Monthly Archive: December 2007
Audio News for January 1, 2008
Record Industry Lawsuit Against Personal Music Use; Over Half of U.S. Households Have DTV Now; Suggested New Year’s Resolutions for Electronics Manufacturers
Christopher O’Riley – Home to Oblivion:An Elliott Smith Tribute – World Village
Indie Rock meets classical piano in these meditative arrangements of Eliott Smith songs.
London Philharmonic Orchestra: 75th Anniversary Set of 4 CDs – LPO
What a historical/musical grab bag of recordings – starting with Beecham in 1934 thru some great Boult recordings of the 50s.
The Simpsons Movie, Blu-ray (2007)
The Simpsons are still the best thing on television and a fun evening at the movie theater too.
MOZART: Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, K. 339; Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453; Symphony No. 1 in E-flat Major, K. 16 – Joseph Keilberth & Hermann Scherchen conducting – Archipel
Powerful Mozart performances
“Salzedo’s Harp” – Music of CARLOS SALZEDO: Variations; Bolero; Rumba; Tango; Seguidilla, Scintillation, Chanson dans la nuit; La Désirade, Sonata for Harp and Piano – Yolanda Kondonassis, harp/Kathryn Brown, piano = Telarc
Salzedo created many entirely new sounds on the concert harp, and used them innovatively in his works.
“Claviers Mozartiens” – Mozart works on four special keyboard instruments of the 1770s – Sonata KV 282; Prelude KV 284A; Sonata KV 332; Gigue KV574; Fantasie KV 397; Rondo KV 485; Sonata KV 283 – Pierre Goy, vis-å-vis/clavichord/piano carré (2) – Lyrinx
A unique comparison of the sounds of four different keyboard instruments of the 1770s in the music of Mozart
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 4 Op. 43
Two new SACDs – from MDG & Arts
Frank Macchia – Landscapes – Cacophony Inc.
A successor to Stan Getz’s “Focus”
Audio News for December 28, 2007
Whole-House AV Distribution Made Easy; New HD Interface Enhances Home AV Distribution; Karlheinz Stockhausen Dies
Elly Ney: The Welte-Mignon Mystery, Vol. VIII = Works of BEETHOVE, HANDEL, CHOPIN, BRAHMS, LISZT, RUBINSTEIN, KOEHLER, DELIBES & KAUN – Tacet
1906 piano rolls display the pianist’s beauty of tone with a clarity impossible for phonograph recordings of the period.
New Year’s Concert conducted by Valery Gergiev (2007)
A superlative DVD and a historic document of a conductor at the peak of his artistic creativity with his own orchestra.
DON GILLIS: Symphony X: Big D; Tulsa: A Symphonic Portrait in Oil; Symphony No. 3: A Symphony for Free Men – Sinfonia Varsovia/ Ian Hobson – Albany
“Tulsa” was thought to be the first time a major financial institution commissioned an orchestral work.
Talich Special Edition, No. 16 = Works of BENDA, DVORAK, SUK, TCHAIKOVSKY – Supraphon
“…just as powerful as anything in Furtwaengler, if perhaps a tad more academic.”
* DVORAK: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in b minor Op. 104; Symphonic Variations for Orchestra Op. 78 on “I am a Fiddler” – Pieter Wispelwey, cello/Budapest Festival Orchestra/ Ivan Fischer – Channel Classics
******** MULTICHANNEL DISC OF THE MONTH *******
VALENTIN SILVESTROV: Symphony No. 6 (1994-95) – Beethoven Orchestra of Bonn/Roman Kofman – MDG Gold SACD + SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra/Andrey Boreyko – ECM New Series CD
Silvestrov’s Sixth Times Two
Big – Extended Edition (1988)
There’s more to being an adult than just being big.
TELEMANN: Four Sacred Cantatas; 2-Flute Trio; The Patient Socrates, Scene 12 – Patrice Djerejian, contralto/ William Bennett, Kate Hill, flutes/ Josephine Knight, cello/ English Chamber Orchestra/ Philip Ledger, conductor and continuo – MSR
Fine repertory in great sound and decent performances
BERNSTEIN: Serenade; MCLEAN: Elements – Brian Lewis, violin/ London Symphony Orchestra/ Hugh Wolff, conductor – Delos
Great for the new McLean, supplemental for Bernstein
Audio News for December 25, 2007
Coupons for Digital Video Converter; FCC Auction of Freed-Up Analog TV Spectrum; Jazz Virtuoso Oscar Peterson Dies at 82; Wi-Fi Radios
PERGOLESI: Stabat Mater; A. SCARLATTI: Stabat Mater – Susanne Ryden, soprano/ Mikael Bellini, countertenor/ Stockholm Baroque Orchestra – Proprius
A pared-down version that for once works well
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 3 in D Minor; BUSONI: Tanzwalzer, Op. 33 – BBC Northern Symphony/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Busoni)/ Jascha Horenstein – BBC Legends
Visceral Bruckner from the baton of Jascha Horenstein.