Monthly Archive: February 2012
Tamir Hendelman – Destinations – Resonance Records
Hendelman is a prodigious talent with complete command of the keyboard.
SAMUEL BARBER Historical Recordings, 1935-1960 = West Hill Radio Archives (8 CDs + CD-ROM)
One of America’s great lyrical composers receives a major retrospective in performances that resist age and retain their elemental, authentic power and spontaneity.
Optoma HD33 1080p HD 3D/2D Video Projector SRP: $2999; St.:$1499
An incredible 3D home theater performer for its price.
“Miniatures & Folklores: 23 Challenges for Cello & Piano” – Gavriel Lipkind, cello / Alexandra Lubchansky, p. – Lipkind Productions
A presentation-worthy package of musical bonbons and truffles.
STRAVINSKY: Divertimento; SHOSTAKOVICH: Violin Sonata – Vladimir Stoupel, v./ Judith Ingolfsson, p. – Audite
Two wildly divergent faces of Russian composition.
Audio News for February 28, 2012
Article on Return to Analog and Hi-Res for High Fidelity; Stereophile Poll Shows SACD Preferred Format; IOGEAR Adapter Brings Surround to Stereo Headphones; Boston Acoustics Quits Auto Stereo Market
TOD MACHOVER: ‘…but not simpler…’ & other works – Bridge Records
Definitely ‘not simpler’ but pretty interesting for fans of the modern.
CASELLA: Symphony No. 2; Scarlattiana – Roscoe, p./ BBC Phil./ Noseda – Chandos CASELLA: Notte di maggio; Cello Con.; Scarlattiana – Soloists/ Orch. Sinfonia de Roma/ La Vecchia – Naxos
Thanks to Chandos and Naxos, Alfredo Casella has re-entered the lists of major 20th-century conservative composers.
Alison Balsom – “Seraph” – Modern Concertos for Trumpet and Orch. by MacMILLAN, TAKEMITSU, ARUTUIAN & ZIMMERMAN – BBC Sym./ Renes – EMI
The young British trumpet player Alison Balsom brilliantly performs modern works that showcase her sumptuous tone and first-rate virtuosity.
MOZART: Piano Concerti Nos. 24 & 25 – Ronald Brautigam, fortepiano/ Die Kölner Akademie/ Michael Alexander Willens – BIS
The key of C has never sounded so exciting.
Josef Suk, violin – The Early Recordings = Music of DVORAK, SMETANA, MARTINU, JANACEK, GRIEG, RESPIGHI, DEBUSSY, POULENC, FRANCK, CHUBERT, MOZART, HONEGGER, KODALY & Others – Supraphon (6 CDs)
We witness the beginnings of a legendary career here from violin virtuoso Josef Suk, one of the greats in Czech music-making.
The Dave Shank Quintet – Soundproof – Rhombus Records
Dave Shank is a great vibe player using the multi-mallet in each hand technique.
BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata “Appassionata”; CARL CZERNY: La Ricordanza; SCHUBERT: Sonata in c – Jin Ju, p. – MDG
Marvelous coupling, well thought out, and played to the hilt.
Thibaud and Cortot play French Violin Sonatas of FRANCK, FAURE & DEBUSSY – Pristine Audio
The most celebrated French violin-piano duo of its time performs music decidedly idiomatic to its taste and style, in beautifully-restored sound.
Reviews of 29 Soundtrack Albums
Film scores of all types on CD, for current, classic, silent and collections of film themes.
RICHARD GALLIANO New York Trio – Ruby My Dear – Dreyfus Jazz RICHARD GALLIANO – Luz Negra – Milan Records
A very confident band with a fine sense of style and interplay. Galliano has both virtuosity and underlying jazz aesthetic.
HAMPSON SISLER: Phoenix Forever; In the Wake of the Storm; Music in the Soul; Prayer of St. Francis – Soloists/ Praga Sinfonietta/ Marlon Daniel – MSR
One jewel on a tarnished crown does not make a king…
‘Big, Beautiful, Dark and Scary’ = Works by JULIA WOLFE, MICHAEL GORDON, EVAN ZIPORYN, CONLON NANCARROW, LOUIS ANDRIESSEN & others – Bang on a Can Ens. – Cantaloupe (2 CDs)
Wildly creative works from this cutting edge ensemble are big, beautiful, dark and…
VILLA-LOBOS: Symphony No. 4 “A Vitoria”; Piano Concerto No. 5; Momoprecoce Fantasia; Chorus No. 5 for Piano – Soloists/ Orch. Nat. de la Radiodiffusion Francaise/ Heitor Villa-Lobos – Urania
VILLA-LOBOS: Symphony No. 4 “A Vitoria”; Piano Concerto No. 5; Momoprecoce Fantasia; Chorus No. 5 for Piano “Alma Brasileira” – Felicia Blumenthal, piano (Concerto)/ Magda Tagliaferro, piano (Momoprecoce)/ Aline van Barentzen, piano (Choros)/ Orch. Nat. de la Radiodiffusion Francaise/ Heitor Villa-Lobos – Urania Records Widescreen Collection WS 121.133, 75:32 [Distr. by Albany] ****: Composer Heitor […]
BARTOK: Bluebeard’s Castle – Laszlo Polgar/ Ildiko Komlosi/ Budapest Festival Orchestra/ Ivan Fischer – Channel Classics
All re-releases should sound as good as this one—a model on how to do it.
PER NØRGÅRD: Helle Nacht – Violin Concerto No. 1; Spaces of Time for orchestra with piano; Borderlines – Violin Concerto No. 2 – BIS
Fascinating approaches to the problem of musical development on the borderlines of the tonal-atonal divide.
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 1, “Winter Dreams”; Marche Slave – Russian Nat. Orch. / Mikhail Pletnev – PentaTone
A crackerjack recording of Marche Slave, but Pletnev’s First Symphony performance has problems.