Monthly Archive: September 2009
Glenn Gould – Hereafter, Blu-ray (2005/2009)
A unique approach, different from all other films on the late pianist.
Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff – Zenph Re-Performance – Sony BMG/RCA Red Seal
Encore review! With a report on the live concert event with a virtual Rachmaninoff at the Steinway. [Not Hi-Res this time but information of interest to hi-res listeners.]
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19; BRAHMS: Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34 – Glenn Gould, piano/Columbia Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Bernstein/Montreal String Quartet – Naxos Historical
Commentators claim Gould had not the temperament for chamber music, but this document says wonders about his capacities to collaborate in intimate expression that never loses its expansive gripping power.
Towers of Power = DANIEL MCCARTHY: Towers of Power: Chamber Sym. No. 4; ANTHONY PLOG: Flute Concerto; PHILIP GLASS: Concerto Fantasy – Timothy McAllister, saxs/ Brian Luce, flute/ Jonathan Haas, Gary Cook, timpani/ U. of Arizona Winds – Gregg Hanson
Two out of three makes for a fine disc played to collegiate perfection.
BRIGHT SHENG: Shanghai Overture; Never Far Away; The Nightingale and the Rose; Tibetan Love Song and Swing – Yolanda Kondonassis, harp/ San Diego Symphony Orchestra/ Jahja Ling, conductor – Telarc
An important and magnificent new concerto, not to be missed.
AIX Records Audio Calibration Disc + HD Music Sampler, Blu-ray (2009)
The Blu-ray disc now makes possible hi-res multichannel sound to accompany the hi-def Blu-ray images of Aix’s performers.
TCHAIKOVSKY: String Quartets No.1, Op. 11 & No. 2, Op. 22 – Utrecht String Quartet – MD&G
Well worth setting alongside the Borodin Quartet on Chandos; I look forward very much to hearing the second volume.
Deep Purple – History, Hits & Highlights 1968–76 (2 DVDs, 2009)
The two discs are generously proportioned, clocking in at a combined four hours, forty-seven minutes!
Giuseppe Di Stefano Sings VERDI and PUCCINI – with Maria Callas, Licia Albanese, Victoria de los Angeles, Leonard Warren, Tito Gobbi & others – Nimbus Prima Voce (2 CDs)
Caruso and Di Stefano commune in the same musical Pantheon.
Audio News for September 22, 2009
New Microphone Technology; More Access to Netcasters; Outdoor Home Electronics Expansion; No-Glasses 3D System From China
The Willie Nelson Special, with Special Guest Ray Charles (1985/2009)
The DTS surround sound makes you feel like you’re right there experiencing an hour with these two great American treasures.
Vinyl Accessories and Useful Tools for LP Playback – Part II
Concentrating on a bunch of analog accessories and record care products.
HAYDN: Violin Concertos 1-3 – Elina Vahala, violin/ Virtuosi di Kuhmo – Alba
The cadenzas are the violinist’s own and in some cases rise to a level which responds to the music uniquely and beautifully.
WAGNER: Siegfried, Blu-ray (2008/2009)
This is an impressive third installment of the Ring cycle; the sparse but effective visual style of the production, combined with superb acting and singing is continuing to make this Ring on Blu-ray the one to beat!
BACH-STOKOWSKI: Transcriptions, Vol. 2 = Suite No. 2 in B Minor; Jesus bleibet meine Freude; Sheep May Safely Graze; Christmas Oratorio: Shepherds’ Music; Prelude in E Major from Partita No. 3 in E; Air on the G String & others – Naxos Historical
Ten Bach performances by Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977), inscribed 1929 to 1950 that effectively fix Bach in the Romantic tradition.
The Chieftains – Live at Montreux 1997 (2009)
Although this project is geared toward Irish music devotees it is something general music listeners will probably also find entertaining.
RACHMANINOFF Plays RACHMANINOFF – Zenph Re-Performance – [TrackList below] RCA Red Seal
The third Zenph effort, which has now brought us three historic pianists’ recordings in amazing sonic enhancements.
RICHARD MUDGE: Six Concertos in Seven Parts; Non nobis, Domine – Capriccio Baroque Orchestra Basel – Tudor
Wonderful discoveries abound in this collection of remarkably proficient concertos from a friend of Handel and Charles Jennens.
Fred Simon – Since Forever – Naim Jazz
One critic described Simon as “modern music’s middle ground between jazz and classical.”
DELIUS: Hiawatha; Suite for Violin & Orchestra; Légende; Double Concerto for Violin, Viola & Orchestra; Caprice and Elegy for Viola & Orchestra – Philippe Graffin violin/ Sarah-Jane Bradley, viola/BBC Concert Orch./David Lloyd-Jones – Dutton Epoch
This collection of less familiar works would be a must-have for Delius fans.
Jessica Williams – The Art of the Piano – Origin Records
A fine environment – psychologically and acoustically – allows Williams to make one of her finest recordings yet.
Count Basie Orchestra Salutes the Jazz Masters – Swinging, Singing, Playing (Arr. & cond. by Dennis Wilson) – Mack Avenue
One thing sets this CD aside from most Basie albums – a concentration on vocals.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
