Monthly Archive: April 2008
Argenta Conducts = FALLA: El Amor Brujo; Nights in the Gardens of Spain; La Vida Breve; El Sombrero de Tres Picos; BRETON: Escenas andaluzas – Teresa Berganza, mezzo-soprano/Gonzalo Soriano, piano/French National Radio Orch./Atualfo Argenta – Medicarts
A conductor in the passionate yet objectivist mode similar to Igor Markevitch, Argenta could evince rhythmic acuity and variegated colors.
BORODIN: Symphony No. 2; Polovtsian Dances; MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition – Berlin Philharmonic/ Simon Rattle, conductor – EMI
Warm sound, but rather cookie-cutter in approach
MOZART: String Quintet in D, K 593; DVORAK: String Quintet in E, op. 97 – Zukerman Chamber Players – Altara
How wonderful to hear this violinist again with superb colleagues in top notch performances!
MATTHEW HINDSON: Violin Concerto; CORIGLIANO: Red Violin Suite; LISZT (arr. Kennedy/St. John): Totentanz – Lara St. John, violin/ Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/ Sarah Ioannides, conductor – Ancalagon
A new concerto from a terrific composer played by one of the best and most interesting violinists around today.
Kertesz Conducts = LOCKE: Musick for His Majesty’s Sackbutts & Cornetts; SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 38 “Spring”; BRAHMS: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 – London Symphony Orchestra/ Istvan Kertesz – BBC Legends
That Kertesz can permit unbridled melody to sing without mannerism proves itself in the Larghetto.
Mel Tormé Sings for Lovers – Concord Jazz
A felicitous velvet fog formulation
First Special Feature on 2+2+2 Multichannel Discs
Also called Aurophony, the Swiss-patented process uses height mikes in recording and then on playback utilizes the LFE and center channels of 5.1 to feed frontal height speakers.
Bridge Quartet – Day – Origin Records
The idea of “bridge” has several connotations in connection with this new CD – recorded in Portland, Oregon.
BACH: Italian Concerto in F Major, BWV 971; Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 903; Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 850; Toccata in C Minor; Toccata in D Major; Concerto No. 2 in C Major for 2 Klaviers – Artur & Ultich Schnabel, pianos – Naxos
These shellacs, which traverse a period 1936-1950, include Schnabel’s last inscription.
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)
Essential viewing if you love fine films.
* MAHLER: Symphony No. 6 – London Symphony Orchestra /Valery Gergiev – LSO
****** MULTICHANNEL DISC OF THE MONTH ******
I’ve had the Sixth at the bottom of my list of the Mahler symphonies, but this SACD erases that ordering for certain.
IVES: Songs – Gerald Finley, baritone/ Julius Drake, piano – Hyperion
Gerald Finley continues his exploration of very American songs
Audio News for April 15, 2008
B&W Adapts; MP3 Sound Refinement Device; Cutting Home Theater Clutter with HT2.0
Karrin Allyson – Imagina – Songs of Brasil – Concord Jazz
She alternates between the original Portuguese and the English translations as she sings – sort of aural subtitles which communicate the lyrics to the majority of us.
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 “Choral” – Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano/Elsa Cavelti, contralto/ Ernst Haefliger, tenor/Otto Edelmann, baritone/Philharmonia Orchestra/ Lucerne Festival Choir/Wilhelm Furtwaengler – Music & Arts
Furtwaengler eschewed a studio realization of what he considered a communal property of the score.
The Henry Brant Collection, Vol. 7 = CHARLES IVES-HENRY BRANT: A Concord Symphony (1995 orchestral transcription of Ives’ Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord, Mass., 1840-1860”) – Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Dennis Russell Davies – Innova Recordings
To call the transcription dense would be quite an understatement; there is a great deal going on here, with no home key and little tonality to hang onto.
Louie Bellson & Clark Terry – Louie & Clark Expedition 2 – Percussion Power
A big band collaboration extraordinaire between two American jazz masters, both now in their 80s.
J.S. BACH Early Works, “Frühwerke” – Toccata in D Major, Partita in C minor on “O Gott, du frommer Gott,” Toccata in E minor, Suite, Toccata in G Major, Capriccio on the Departure of His Beloved Brother – Andreas Staier, harpsichord – Harmonia mundi
There is a certain sly humor here which reminds one of Mozart – not heard in most of Bach’s later works.
CIMAROSA: Dixit Dominus – Cinzia Rizzone, soprano/ Sylvia Rottensteiner, mezzo-soprano/ Gregory Bonfatti, tenor/ I Musici Cantore Choir of Trent/ Voci Roveretane Choir/ Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano and Trent/ Fabio Pirona, conductor – CPO
A late sacred work by a once very popular composer
“Dim Sum” = ZHOU LONG: Song of the Ch’in; CHEN YI: Shuo; BRIGHT SHENG: Silent Temple II & IV; GE GANRU: Fu; VIVIAN FUNG: Pizzacato; LEI LIANG: Gobi Gloria; CHOU WEN-CHUNG: Leggeriezza, Larghetto nostalgico; TAN DUN: 3 works – Ying Quartet – Telarc
A unique “fusion” concept between cultures, but is there anything really new?
A Light in the Forest – Anne Roos, Celtic harp/ Char Berta, tenor recorder, alto recorder, whistle/ Chris Caswell, percussion and harmonium/ Michael Frost, viola/ Alan Fuller, guitars and cittern/ Dorothy A. Hawkinson, fiddle and hardingfele – Cambria
Relax, forget the day, and let these sounds penetrate your ears and your spirit
Stanley Jordan – State of Nature – Mack Avenue
The amazing Stanley Jordan is back, 14 years after he made his big splash with his album Magic Touch
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
