Monthly Archive: December 2010
Eastern Boundary Quartet – Icicles – Konnex
Hungarian-American jazz that has a universal appeal.
Wedding Cake: Music for Piano Duo = SAINT-SAENS: Wedding Cake; FAURE: Dolly Suite; RAVEL: La Valse; DEBUSSY: Petite Suite; CHIHARA: Ami Suite; DUKAS: L’Apprenti sorcier; POULENC: Elegie; L’Embarquement pour Cythera – Pascal and Ami Roge, pianos – Onyx
The album carries a rubric: “Four hands and two hearts.”
BRAHMS: Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-sharp Minor, Op. 2; Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5; 4 Intermezzi from Six Klavierstuecke, Op. 118 – Helene Grimaud – Regis
A reissue of the twenty-three-year old Helene Grimaud that certifies her credentials as a Brahms acolyte.
Horizon 3 = MICHEL VAN DER AA: Spaces of Blank; OTTO KETTING: Trajecten; KEURIS: Antologia; GUBAIDULINA: Der Reiter auf dem weißen Pferd; MAYKE NAS: No reason to panic – Christianne Stotijn, mezzo-soprano/ Royal Concertgebouw Orch. – RCO Live
Modern music need not be a chore, and the selections here appeal to the very best angels of our nature.
BUXTEHUDE: Scandinavian Cantatas – Bine Bryndorf, organ/ Theatre of Voices/ Paul Hillier, conductor – DaCapo
Not known for his vocal music, and never required to write any, this composer has a real flair for the essence of sacred text setting.
“Ombra Cara: Arias of GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL” – Bejun Mehta, countertenor / Rosemary Joshua, soprano/ Freiburger Barockorchester / René Jacobs – Harmonia mundi (with DVD)
Metha negotiates those leaps, trills, and runs with the kind of ease a great flutist would command, but it’s the emotional involvement in the music that truly distinguishes his performances.
David Bowie – Rare and Unseen (2010)
Documentary of archival Bowie interviews fails to capture star’s magnetism.
Rick Cutler, solo piano – First Melancholy, Then the Night Stretch – New Dude
Solo piano music tailor-made for late-night listening.
Audio News for December 17, 2010
Really Wireless Speakers Getting Closer; NuVo Music Port Server; ViewSonic Has Under-$1000 HD Projector; Remain CALM During Loud Commercials
Sinatra/Jobim – The Complete Reprise Recordings – Concord Music Roger Davidson Quintet – Brazilian Love Song (30 Years of Brazilian Music) – Soundbrush
I was taken back listening to this to the very earliest bossa nova jazz LPs from American performers.
Lyrical Landscape – Syrinx Flute Ensemble/Hiroshi Mochida plays RAVEL, BACH, OHMAE, GRUGER, JANEQUIN, MOZART, ELGAR & Others [TrackList below] – Camerata
A most pleasing assembly of multiple similar instruments, played by virtuosi.
Gene Bertoncini & Roni Ben-Hur – Smile – Motema Music
Contrasting guitarists unite for a special event with excellent results.
DUKE ELLINGTON: Mainly Black: Black, Brown and Beige (suite); Take the “A” Train; Sophisticated Lady; Harlem; Isfahan – EMI Classics
This is not quite all of Black, Brown & Beige, and neither did Ellington do all of it after its premiere.
RICHARD JONES: Sets of Lessons for the Harpsichord – Mitzi Meyerson – Glossa (2 CDs)
An ear to the British keyboard baroque period at its peak.
Audio News for December 14, 2010
Top Ten Tech Trends to Watch in 2011; Netgear Moves Into TV Market; CNET HDTV Picture-Settings Forum; Some 3D Blu-rays of Avatar Are Sellling for $350!; Vizio and Onlive To Begin Streaming Video Services
GIBBS: Concerto for Oboe and Orch.; SCOTT: Concerto for Oboe and Strings; WRIGHT: Concerto for Oboe and Strings; PEHKONEN: Amor Vincit Omnia, for Oboe d’amore and Strings – Jonathan Small, oboe – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orch./Martin Yates – Dutton
A disc of pastoral English oboe concertos that spans two centuries.
Pablo Aslan – Tango Grill – Zoho Music
The performers do take some liberties with the original tango tunes, as they were encouraged to do by Aslan.
Music for the End of Winter: New American Works for Solo Piano = JOHN HALLE: Etude 2000; HOWARD FRAZIN: Music for the End of Winter; FRANK FELICE: 3 Pieces from Banff; MICHAEL SCHELLE: Hammerstein; DANIEL KOONTZ: Improvements – Kate Boyd, piano – Ravello
Piano music that focuses on the accessible side of modern composition.
Peter Cooper – The Lloyd Green Album – Red Beet Records
One of the best singer/songwriters teams up with Nashville’s pedal steel legend.
Eric Brace & Peter Cooper – Master Sessions – Red Beet Records
On this second outing for Brace and Cooper, they include two of their all-time favorite instrumentalists.
One Take – Volume Four – Alma Records
Spontaneity livens up unrehearsed studio session.
FRANZ BIBER: Rosary Sonatas (complete) – Daniel Spec, violin/ Hille Perl, viola da gamba/ Lee Santana, archlute, theorbo/ Michael Behringer, harpsichord, organ – Coviello Classics
Always room for another recording of the Rosary Sonatas that brings such panache and flavorful sounds.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
