Monthly Archive: September 2016

Audio News for September 30, 2016

New Roku Express Competition to Google’s Chromecast – It is only $30 and does everything the current Roku Stick does, including best-in-class app selection, cross-platform search and simple interface. Plus it’s plenty speedy and comes with a remote control. For an additional $10 you get a cable to output analog audio and video. This Express+ […]

STRAVINSKY: Pulcinella Suite; Apollon musagète; Concerto in D for String Orchestra ‒ Orch. de Ch. de Lausanne/ Joshua Wellerstein ‒ MD&G

STRAVINSKY: Pulcinella Suite; Apollon musagète; Concerto in D for String Orchestra ‒ Orch. de Ch. de Lausanne/ Joshua Wellerstein ‒ MD&G

STRAVINSKY: Pulcinella Suite; Apollon musagète; Concerto in D for String Orchestra ‒ Orch. de Chambre de Lausanne/ Joshua Wellerstein ‒ Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm, multichannel SACD MDG 940 1955-6 (2+2+2); 65:36 (6/3/2016) ***: Stress-free Stravinsky. A musical sedative, anyone? Sometime during the First World War, while Stravinsky was riding out the storm in Switzerland, he […]

MOZART: Serenade in B-flat Major; “Gran Partita”; Serenade in E-flat Major – EU Ch. Orch./ Santiago Mantas – Divine Art

MOZART: Serenade in B-flat Major; “Gran Partita”; Serenade in E-flat Major – EU Ch. Orch./ Santiago Mantas – Divine Art

Conductor Mantas and his European Union Chamber Orch. Wind Octet do honor to Mozart.  MOZART: Serenade in B-flat Major, K. 361 “Gran Partita”; Serenade in E-flat Major, K. 375 – European Union Ch. Orch./ Santiago Mantas – Divine Art dda 25136, 77:21 [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Of all the recorded music in rather generous collections […]

Hunt for the Wilder People (2016)

Hunt for the Wilder People (2016)

Hands-down one of the best films of year! Don’t miss it! Hunt for the Wilder People (2016) Cast: Julian Dennison, Sam Neill, Rhys Darby Director: Taika Waititi (New Zealand) Studio: Orchard/ Sony Pictures 48158 (9/27/16) Video: 2.35:1 for 16:9 screen, color 1080p Audio: English DD 5.1 Dubbed: French Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish Extras: […]

FRANCOIS COUPERIN: Music for Two Harpsichords Vol 1 & 2 – [TrackList follows] – Jochewed Schwarz & Emer Buckley – Toccata Classics

FRANCOIS COUPERIN: Music for Two Harpsichords Vol 1 & 2 – [TrackList follows] – Jochewed Schwarz & Emer Buckley – Toccata Classics

Two volumes covering two-harpsichord Francois Couperin material. FRANCOIS COUPERIN: Music for Two Harpsichords Vol 1 & 2 – [TrackList follows] – Jochewed Schwarz and Emer Buckley – Toccata Classics TOCC 0203 & 0258, 62:21, 66:03 ****: Fr. Couperin published two set of chamber works, Concerts Royaux and Les Nations, scored so that they could be […]

Patterns, Blu-ray (1955/2016)

Patterns, Blu-ray (1955/2016)

An interesting restoration of a TV presentation with Rod Serling as the director, but no sci-fi. Patterns, Blu-ray (1955/2016) Cast: Van Heflin, Ed Begley, Everett Sloane Director: Rod Serling Studio: Kraft TV Theater (1955)/ United Artists/The Film Detective  FDO562 (8/30/16) Video: 1.66:1 for 16:9 screens, B&W, restored Audio: English mono DD Length: 83 min. Rating: […]

Simple Gifts – Chamber pieces of GOTTSCHALK, DVORAK, BARBER, O’CONNOR, COPLAND & FOSTER – The Social Orch. for Ensemble – CMS Live

Simple Gifts – Chamber pieces of GOTTSCHALK, DVORAK, BARBER, O’CONNOR, COPLAND & FOSTER – The Social Orch. for Ensemble – CMS Live

As “authentic” a Shaker experience in the classics as it gets. Simple Gifts – The Chamber Music of Lincoln Center at Shaker Village = GOTTSCHALK: The Union – Concert Paraphrase on National Airs for Piano, Op. 48; DVORAK: Sonatina in G Major for V. and P., Op. 100; BARBER: Souvenirs for Piano Four Hands, Op. […]

RESPIGHI: Sinfonia Drammatica; Belfagor Ov. ‒ Orch. Philharmonique Royal de Liège / John Neschling ‒ BIS

RESPIGHI: Sinfonia Drammatica; Belfagor Ov. ‒ Orch. Philharmonique Royal de Liège / John Neschling ‒ BIS

RESPIGHI: Sinfonia Drammatica; Belfagor Ov. ‒ Orch. Philharmonique Royal de Liège / John Neschling ‒ BIS multichannel SACD BIS-2210; 70:03 (7/8/16) ****: Respighi off the beaten track. Stimulating and enjoyable. Jean-Pascal Vachon’s useful notes to this recording lay out the complex history of Ottorino Respighi’s musical education by way of explaining why this great big […]

Greg Ward and 10 Tongues – Touch My Beloved’s Thought [Charles Mingus tribute] – Greenleaf Music

Greg Ward and 10 Tongues – Touch My Beloved’s Thought [Charles Mingus tribute] – Greenleaf Music

Mingus’ spirit continues to inspire. Greg Ward and 10 Tongues – Touch My Beloved’s Thought [TrackList follows] – Greenleaf Music GRE-CD-1050, 50:55 [7/8/16] ****: (Greg Ward – alto saxophone, co-producer; Tim Haldeman – tenor saxophone; Keefe Jackson – tenor and baritone saxophone; Ben LaMar Gay – cornet; Russ Johnson – trumpet; Norman Palm – trombone; […]

“Himmelrand” – Hymns from the new Hymnal of the Church of Norway- The Uranienborg Vocal Ens. – 2L

“Himmelrand” – Hymns from the new Hymnal of the Church of Norway- The Uranienborg Vocal Ens. – 2L

“Himmelrand” – The Uranienborg Vocal Ens. /Elisabeth Holte/ Inger-Lise Ulsrud, organ – 2L 126-SABD – Pure Audio Blu-ray + multichannel SACD, DTS-HD MA 192kHz/24 bit 5.1, DTS-HD MA 96kHz/24 bit, PCM 192kHz/24 bit stereo, Dolby Atmos, 9.1 Auro 3D, mShuttle: stereo MQA 96kHz + MP3 (9/30/16) TT: 61:00 [Dist. by Naxos] ****: Lovely music with […]

Audio News for September 27, 2016

Snapchat Introduces Sunglasses with a Video Camera to Record 10-second Videos – This rather bizarre unit will retails for $130 and makes use of a 115-degree lens making all recorded video circular. The idea is that the recorded video will more closely approximate the human eye’s range of vision. It also will come in three […]

Som Howie, clarinet – “Premiere Rhapsodie” – Works of DEBUSSY, POULENC, BARTOK, RAVEL & Others – Cala

Som Howie, clarinet – “Premiere Rhapsodie” – Works of DEBUSSY, POULENC, BARTOK, RAVEL & Others – Cala

Very rewarding recital from this talented father and son duo. Som Howie, clarinet – “Premiere Rhapsodie” = CLAUDE DEBUSSY: Premiere Rhapsodie; BÉLA KOVACS: Hommage a Manuel de Falla; FRANCIS POULENC: Sonata for clarinet and piano; BÉLA BARTÓK: Romanian Folk Dances; JOHANNES BRAHMS: Sonata No. 1 in F-minor; MAURICE RAVEL: Pièce en forme de Habanera; JOSEPH […]

Maureen Forrester – Berlin, 1955-1963 = Vocal music of MAHLER, LOEWE, BRAHMS, SCHUMANN, SCHUBERT, FRANCK, HAYDN, BRITTEN & others – Audite (3 CDs)

Maureen Forrester – Berlin, 1955-1963 = Vocal music of MAHLER, LOEWE, BRAHMS, SCHUMANN, SCHUBERT, FRANCK, HAYDN, BRITTEN & others – Audite (3 CDs)

Audite gathers integral Maureen Forrester performances from RIAS that testify to her colossal range. Maureen Forrester – Berlin, 1955-1963 = MAHLER: Five Songs by Friedrich Rueckert; LOEWE: Four Songs, Op. 9; WAGNER: Gretchen am Spinnrade; Wesendonck Lieder; BRAHMS: 8 Gypsy Songs from Op. 103; SCHUBERT: 11 Songs; SCHUMANN: Five Songs; Gedichte der Koenigin Maria Stuart, […]

The Jungle Book, Blu-ray (2016)

The Jungle Book, Blu-ray (2016)

A delightful live action family movie version of the Disney animated classic. The Jungle Book, Blu-ray (2016) Only live action human: Neel Sethi Voice-overs: Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johanssen, Christopher Walken, Idris Elba Director: Jon Favreau Studio: Walt Disney 135331 (8/30/16) (also avail. in 3D) Video: 1.85:1 for 16:9 screens, HD 1080p color Audio: […]

Tribute to Hans Rosbaud – Works of BERG, WEBERN, SIBELIUS, BARTOK – Rosbaud cond. – Praga Digitals

Tribute to Hans Rosbaud – Works of BERG, WEBERN, SIBELIUS, BARTOK – Rosbaud cond. – Praga Digitals

Praga presents a cross-section of Hans Rosbaud, a conductor who explores and experiments with all music. Tribute to Hans Rosbaud – BERG: Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6; WEBERN: Six Pieces for Large Orch., Op. 6; SIBELIUS: Valse Triste, Op. 44; Tapiola, Op. 112; BARTOK: Sonata for Two Pianos & Percussion – Maria Bergman & […]

Baden Powell, guitar – Images On Guitar – MPS vinyl

Baden Powell, guitar – Images On Guitar – MPS vinyl

Baden Powell – Images On Guitar – MPS 0210990MSW (1971/2016) stereo vinyl, 41:02 ****: Brazil’s legendary guitarist shines on this vinyl re-mastering! (Baden Powell – guitar, vocals; Janine de Walleye – vocal; Ernesto Gonsalves – bass; Alfredo Bessa – atabaque, percussion; Joaquim Paes Henriques – drums) Baden Powell was an influential guitarist. The Brazilian native […]

GRUNDSTROM: “An Orchestral Journey” – Omega Studios Orch./Erik Ochnsner – Navona

GRUNDSTROM: “An Orchestral Journey” – Omega Studios Orch./Erik Ochnsner – Navona

Very pleasant music that connects and engages. BRIAN WILBUR GRUNDSTROM: “An Orchestral Journey” – Contentment, Poem for Orchestra; Jubilation! Dance for Orchestra; Suite for Chamber Orchestra; American Reflections for Strings and Harp; Chenonceau – Omega Studios Orch./Erik Ochnsner – Navona NV6047 [Distr. by Naxos], 79:56, (8/12/16) ****: Here is a very fine introductory collection of […]

Monteux at Tanglewood, Vol. 4 – BEETHOVEN: Sym. No. 2; R. STRAUSS: A Hero’s Life – Pristine Audio

Monteux at Tanglewood, Vol. 4 – BEETHOVEN: Sym. No. 2; R. STRAUSS: A Hero’s Life – Pristine Audio

A fourth entry into the Monteux legacy at Tanglewood delivers mirth and heroism, at once. Monteux at Tanglewood, Vol. 4 (1962) – BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36; R. STRAUSS: Ein Heledenleben, Op. 40 – Boston Sym. Orch./ Pierre Monteux – Pristine Audio PASC 481, 72:30 [avail. in various formats from www.pristineclassical.com] […]

“Shadow, Echo, Memory” = NW U. Cello Ensemble – Music by ZACHARY WADSWORTH, GABRIEL FAURÉ, MICHAEL VAN DER SLOOT, RACHMANINOV, AARON JAY KERNIS, LIGETI, HANS THOMALLA and MAHLER – Sono Luminus

“Shadow, Echo, Memory” = NW U. Cello Ensemble – Music by ZACHARY WADSWORTH, GABRIEL FAURÉ, MICHAEL VAN DER SLOOT, RACHMANINOV, AARON JAY KERNIS, LIGETI, HANS THOMALLA and MAHLER – Sono Luminus

“Shadow, Echo, Memory” = NW U. Cello Ens. – Music by ZACHARY WADSWORTH, GABRIEL FAURÉ, MICHAEL VAN DER SLOOT, SERGEI RACHMANINOV, AARON JAY KERNIS, GYÖRGY LIGETI, HANS THOMALLA and GUSTAV MAHLER (TrackList follows) Hans Jorgen Jensen, dir. – Sonos Luminus SLE-70004 CD, TT: 63:05 (7/9/16) *****:  Hauntingly beautiful cello music. This disc was an unexpected […]

The Beach Boys Pet Sounds, Blu-ray (2016)

The Beach Boys Pet Sounds, Blu-ray (2016)

The definitive authorized story of the early Beach Boys and “Pet Sounds”. The Beach Boys Pet Sounds, Blu-ray (2016) Cast: The Beach Boys, various talking heads Studio: Eagle Vision/Universal  EV8335479 Video: for 16:9 screens, HD 1080i color Audio: English, DTS-HD MA, PCM stereo Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese Extras: Additional interviews (30 min) […]