Monthly Archive: November 2009
RUED LANGGAARD: Rose Garden Songs; Choral Songs with Secular Texts; Motets and Hymn Melodies – Ars nova Copenhagen/ Tamas Veto, conductor – DaCapo
Some unexpectedly marvelous works from a reclusive Dane.
HOWARD GOODALL: Eternal Light: A Requiem; Love Divine; The Lord is My Shepherd; Spared – Natasha Marsh, soprano/ Alfie Boe, tenor/ Christopher Maltman, baritone/ Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford/ London Musici/ Stephen Darlington, conductor – EMI
A new and very pleasing work by an admired British composer.
Hungary’s distinguished conductor Janos Ferencsik leads a diverse program “in living colors” from Royal Festival Hall.
BEETHOVEN: Egmont Overture, Op. 84; KODALY: Dances of Galanta; BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op 68; BERLIOZ: Rakoczy March, Op. 24 – Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra/Janos Ferencsik – CNSTR
MARTUCCI: Piano Concerto No. 1 in d; La canzone del ricordi – Gesualdo Coggi, piano/ Silvia Pasini, mezzo/ Rome Sym./ Francesco La Vecchia – Naxos MARTUCCI: Symphony No. 2 in F; Theme and Variations; Gavotta; Tarantella – Rome Sym./Fr. La Vecchia – Naxos
Two releases of a new and sensational series.
Rostropovich/Richter in 1964 = BRAHMS: Cello Sonata No. 1 in E Minor; GRIEG: Cello Sonata in A Minor; SHOSTAKOVICH: Cello Sonata in D Minor – Mstislav Rostropovich, cello/Sviatoslav Richter, piano/Benjamin Britten, piano – BBC Legends
The 1964 Aldeburgh Festival enjoyed the superb cello artistry of Mstislav Rostropovich, who appeared in concert with the mighty Sviatoslav Richter and composer-pianist Benjamin Britten.
Audio News for November 3, 2009
Disney’s New Movie Technology for the Home; Yo-Yo Ma 90-CD Box Set; Use My Accent Site; Electronics Price-Gouging in Australia
Monty Python – Almost the Truth – The Lawyer’s Cut, Blu-ray (2009)
This Python DVD goes for the almost true story of the founding of the troupe, including the early history of each one of them prior to the creation of Monty Python.
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 15 – Mariinsky Orchestra/Valery Gergiev – Mariinsky
The power and eloquence of this [No.15] performance is a home-concert experience that shows both vigor on Gergiev’s direction and the commitment of the Mariinsky Orchestra to honor their country’s most revered composer.
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 “Pastoral”; R. STRAUSS: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 – Michel Scwalbe, violin/Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Herbert von Karajan – Testament
One grand megalomaniac deserves another, you may say, but admit it’s done in immaculate style.
JOHANN VON HERBECK: Symphony No. 4 in D minor “Organ Symphony”, Symphonic Variations in F major – Irénée Peyrot, organ / Hamburger Symphoniker / Martin Haselböck – NCA
The music may not be that undiscovered masterpiece, but its honesty has a certain charm.
MOZART: Sinfonia Concertante KV364; HAYDN: Violin Concertos 1 in C & 4 in G – Rachel Podger / Pavlo Beznosiuk/ Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment – Channel Classics
Haydn’s violin concertos haven’t been programmed in concert nearly as often as Mozart’s, and their good-natured content is many an audience’s loss.
BERLIOZ: Les Nuits D’Ete, Op. 7; L’Enfance du Christ, Op. 25: L’adieu des bergers: Four Scenes – Leontyne Price, soprano/Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Fritz Reiner (Op. 7)/St. Anthony Singers/Goldsborough Orchestra/Sir Colin Davis – HDTT
Two sides of Berlioz, the passionate Romantic and the discreet religious text-painter, in vivid recordings form the 1960s.
Editorial for November 2009
Welcome to Adobe GoLive 6 Our November drawing/giveaway – for a dozen lucky AUDIOPHILE AUDITION readers – is a set of four hi-res discs from Norway’s 2L label: Seven works by Edvard Grieg, including his Piano Concerto with Percy Grainger as the soloist via a Pianola piano roll with a full symphony orchestra. (At left is pianolist Rex Lawson operating a pianola at a Steinway grand.) Plus a 19-selection 2L compilation, The Nordic Sound, with works by Mozart, Vivaldi, Bartok, Haydn, Britten and Scandanavian composers. Each package contains the same music on both a 192K/24 Pure Audio Blu-ray (using DTS-HD lossless codec), as well as a hybrid SACD – both in thrilling surround sound. See our reviews of both and register on the site this month so that at its end you might be one of the 12 names selected to receive these two hi-res productions. Go Here to Register. These three lucky readers will be receiving our October drawing/giveaway – the 4-Blu-ray-disc Virtual Haydn set from Naxos. Congrats to all!: John Desmond – Charlotte, NC; George Lajoie – Manchester, NH; Adrian Tatum – Rolling Hills Estates, CA Guest Editorial by Patrick P. L. Lam Death of Classical Music? In […]
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