Monthly Archive: June 2013
PAUL CHIHARA, Vol. 2 = Concerto Piccolo (for four violas); Viola Concerto (in one movement); Redwood (for viola and percussion); Sonata for Viola and Piano – BridgeMICHAEL DALMAN COLINA: Baba Yaga, Fantasia for Violin & Orchestra;The Unbearable Lightness of Being; Quinta Del Sordo: Symphonic Poem for Orchestra; Isles of Shoals Concerto for Flute & Orch. – Fleur de Son Classics
Two contemporary American composers who approach the fusion of classical and popular music from different directions.
VIVIAN ADELBERG RUDOW, “Sound Portraits” = Orchestral, Chamber and Electro-Acoustical music – London Philharmonic Orch./ Jeffrey Silberschlag/ Orch. of St. John’s/ Ronald Mutchnik/ various soloists/ Vivian Adelberg Rudow, electronics – MSR Classics
A very mixed bag of some wholly unique and eccentric music.
Il Divino: The Lute Music of Francesco da Milano – Paul O’Dette, lute – Harmonia mundi
The ability of the composer to combine his own improvisatory flair with the variety of traditional forms from the secular and sacred music of the age is one of the things that so attracts O’Dette to this music.
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major “Eroica”; Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major – New Queen’s Hall Orch./ Sir Henry Wood/ Halle Orch./ Sir Hamilton Harty – Pristine Audio
The British complement of Beethoven interpreters for the 1927 Centennial Series concludes with grandly wrought performances of the Eroica and B-flat Symphonies.
The World According to Andy Bey – High Note Records
An adroit and fascinating male vocalist.
Wild Songs = STEVE HEITZEG: Wild Songs; Three Graces for Hildur; Loveblessing; Is Everybody Else Alright?; LORI LAITMAN: Four Emily Dickinson Songs – Polly Butler Cornelius, sop./ Victoria Fischer Faw, piano; Heather Barrington & Patti Cudd, percussion – Innova
Interesting and sometimes very moving music, but far too limited for a debut album.
MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde – Alice Coote, mezzo/ Burkhard Fritz, bar./ Netherlands Philharmonic Orch./ Marc Albrecht – Pentatone Classics
An evocative and sympathetic account of this most personal of Mahler’s works.
MOERAN: Cello Concerto; Serenade in G; Lonely Waters; Whythorne’s Shadow Guy Johnston, cello/ Rebekah Coffey, sop./ Ulster Orch./ JoAnn Falletta – Naxos
Composer Edward Moeran emerges as more than “a singular success” in this fine assortment of concert works.
Audio News for June 14, 2013
French Music Provider Offers Hi-Res for Both Downloads and Streaming; Digitize Your LPs the Right Way; Sony Press Event Proves It’s Serious About Sound; DTS-HD Audio on Streaming HD Movies
BACH: Concertos = Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major, BWV 1042; Concerto in D Major, BWV 1053; Vioiln Concerto in A Minor, BWV 1041; Concerto in C Minor, BWV 1060 – Viktoria Mullova, v./ Accademia Bizantina/ Ottavio Dantone – Onyx
The collaborative efforts of Mullova and Dantone rework some Bach staples, so that new wine may be poured with gusto into old bottles.
* BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 2 – Orch. de la Suisse Romande/ Marek Janowski – Pentatone Classics
************** MULTICHANNEL DISC OF THE MONTH ************
A superbly crafted recording that hits on every level.
“The Edge of Light” = OLIVIER MESSIAEN: Preludes, Pièce pour piano et quatour à cordes; KAIJA SAARIAHO: Prelude, Ballade, Je sens un deuxième cœur – Gloria Cheng, p./Calder Q. – Harmonia mundi
Absolutely atmospheric and still very “French.”
KHACHATURIAN: Concerto-Rhapsody in B-flat minor; Sonata-Monologue; LYAPUNOV: Violin Concerto in D minor – Hideko Udagawa, v./ Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Alan Buribayev – Signum Classics
Violinist Hideko Udagawa has built an enviable reputation, with some specialization in the Russian romantics.
DOHNÁNYI: “The Complete Solo Piano Music, Vol. 2” = Four Piano Pieces; Variations and Fugue on a Theme of EG; Humoreques; Valeses nobles after Schubert – Martin Roscoe, p. – Hyperion
Music that charts Dohnányi’s progress from a talented young Brahms imitator to a composer with an emerging individual voice.
MAHLER: Symphony No. 4 cond. by Chailly, Blu-ray (2013)
An excellent performance with great surround and interesting extras, including the playing of Mahler’s own Welte roll of a movement from the Fourth.
GIRARD: Eloge de la folie (In Praise of Folly); Les Noces d’Orphée (The Marriage of Orpheus); L’Effroi de la nuit froide; (Fear of the cold night); Le Circle de la vie (The Circle of Life) – trio – Naxos
Interesting voice from France, relatively unknown en les États-Unis.
“Ecstatic Drumbeat – Works for Percussion and Chinese Orchestra” by YIU-KWONG CHUNG, KEIKO ABE; NEBOJŜA JOVAN ŽIVKOVIĆ & TOSHIRO MAYUZUMI – Evelyn Glennie, percussion/Taipei Chinese Orch./En Shao & Yiu-Kwong Chung – BIS
Great percussion work for fans of Chinese music especially.
“Strings Attached” = Works of BRAHMS & SCHUMANN arranged by Geert van Keulen for Arno Piters, clarinet & members of Royal Concertgebouw – Challenge
The Brahms arrangements strike me as quite successful. And the playing and recording are first-rate.
Oz the Great and Powerful 3D, Blu-ray (2013)
A fun 3D feature using some of the elements of the original Wizard of Oz, but with a number of twists.
Frank Wess – Magic 101 – IPO Recordings
Oh, the jazz pleasure he brings…
Handel’s Finest Arias for Bass Voice – Christopher Purves, bass/ Arcangelo/ Jonathan Cohen – Hyperion
Think bass voice boring? Listen to this.
DEBUSSY: Preludes, Books I – II – Walter Gieseking, piano – Pristine Audio (plus comparison of CD, SACD & 48/24 FLAC files)
The classic EMI 1953-1954 Debussy Preludes with Walter Gieseking assume an added luster in this Pristine revival. [CD, SACD & 48/24 FLAC versions compared]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
