Monthly Archive: November 2009
Oliver Jones & Hank Jones, pianos – Pleased To Meet You – Justin Time Records
They were both good friends of Canada’s late Oscar Peterson, and they choose to honor his memory by performing two of his tunes.
Audio News for November 10, 2009
Home Entertainment Spending Down Only 3.2%; Possible $50 Blu-ray Players on Black Friday?; Some Movies to Feature Captioning for the Disabled; Electronics Industry Fights CA Proposal Reducing TV Energy Use; Broadcasters Tell FCC Not to Reclaim Their Spectrum for Wireless Use
Up, Blu-ray – 4-Disc Combo Pack (2009)
The director of Monsters, Inc., has created an even more spirited adventure that hits all the right notes and never lets up.
Creedence Clearwater Revival – The Singles Collection – Fantasy – 2 CDs + DVD
The band was a mainstay of AM radio from 1968 to 1972, was a popular stage act who barnstormed around the country and even performed at Woodstock.
Helmut Newton – Frames From the Edge (1988/2009)
The celebrity photographer’s dramatic and often kinky staged photos continue to provide a voyeuristic view of a life of luxury.
BEETHOVEN: Integrale des Symphonies (1951-1954) , Vol. III = Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 – Magda Laszlo, soprano/Hilde Roessl-Majdan, contralto/Petre Munteanu, tenor/Richard Standen, bass/Vienna State Opera Orchestra/Hermann Scherchen – Tahra
Scherchen devoted considerable energies trying to respect Beethoven’s original metronome markings for his symphonies, which resulted in sometimes ferocious, driven results.
Coleman Hawkins/Erroll Garner/Jimmy Smith (Jazz Icons IV series Bonus Disc)
Some great numbers left out of the 7 Individual DVDs of the Fourth Jazz Icons set
PHILIP GLASS: Koyaanisqatsi (Life Out of Balance) – complete original film score – Philip Glass Ensemble dir. by Michael Riesman – Orange Mountain
Koyaanisqatsi was the first film score by Glass, and may be his best.
SCHUMANN: Waldszenen, Op. 82; Kreisleriana, OP. 16; Theme and 5 Variations in E-flat Major, “Geistervariationen“ – Fabrizio Chiovetta – Palexa
Chiovetta brings us another young disciple of musical Romanticism, that select roster of initiates into the Davids-League.
ERIK SATIE: Trois Gymopedies; Trois Morceaux en forme de poire; Trois Gnossiennes; Trio Petities Pieces Montees; Embryons Desseches; Avant-Dernieres Pensees; Sports et Divertissements; Veritables Preludes Flasques – Katia and Marielle Labeque – KML
The latest from the fabulous piano twins on their own label is a delightful collection of piano works for either two or four hands.
Katia Labeque – Shape of My Heart – KML
Katia – who of the sisters has stronger pop/rock connections – has put together a crossover album that achieves a very wide appeal without getting kitschy or compromising as so many crossover albums do.
Le Voyage dans la Lune (1904/2009)
You have a choice of four different original music soundtracks for this innovative early sci-fi silent movie.
STÅLE KLEIBERG: Violin Concerto; Double Bass Concerto – Marianne Thorsen/ Göran Sjölin / Trondheim Symphony Orchestra /Daniel Reuss = 2L
This impressive and entirely Norwegian production is well worth investigating and is a great credit to Norway’s contemporary music scene.
SCHUMANN: Kinderszenen, Op. 15; BRAHMS: Paganini Variations, Op. 35 – Claudio Arrau, piano – PentaTone
The Chilean master Arrau performs two Romantic staples with his bold and earnest authority.
Audio News for November 6, 2009
First Free 5.1 Surround Download; Disney CEO Unhappy With Blu-ray Sales; Mobile TV to Take Off in 2010; Whole-House Music Systems for Mac Users; Wireless Home Entertainment Possible Standard
Wings of Desire (1987/2009)
People around the world have claimed this film has changed their lives.
RICHARD ARNELL: Harlequin in April, Op. 63; Punch and the Child, Op. 49; Concerto Capriccioso, Op. 70 – Lorraine McAslan, violin/ BBC Concert Orchestra/ Martin Yates – Dutton
The masterly Dutton Arnell series continues.
TCHAIKOVSKY: Variations on a Rococo Theme; SHOSTAKOVICH: Cello Concerto No. 1 – Kim Cook, cello/ Volgograd Symphony Orchestra/ Edward Serov, conductor – MSR
Another wonderful reading of the Shostakovich, and we can’t have too many.
BLOCH: Violin Sonata No. 1; Violin Sonata No. 2, “Poeme mystique”; Suites Nos. 1 and 2 for Solo Violin; Baal-Shem—3 Pictures of Chassidic Life; Abodah; Nuit exotique; Suite hebraique – Latica Honda-Rosenberg, violin/ Avner Arad, piano – Oehms Classics
Spectacular playing of some outstanding violin music.
Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks – Tangled Tales – Surfdog Records
If you can get past the ugly cover art, this is a winner CD.
BACH: Cantatas: Nos. 148, 114, 47, 96, 169, 116; Motet BWV 226; Chorale BWV 668 – Soloists/Monteverdi Choir/English Baroque Soloists/John Eliot Gardiner – Soli Deo Gloria
Gardiner’s religious pilgrimage continues through Leipzig.
HAYDN: The Creation – Julia Kleiter, soprano/ Maximilian Schmitt, tenor/ Joahnnes Weisser, bass/ RIAS Chamber Choir/ Freiburg Baroque Orchestra/ Rene Jacobs, conductor – Harmonia mundi
Another Creation, finely rendered in smallish style by Jacobs and forces.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
