Monthly Archive: January 2018
The Young Isaac Stern = Violin Concerti by HAYDN; MENDELSSOHN; TCHAIKOVSKY – Isaac Stern, violin/ Leopold Stokowski/ Pierre Monteux/ Serge Koussevitzky – Pristine Audio
Vintage, youthful Isaac Stern has three fine collaborations revived in this trinity of violin concertos. The Young Isaac Stern = HAYDN: Violin Concerto No. 1 in C Major; MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto in e minor, Op. 64; TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 – Isaac Stern, violin/ Philharmonic-Symphony of New York/ Leopold Stokowski/ Philadelphia […]
Michel Camilo – Live In London – Redondo Music
A glowing live concert by a master pianist! Michel Camilo – Live In London – Redondo Music 191924129394, 53:35 ****1/2; (Michel Camilo – piano) Michel Camilo has released his first live solo piano album, Live In London. The Dominican Republic native has established a reputation as a versatile (duo, trio, sextet, big band, symphony) jazz […]
Eric Wyatt – Look to the Sky – Whaling City Sound
Masterful work from a saxophonist deserving of wider recognition. Eric Wyatt – Look to the Sky [TrackList follows] – Whaling City Sound WCS 104 (distr. by Naxos), 61:48 [10/27/17] ****: (Eric Wyatt – tenor, alto and soprano saxophone; vocals (track 3); Benito Gonzalez – piano; Keyon Harrold – trumpet; Eric Wheeler – bass; Shinnosuke Takahashi […]
Nestor Torres – Jazz Flute Traditions – ALFI Records
fiery flutist in full flight Nestor Torres – Jazz Flute Traditions – ALFI Records ALFI 8817 72:23**** ( Nestor Torres – flute; Silvano Monasterios – piano; Jamie Ousley – bass; Michael Piolet – drums; José Gregorio Hernandez – percussion; Special Guests: Miguel Russell – percussion tracks#2,3,11; Ian Muños – alto sax tracks#2,6,8; Marcus Grant – […]
GORDON GETTY: The Canterville Ghost – Oper Leipzig/ Gewandhausorchester/ Matthias Foremny – Pentatone
A splendid addition to the Getty catalog, one of his best works. GORDON GETTY: The Canterville Ghost – Alexandra Hutton (Virginia)/ Jean Broekhuizen (Mrs. Otis)/ Denise Wernly (1st Twin, Boy, Voice)/ Rachel Marie Hauge (2nd Twin, Boy, Voice)/ Timothy Oliver (Cecil Cheshire)/ Jonathan Michie (Hiram Otis)/ Anooshah Golesorkhi (Canterville), Matthew Trevino (Ghost)/ Oper Leipzig/ Gewandhausorchester/ […]
MAHLER: Symphony No. 8 – Utah Symphony/ Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings
Spectacular, moving, and, well, what else do you need? MAHLER: Symphony No. 8 in E-flat – Orla Boylan, sop./ Celena Shafer, sop./ Amy Owens, sop./ Charlotte Hellekant, mezzo/ Tamara Mumford, mezzo/ Barry Banks, ten./ Markus Werba, bar./ Jordan Bisch, bass/ Mormon Tabernacle Choir/ Choristers of the Madeleine Choir School/ Utah Symphony/ Thierry Fischer – Reference […]
ELGAR: Violin Concerto; BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 1 – Rachel Burton Pine, violin/ BBC Symphony Orchestra/ Andrew Litton – Avie
Rachel Burton Pine makes the emotional connection of these two Romantic concertos quite clear. ELGAR: Violin Concerto in b minor, Op. 61; BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 1 in g minor, Op. 26 – Rachel Burton Pine, violin/ BBC Symphony Orchestra/ Andrew Litton – Avie AV 2375, 76:23 (1/5/18) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: In her accompanying […]
Robert Kennedy – Closer To Home
B3 jazz at its best! Robert Kennedy – Closer To Home – Self-Produced, 63:01 ***1/2 (Robert Kennedy – Hammond B-3; Terence Brewer – guitar; Ben Torres – tenor saxophone (tracks 1,3,4,5,6,8,10); Cody Rhodes – drums) As a Hammond B3 purveyor, Robert Kennedy has forged a unique legacy in the San Francisco/Bay Area music scene. In […]
Best of the year Discs for 2017 — Jazz Selections I
A few of the noteworthy Jazz releases from this past year, selected by our reviewers… Delfeayo Marsalis: An Evening with Delfeayo Marsalis – Troubadour Jass Records TJR 093017 Like father, like son… Review Link Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway – Just Friends Live @ The Village Vanguard – Resonance Records HCD2028 Another sharp arrow […]
Editorial for January, 2018
In a career that now numbers more than 80 recordings under his own name, Ivo Perelman has established a variety of new benchmarks. He has developed an unsurpassed facility for integrating the tenor saxophone’s extra-high altissimo octaves with the instrument’s conventional range, bringing a new edge and polish to the concept of extended technique. To an extraordinary […]
Best of the year Discs for 2017 — Jazz Selections
A few of the noteworthy Jazz releases from this past year, selected by our reviewers… Wadada Leo Smith (solo trumpet) – Solo: Reflections and Meditations on Monk Putting Monk in a new light… Review Link Wadada Leo Smith – America’s National Parks[2-CD] A tribute to America’s shared legacies. Review Link Cuong Vu […]
Best Classical of 2017 – I
Best of the Year Classical List for 2017 Recommendations by Steven Ritter Mahler: Symphony No. 8 – Mormon Tabernacle Choir/ Utah Symphony/ Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings Spectacular, moving, and, well, what else do you need? Link to Review GORDON GETTY: The Canterville Ghost – Oper Leipzig/ Gewandhausorchester/ Matthias Foremny – Pentatone […]
TEN BEST CLASSICAL OF 2017 – II
Best of the Year Classical List for 2017 Recommendations by Fritz Balwit Bela Bartok: Complete String Quartets – Heath Quartet – Harmonia Mundi 907661.62 This young quartet has achieved the highest levels of concentration on this complete set of the quartets. All aspects of Bartok, from prickly agitation and folk humor to serene contrapuntal […]
Nadia Reisenberg: The Remastered HAYDN Recordings, 1955-1958 – Nadia Reisenberg, piano – Romeo Records
Nadia Reisenberg: The Remastered HAYDN Recordings, 1955-1958 [Selection List Below] – Nadia Reisenberg, piano – Romeo Records 7324/5 (2 CDs) 72:13, 76:17 [Distr. by Albany] ****: Nadia Reisenberg’s 1950s Haydn programs receive new and astonishingly cleargloss from Romeo Records. Romeo Records refurbishes the series of Haydn performances that Nadia Reisenberg (1904-1983) produced for the Westminster […]
“Fantasia” = Violin works by RAUTAVAARA; SZYMANOWSKI; RAVEL – Anne Akiko Meyers, violin/Philharmonia Orchestra/Kristjan Jarvi – Avie Records
“Fantasia” = EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA: Fantasia; KAROL SZYMANOWSKI: Violin Concerto No. 1; MAURICE RAVEL: Tzigane – Anne Akiko Meyers, violin/Philharmonia Orchestra/Kristjan Jarvi – Avie Records AV2385, 48:16, (10/06/17) ****: A beautiful collection of mid-modern masterworks. Even if your only reason to acquire this beautiful and luxurious collection is out of curiosity for Rautavaara’s Fantasia for violin […]
Streams and Podcasts for 7 January 2018
This week, The Music Treasury is featuring the contemporary pianist, composer, arranger Andrew Wright. Andrew has been a champion of the “many hidden gems” of the repertoire from the 19th and 20th centuries. Of particular note was the release of his album “The Operatic Pianist” earlier this decade, followed by an encore release a few […]
TEN BEST CLASSICAL OF 2017 – II
TEN BEST CLASSICAL OF 2017 – Fritz Balwit Bela Bartok: Complete String Quartets – Heath Quartet – Harmonia Mundi 907661.62 This young quartet has achieved the highest levels of concentration on this complete set of the quartets. All aspects of Bartok, from prickly agitation and folk humor to serene contrapuntal abstraction, are perfectly rendered. There […]
Rez Abbasi & Invocation – Unfiltered Universe – Whirlwind
Rez Abbasi & Invocation – Unfiltered Universe [TrackList follows] – Whirlwind WR4713, 50:00 [11/10/17] ****: A heady infusion of ‘creative music with a jazz weighting’. (Rez Abbasi – guitar, co-mixer, producer; Rudresh Mahanthappa – alto saxophone; Vijay Iyer – piano; Johannes Weidenmueller – double bass; Dan Weiss – drums; Elizabeth Mihael – cello) Things inevitably […]
Club d’Elf – Live at Club Helsinki – Face Pelt
Club d’Elf – Live at Club Helsinki [TrackList follows] – Face Pelt 5003 (2-CDs) 62:47, 63:52 [1/10/17] ****: A jazz, Middle Eastern, jam band exhibition. (John Medeski – Hammond B3 organ, electric piano, clavinet, mellotron, melodica; Duke Levine – guitar; Mister Rourke – DJ; Mike Rivard – sintir, bass kalimba, bass; Brahim Fribgane – oud, […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
