Monthly Archive: May 2012
“Air—The BACH Album”: Air from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D, BWV 1068; Violin Concerto No. 1 in a; Violin Concerto No. 2 in E; Largo from Concerto for Harpsichord in f; Concerto for Two Violins in d; Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod) – Anne Akiko Meyers, violin/ English Ch. Orch./ Steven Mercurio – E1 Music
Meyers’s album re-establishes her credentials in a superb reading of the three Bach concertos.
Bill Evans – Live at Art D’Lugoff’s Top of the Gate (1968) – Resonance Records (2 CDs)
Another release of historical significance from Resonance Records.
Tom Harrell – Number Five – High Note
May continues to be a good month for fans of Tom Harrell…
Audio News for May 8, 2010
Decrease in Discounts as Consumer Spending on Electronics Increases; Ten Named to Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame; JVC Kenwood Posts First Annual Profit
* STRAVINSKY: Rite of Spring; Firebird Suite; Scherzo; Tango – Budapest Festival Orch./ Ivan Fischer – Channel Classics
********* MULTICHANNEL DISC OF THE MONTH ********
GRIEG: 20 Lyric Pieces – David Rubinstein, piano – Musicus
A generous portion from Grieg’s books of Lyric Pieces makes a diverse showcase for David Rubinstein’s pianistic gifts.
Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas – Columbia/Sony Music
Old Ideas like spirituality, desire, mortality and acceptance.
The Grey, Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Copy (2012)
A superbly-done survival movie with a perfect take-charge hero.
MOZART: Requiem in D Minor; SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 5 – soloists/ BBC Chorus/ Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Sir Thomas Beecham – Pristine
Beecham’s Mozart Requiem may not be that of Bruno Walter, but it revives our sense of a unique personal statement of faith.
‘ARTIFACTS’ = Works by BRIGHT SHENG, JOEL PUCKETT, MICHAEL DAUGHERTY, WM. BOLCOM – U. of Mich. Sym. Band – Equilibrium Records
Wind ensemble fans should find these “artifacts!”
Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball – Columbia
Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball has it all: anger, frustration, conflict and confrontation.
DUKAS: Orchestral Music = Fanfare; La Peri; Symphony in C Major; L’Apprenti Sorcier, Scherzo – Radio Philharmonic Orch./ Jean Fournet – Regis
French conductor Jean Fournet leads a sympathetic and richly colored series of works by Paul Dukas, some of the lovely few he did not destroy.
Jazz Soul Seven – Impressions Of Curtis Mayfield – Singular Recordings/ BFM Jazz
Jazz tribute to legendary R&B performer is a groove-infested delight.
Jazz Punks – Smashups – Foam @ The Mouth Records
The unlikely union of jazz, punk and rock shakes things up.
ZOLTAN KODALY: Hary Janos Suite; Dances of Galanta; 2 Arias from Hary Janos – London Sym. Orch./ Istvan Kertesz/ Olga Szonyi, sop. – Decca/HDTT 96/24 DVD
Exciting Hungarian-flavored works in superb fidelity.
YORK BOWEN: Violin Suite; Cello Sonata; Violin Sonata in e; Viola Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2; Phantasy – Endymion Ensemble/ James Boyd, viola/ Bengt Forsberg, p. – Dutton Epoch (2 CDs)
Dutton continues its “epoch” Bowen series with a fine packaging of two important releases.
RICHARD BLACKFORD: Not in Our Time (Oratorio) – Paul Nilon, ten./ Stephan Gadd, bar./ Bournemouth Sym. Orch., Chorus, and Youth Chorus/ Gavin Carr – Nimbus Alliance
This might raise eyebrows one way or another, depending on your predisposition.
Audio News for May 4, 2012
IKEA Enters Home Electronics; Record Profits for Samsung Electronics; Oscars Site to Stay at Same Theater Amid Name Change; BlackBerry Music Gateway
BACH: Concerto in d, BWV 1052; Prelude, BWV 846; Concerto in E, BWV 1042; Sonata in g, BWV 1001; Concerto in a, BWV 1041; Air on the G String – Xuefei Yang, guitar/ Elias String Q. – EMI
The album I have been waiting for from this delightful artist.
ROBIN GIBB, RJ GIBB: Titanic Requiem – Rsvp Voices/ Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Cliff Masterson – Redbreast Records
Looks rather sensationalist and sounds rather beautiful—don’t pass this one by.
Mordecai Shehori: The Celebrated New York Concerts, Vol. 6 = Works of CZERNY, BRAHMS, DEBUSSY, RAVEL, HOROWITZ, BACH = Cembal d'amour
Volume 6 of the Shehori New York concerts extends his mastery over a diverse range of music, much of it honoring his mentor and teacher, Vladimir Horowitz.
The Bill Harris Quintet – Inside Out – Pensativa Music
An interesting and worthwhile session.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
