Monthly Archive: May 2006
BACH: Solo Violin Sonata No 3 in C Major, BWV 1005; BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 – Adolf Busch, violin/ New York Philharmonic/ Fritz Busch – Biddulph
A true collectors’ item – a historic 1942 recording of the Beethoven Concerto from the violinist/composer/conductor
Four Great Pianists in Mozart Concertos = Kempff, Anda, Casadesus, Foldes – Golden Melodram
A variegated assemblage of Mozart players for the Mozart Anniversary year
Bob Lark/Phil Woods Quintet- In Her Eyes (Bob Lark-trumpet, flugelhorn; Phil Woods, alto sax; Jim McNeely, piano Steve Gilmore, bass; Bill Goodwin, drums) Jazzed Media
The Young Chairman & The Older Professor – A Class Act
Audio News for May 24, 2006
Hi-Def Video and Multichannel Audio Complexities
The Anthony Wilson Trio – Savivity (Anthony Wilson, guitar/ Joe Bagg: B-3/ Mark Ferber, drums) – Groove Note
Direct-to-two-track-analog, then indirectly to stereo SACD
Michael Franks, vocals – Rendezvous in Rio – Koch Records
Bossa nova-influenced original tunes sung by a hip and highly individual voice
DEBUSSY Solo Piano Music; Fantasie for piano and orchestra; RAVEL: Piano Concerto in G; Piano Concerto in D Major for Left Hand – Zoltán Kocsis, piano/ Budapest Festival Orchestra/ Iván Fischer – Philips
Good performances and sonics characterize this budget survey of Debussy’s keyboard masterpieces
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 7 in A major; Symphony No. 8 in F major – Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra – Sopot/ Wojciech Rajski – Tacet
Your chance to sit in with Ludwig, or to tipple some bluish bottles, but not both at once
BACH: Solo Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005; Violin Concerto in G Minor; HANDEL: Violin Sonata No. 4 in D Major; TARTINI: Violin Sonata in G Major; Violin Concerto in D Minor – Joseph Szigeti, violin/ Carlo Bussotti, p./George Szell cond. – Biddulph
Recordings the Hungarian virtuoso made for CBS 1949-1954
Seven Beauties (1975)
May be Lina Wertmüller’s best, but not easy viewing
Marta Gómez – Entre Cada Palabra (Between Each Word) – Chesky
Marta demonstrates lovely poetic sensibility in treatments of a wide range of songs
STRAVINSKY: Apollon Musagete–Ballet; Oedipus Rex–Opera; Symphonies for Wind Instruments; Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra; Jeu de Cartes–Ballet; Symphony in 3 Movements – Music & Arts (2)
The composer leads his own music in the early 1950s
MOZART Wind Concertos = Flute Concerto in G; Bassoon Concerto in B Flat; Clarinet Concerto in A – Alison Mitchell, flute/ Ursula Leveaux, bassoon/ Maximiliano Martin, clarinet/ Scottish Chamber Orchestra / Alexander Janiczek cond. – Linn Records
Three superb concertos, three superb soloists, and a superb hi-res recording
Audio News for May 19, 2006
Flat TVs Pay for Sony Blu-ray Growth; Home theaters on a Shoestring
“A Basket of Wild Strawberries” = Selection of Keyboard Works of RAMEAU – Tzimon Barto, piano – Ondine
Rameau’s audacities and intensities prefigure colorists and dramatists from Beethoven to Debussy
“Memory” = MOZART: Piano Sonata in C Major, K. 330; CHOPIN: Piano Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 58; SCHUMANN: Kinderszenen, Op. 15; LISZT: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C Sharp Minor (arr. Horowitz) – Lang Lang, piano
Taking on the mantle of Horowitz?
HUBAY: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 21 “Concerto dramatique”; Suite for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 5; Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major – Hagai Shaham, violin/ BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/ Martyn Brabbins – Hyperion
Melodically captivating, if somewhat derivative of an amalgam heard in Saint-Saens
Erich Leinsdorf Conducts Wagner & Beethoven (1965)
While the B&W kinescope has a rather bleached quality, the sound is gorgeous
David Oistrakh and Sviatoslav Richter Live at Alice Tully Hall
Were these two men politicians, the evils of the Cold War could never have existed
Scottish Fantasies for Violin and Orchestra = BRUCH: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46; SARASATE: Airs ecossaise; MACKENZIE: Pibroch Suitre; MCEWEN: Scottish Rhapsody “Prince Charlie”; PINE/FRASER: Medley of Scotch Tunes – Rachel Barton, violin – Cedille
A musical visit to the Scottish highlands with works for two fiddles and orchestra
Colin Stranahan Octet – Transformation (Stranahan, drums & leader) Capri Records
Young drummer Stranahan has assembled a winning octet of like-minded players
Yellowjackets – Twenty Five (Bob Mintzer, tenor sax & EWI; Russell Ferrante, piano & synth; Jimmy Haslip, electric bass; Marcus Baylor, drums) Heads Up DVD + CD
3 1/2 hours of live performance videos of the quartet are included with the CD as a free bonus
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
