Monthly Archive: June 2006
Audio News for June 23, 2006
Chinese DVD HD Video = 4 Formats!; Blu-ray Launch; Concord, Telarc & Heads Up Labels Garner Eight Awards; Panasonic Shows World’s Largest Plasma Display
Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane – The Complete Riverside Recordings of April-July 1957 – Riverside (2 CDs)
Every bit of their recorded partnership, in mono and stereo
“FluteVibes” – Gerald Beckett, flute (with 11-piece band incl. vibes & harmonica) – Summit Records
Great arrangements of rarely-heard tunes, featuring up to four flutes
MOZART: Donaueschingen Harmoniemusik of the Abduction from the Seraglio – Wind Ensemble of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Bastiaan Blomhert – PentaTone Classics
Delightful arrangement for eight winds, now felt to be Mozart’s own arrangement
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Symphonies Nos. 6 in E minor & 8 in D minor; Nocturne for voice and orchestra – Roderick Williams, baritone/ London Symphony Orchestra/ Richard Hickox – Chandos
A pair of symphonies from the 1940s, without programs, but the Sixth belies some sort of dramatic struggle
“The Glory of Gabrieli” – Music for Multiple Choirs, Brass and Organ – E. Power Biggs, organ/The Gregg Smith Singers/ The Texas Boys Choir of Fort Worth/ The Edward Tarr Brass Ensemble/ Gabrieli Consort La Fenice/ Vittorio Negri cond. – Sony Classical
The first recordings of Gabrieli’s music in the 12th-century venue for which it was written
The Artistry of Linda Rosenthal: “A collection of timeless violin solo favorites” – Linda Rosenthal, violin / Lisa Bergman, piano – FIM
Magnificently-recorded program of brief dazzling violin pieces; on “black vinyl” CD
MENDELSSOHN: Octet in E-flat Major; Variations concert antes for Cello and Piano; Romance sans paroles for Cello and Piano; Albumblatt in E Minor for Solo Piano – Ensemble Explorations/ Roel Dieltiens, cello/ Frank Braley, p. – Harmonia mundi
The magical Octet gets an animated performance
Night Watch (2006)
First of a trilogy of Russian horror-thrillers
HDTV Calibration Wizard (2006)
Handy test disc for HT-virgins to improve their video display settings
Audio News for June 20, 2006
Symphony Orchestras Looking to Downloading Sales; Brief Audio Items [from The Boston Audio Society Speaker]
LUIGI BOCCHERINI: “Fandango” (Quintet No. 4 for guitar & strings); Sinfonia in d minor “Grande”; Sinfonia in A major; “La Musica Notturna di Madrid” (Quintettino in C major) – Soloists/Le Concert des Nations/Jordi Savall – AliaVox
Sprightly performance, you-are-there sonics, exquisite liner notes
Artur Balsam Concerto Album = MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 8 in C Major; Piano Concerto No. 13 in C Major; BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto in D Major; HUMMEL: Piano Concerto in A Minor; C.P.E. BACH:: Piano Concerto in D Minor, Wq 23 – (2) Bridge
Reissues of the original LPs for Concert Hall Society
CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR & PHILIPPE BELLENOT: The Widor Mass, with improvisations & LEFEBURE-WELY: O Salutaris – Daniel Roth, grand organ/ Mark Dwyer & Stephen Tharp, choir organ/ Choir Darius Milhaud/ Ensemble Dodecamen/Christopher Hyde – JAV Recordings
Large musical forces recorded in a large and historic space
Luigi Cinque’s Tarantula Hypertext O’rchestra – Tangerine Cafè – Mediterraneo/Forest Hall Records
Arabic-leaning world music of great creativity
Tineke Postma, saxophones, Live in Amsterdam (2006)
Brilliant young saxist from Holland with her sextet
DAVID MASLANKA: Concerto for Piano, Winds, and Percussion (1976); Concerto No. 2 or Piano, Winds and Percussion (2002); Testament (2001); Traveler (2003); Symphony No. 4 (1993) – Piano soloists/ Illinois State U. Wind Sym./Steele – Albany
2-disc survey of the composer’s works for band
DEUTER: East of the Full Moon – New Earth
Tasteful and elegant New Age music by a master of the genre
APC H15 Power Conditioner
Any power conditioner should be tested in your own system to make certain it doesn’t subtly degrade fidelity
The Producers (2005) [The Musical]
Filmed version of the hot B’dway musical is overdone but still hilarious
Harp Concerti = ALBERTO GINASTERA: Harp Concerto Op. 25; XAVIER MONTSALVATGE: Concerto Capriccio; SOLER: Harp Sonatas Nos. 48, 19, 84 – Godelieve Schrama, harp/Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra/Gérard Korsten – NorthWest Classics
Two generally atonal concertos, but saved by an immersion in Argentine and Catalan folk music
Audio News for June 16, 2006
Standard DVDs Losing Their Appeal; Sony Introduces First DivX Portable DVD Player; Plasma Displays Still Strong