Monthly Archive: January 2009
Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra – Ten – Water Baby Records
The band presents music blending jazz traditions with Asian musical instruments and sensibilities.
ANTON BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 5 in B Flat Major, WAB 105; Rehearsal of same – Vienna Philharmonic/Nikolaus Harnoncourt – RCA Red Seal SACD + CD
This may be the first recording using all the latest musicological findings and combining the Haas and Nowak editions; usually recordings have used just one or the other.
GERSHWIN: Porgy and Bess – William Warfield, Leontyne Price, Cab Calloway, John McCurry, Helen Colbert, Choir of the Blevins Davis & Robert Breen production, RIAS-Unterhaltungsorchester Berlin / Alexander Smallens – Audite
From the very start, the extraordinary vim, energy and sense of theatre comes through the listener’s speakers.
It’s a Vinyl World, After All (2009)
Any audiophile into vinyl should have this DVD.
Janet Baker = MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde; BRAHMS: Alto Rhapsody, Op. 53 – Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano/John Mitchinson, tenor/BBC Northern Symphony/Raymond Leppard/BBC Symphony Orchestra/BBC Men’s Chorus/Sir Adrian Boult – BBC Legends
Dame Janet proves the equal of other great interpreters of this sustained, bitter-sweet elegy: Kathleen Ferrier and Maureen Forrester.
ARNOLD BAX: The Piano Music = Piano Sonatas Nos. 1, 2, 3 & 4; Two Russian Tone-Pictures; many other short pieces – Iris Loveridge, piano – Lyrita
I was taken by the similarities to Debussy’s path-breaking piano music in many of the Bax piano selections in this lovely collection.
Audio News for January 20, 2009
Circuit City Stores Fold; New Zoom Handheld Solid-state Recorder; Sanyo Introduces Industry’s Smallest LCD Projector; Yamaha “Stringless” Grand Piano
“Circo della vita” – Best of Omnibus Wind Ensemble [TrackList below] – Opus 3
There are arrangements from such well-known composers as Bizet, Mozart and Rossini.
Mirrors, Blu-ray, Digital Copy Special Edition (2008)
A U.S. remake of another Asian horror feature – Into the Mirror – a 2003 South Korean film.
ROSSINI: La Scala di Seta Overture; Serenata per piccolo compresso; String Sonata in G Major; Le Rendezvous de chasse; Variations for solo clarinet; Variations for Winds; Semiramide Ov. – Budapest Festival Orch./Fischer – Channel Classics
Opening and then rounding out the program with a couple of Rossini’s sparkling overtures is a great idea.
Benny Golson – New Time, New ‘Tet – Concord
Golson this time out re-examains the connections between jazz and classical in an approach that is unlike any Third Stream projects.
GRAINGER: Lincolnshire Posy; Duke of Marlborough Fanfare; The Merry King; Children’s March; Colonial Song; Mock Morris; The Gum-Suckers March; Molly on the Shore; Spoon River; After-Word; Lads of Wamphray, more – Dallas Wind Sym./Jerry Junkin – Reference
All of the pieces sparkle and captivate much more than ordinary marching band numbers.
MIECZYSLAW KARLOWICZ: Violin Concerto in A major Op.8; Eternal Songs Op.10 – Agata Szymczewska,violin / Sinfonia Varsovia / Jerzy Maksymiuk – BeArTon
With superb high resolution recording quality, these works are given an excellent presentation.
“Paris Mécanique” = (TrackList below) Sabine Meyer, Wolfgang Meyer, Michael Riessler & Reiner Wehle, clarinets; Pierre Charial, barrel organ – Marsyas Records
This is a totally odd but most enjoyable musical outing.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Live! (2007/2009)
If you have never seen Mambazo performing live you owe to yourself this marvelous DVD.
Audio News for January 16, 2009
Toshiba Develops Hybrid Blu-ray Disc; Advanced Micro Devices Supercomputer to Provide HD Content; Cisco Readies Consumer Electronics Products
Funny Face, Centennial Collection (1957/2009)
The wonderful Gershwin-infused song and dance extravaganza won all sorts of Oscars and followed Stanley Donen’s previous musical “Singing In the Rain.”
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major; Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, “Choral” – Elisabeth Gruemmer, sop./Marga Hoeffgen, alto/Ernst Haefliger, tenor/Gotlob Frick, bass/Choir of St. Hedwigs-Cath., Berlin/Berlin Philharmonic/Herbert von Karajan – Audite
For the choral finale, Karajan had perhaps his finest vocal quartet; The last pages tell us the Pope of Music had arrived and lived securely in Berlin.
Noel Mewton-Wood, piano – First & Last Recordings: BEETHOVEN: Violin Sonata No. 8; Albeniz España: Malagueña; SHOSTAKOVICH: Con. for Piano, Trumpet and Strings – with Ida Haendel, violin /Sevenstem, trumpet/Concert Hall Sym. Orch./Walter Goehr – Pristine
Those wanting to sample for the first time may well be won over by this fine release. (CD-R or downloads)
HAYDN: Six String Quartets, Op. 33 – Auryn Quartet – Tacet
Wow. This, when done, will rank with the finest Haydn Quartet series.
PAUL MORAVEC: Cool Fire – Edward Arron, Stephen Williamson, Marya Martin, Erik Ralske, Jeewon Park, et al. – Naxos
Cool Fire is like a horse in a steeplechase: it has a quickly accelerating beginning, plus deft maneuvering past obstacles, then a sudden stop at a stream to drink the waters of repose.
CHOPIN: 4 Ballades; Fantasie in F Minor, Op. 49; Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60; 4 Mazurkas, Op. 30 – Alessandra Ammara, piano – Arts
This recording boasts several personalized touches, not the least of which is the recording venue.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
