Monthly Archive: August 2012
Music@Menlo– The 10th Anniversary Season
Chamber Music Festival and Institute – July 20-Aug. 11 – Atherton, PaloAlto, and Menlo Park – www.musicatmenlo.org You never know what to expect from a visit to Music@Menlo, the three week chamber music festival on the Peninsula in the Bay Area, celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, except for one constant – excellence in every aspect. In two days at the Festival, I experienced a free Café Conversation, The Art of the Voice, with opera star Suzanne Mentzer, a master class with pianist Jeffrey Kahane, a concert with the Pacifica Quartet and a presentation on “Music and Film.” What’s an opera star doing at a chamber music festival, you ask? Mentzer was here to perform Respighi’s chamber work, Il tramonto. What makes Music@Menlo an outstanding Festival is its emphasis on performance and teaching, offering an in-depth experience for lover’s of chamber music. The twelve professional performances reflect a theme – this year’s is Resonance – exploring the listener’s reaction to chamber music. ”Illuminated: Life Stories” was one of these concerts. The Pacifica String Quartet performed the Beethoven Op. 135 Quartet, Janacek’s String Quartet No. 2 “Intimate Letters” and Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1. Janacek’s Quartet, written six months before he […]
![JEAN FRANÇAIX: The Music for Solo Piano, Duo and Duet – [TrackList follows] – Martin Jones/Richard McMahon/Adrian Farmer, pianos – Nimbus Records (3 CDs)](https://www.audaud.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/JeanFrancaixPianoSet1.jpg)
JEAN FRANÇAIX: The Music for Solo Piano, Duo and Duet – [TrackList follows] – Martin Jones/Richard McMahon/Adrian Farmer, pianos – Nimbus Records (3 CDs)
JEAN FRANÇAIX: The Music for Solo Piano, Duo and Duet – [TrackList follows] – Martin Jones/Richard McMahon/Adrian Farmer, pianos – Nimbus Records NI5880 UHJ Ambisonic (3-CDs: 59:23; 64:48; 66:54) [Distr. by Allegro] ****: Although Francaix is known for his many chamber works, especially those involving winds—written in a delightful sparkling and witty French style—he was a piano pupil of Nadia Boulanger and attended the Paris Conservatoire and was renowned as a piano composer and performer. Though he wrote over 200 works, the piano has an important position in his opera, and his many works for it are charming, possessing great clarity of form. Some have compared his objective approach to Ravel. This is a wonderful collection of most of Francaix’s piano music, covering a period of 65 years and including even his very last piano piece: La Promenade of 1987. There are over three hours of stylish and colorful Gaelic piano music here. The first of the three CDs is entirely solo piano works performed by Martin Jones. The short Sonate pour piano is a standout here. Disc 2 opens with 8 Exotic Dances for 2 pianos, followed by 15 Children’s Portraits by Renoir for piano 4 hands. The other […]
Vergine Bella: Madrigali da sonar – Madrigals and instr, arr. by ARCADELT, BASSANO, CIMA, MAINIERO, DE RORE, PALESTRINA, RUFFO – Arianna Savall, sop./ Il Desiderio/ Thomas Kügler – Aeolus
A glance into the transitional world of the late Renaissance, expertly rendered.
"God’s Sketches" = JORGE GRUNDMAN: Surviving a Son’s Suicide: String Quartet; God’s Sketches – Susana Cordón, soprano/ Jaime Fernández, mallets/ Brodsky Quartet – Non-Profit Music
Music to move, and move deeply, almost defining heart-on-sleeve.
PFITZNER: Cello Concerto No. 2; JOHN MAYER: Prabhanda; Six Ragamalas – Rohan de Saram, cello/ Druvi de Saram, p./ John Mayer, tanpura/ Netherlands Radio Orch./ Bohumil Gregor – First Hand Records
Pfitzner was in many ways a reactionary, following in the footsteps of Brahms, not Wagner.
Chick Corea & Friedrich Gulda – “The Meeting” (1982/2012)
We’ve waited 30 years for this video, and it’s well worth watching.
SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in A Minor; Intro and Allegro appassionato; Introduction and Concert-Allegro – Angela Hewitt, p./ Deutsches Sym.-Orch. Berlin/ Hannu Lintu – Hyperion
Another Schumann concerto? Yes, as long as it is as excellent as this new Hyperion release.
* BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique; Overture to Beatrice & Benedict – Scottish Ch. Orch./ Robin Ticciati – Linn
********** MULTICHANNEL DISC OF THE MONTH ***********
Don’t let the chamber orchestra or relatively unknown conductor deter you—this is superb!
Steve Howe, guitars – Time – with classical ens./keyboards, arr. & cond. – Paul K. Joyce – Warner Classics
Another impossible to categorize disc, with the lead guitarist of the rock group Yes.
![Mitch Ryder Live – [TrackList follows] MIG Music (2 DVDs & 3 CDs)](https://www.audaud.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/MitchRyderDVD+CD.jpg)
Mitch Ryder Live – [TrackList follows] MIG Music (2 DVDs & 3 CDs)
Detroit rhythm and blues singer goes from ugly American to mature entertainer.
Audio News for August 10, 2012
Denon Portable Audio with Internet; How Consumer Electronics Makers Are Doing; New Website Offers Consumers Impartial Resource for Home Automation; Report on Global Consumer Electronics Shows U.S. to Reach $1,210 Billion by 2017
Tony Monaco – Celebration – Life, Love, Music – 2-CD Ltd. Edition set, Chicken Coop
Tony Monaco, Celebration, Life, Love, Music, Summitt, B-3, Pat Martino, Chicken Coop Records
Cave of Forgotten Dreams 3D, Blu-ray (2011)
None of us will ever see the real cave, so this 3D Blu-ray documentary becomes even more special.
Audio News for August 7, 2012
Logitech Introduces TV Camera for Skype; DEG Announces New Officers; Sharp Electronics Has Wider Loss, Cutting 5K Jobs; Google Licenses Rovi Guide Tech; Smart TVs’ Increasing Popularity
On the Road – Wim Van Hasselt, trumpet & soloists of Concertgebouw Orch. – Channel Classics
An energetic and creative recital by a young master currently in the Concertgebouw.
Great Czech Conductors: Martin Turnovsky = MARTINU, IBERT, BIZET, HINDEMITH, ST.-SAENS, PROKOFIEV – Prague Sym. soloists/ Prague Sym. – Supraphon (2-CDs)
This set from Supraphon may refresh our awareness of Turnovsky’s numerous contributions to his musical craft.
ANNEA LOCKWOOD: In Our Name; Jitterbug; Thirst – David Behrman, John King, William Winant, Thomas Buckner, Theodore Mook, Simone Fattal, Kristin Norderval – New World Records
Annea Lockwood is best known for her Sound Map installations on various rivers.
CFE HORNEMAN: Gurre-Suite; Suite from “Kampen med Muserne”; Overture Héroique; Suite from “Kalanus” – Danish Nat. Sym. Orch./ Johannes Gustavsson – DaCapo
This makes for a nice change if you are investigating the periphery of romantic music.
‘Fire & Time’ = Works by TARLOW, YIP, BLOCK, BRINGS, QUILLING & others – various Eastern Eur. performers – Navona Records
Diverse and entertaining glimpse at new American orchestral writing.
JAWS, Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy/Ultra-Violet) (1975/2012)
1975 box-office juggernaut is spectacular in hi-definition.
The Zombies Featuring Clin Blunstone & Rod Argent – Recorded Live At Metropolis Studios, London – Convexe Entertainment (CD + DVD)
Another veteran sixties group flexes their muscles.
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 4; SCRIABIN: Reverie; PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 1 “Classical” – Philharmonia Orch./ Thomas Schippers (Tchaikovsky)/ Sir Eugene Goossens (Scriabin)/ The Pro Arte Orch./ Goossens – First Hand Records
A triad of cracker-jack performances of Russian fare by British ensembles, of which the Scriabin Reverie stands out for its burgeoning eroticism.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
