Monthly Archive: October 2008
MOZART: Colloredo Serenade K.203; Divertimento K.251 – Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Alexander Janiczek, dir. & lead violin – Linn
It’s Mozart on a sunny day, and the subtly-enveloping acoustics provided by Linn make it a pleasurable listening experience.
Rob Mosher’s Storytime – The Tortoise – www.robmosher.com
An elegant jazz/classical mix, and in a different vein from what used to be called Third Stream Music.
Audio News for October 31, 2008
DTV Transition Enters Problematic Stage; Musical Time Machine Discovered
Dr. No, Blu-ray (1962)
The very first James Bond feature, now in hi-def with DTS surround.
Concerti Napoletani per Violoncello – FIORENZA, PORPORA, LEO, SABATINO – Gaetano Nasillo, cello/ L’Ensemble 415 cond. by Chiara Banchini – Zig-Zag Territoires
Zig-Zag is committed to capturing the texture of the original instruments, not just on a superficial basis but within a profoundly deep musical and acoustical context.
Slattar pa tunga = Norwegian Folk Songs – Berit Opheim Versto, soprano – 2L
Fine singing, but probably for the specialist only.
SOLER: Una Cosa Rara; Divertimentos Nos. 2, 3, 4 – Moonwinds/ Joan Enric Lluna, director – Harmonia mundi
Outstanding readings of excellent music once considered competition to Mozart.
US AN’THEM – A Collection of National Anthems arr. by Garry Dial & Terre Roche – CD + video DVD – dialroche.com
Some are lovely expressions of pride in their particular country without putting down other countries.
MOZART: Demofoonte (Fragments of an Opera) – Eleonore Marguerre (sop.)/Sunhae Im (sop.)/Netta Or (sop.)/Matthias Habich (actor)/Cappella Coloniensis/Bruno Weil – Arts
This doesn’t constitute an opera but a demonstration of sorts of Mozart’s incipient composing skills.
WIDOR: Suite in E Minor, Op. 21; Cello Sonata in A Major, Op. 80; VIERNE: Cello Sonata in B Minor, Op. 27 – Peter Bruns, cello/Annegret Kuttner, piano – Hanssler Classic
A model of classical poise, the Widor reveals an idiomatic sense of the cello, bestowing a number of tenderly wrought, modally shaped melodies in the first movement.
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36; SAINT-SAENS: Piano Concerto no. 4 in C Minor, Op. 44 – Robert Casadesus, piano/RIAS Symphony Orchestra /Eugene Ormandy – Audite
Ormandy is in rare form, eliciting more pathos than his wont in the Tchaikovsky Fourth, which he had recorded commercially for CBS.
David Starobin – Favorite Tracks Vol. 1 – 19th Century Guitar Masterpieces by SOR, REGONDI, PAGANINI, GIULIANI – David Starobin, guitar – Bridge
The nine works here all demonstrate Starobin’s sparkling and note-perfect interpretations of these often virtuoso Romantic period guitar works.
“Theresienstädter Konzert” – MOZART: String Quartet in B-flat, KV 159; PAVEL HAAS: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 115; SCHUBERT: String Quartet in A-minor, Op. 29 – Bartholdy-Ensemble Rheinfelden – EigenArt
An interesting peek into the work of Pavel Haas.
Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band – Act Your Age – Immergent Records
A packed package of big band goodies, videos + 5.1 surround audios
GEORGE CRUMB: Eleven Echoes of Autumn; The Sleeper; Vox Balaenae; Five Pieces for Piano; Dream Sequence – International Contemporary Ensemble/ Jamie Van Eyck, mezzo-soprano – Bridge
Vox Balaenae at last! And well worth the wait as we dive into Volume 12.
An American Journey = GERSHWIN: Porgy and Bess Fantasy; O’CONNOR: Trio No. 1, “Poets and Prophets”; BERNSTEIN: West Side Story Suite – Eroica Trio – EMI
A surprisingly attractive album of familiar music in dressed-up guise, with a new Trio of great substance.
The Invisible, Blu-ray (2007)
An intriguing storyline with its ghostly spirit concept, however, it fell a little flat as it unfolded.
KERNIS: Symphony in Waves; Newly Drawn Sky; Too Hot Toccata – Grant Park Orchestra/ Carlos Kalmar, conductor – Cedille
Spectacular recordings of highly accessible and interesting new music.
TOBIAS PICKER: 4 Etudes for Ursula; Old and Lost Rivers; 3 Pieces for Piano; Where the Rivers Go; When the Soft Voices Die; The Blue hula; Keys to the City – Ursula Opens, & Tobias Picker, pianos – Wergo
The best thing here is his third piano concerto, Keys to the City, with lots of hints of Gershwin, the brassiness and brashness of Broadway, and the flashiness of tux and tails.
Audio News for October 28, 2008
World’s Largest Personal Record Collection; Conditional Access Via HD Radio
Rostropovich, cello = R. STRAUSS: Don Quixote, Op. 35; HAYDN: Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major – Mstislav Rostropovich, cello/Harry Danks, viola/Hugh Maguire, violin/ BBC Symphony/Sir Malcolm Sargent/London Symphony Orchestra (Haydn) – BBC Legends
Rostropovich gives a leisurely, unhurried rendition of Cervantes’ errant knight.
SCHUBERT: Four Impromptus, D. 899; Four Impromptus, D. 935 – Joshua Pierce, piano – MSR
Certainly Pierce brings a formidable, fluent technique to these familiar keyboard staples.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
