Monthly Archive: May 2012
SHOSTAKOVICH: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2; RODION SHCHEDRIN: Piano Con. No. 5 – Denis Matsuev, p./ Mariinsky Orchestra/ Valery Gergiev – Mariinsky
A great match up for two disparate composers, with superb performances.
JÖRG HERCHET: Das Geistliche Jahr: Four Cantatas – Meißner Kantorei 1961/ Ensemble vocal modern/ Christfried Brödel – querstand (SACD + CD)
This is important, often deeply disquieting, contemporary music.
LASSE THORESEN: Himmelkvad (Vocal Sextet, Op. 42 and Helligkvad, Op. 19) – Berit Opheim Versto, vocalist/ Nordic Voices – 2L (Blu-ray + CD)
Involving and affective music that probes the soul and prods the emotions.
'Seven Steps' = BEETHOVEN: String Quartet No. 14; BROOKLYN RIDER: Seven Steps; CHRISTOPHER TIGNOR: Together Into This Unknowable Night – Brooklyn Rider – In a Circle Records
It sounds the way Brooklyn Rider sounds in live performance: in your face.
ARVO PÄRT: Creator Spiritus – Theatre of Voices/ Ars Nova Copenhagen/ Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, organ/ NYYD Quartet/ Paul Hillier – Harmonia mundi
There have been a lot, but this is one of the very best of the recent Pärt releases.
A Story of The City: Constantinople, Istanbul – Schola Cantorum/ Ensemble Trinitas/ The New England Drums & Winds Mehterhane/ DÜNYA Ensembles – Dünya Inc. (2 CDs)
A unique portrayal that stands as unique in the catalog as well.
AudioControl Maestro M4 – Audiophile 7.1 AV Preamp SRP: $6000
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Audio News for May 15, 2012
Onkyo Readies TrueHD 5.1 Downloads; McIntosh Expands Preamp-Processor Line; Marantz Plans Two SlimLine AVRs
Larry Willis, piano – This Time The Dream's On Me – HighNote
A thoughtful and beautifully engineered album.
‘The Eleanor Hovda Collection’ = ELEANOR HOVDA: Ariadne Music; Coastal Traces; Sound Around the Sound; Excavations – var. performers – Innova (4 CDs)
A dense organic blend that sounds like New Age meets Stockhausen.
HARTY: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2; Piano Quintet – Goldner String Quartet/ Piers Lane, p. – Hyperion
An ensemble of gifted Australian musicians collaborate beautifully to introduce us to the fertile imagination of Hamilton Harty’s chamber works.
Marzette Watts – Marzette Watts & Company – ESP-Disk
A blast from the avant-garde past.
Sevda – Sevda: Exclusive Collector’s Edition – Caprice (2 CDs + 1 DVD)
An aromatic merger of Turkish folk and jazz.
Piero Coppola = SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 1 “Spring”; Symphony No. 3 “Rhenish”; WAGNER: Parsifal: Instr. Excerpts R. STRAUSS: Salome: Instr. Excerpts – Pristine Audio
Piero Coppola leads fiery renditions of Schumann from London and Paris; but the grimly sensational music of Strauss may impel the collector to audition this excellent restoration.
Melissa Stylianou – Silent Movie – Anzic Records
An attractively recorded album that frames a beautiful voice.
BEETHOVEN: The Late String Quartets – Cypress String Quartet – Cypress Performing Arts (3 CDs)
An excellent traversal by an enthusiastic ensemble.
RAFFAELE BELLAFRONTE: ‘Arakathalama’ = Nights in Broadway; Midnight plays; Desaccòrd; Blue; Passi; Cristalli di sale; Oasi alle mente; Arakathalama – var. performers – Stradivarius
A sort of likable tension throughout, if you like tension.
Audio News for May 11, 2012
New TV Loudness Rules; A Grand Piano Tweak; Can We Digitally Preserve Our Culture?
Harry Blech and the London Mozart Players: The Complete HMV Stereo Recordings, Vol. 2 = MOZART: Symphony No. 36; Piano Concerto No. 24; 12 Minuets – Louis Kentner, piano – First Hand Records
The London Mozart Players return in elegant style to realize the lyrical and dramatic intentions of their Austrian master, here assisted by the veteran Louis Kentner.
BACH: St. John Passion (1725 version) – Soloists/ La Furia Ensemble/ Concerto d’Amsterdam/ Nico van der Meel – Quintone 08001 (2 CDs)
The changes are controversial even now, but Bach’s one-off version of St. John is an illuminating walk down the composer’s thought processes.
CHISHOLM: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 – Danny Driver, p./ BBC Scottish Sym. Orch./Rory MacDonald – Hyperion
An infusion of Scottish folk tunes and Hindustani music make these two twentieth century piano concertos attractive and different.
Marguerite Long plays RAVEL: Piano Concerto in G; BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 3; D’INDY: Symphony on a French Mountain Air – Marguerite Long, p./ Orch. cond. Pedro de Freitas Branco (Ravel)/ Paris Conservatory Orch./ Felix Weingartner (Beethoven)/ Colonne Sym. Orch. / Paul Paray (D’Indy) – Dutton
Marguerite Long reigned as the supreme virtuoso of her time; and the two Gallic works confirm her prowess, while the Beethoven fares less successfully.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
