Monthly Archive: December 2009
DAVID MASLANKA: Morning Star; Unending Stream of Life; Laudamus Te; Give Us This Day – Illinois State University Symphonic Winds/ Stephen K. Steele, conductor – Albany
Any Maslanka disc is a cause to celebrate.
I Hear a Symphony – The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra cond. by Ben Foster perform The Classic Hits of Motown (+ The Crouch End Festival Chorus on 8 tracks) – Silva Screen
They mostly stand up as good music in these arrangements, much as the Beatles tunes tend to.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Blu-ray (2009)
Based on a popular children’s book about a little island where food falls from the sky.
Audio News for December 29, 2009
330 New Exhibitors at 2010 CES; Burning Amp Festival 2009; Marantz $6000 Blu-ray & Universal Player; Retrofit Multi-room and Home Control Systems Due at CES
Music from America’s First and Second Cities = ROBERT MUCZYNSKI: Toccata; GERSHWIN: 6 Preludes; LEO SOWERBY: From the Northland; DAVID DEL TREDICI: Ballad in Yellow; JOHN LA MONTAINE: 6 Dance Preludes; BARBER: Sonata – Steven Graff, p. – Centaur
A fine solo outing by an accomplished and sensitive artist doing an excellent concept program.
BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto, Op. 61; BERG: Violin Concerto – Arabella Steinbacher, violin/ WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne – Orfeo
An excellent Beethoven and superb Berg.
BRAHMS: Violin Concerto in D Major; Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra in A Minor = David Nadien, violin/Leonard Rose, cello/ The Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra/Vilem Sokol/ Stratford Festival Orchestra/George Schick – Cembal d’amour
The seventh CD from Cembal d’amour celebrates the rare art of violinist David Nadien in previously-unpublished performances from summer festivals.
An American Soldier’s Tale = STRAVINSKY: L’histoire du soldat, with new libretto by Kurt Vonnegut; Suite for Clarinet, Violin & Piano from L’histoire du soldat – American Chamber Winds/David A. Waybright & actors – Summit Records
Some years ago Kurt Vonnegut wrote a new libretto for Stravinsky’s chamber piece with narrator, L’histoire du soldat.
The Good Soldier (2010)
What makes a good soldier? The answer is: the ability to kill other humans.
Conductor KlausTennstedt = MAHLER: Symphony No. 1 in D Major; GLINKA: Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture; Interview with Klaus Tennstedt by John Amis, 1990 – London Philharmonic Orchestra/Klaus Tennstedt – BBC Legends
The London Philharmonic became particularly enamored of and responsive to Tennstedt’s direction, as the inscribed D Major well demonstrates.
Haochen Zhang: Gold Medalist = STRAVINSKY: Three Movements from Petrouchka; CHOPIN: 24 Preludes, Op. 28; BATES: White Lies fro Lomax; LISZT: Spanish Rhapsody – Haochen Zhang, piano – Harmonia mundi
Mr. Zhang projects a maturity of conception in music-making rare in such a youthful prodigy.
TELEMANN: Deus judicium tuum; HANDEL: Dixit Dominus –Yeree Suh, soprano/ Ingrid Perruche, soprano/ Britta Schwarz, alto/ Markus Schafer, tenor/ Alain Buet, bass/ Arnaud Richard, bass/ Arsys Bourgogne/ Harmonie Universelle/ Pierre Cao – Eloquentia
A stirring “Dixit” and welcome Telemann performed with great gusto.
ALBAN BERG: 7 Early Songs; Altenberg Lieder, Op. 4; 3 Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6; J. STRAUSS: Wine, Women, and Song (arr. Berg) – Christiane Iven, soprano/ Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra/ Marc Albrecht, conductor – Pentatone
An Audiophile’s delight. How nice that the performances live up to the sound in every way.
R. STRAUSS conducts R. STRAUSS = Ein Heldenleben; Death & Transfiguration; Also Sprach Zarathustra; Till Eulenspiegel; Schlagobers Waltz; Salome: Dance of Seven Veils – Vienna Philharmonic/Berlin Philharmonic – Urania
Not the most sparkling of historical reconstructions, but an energetic and sonically instructive vision into the composer-conductor’s powerful concepts for his own music.
“Sturm und Drang” = NICOLAS BACRI: Concerto Amoroso ‘Le Printemps;’ Concerto for Flute and Orchestra; Concerto Nostalgico ‘L’Automne;’ Nocturne. Symphony No. 4 – Soloists/Tapiola Sinfonietta/Jean-Jacques Kantorow – BIS
The works on this disc were all written in the last decade and represent his preference for the concerto and tonal writing.
MARTINU: Overture; Piano Concerto No. 2; The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca; Piano Concerto No. 4 “Incantation” – Robert Kolinsky, piano/ Sinfonieorchester Basel/Vladimir Ashkenazy – Ondine
This disc showcases some of Martinu’s most intriguing and appealing music for piano and orchestra.
Güher & Süher Pekinel, pianos – Live in Concert (2009)
The exceptional Turkish piano twins have set new standards for duo piano playing, made many fine recordings, and are vying with the Lebeque Sisters as the world’s top female two-piano duo.
Emil Gilels Live in Moscow, Vol. 2 (1979 & 1983/2009)
Late collaborations by Russian virtuoso Emil Gilels, whose pearly play in Mozart is fit for the gods.
SIBELIUS: En Saga, Op. 9; Pohjola’s Daughter, Op. 49; Oceanides, Op. 73; Tapiola, Op. 112; ALVEN: Swedish Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 19 “Midsommarvaka” – Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy – Pristine Audio
The present restoration by Mark Obert-Thorn reminds us of what these Northern sound-pictures gain from the royal treatment.
9, Blu-ray (2009)
This is a highly original story with great depth that might require a couple viewings to really get all the connections and details.
PROKOFIEV: Romeo & Juliet (complete ballet) – London Symphony Orchestra/ Valery Gergiev – LSO Live
Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet warrants a hi-res recording of the complete score since it is regarded by many as the greatest ballet score ever composed.
BIZET: Symphony in C; Jeux D’Enfants; La Jolie Fille De Perth – Suisse Romande Orchestra / Ernest Ansermet – HDTT
BIZET: Symphony in C; Jeux D’Enfants; La Jolie Fille De Perth – Suisse Romande Orchestra / Ernest Ansermet – HDTT 96K/24bit FLAC (or HQCD, CD, or DVD-R); 49:42 [www.highdefinitiontransfers.com] ****: From a London 4-track tape, HDDT has issued a Bizet program recorded in Victoria Hall, Geneva between 8 October and 24 November 1960, produced and engineered by Decca stalwarts James Walker and Roy Wallace. The original Decca LP releases were SXL2275 (stereo) and LXT5634 (mono). Georges Bizet (1838-1875) wrote his sole complete symphony in 1855 at the tender age of 17, though it remained unheard until its first performance under Felix Weingartner in 1935. Walter Goehr and the LPO made the first recording on 26 November 1937 (one side redone on 4 January 1938) on plum label HMV 78s (C 2986-2989) with Walter Legge producing. The US issue on Victor Musical Masterpiece Set DM-721 notes the work as “Symphony No. 1”, Bizet’s other symphony, “Roma”, being the second. The numbering hasn’t caught on. Many thanks to Bryan Bishop for making his transfer of this pioneering recording available; Leon Goossens’s oboe playing in the second movement is quite beautiful and remains a fine example of his fine artistry. Since then, its […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
