Monthly Archive: April 2010
Apollo 13, Blu-ray (1995/2010)
It’s a real challenge to make an interesting film on a subject with which most viewers are familiar and know exactly how it turns out, but Ron Howard succeeds beautifully.
The Men Who Stare at Goats, Blu-ray + Digital Copy (2009)
“The Men Who Stare at Goats” is an off-beat and quirky comedy.
Pierre Monteux: Early Recordings = STRAVINSKY: Le Sacre du Printemps; RAVEL: Le petit poucet from Ma Mere l’oye; La Valse; COPPOLA: Interlude dramatique; CHABRIER: Fete Polonaise – Orchestre Symphonique de Paris/Pierre Monteux – Pristine Audio
Monteux’s Rite performance (1929) well-qualifies as the best Stravinsky you have heard in a long time.
Audio News for April 13, 2010
Burnable Blu-ray Discs to Store 128GB; Cisco Home Networking for Dummies; Get Ready for iAds; European Broadband Carriers Upset with Google and YouTube
Wallace Roney – If Only for One Night – HighNote
Wallace Roney reveals his many-sided character on his first live album, If Only for One Night.
CHOPIN: Four Impromptus; Scherzo in C-sharp Minor, Op. 39; Two Nocturnes, Op. 32; Polonaise in C Minor; Prelude in C-sharp Minor; 3 Mazurkas, Op. 59; Presto con leggeriezza in A-flat Major – Kevin Kenner, fortepiano – The Fryderyk Chopin Institute
Kenner enjoys exploring the stylistic permutations in Chopin, and this strong recital taped in Warsaw demonstrates the power and flexibility of Chopin’s own instrument, given its range of 82 keys.
Concertos II – ROSS BAUER: Thin Ice for Cello and Chamber Orchestra; STEVEN BURKE: Over a Moving Landscape for Bass Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra; MARTIN MATALON: Trame I for Oboe and Chamber Orchestra – soloists/Sequitur/Hostetter – Albany
The concertos for cello, solo bass clarinet and oboe make this disc an inviting experiment in the contemporary concerto.
Vassily Primakov Plays BRAHMS, CHOPIN & SCRIABIN
Taped 24-25 June 2009 at Carl Nielsen Hall, Odense, Denmark, pianist Vassily Primakov exhibits a natural flair for the Romantics.
Emil Gilels in Concert (1983-84/2009)
Two stunning showpieces from the artistry of Russian pianist Emil Gilels (1916-1985), in which the Grieg Concerto steals all the berries.
HANS GAL: The Two Violin Sonatas; Suite for Violin and Piano – Annette-Barbara Vogel, violin/ Juhani Lagerspetz, piano – Avie
If you’re looking for a disc of beautiful late Romantic music for violin and piano, this CD is an excellent choice.
Fabrizio Sotti – Inner Dance – E1
With his new release, Inner Dance, guitarist Fabrizio Sotti delivers easy going jazz with a soulful touch.
Fight the Big Bull – All Is Gladness in the Kingdom (feat. Steven Bernstein) – Clean Feed
Fight the Big Bull offers large-ensemble jazz that is unpredictable and adventurous.
Joe Chambers – Horace to Max – Savant
On his latest outing, Horace to Max, drummer Joe Chambers pays tribute to friends and fellow artists.
Audio News for April 9, 2010
Comcast Offers The Masters Golf in 3D; Belkin Routers for Home Use; ZigBee Chips to See Increased Used in Consumer Electronics; Sony “Audio Laser” Technology; Rhapsody Lowers Subscription Feeds
BEETHOVEN: Lieder und Volkslieder (Songs and Folksongs) – Barbara Hendricks, soprano/ Love Derwinger, piano/ Christian Bergqvist or Leo Winland, cello – Arte Verum
Intelligent programming; finely honed performances; plus a well-balanced, intimate recording make this CD a pleasure to recommend.
CHOPIN: Late Masterpieces = Marzurkas, Barcarolles, Berceuse, Sonata No. 3, etc. – Stephen Hough, p. – Hyperion
The rendition of the Polonaise-Fantasy marks Hough as a Chopin proponent of the first rank.
HAYDN: String Quartet in C Major, Op. 76, No. 3 “Emperor”; String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 76, No. 4 “Sunrise”; BEETHOVEN: String Quartet in A Major, Op. 18, No. 5 – Quartetto Italiano – PentaTone
More masterful Haydn and Beethoven from the Quartetto Italiano, another classic in the extensive annuls of this remarkable ensemble.
JOSQUIN: Mass “Malheur me bat”; “Fortuna desperate” – Tallis Scholars/ Peter Phillips, director – Gimell
Maybe the best Josquin of the Tallis Scholar’s catalog.
RAMEAU: Platée (complete opera) – La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy / Jean-Claude Malgoire – Calliope (2 CDs)
Rameau’s attractive and inventive music makes a tasty listening experience, perhaps more so than the composer’s serious operas.
DVORAK: Piano Quintet No. 1 in A Major, Op. 5; Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 81 – Goldner String Quartet/Piers Lane, piano – Hyperion
Supple and magical, these performances give us the two Dvorak piano quintets in lucid streamlined fashion.
Unto All Ages: Sacred Choral Music of SVIRIDOV, RACHMANIOFF and TCHAIKOVSKY = TCHAIKOVSKY: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 41; RACHMANIOFF – All-Night Vigil, Op. 37; GEORGY SVIRIDOV – Ineffable Mystery – Gloriae Dei Cantores
The performances by Gloriæ Dei Cantores are poised, beautifully sung, maybe a bit cool compared especially with those of Russian singers.
VICTORIA: Lamentations of Jeremiah; JUAN GUTIERREZ DE PADILLA: Lamentations for Maundy Thursday – Tallis Scholars/ Peter Phillips, director – Gimell
A new recording from the great Tallis Scholars—do they ever make a bad recording?