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HAYDN: String Quartet in D, op. 50 “The Frog”; MARTINU: String Quartet No. 3; FELD: Saxophone Quintet; BEETHOVEN: String Quartet No. 16 in F, Op. 135 – Prazak Quartet – Praga Digitals Published on August 07, 2008 A great quartet deserves a better tribute that this
MENDELSSOHN:Six Organ Sonatas Op. 65; BRAHMS: Fugue in A flat minor; 11 Choralvorspiele Op. 122 - Gerd Zacher, Walcker organ of the Evangelical Church, Essen-Werden - Cybele (2 SACDs) Published on August 05, 2008 He saw the entire cycle as one cohesive work, with the individual sonatas representing the different movements of one massive sonata.
CARL NIELSEN: String Quartets Vol. 2 – String Quartet in F minor, Op.5; String Quartet in E flat major, Op.14 – Den Unge Danske Strygekvartet – DaCapo Published on August 04, 2008 Both quartets display that sense of architecture which make Nielsen’s symphonies such interesting listening.
MIECZYSLAW WEINBERG: Fantasia for Cello and Orchestra; Concerto No. 2 for Flute and Orchestra; Concerto [No. 1] for Flute and String Orchestra; Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra - Soloists/Gothenburg Sym. Orch./Thord Svedlund - Chandos Published on July 31, 2008 Four very accessible concertos, all dating from the second half of the twentieth century.
Harmen Fraanje Quartet - “Sonatala” - Challenge Jazz Published on July 30, 2008 A quite-different-sounding quartet from the typical one featuring guitar and piano.
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Elsa Cavelti/Ernst Haefliger/Otto Edelmann/ Festwochenchor/ Philharmonia Orchestra/ Wilhelm Furtwängler - Tahra Published on July 29, 2008 The clarity of the 1954 recording is quite astonishing, especially of the fine vocal quartet.
BRAHMS – Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) – Atlanta Symphony Orchestra /Robert Spano, Conductor – Telarc Published on July 29, 2008 I don’t see how anyone who has suffered a loss could not be moved by the serenity of this glorious music.
Fiona Mackenzie – Elevate – Linn Records Published on July 29, 2008 This surprising record is definitely in my top five for 2008!
Ian Shaw – Lifejacket – Linn Records Published on July 29, 2008 You can sample much of this album online at Linn’s website and elsewhere, so go check it out for yourself.
JINDRICH FELD: Chamber Music – String Quartet No. 5, String Quintet, String Quartet No. 6 – Prague City Quartet / Smetana Quartet with Jan Talich Snr. (viola) / Prazak Quartet – Praga Digitals Published on July 26, 2008 Feld co-founded Praga Digitals with his friend of nearly 50 years, Pierre Barbier, in 1992.
HANDEL: Water Music – Music For The Royal Fireworks – Le Concert des Nations (Manfredo Kraemer, concertino) / Jordi Savall (director) / Alia Vox Published on July 26, 2008 All in all, Le Concert des Nations sounds just the right size for listening at home!
* PURCELL: Fantasias for the Viols, 1680 – Hespèrion XX – Jordi Savall etc. - Alia Vox Published on July 25, 2008 ******* MULTICHANNEL DISC OF THE MONTH ******* Multichannel SACD remastered from earlier Naive CD
BERNHARD LANG: I Hate Mozart (complete opera) – Klangforum Wien/Johannes Kalitzke – Col Legno (+DVD) Published on July 24, 2008 The question remains to the end: is this opera, music-comedy, or music-theater?
MOZART: The Four Flute Quartets - Michala Petri, recorders/ Carolin Widmann, violin/ Ula Ulijona, viola/ Marta Sudraba, cello - OUR Recordings Published on July 23, 2008 Michala Petri and three associates give us a dazzling Flute Quartets substituting the recorder!
SIBELIUS: Kullervo - Symphonic Poem for soloists, chorus & orchestra - Soile Isokoski, soprano/Tommi Hakala, baritone/ YL Male Voice Choir/Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/ Leif Segerstam - Ondine Published on July 20, 2008 This is the next big Sibelius work Segerstam and his Helsinki Philharmonic have committed to SACD.
Arne Domnérus, alto sax & Gustaf Sjökvist, pipe organ - Antiphone Blues - First Impression Music Published on July 17, 2008 Originally recorded in Sweden in l976, this is the No. 1 audiophile choice in sax/pipe organ improvisations.
Stockfisch Records Sampler – Closer To The Music Volume 2 – Stockfisch Records Published on July 15, 2008 My review of the first Stockfisch Records sampler was an all-out, unabashed rave – you can consider this review “Rave, Part II!”
Music of the Comedian Harmonists – performed by Frommermann – Channel Classics Published on July 15, 2008 Reference quality recording – it just doesn’t get much better than this! Five stars!
Rickie Lee Jones – It's Like This – Analogue Productions Published on July 15, 2008 Offers an exceptionally analog-sounding presentation of performers occupying a very realistic space, and Rickie Lee’s voice comes across with absolute clarity.
DVORAK: Symphony No. 6 in D, Op. 60; Vodnik (The Water Goblin), Op. 107 - Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Amsterdam/ Yakov Kreizberg - PentaTone Published on July 14, 2008 Its four movements have a generally optimistic bent to them, except for a brief more moody section.
PROKOFIEV: Romeo and Juliet - the Three Suites - Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew Litton - BIS Published on July 13, 2008 Litton has put the ballet suite selections in a chronological order to follow the progression of the story properly.
“Sugar Hill” - The Music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn - The New York Sessions series - Chesky Published on July 10, 2008 The sounds of all four players are most natural and very spatial - this was recorded basically with a single-point surround mike in a church venue.
“Shakespeare’s Tempest” - SIR ARTHUR SULLIVAN: Incidental music for The Tempest; JEAN SIBELIUS: Prelude & Suites #2 & #1 from Incidental music for The Tempest - Kansas City Symphony/Michael Stern - Reference Recordings Published on July 07, 2008 The added resolution of the HDCD codec does enhance transparency and dynamic range of the standard CD.
Benjamin Herman Plays Jaki Byard - A Records Published on July 07, 2008 Saxist Herman is one of the most original and productive jazz musicians in the Netherlands today.
RACHMANINOV: Symphony No. 2 in E minor Op. 27; RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Capriccio Espagnol Op. 34 - Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra/Edo de Waart - PentaTone Published on July 07, 2008 Rachmaninov's richly colorful sound, with strong lyricism and great breadth, is on full view in this four-movement symphony.
“Stardust Melody” - Beloved and Rare Songs of Hoagy Carmichael - A Records Published on July 05, 2008 Album producer and trumpeter Dick Sudhalter wrote a book “The Life and Music of Hoagy Carmichael.”
McCoy Tyner Quartet - New York Reunion - Chesky Published on July 05, 2008 The surround SACD version of the earlier stereo SACD and the standard CD before that.
The David Hazeltine Trio - The Jobim Songbook in New York - Chesky Records Published on July 03, 2008 This is a most welcome instrumental entry in the recent rediscovery of the original bossa nova by jazz performers.
ANONYMOUS: Estampies & Danses Royales: Le Manuscrit du Roi - Arranged and performed by Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XXI - Alia Vox Published on July 03, 2008 Using his “historically creative performance” method, Savall arranged it all in a vibrant, beguiling, and energetic fashion.
BUXTEHUDE: 7 Sonatas, Op. 1 – L’estravagante – Arts Published on July 02, 2008 A must-have release in formidable surround sound
JOSEF GABRIEL RHEINBERGER: Chamber music with organ = Suite in C minor for Violin and Organ; Three Pieces from Op. 150; Suite for organ, violin and cello Op. 149 - Hannfried Lucke, organ/ Melina Mandozzi, violin/Orfeo Mandozzi, cello - Carus Published on June 30, 2008 With the concluding Op. 149 for organ, violin and cello, things come live on the grander scale of this 37-minute work.
SCHUMANN: Das Paradies und die Peri - Dorothea Roschmann, soprano/ Bernarda Fink, contralto/ Chorus and Orchestra of the Bayerischen Rundfunks/ Nikolaus Harnoncourt - RCA Red Seal Published on June 30, 2008 An exemplary performance of an unjustly neglected masterwork.
"Complete Organ Works" of MARTIN RADECK, ARNOLD MATTHIAS BRUNCKHORST, JOHANN STEFFENS, DANIEL ERICH, CHRISTIAN RITTER, JOHANN NICOLAUS HANFF - Friedhelm Flamme, organ (Christian-Vater-Orgel, Bockhorn, Germany) - CPO Published on June 30, 2008 This disc is very highly recommended to those wanting to explore off the main path of Buxtehude and Bach.
MORTEN GAATHAUG: String Quartet No. 2; Six Songs to Poems by Jens Bjørneboe; Quintet for Piano and Strings - Various performers - 2L Published on June 30, 2008 This original, accessible composer’s works have been recorded with superb fidelity and clarity.
BERLIOZ: Benvenuto Cellini (complete opera) – London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus/Sir Colin Davis, et al – LSO Live Published on June 26, 2008
DEBUSSY: Preludes for Piano (complete - TrackList below) - Evgeni Koroliov, piano - Tacet Published on June 23, 2008 Today we have multichannel hi-res recording, so why not employ it in a creative manner to surround the listener with Debussy’s unique sound-world?
OFFENBACH: Overtures: La Vie Pariesienne; Orphee aux Enfers; Monsieur et Madame Denis; La Belle Helene; La Grande Duchesse; Barbe-Bleue; DELIBES: La Source - Vienna State Opera Orch./Hermann Scherchen/Paris Conservatory Orch./Peter Maag - HDTT Published on June 22, 2008 Another audiophile delight from HDTT, here taking the Scherchen tribute to Jacques Offenbach operettas from 4-track Westminster prerecorded tape.
WAGNER: Tristan und Isolde (The Duet Scenes) – Deborah Polaski, Isolde/ Johan Botha, Tristan/ Vienna Singverein/ Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Bertrand de Billy, conductor – Oehms Published on June 22, 2008 This is some of the most vivid SACD sound I have ever heard!
Blue Coast Collection - The E.S.E. Sessions - Various Artists - Blue Coast Published on June 20, 2008 The exceptional results of this new label's recording approach are instantly hearable on this demo disc.
A Selection from Test-Records 1, 2 & 3 - Opus 3 Published on June 18, 2008 This was my favorite standard CD test disc for years in a gold CD version.
A Meeting by the River - Water Lily Acoustics/Analogue Productions Published on June 18, 2008 Two slide-guitarists' spontaneous improvisations - one from the West and one from India.
Hugh Masekela - Hope - Triloka Records/Analogue Productions Published on June 18, 2008 This was a live show by Masekela and his band recorded at Washington D.C.’s Blues Alley back in l993.
MOZART: Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in A Major; Quintet for Horn and Strings in E-Flat Major; Quartet for Oboe and Strings in F Major - Kuijken String Quartet/Lorenzo Coppola, clarinet/Pierre-Yves Madeuf, Horn/Patrick Beaugiraud, oboe - Challenge Published on June 18, 2008 Mozart's chamber music is warm and satisfying on original instruments.
PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 5 in B flat Major Op. 100 - London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Malcolm Sargent - Everest/Classic Records - DVD-A/DVD-V + CD Published on June 18, 2008 Another fine 3-channel 35mm magnetic film transfer by Classic; this one unscathed by deterioration of the original film material.
MILHAUD: La Creation du Monde; DEBUSSY: Khamma--Ballet; Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra - Boston Symphony Orchestra/Charles Munch (Milhaud) /Suisse Romande Orchestra/Ernest Ansermet - HDTT Published on June 17, 2008 The Dance of Desire and Fugue proves a rousing, multi-dimensional sound-byte, worthy of any audiophile’s attentions.
FRANZ BIBER: Soldiers, Gypsies, Farmers and a Night Watchman - Combattimento Consort Amsterdam/Jan Willem de Vriend - Challenge Published on June 17, 2008 Leave it to creative Dutch musicians to come up with a fresh and interesting take on an area of early music that is going to win a much wider audience
SEQUENTIA - The Rheingold Curse - A Germanic Saga of Greed and Revenge from the Medieval Icelandic Edda – Sequentia/Benjamin Bagby, et al – Marc Aurel Edition Published on June 17, 2008 Explore the origins of the Germanic legends used in Wagner's Ring Cycle
CARL ORFF: Carmina Burana - Ann Achibald, sop./John Graham-Hall, tenor/ Peter Sidhom, baritone/Royal Choral Society/The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Richard Cooke - Membran Published on June 17, 2008 Just one of the over 150 SACDs in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Series
RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloe (complete ballet); Pavane pour une infante défunte - Boston Symphony Orchestra (Orchestre de Paris in Pavane)/ Charles Munch - HDTT Published on June 16, 2008 A 1961 recording by same forces as in the well-known 1955 version of the famous Ravel ballet score.
Solo + = SOMMERFELDT: Sonata Saxifraga; HVOSLEF: Violin Solo; PLAGGE: Duels; KARLSEN: Fantasia Religiosa; KRUSE: Memento mori; Bjorklund: 3 Contrasts – Stig Nilsson & Anders Kjellberg Nilsson, violins – 2L Published on June 14, 2008 A stunning bit of playing in music of attractive worth, in super sonics
BACH: Motets BWV 225-230 – Siebe Henstra, harpsichord/ Lucia Swarts, cello/ Netherlands Chamber Choir/ Peter Dijkstra, conductor – Channel Classics Published on June 14, 2008 Now the best-sounding rendition of these works that we have
HAYDN: String Quartets Nos. 1 - 6, Op. 20, “Sun” - Pellegrini Quartet – CPO Published on June 12, 2008 Those wanting the personal and gritty side of Haydn will find much to admire in the performances.
FRANZ SCHMIDT: Das Buch Mit Sieben Siegeln (The Book of Seven Seals) – Wiener Singverein/ Tonkünstler-Orchester/ Kristjan Järvi – Chandos Published on June 11, 2008 This piece is a must for those who are devoted to sacred choral music.
Monty Alexander plays the songs of Tony Bennett - The Good Life - Chesky Published on June 11, 2008 Monty loves singers, and one of his mother’s favorite songs was Bennett’s "Because of You."
RACHMANINOV: Symphony No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 13; TCHAIKOVSKY: Romeo and Juliet--Fantasy Overture in B Minor - Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy; Boston Symphony Orchestra/Charles Munch (Romeo) - HDTT DVD-R or CD-R Published on June 10, 2008 The Rachmaninov comes from a Columbia 1/4-track prerecorded tape and the Tchaikovsky from a RCA 1/4-track tape.
HANDEL: Organ Concertos, Op. 4 – Academy of Ancient Music /Richard Egarr, organ, harpsichord and direction – Harmonia mundi Published on June 10, 2008 A well-recorded, extremely well-played and historically informed performance by organist/conductor Richard Egarr.
SCHUBERT: String Quartet in G; String Trios in B Flat Major – the Prazak Quartet and the Beethoven Trio – Praga Digitals Published on June 10, 2008 The Prazak Quartet is one of the finest chamber ensembles of our generation.
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3, “Eroica” – Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra /Andrew Manze – Harmonia mundi Published on June 10, 2008 This excellent disc is as full-bodied as they come, and offers an insightful interpretation in the guise of a “concept” album of sorts.
* “Divertimenti” - BRITTEN: Simple Symphony; GRAZYNA BACEWICZ: Concerto for String Orchestra; TERJE BJORKLUND: Carmina; BARTOK: Divertimento for Strings - Trondheim Soloists/Øyvind Gimse - 2L Published on June 09, 2008 ******** MULTICHANNEL DISC OF THE MONTH ******* The first opportunity to compare many different surround formats on an audio-only Blu-ray disc with SACD and CD.
SIBELIUS: Symphonies Nos. 5 in E Flat & 7 in C; En Saga - Boston Symphony Orchestra/Sir Colin Davis - PentaTone Published on June 08, 2008 The sonics of this RQR recording meets current surround sound standards easily , even without the center channel or separate LFE feed.
ELGAR: Symphony No. 1 in A Flat Major; Sonata for Organ in G Major (Transcribed by Gordon Jacob) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Richard Hickox - Chandos Published on June 08, 2008 The transcription of the Organ Sonata is almost like a new Elgar Symphony.
“Garden of Early Delights” - 16 works from Renaissance and Early Baroque - Pamela Thorby, recorders/ Andrew Lawrence-King, harp & psaltery - Linn Published on June 07, 2008 A mixed bouquet of diverse, joyous, unusual and eloquent pieces

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