Monthly Archive: March 2012
DVORAK: Symphony No. 7; Slavonic Dance in G Minor; In Nature’s Realm; Scherzo capriccioso – Bournemouth Sym. Orch./ Jose Sere brier – Warner Classics
Jose Serebrier extends his Dvorak survey with fiery, colorful renditions of the composer’s mature masterpieces in various forms.
HANNA KULENTY: Music 4: GG Concerto; Music for Roy; Breathe; Sinequan Forte B – Gośka Isphording, hrpsichd/, Bartosz Koziak, cello/ Wrocław Phil. Choir/ Wroclaw Chamber Orch. Leopoldinum/ Ernst Kovacic – Dux
The composer tells us she bought a pair of shoes and coat with the prize money for one of her works.
SCHUMANN: Fantasiestuecke; SCHUBERT: Sonata Fragment in E Major; Adagio; BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata No. 17, “Tempest” – Adrian Aeschbacher, piano – KASP Records
The under-represented art of Adrian Aeschbacher finds excellent expression in this issue of rare inscriptions 1952-1954 of Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann.
February 2012 Portland Jazz Festival Reviews
Enrico Rava & Tribe – Friday, Feb. 18 – Winningstad Theater Local pianist Tony Pacini opened for Enrico Rava with his trio, including our star drummer Mel Brown. He followed a rough theme of Italian-American jazz since that fit both the Rava concert and his own background. Adding Enrico Rava and his current band, Tribe, to this year’s Portland Jazz Festival was a coup for Managing Director Don Lucoff. Rava, age 72, a long-established trumpet artist for the ECM label, had never been to Portland before. It was reported that he had not been on the West Coast at all for several decades. (Having Rava perform the night before as part of the first concert of the Spring season of SFJAZZ certainly helped facilitate Rava’s entrée to the Portland scene.) Rava has been known for many years as an introspective trumpeter noted for his moody, film noir-type recordings which bring a comparison to mid-50s Miles Davis, especially with Rava’s use of the mute. However, Rava’s concert on Saturday, Feb. 18, in the intimate confines of the Winningstad Theater, fell into a different bag. Much like Roy Haynes (who performed later in the Festival), Rava seems to have been invigorated by […]
Tania Maria – Tempo – (with Eddie Gomes, bass) – Naive
A great set of eight tunes, and not just straight bossa nova either.
The Jay D’Amico Trio – Tuscan Prelude – Jazz Under Glass – CAP Records
Some tantalizing and intricate music on display.
HAYDN: Violin Concertos in C Major, A Major & G Major — Giuliano Carmignola, violin/ cond./ Orch. des Champs-Élysées – Archiv
Giuliano Carmignola’s recording of Haydn concertos goes right to the top of the list.
Beyond All Mortal Dreams: American a Cappella – Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge/ Stephen Layton – Hyperion
Can it be true? American choral music given definitive performances by an English choir? Read on.
Annie Hall, Blu-ray (1977/2012)
Annie Hall is one of Woody Allen’s masterpieces for sure.
‘Overheard – New Music for Oboe and English Horn’ = Michele Fiala – MSR Classics
Some great playing and very pleasant discoveries of new music!
Garrick Ohlsson Performs Chopin Piano Concertos 1 & 2, Blu-ray (2012)
If the performances were as excellent as the documentary, this disc would be something.
Audio News for March 2, 2012
New Web Site Devoted to DSD; Panasonic Intros Spoken-Command TVs; D&M Realigning Their Distribution; The Riccardo Muti Era at the CSO
DVOŘÁK: String Quintet in G; Nocturne; String Quintet: (Scherzo) – Berlin Philharmonic String Quintet – PentaTone
Very good performances, but poor value. I’m baffled about the concept behind this album.
Queen – Days of Our Lives, Blu-ray (2011)
An interesting documentary on this long-lived rock group.
“French Impressions” = SAINT-SAËNS: Sonata No. 1; FRANCK: Sonata in A Major; RAVEL: Sonata – Joshua Bell, violin/ Jeremy Denk, p. – Sony Classical
A wonderful survey of French chamber music for violin and piano in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 1 — Hamburg Philharmonic/ Simone Young – Oehms Classics
This moves to the top of my Bruckner 1 list—a short one to be sure, but important nonetheless.
Editorial for March 2012
In order to be one of the four lucky AUDIOPHILE AUDITION readers who will receive the Brilliant Classics 31-disc set of The Ultimate Piano Concerto Collection you need to register Here using our simple non-intrusive email-protected form. Brilliant is noted for its many multi-disc boxed sets. In addition to the 30 CDs covering the complete piano concertos of several composers (seven discs just for Mozart), plus the one or two concertos from others, it has a CD-ROM with detailed notes on all the composers and concertos. The winners will be announced here in early April. Here are the two lucky winners of the 50-CD The Decca Sound boxed set, our February Drawing = Yuan Huang, Vaughan Ontario Canada; Patrick Callery, Sandy Hook CT. Congratulations! [audaud-hr] EDITORIAL AUDIOPHILE AUDITION began in 1985 as a weekly national radio series hosted by John Sunier, which aired for 13 1/2 years on up to 200 public radio and commercial stations coast to coast. In September 1998 its web site for programming information was expanded to the present Internet publication. March 2012 is our 156th issue, and features improved navigation and enhanced appearance in Word Press. All disc reviews (131 for February!) are added thru […]
WEINBERG: Symphony No. 6 for boys’ choir and orch.; Sinfonietta No. 1 – Vienna Boys’ Choir/ Vienna Sym. Orch./ Vladimir Fedoseyev / Sym. Orch. Vorarlberg / Gerard Korsten – Neos
A forgotten composer? Not anymore, thanks to excellent recordings such as Neos’ Weinberg Edition Volume 1.
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (3D & 2D Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (2009/2012)
Our first 3D Blu-ray review!
SCHUBERT: Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat, Op. 100; Adagio in E-flat “Notturno” –Trio Latitude 41 – Eloquentia
Fully satisfying performances of two Schubert masterworks.
VIVALDI: The Four Seasons; ALEXSANDAR SEDLAR: Spring in Japan – Nemanja Radulovic, violin & leader/ The Devil's Trills – Artact
To his exciting Seasons, Radulovic has added a sobering new piece by his Serbian compatriot.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
