Monthly Archive: February 2011
The 5 Browns in Hollywood [TrackList below] – Ryan, Melody, Gregory, Deondra and Desirae Brown, pianos – E1 Entertainment
They’ve been described as “button-down cute and somewhat otherworldly.” Most apt.
“Piano Tales” = Works of MENDELSSOHN; BEETHOVEN; JUHO MIETTINEN; LISZT; CHOPIN – Risto-Matti Marin, p. – Alba
An interestingly varied program with two worthwhile pieces you won’t have heard before.
FRIEDRICH CERHA: Spiegel; Momentum; Momente – SWR-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden /Sylvain Cambreling /ORF Radio-Symphonie Wien / Dennis Russell Davies /Friedrich Cerha – Kairos (2 SACDs)
A convenient overview of an important avant-garde composer.
HAYDN: String Quartets Volume 14 = String Quartets Op. 77 Nos. 1–2; String Quartet Op. 103; String Quartet Op. 42 – Auryn Quartet – Tacet
A worthy conclusion to the Auryn Quartet’s Haydn series.
BRAHMS: Ein deutsches Requiem – Genia Kuehmeier, sop./Thomas Hampson, bar./ Arnold Schoenberg Choir/Wiener Philharmoniker/ Nikolaus Harnoncourt – RCA Red Seal
Nikolaus Harnoncourt extracts aerial, even visionary, clarity from the familiar choral masterpiece, a testament to a fundamentally antique discipline.
Tango Amoratado – Jürgen Karthe, bandoneon & Fabian Klentzke, piano – Auris Subtilis Mambo Tango – Carlos Franzetti, piano solo – Sunnyside
A pair of albums that might be called “chamber tango.”
JANACEK: Violin Sonata; GRIEG: Violin Sonata No. 2; FRANCK: Violin Sonata – Vadim Repin, violin/Nikolai Lugansky, p. – DGG
“Like childbirth, it‘s worth the pain,” claim the participants in this diversely passionate violin-piano recital.
“Chamber Music” – Ballaké Sissoko, kora/ Vincent Segal, cello – Six Degrees“Port Saïd Street” – Francis Coletta, Godin electroacoustic guitar/ Janas Tauber, cello – Origin Records
Two unusual duos involving cello.
Bamboo Organ of Las Piñas, Manila [TrackList below] – Douglas Lawrence, organist – Move (2 discs with video)
This double album from the innovative Australian label Move is currently the only recording available of the truly unique bamboo pipe organ in the Philippines.
Audio News for February 15, 2011
Grammy Award Winners; Congress Looks to Cut Public Broadcasting Funding; Last.fm Begins Charging $3 a Month for Mobile Service
Rudolf Ganz, piano = Works of CHOPIN, GLAZUNOV, DEBUSSY, GRANADOS, JENSEN, KORNGOLD, LISZT, MENDELSSOHN & GRIEG – Rudolf Ganz, piano; Metropolitan Sym./Rudolf Ganz; Bonus Interview – Guild
The eminent pianist and conductor Rudolf Ganz savored musical diversity, and any tribute to him merits the epithet “Fair Hearing.”
“Rhythms & Blues – American Piano Music” – Jocelyn Swigger, piano – Con Brio “The Jazz Age, for Piano Duo” – Goldstone & Clemmow, duo-pianos – Divine Art
A pair of delightful CDs of piano music with various degrees of a jazz edge.
The Hollywood Cello: Concert Works from Film Composers = Music by KORNGOLD, HAGEMAN, SAMINSKY, ACHRON, TOCH, CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO, HERBERT, and CHAPLIN – Gregory Hamilton, cello/Kate Hamilton, viola/Robert Hamilton, p. – Soundset
This disc celebrates the various musical expatriates–most European Jews–who gravitated to motion pictures between the “silent” era of Hollywood and the 1960s.
Chaplin, 15th Anniversary Edition, Blu-ray (1992/2010)
The Blu-ray version is definitely superior to the DVD.
Carmina Celtica: World-Premiere Recordings of Medieval and Contemporary Spiritual Songs [TrackList below] Canty – Linn
A mix of recreated old and newly performed modern make this an easy album to enjoy.
The Dave Liebman Group – Turnaround: The Music of Ornette Coleman – Jazzwerkstatt
Liebman covers Coleman and the result will please fans of both musicians.
The Grand Organ of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London (2010)
There are closeups of the many keyboard manuals and knobs for the various stops, but also interesting closeups of objects both inside the cathedral and outside photos and footage that tie into the music being heard.
DOHNANYI: Variations on a Nursery Tune, Op. 25; RACHMANINOV: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 – Julius Katchen, piano/London Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Adrian Boult – Pristine Audio
Pungent remastering of 1959 Decca originals from American virtuoso Julius Katchen, here perfectly in harmony with conductor Boult in two Romantic staples.
Little Feat – Sailin’ Shoes – Warner Brothers Records/Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab – audiophile vinyl LP
Reissue of 1972 classic LP showcases a band on the precipice of stardom.
Lionel Hampton – The Lionel Hampton Quartet – Verve/Clef Records/Pure Pleasure Records
Music of this caliber is rarely captured in the moment.
ROLF LIEBERMANN: La Foret, comic opera in five acts -Orchestre de la Suisse Romande/vocal soloists/Jeffrey Tate – Migros Recordings
Charming little light opera with a social message well worth hearing!
Little Feat – Dixie Chicken – Warner Brothers Records/ Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab audiophile vinyl
A change in direction propels a great band to new heights.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
