Monthly Archive: November 2017

Chorale Masses & Sacred Concertos – Rheinische Kantorei, Hermann Max – MDG 

Chorale Masses & Sacred Concertos – Rheinische Kantorei, Hermann Max – MDG 

SCHEIN, BERNHARDT, ZACHOW, FISCHER: Chorale Masses & Sacred Concertos – Rheinische Kantorei, Hermann Max – MDG MDG6020169 [distr. by Presto Classical] (9/15/17)  TT: 44:27 Track list below *** 1/2 Excellent performances and a convincing recording Five hundred years ago the Reformation triggered an upsurge in the production of church music, and even today Martin Luther’s  […]

Thanos MITSALAS: Tribute – Clear Note 

Thanos MITSALAS: Tribute – Clear Note 

Thanos MITSALAS: Tribute – Clear Note 75681, 65:07 (9/12/17) ****: Outstanding guitar artistry in a presentation of several first-rate contemporary works—Assad, York, Piazzolla—as well as a stupendous Alexandre Tansman “Scriabin Variations.” (Thanos Mitsalas; guitar) In the liner notes to this 2017 release by the Greek guitarist Thanos Mitsalas, we are told that the artist is […]

CHOPIN: Piano Sonata No. 3; Berceuse; Four Scherzos – Barbara Nissman, piano – 3 Oranges Recordings

CHOPIN: Piano Sonata No. 3; Berceuse; Four Scherzos – Barbara Nissman, piano – 3 Oranges Recordings

CHOPIN: Piano Sonata No. 3 in b minor, Op. 58; Berceuse in D-flat Major, Op. 57; Four Scherzos – Barbara Nissman, piano – 3 Oranges Recordings 3-OR 24, 76:37 [www.threeorangesrecordings.com] ****:  Nissman’s latest recorded survey of Chopin contains power, poetry, and majesty. American piano virtuoso Barbara Nissman (b. 1944) extends the legacy of her own […]

Wadada Leo Smith – Najwa – TUM 

Wadada Leo Smith – Najwa – TUM 

Wadada Leo Smith – Najwa – TUM CD 049, 55:43 [10/20/17] ****: An electrifying tribute project. (Wadada Leo Smith – trumpet; Adam Rudolph – percussion; Pheeroan akLaff – drums; Bill Laswell – electric bass, mixing; Michael Gregory Jackson, Henry Kaiser, Brandon Ross, Lamar Smith – guitar) Trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith is no stranger to going […]

Streams and Podcasts for 26 November 2017

Streams and Podcasts for 26 November 2017

This week’s Music Treasury will feature Paul Paray, the distinguished French conductor, organist, and composer.  Paray’s long life (over nine decades and through two world wars) saw him active in Europe and the United States, as well as Israel, with premier orchestras in New York, Detroit, San Francisco, Boston, Monte-Carlo, and others.  Paray conducted the […]

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6, “Pathetique” – MusicAeterna/ Teodor Currentzis – Sony 

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6, “Pathetique” – MusicAeterna/ Teodor Currentzis – Sony 

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6 in b minor, Op. 74 “Pathetique” – MusicAeterna/ Teodor Currentzis – Sony 88985404352, 47:00 ****: A much-touted interpretation of the Tchaikovsky Sixth Symphony has musical – if not fiscal – benefits. Had my old colleague from “First Hearing,” conductor Richard Kapp, auditioned this recording of the familiar Tchaikovsky Sixth Symphony, he […]

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 4 & No. 7 – Boston Symphony Orchestra/ Serge Koussevitzky – Pristine Audio 

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 4 & No. 7 – Boston Symphony Orchestra/ Serge Koussevitzky – Pristine Audio 

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major, Op. 60; Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 – Boston Symphony Orchestra/ Serge Koussevitzky – Pristine Audio PASC 515, 70:15 [www.pristineclassical.com] *****: Previously unreleased Beethoven performances by Koussevitzky and BSO add significant documents to that conductor’s recorded legacy.  “Rare Beethoven Symphony Recordings”: Producer and recording engineer […]

Imagine Christmas – Sono Luminus

Imagine Christmas – Sono Luminus

Imagine Christmas – Sono Luminus – CD DSL 92216 (Track list below) Various artists – (10/27/17) TT: 38:16 ** 1/2 Holiday Time!   One of the duties of our stalwart reviewers is to slog through the Christmas music releases for the year. It’s not one of my favorite duties, but I’m always hoping some good […]

Mumpbeak – Tooth – RareNoise

Mumpbeak – Tooth – RareNoise

Mumpbeak – Tooth [TrackList follows] – RareNoise RNR078, 41:43 [5/26/17] ****: Is it jazz? Is it progressive rock? It’s definitely Mumpbeak. (Roy Powell – Hohner clavinet, Moog Little Phatty, Hammond organ, tubular bells; Lorenzo Feliciati – bass; Torstein Lofthus – drums) What’s a Mumpbeak? Despite the title, it’s not some fantastical bird. Mumpbeak is the […]

Miriodor – Signal 9 – Cuneiform, Rune

Miriodor – Signal 9 – Cuneiform, Rune

Miriodor – Signal 9 [TrackList follows] – Cuneiform, Rune 438, 52:15 [9/5/17] ****: Miriodor: keeping the movement alive. (Bernard Falaise – guitar, keys, turntable; Pascal Globensky – keys, synth, piano; Rémi Leclerc –percussion, drums, electronics; Nicolas Lessard – bass, contrabass, keys) There are musical genres, such as punk, bluegrass and reggae. Then there are musical […]

Dimitar LIOLEV: Eastern Shadows – Slam

Dimitar LIOLEV: Eastern Shadows – Slam

Dimitar LIOLEV: Eastern Shadows – Slam 581, 45:55 (6/26/17) ****: An inspired Bulgarian quartet collaborates on some Slavic-flavored original jazz charts. (Dimitar Liolev; tenor saxophone/ Martin Tashev; trumpet, flugelhorn, laments/ Massimiliano Rolff; bass/ Dimitar Semov; drums) An eccentric friend of mine set out on a quixotic journey to discover “the South” (of the United States). […]

CHOPIN: “Evocations” = Piano Concertos; Rondo for 2 pianos; “Fantasie Impromptu”; Chopin-inspired works by SCHUMANN, BARBER, TCHAIKOVSKY, MOMPOU – Daniil Trifonov/ Sergei Babayan/ Mahler Chamber Orch./ Mikhail Pletnev – DGG 

CHOPIN: “Evocations” = Piano Concertos; Rondo for 2 pianos; “Fantasie Impromptu”; Chopin-inspired works by SCHUMANN, BARBER, TCHAIKOVSKY, MOMPOU – Daniil Trifonov/ Sergei Babayan/ Mahler Chamber Orch./ Mikhail Pletnev – DGG 

CHOPIN: Evocations = Piano Concerto No. 2 in f minor, Op. 21; Piano Concerto No. 1 in e minor, Op. 11; Variations on “La ci darem la mano,” Op. 2; Rondo in C Major for 2 Pianos, Op. 73; Impromptu No. 4 in c-sharp minor, Op. 66 “Fantasie-Impromptu”; SCHUMANN: “Chopin” from Carnaval, Op. 9; GRIEG: […]

Vilde Frang: Homage = Violin Music by RIES; SCHUMANN; WIENIAWSKI; GLUCK; SCHUBERT; POLDOWSKI; DEBUSSY; SCRIABIN; KREISLER; DVORAK; PROKOFIEV; ALBENIZ; PONCE; BAZZINI; MENDELSSOHN – Vilde Frang / Jose Gallardo – Warner

Vilde Frang: Homage = Violin Music by RIES; SCHUMANN; WIENIAWSKI; GLUCK; SCHUBERT; POLDOWSKI; DEBUSSY; SCRIABIN; KREISLER; DVORAK; PROKOFIEV; ALBENIZ; PONCE; BAZZINI; MENDELSSOHN – Vilde Frang / Jose Gallardo – Warner

Vilde Frang: Homage = RIES: La capricciosa; SCHUMANN: Widmung; WIENIAWSKI: “Obertass” Mazurka; Caprice in E-flat; GLUCK: Melodie; SCHUBERT: Ballet Music from “Rosamunde”; POLDOWSKI: Tango; DEBUSSY: La  plus que lente; SCRIABIN: Etude, Op. 8, No. 10; KREISLER: Gypsy Caprice; Rondino; DVORAK: Slavonic Dance in e minor; PROKOFIEV: Masks; ALBENIZ: Sevilla; PONCE: Estrellita; BAZZINI: Calabrese, OP. 34, […]

Streams and Podcasts for 22 November 2017

Streams and Podcasts for 22 November 2017

The pianist Dino Ciani had a rich career, with breadth and diversity in his repertoire ranging from Beethoven to Bartok, including Schumann, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy…  In addition to solo piano works, he was also noted playing the concerto repertoire through major concert halls in the United States and Europe, working with Claudio Abbado,  Riccardo Muti, […]

JD Allen – Radio Flyer – Savant 

JD Allen – Radio Flyer – Savant 

JD Allen – Radio Flyer [TrackList follows] – Savant SCD 2162, 53:23 [6/2/17] ****: Saxophonist JD Allen ups the ante on exploratory jazz. (JD Allen – tenor saxophone; Liberty Ellman – guitar; Gregg August – bass; Rudy Royston – drums) Its significant tenor saxophonist JD Allen’s latest album, the 53-minute Radio Flyer, was recorded in […]

Sam Taylor Quartet – Along The Way –  CellarLive

Sam Taylor Quartet – Along The Way –  CellarLive

Sam Taylor Quartet – Along The Way –  CellarLive CL050217 55:33*** A tale of two tenors ( Sam Taylor – tenor saxophone; Larry McKenna – tenor saxophone 1,2,6,7,9; Jeb Patton – piano; Neal Miner – acoustic bass; Peter Van Nostrand- drums) Firstly, just in case it is not patently obvious, this Sam Taylor is not […]

BACH: Cantatas for Bass/ Concerto for Oboe d’amore – Matthias Goerne, baritone/ Katharina Arfken, oboe/ Freiburger Barockorchester/ Gottfried von der Goltz, conductor – HM

BACH: Cantatas for Bass/ Concerto for Oboe d’amore – Matthias Goerne, baritone/ Katharina Arfken, oboe/ Freiburger Barockorchester/ Gottfried von der Goltz, conductor – HM

BACH: Cantatas for Bass/ Concerto for Oboe d’amore = Ich hatte viel Bekuemmernis, BWV 21: Sinfonia; Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56; Concerto in A Major for Oboe d’amore, after BWV 1055; Ich habe genug, BWV 82 – Matthias Goerne, baritone/ Katharina Arfken, oboe and oboe d’amore/ Freiburger Barockorchester/ Gottfried von der Goltz, […]

Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak Coalition – Agrima  – Mahanthappa

Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak Coalition – Agrima  – Mahanthappa

Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak Coalition – Agrima  – Mahanthappa 60:08 [10/17/17] ****: Taking Indo-Asian jazz fusion to the next level. (Rudresh Mahanthappa – alto saxophone; Rez Abbasi – guitar; Dan Weiss – drums, percussion) “I wanted everyone to think about Agrima as if we were making a rock album.” That’s alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa describing the […]

The Operatic Pianist II = Works by BELLINI; LESCHETIZKY; THALBERG; WAGNER; WRIGHT; MEYERBEER;  SAINT-SAENS; LISZT – Andrew Wright, piano – Divine Art 

The Operatic Pianist II = Works by BELLINI; LESCHETIZKY; THALBERG; WAGNER; WRIGHT; MEYERBEER;  SAINT-SAENS; LISZT – Andrew Wright, piano – Divine Art 

The Operatic Pianist II = BELLINI (arr. Jaell): Reminiscences de Norma; BELLINI (arr. Wright): “Col sorriso d’innocenza” from Il Pirata; LESCHETIZKY: Andante Finale de Lucia di Lammermoor; THALBERG: Fantasie sur Mose in Egito; WAGNER (arr. Liszt): Lohengrin’s Admonition; WRIGHT: Paraphrase on Verdi’s “Miserere”; MEYERBEER (arr. Kullak): Cavatine de Robert de Diable;  SAINT-SAENS: Concert Paraphrase on […]