Monthly Archive: March 2008
Pat Metheny Trio – Day Trip – Nonesuch
The smaller trio aggregation is not his usual quintet with pianist Lyle Mays.
Andrew Sterman – The Path To Peace – Orange Mt. Music
One of the most successful jazz releases of a spiritual/peace & justice slant I have heard.
Fred Hersch Trio – Night & The Music – Palmetto
Of the ten tracks here seven were first takes, which in itself is a tribute to his fresh and immediate approach to the music.
HENK BADINGS: Symphonies Nos. 2, 7, 12 – Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra/ David Porcelijn, conductor – CPO
Needlessly forgotten music from a composer of great intrinsic worth.
Fantasy = MARTINU: Sonatina; SHOSTAKOVICH: 3 Violin Duets; MILHAUD: Sonata; ISANG YUN: Sonatina; Pezzo Fantasiosa – Angela and Jennifer Chun, violins/ Nelson Padgett, piano – Harmonia mundi
Angela and Jennifer Chun are Juilliard graduates who specialize in modern music, having collaborated with many modern composers.
Feast of Love (2008)
Nice ambiance of Portland, OR, a number of naked bodies and a warm and fuzzy though sad storyline.
Thelonious Monk – Brilliant Corners – Keepnews Collection Riverside/Concord Music
Pannonica and Bemsha Swing benefit from some unusual instrumentation, due to the players having discovered some orchestral instruments in the new studio.
“French Touch” – POULENC: Sonata for Violin and Piano; RAVEL: Sonata for Violin and Piano; SAINT-SAENS: Dance Macabre; RAVEL: Tzigane; MASSENET: Meditation from Thais – Max Zorin, violin/Vincent Balse, piano – vsbmusic.com
Both sonatas show at least a touch of jazz influences.
Jentsch Group Large – Brooklyn Suite – Fleur de Son Classics
A major work for guitar and orchestra in the jazz/rock genre.
Great Conductors: Otto Klemperer = BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68; Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80; WAGNER: Tristan und Isolde–Prelude to Act I; Siegfried Idyll – Berlin State Opera Orchestra/Otto Klemperer – Naxos Historical
These early (1927-1928) recordings by Otto Klemperer testify to a more flexible, athletic, and leaner version of the conductor than his later, monumental–even stolid–style suggests.
HANS ROTT: Symphony No. 1 in E-major – State Theater of Mainz Philharmonic Orchestra/ Catherine Ruckwardt, conductor – Acousence Classics
An essential release in the exploration of the Bruckner-Mahler phenomenon.
Konstantin Igumnov = CHOPIN: Mazurka No. 33 in B Major, Op. 56, No. 1; SCRIABIN: Poeme in F-sharp Major, Op. 32, No. 1; SCHUMANN: Kreisleriana, Op. 16; TCHAIKOVSKY: The Months, Op. 37b – Konstantin Igumnov, piano – APR
The artistry of Konstantin Nikolayevich Igumnov – Moscow Conservatory teacher of notables Jakob Flier, Lev Oborin, and Bella Davidovich.
Arturo Toscanini = ROSSINI: Overture, L’Italiana in Algeri; Semiramide Ov.; Ov., The Barber of Seville; Ov., The Silken Ladder; Sonata No. 3 for Strings; VIVALDI: Concerto Grosso – New York Philharmonic Orchestra/BBC/NBC Sym. – Opus Kura BBC Sympho
Voluptuously volatile performances 1929-1954 under the baton of Arturo Toscanini, famed for his brisk, transparent elegance in Italian music.
BARBARA HARBACH: Orchestral Music – MSR Classics BARBARA HARBACH: Chamber Music I – MSR Classics
On the strength of both of these CDs, her original works would be a very well-received part of many concert programs.
Charles Munch in New York = DEBUSSY: Iberia; RAVEL: Le Tombeau de Couperin; Daphnis et Chloe–Suite No. 2; ROUSSEL: Bacchus et Ariane–Suite No. 2 – NBC Symphony Orchestra/New York Philharmonic (Daphnis)/Charles Munch cond. – Music & Arts
Quite thrilling, as Munch could often be when those French fires started burning.
Audio News for March 11, 2008
Upcoming Montreal Jazz Festival Lineup; Flat-panel TV Penetration; Surprises in European Media Survey
JOSEPH HOROVITZ: Concerto for Clarinet & Strings; Concerto for Euphonium & Chamber Orch.; Concerto for Violin; Jazz Concerto for Piano – Fiona Cross, clar./Steven Mead, Euph./ Andrew Haveron, violin/David Norris, p./Royal Ballet Sinfonia/Horovitz – Dutton
The style of the Violin Concerto was influenced by that of Les Six.
Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)
This touching, realistic and Kleenex-demanding drama brought us masterpiece-level acting from both Berry & Del Toro.
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op.47; RACHMANINOV: The Isle of the Dead, Op. 29 – London Symphony Orchestra/ USSR State Symphony Orchestra (Rachmaninov)/Evgeny Svetlanov – BBC Legends
The gorgeous sound rivals Stokowski for sheer lustrous sheen, the seas around the isle having become a torrent of passion.
HUGO WOLF: Lieder on texts by Keller, Goethe, Morike; Two Songs from the Spanish Song Book; Two Songs from the Italian Song Book – Marret Winger, soprano/ Steffen Hartmann, piano – Tacet
Wolf’s varied treatments of the lieder gave new life to each succeeding verse.
BACH: Cello Suites 1, 3, 5; D. GABRIELLI: Ricercars 1, 3, 5 – Benjamin Whitcomb, cello – MSR
He has a large tone, good clean technique, and is bolstered by a fine sound on this recording.
LISZT: 12 Etudes d’execution transcendante (1851 version) – Claudio Arrau, piano -PentaTone
Arrau makes the journey infinitely mighty and profound, colossal and fiercely penetrating at once.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
