Monthly Archive: April 2008
Oregon – 1000 Kilometers – CamJazz
The members double on many different instruments to come up with a wider range of sounds that you would expect from the typical jazz quartet.
BARTOK: Kossuth – Symphonic Poem; The Wooden Prince (ballet) – Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra/Zoltán Kocsis – Hungaroton Bartok New Series BARTOK: The Wooden Prince (ballet) – Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop – Naxos
The Wooden Prince ballet was suggested as a companion one-act work to Bartok’s one-act opera Bluebeard’s Castle.
Miguel Zenón – Awake – Marsalis Music
I find this new effort from Puerto Rican saxist/composer Miguel Zenón to be right up there with Stan Getz’s sax & strings effort, though quite different.
Stokowski Conducts = PROKOFIEV: The Love of 3 Oranges–Suite; MACDOWELL: Piano Concerto No. 2 in D Minor; BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4 in E Minor; TAYLOR: Ramuntcho – Intro. and Ballet Music, Act III – Frances Nash, p./NBC Sym./Leopold Stokowski – Guild
Stokowski loved to premier new works that he did not necessarily program again, such as the music from Deems Taylor’s opera “Ramuntcho.”
SCHUBERT: 4 Impromptus, D. 899; Allegretto in C Minor, D. 915; 3 Klavierstuecke, D. 946 – Javier Perianes, piano – Harmonia mundi
An exemplary album of fine Schubert playing from a gifted initiate into his special world.
ROBERT SCHUMANN: Symphonies No. 1 in B flat “Spring,” Op. 38; & No. 2 in C, Op. 61 – Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Lawrence Foster – PentaTone Classics
PentaTone and Foster are recording the other two Schumann symphonies this very month.
The Michael Pedicin Quintet – Everything Starts Now… – The Jazz Hut
Some of the tunes take on an almost New Music cast that ambles freely across the boundaries between jazz and classical chamber music.
GigaWorks T40 Speaker System
A better deal than most computer speakers
Monterey Jazz Festival 50th Anniversary All-Stars – Monterey Jazz Festival Records/Concord Music Group
This is one of the important releases of the year, and all the profits from its sale go to the education efforts of the Festival itself.
Bill O’Connell: Triple Play – Savant Records
This is my sort of Latin jazz, even if it shouldn’t be called that.
BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61; Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 “Kreutzer” – Isabelle Faust, violin/Alexander Melnikov, piano/The Prague Philharmonia/Jiri Belohlavek – Harmonia mundi
I have yawned at the antics of the overly-hyped distaff pliers of the violin art, but these Beethoven readings by Ms. Faust have waked me from my dogmatic slumbers.
Ahn Trio – Lullaby for my favorite insomniac – RCA Red Seal
A new twist on crossover albums
BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 “Pathetique”; Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2 “Moonlight”; Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53 “Waldstein” – Garrick Ohlsson, piano – Bridge
The Waldstein Prestissimo coda is a monster trill of 38 bars to punish Ohlsson’s wrists while rewarding him some of the most colossal music at a pianist’s disposal.
Manda Bala (Send a Bullet) (2007)
A powerful documentary on the lawlessness in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Delirium Blues Project – Serve or Suffer – Half Note Records
This lady can really belt ‘em out, but she’s got a wide repertory of approaches too
Audio News for April 4, 2008
Radio Interference Threatens Army’s Electronic Testing Ground; Surround Sound Electronic Concert; Engineer and Producer Teo Macero Dies
Mindru Katz plays CHOPIN, Vol. I
A highly personal approach to the composer – less of Horowitz than of Horszowski or Moiseiwitsch, a combination of implosive technique and fervent devotion.
Dame Shirley Bassey – Get the Party Started – Decca
Her arrangements are great – showcasing her steely voice and powerful delivery.
Angela Hewitt: Bach Performance on the Piano (2 discs) (2008)
Hewitt’s style and grace at the piano is nothing short of magnificent, and it’s a real treat to see live performances of pieces I’ve been listening to on her CDs for years.
Hidalgo, Blu-ray (2008)
A rip-roaring classic adventure story with impressive surround
TCHAIKOVSKY: Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32; Hamlet – Fantasy Overture, Op. 67; Serenade in C Major for Strings, Op. 48 – Stadium Symphony Orchestra of New York/ Leopold Stokowski/ Boston Symphony Orchestra/ Charles Munch (Serenade) – HDTT
Stokowski from original Everest tapes made from 35mm film masters; the DVD version preserves the best sonics.
RICHARD WAGNER: Tristan & Isolde: an orchestral passion (arranged by Henk de Vlieger) – Philharmonisches Orchester Hagen/Antony Hermus – Acousence
This eminently symphonic piece consists of just one continuous movement lasting 60 minutes.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
