zukerman – Pentatone 4.0 (2 discs)
Back again and sounding wonderful, this set is truly a refreshing excursion into the world of Bach.
Audio News for September 21, 2015
7digital App Streams Hi-Res to Google Cast Products; New McIntosh C47 Hi-Res Digital Preamp; New Sony Hi-Res Digital Walkman with Ear Buds; Denon 9-Channel Amp
FELDMAN: Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello – Danielle Farina, viola/ Aleck Karis, piano/Curtis Macomber, violin/ Christopher Finckel, cello – Bridge
“So you’re playing what here?”
Jeff Lynne’s ELO Live in Hyde Park & Mr. Blue Sky, Blu-ray (2015)
A Jeff Lynne double feature on Blu-ray for his fans.
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 1 in d minor; Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major – Daniel Barenboim, p./ Staatskapelle Berlin/ Gustavo Dudamel – DGG (2 CDs)
Barenboim and Dudamel bring affection and lavish coloration to the two Brahms concertos, live from Berlin, 2014.
Ex Machina, Blu-ray (2014/15)
A very thought-provoking take on AI which is not like most sci-fi films at all.
“Orbit – Music for Solo Cello” = var. composers – Matt Haimovitz, cello – Oxingale/ Pentatone (3 discs)
A most comprehensive collection on three multichannel SACDs, by one of the finest solo cellists today.
Charles Munch – The Complete New York Philharmonic Recordings, 1947-1948 = MOZART, SAINT-SAENS, LISZT, CHABRIER, D’INDY – Pristine Audio (2 CDs)
Inscriptions French conductor Charles Munch made after his long-delayed appearance before American orchestras after World War II.