Monthly Archive: June 2009
Audio News for June 9, 2009
Napster’s Impact on Music Distribution; Studio Tips on Improving Quality of Data-Reduced Audio Files; Neil Young Blu-ray Package Gets Thumbs Down; Acurus and Aragon Lines Are Back
Toscanini conducts MOZART = Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat Major; Symphony No. 29 in A Major, K. 201 – Rudolf Serkin, piano/New York Philharmonic/NBC Symphony Orchestra (K. 201)/Arturo Toscanini – Pristine Audio
The finished product reveals little of the painful
re-birth of this marvelous document.
Billie Holiday – The Life and Artistry of Lady Day (2004)
An informative bio of the superb jazz singer, plus several film clips.
Hobson’s Choice (1953)
The film still resonates today because of its good humor, the warmth of its humanism, and its progressive views on a woman’s “rightful place.”
LOUIS VIERNE: Pièces de fantaisie, Suite Nos. I & III, Op. 51 & 54 – Kay Johannsen, Kern pipe organ of the Dresden Frauenkirche – Carus
The composer’s four suites were created in 1926 and 27 and some even more strongly suggest written-down improvisations than than his organ symphonies.
RAUTAVAARA.:The Eight Symphonies – National Orchestra of Belgium/ Leipzig RSO/ Helsinki PO/ Conductors (respectively): Mikko Franck, Max Pommer, Leif Segerstam – Ondine
This is the only collection of his collected symphonies, and it’s a good one.
ROSSINI: Stabat Mater – Maria Stader, soprano/Marianna Radev, alto/Ernst Haefliger, tenor/Kim Borg, bass/RIAS Chamber Choir and Children’s Choir/Berlin Women’s Choir/RIAS Symphony Orchestra/Ferenc Fricsay – Audite
This receives a reverent, if mannered, performance from one of the few German-tradition conductors to approach it in the days after World War II.
MAHLER: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor “Resurrection”; CONSTANT: 24 Preludes for Orchestra – Berthe Montmart, soprano/Oralia Dominguez, mezzo-soprano/Choeur de la RTF/Orchestre National de la RTF/Leonard Bernstein – Radio France
Bernstein’s inflamed reading of the C Minor Symphony comes close to what Willem Mengelberg would have achieved in this inspired music.
Procol Harum in Concert (2009)
A packed concert by the 40-year-old band, in a stunning outdoor venue
The Future – A 360° View (2009)
A fascinating sort of video Popular Science survey of future scientific advances.
DVORAK: Symphony No. 7 in D Op. 70; The Golden Spinning Wheel Op. 109 – Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra/Yakov Kreizberg – PentaTone
Though recorded in Amsterdam’s Yakult Hall rather than the Concertgebouw, acoustics are rich and enveloping in the multichannel option.
NIELSEN: Symphony No. 3 “Sinfonia Espansiva,” Op. 27; Symphony No. 6 “Sinfonia Semplice”; Moderen–Incidental Music – Ruth Gueldbaek, sop./Erik Sjoberg, bar./Danish State Radio-Symphony Orchestra/John Frandsen/Thomas Jensen (Sym. No. 6) – Dutton
Let us bask in the Thomas Jensen inscription of the most enigmatic of the Nielsen symphonies, the 6th.
Spy Game, Blu-ray (2001/2009)
A deadly race against time with one of the two protagonists stuck in his office.
Audio News for June 6, 2009
Circuit City to be Back Online; CBS Radio Ad Sales Improving; Sales of Blank Cassettes Are on the Rise; All-Documentary Films DVD Label
J. S. BACH: Complete Unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas; BRICE PAUSET: Contrapartita – David Grimal, violin – Naïve Ambrosie
Wonderfully independent and persuasive readings in great sound marred only by aberrant programming.
KHACHATURIAN: Concerto-Rhapsody in B-flat Minor for Violin and Orchestra; Violin Concerto in D Minor – Nicolas Koeckert, violin/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/ Jose Serebrier – Naxos
Typical of Serebrier’s color-vision, that innate gift augmented by studies with Stokowski, this music overflows with erotic motion.
KILE SMITH: Vespers – Piffaro/ The Crossing/ Joan Kimball, Robert Wiemken, directors – Navona Records
Easily one of the best releases of the year of any type.
Alfred Hertz and The San Francisco Sym.: Complete Recordings, Vol. I = BEETHOVEN: Leonore Overture No. 3 in C; SCHUBERT: Rosamunde: Entr’acte; Marche Militaire; WEBER: Der Freischuetz Overture; MENDELSSOHN: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Sel. – Pristine Audio
These eight cuts display the high polish Hertz had achieved with his ensemble, given his penchant for some Romantic, rhetorical devices in matters in portamento and rubato.
SZYMANOWSKI: Nocturne and Tarantella, op. 28; Mythes, op. 30; Romance in D, op. 23; Sonata in D minor, op. 9; 3 Paganini Caprices, op. 40; La Berceuse d’Aitacho Enia, op. 52 – Alina Ibragimova, violin/ Cedric Tiberghien, piano – Hyperion
The third complete set to emerge on CD, and worth the wait.
RAVEL: String Quartet in F Major; DEBUSSY: String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10 – Budapest String Quartet – Pristine Audio
This pairing of French masters by the illustrious Budapest String Quartet has existed in every recorded medium.
BOHUSLAV MARTINU: Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra; Concerto No. 2 for Violin and Orchestra; Rhapsody-Concerto for Viola and Orchestra – Josef Suk, violin/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/ Vaclav Neumann – Supraphon
Suk has all the lyrical ammunition he needs to make these showstopper pieces required staples for audiophiles.
* Song of Songs = Works of CLEMENS NON PAPA, PALESTRINA, GUERRERO, GOMBERT, LASSUS, VICTORIA, LHERITIER, CEBALLOS, VIVANCO – Stile Antico – Harmonia mundi
******* MULTICHANNEL DISC OF THE MONTH ********
A highly intelligent concept album of great skill and superb audio qualities.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
