Monthly Archive: June 2013
MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition – Transcribed for pipe organ – Calvin Hampton – HDTT
Amazing fidelity in the 192K/24-bit version of this organ transcription.
ATTERBERG: “Orchestral Works, Volume 1” = ‘Dollar Symphony’; En värmlandsrapsodi; Suite No. 3; Symphony No. 4 – Gothenburg Sym. Orch. /Neeme Järvi – Chandos
Strong way to get to know this Swedish composer.
BACH: Violin Concertos in A Minor & E Major; Concerto for Two Violins in d – Yehudi Menuhin, v./ Robert Masters Ch. Orch./ Christian Ferras, v. /Festival Ch. Orch. (in 1043)/ Menuhin – EMI/ Hi-Q Records
Three Bach violin concertos with the great Yehudi Menuhin, in ultimate fidelity, for a price.
Daniel Hope, “Spheres” = Daniel Hope, violin/various soloists /Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin/ Rundfunkchor Berlin/Simon Halsey – DGG
Sort of an easy-listening new age recital, and totally lovely.
“Perceptions” = KYLE PETER ROTOLO: String Quartet No. 1, ’Macchiato’; QUINN DIZON: Awakening; AMELIA S. KAPLAN: Insolence; KEVIN McCARTER: Above the Clouds; JASON BARABBA: Rhetorical Devices; THOMAS L. READ: Capricci – New England String Q./var. soloists and ensembles – Navona
Quite the pot-pourri; holds something for everyone.
Rolling Stones – Hot Rocks 1964-1971 – London Records (1971)/ Abkco Records – vinyl
For anyone who ponders why these guys are still out there at their ages…this will set them straight!
HANDEL: Arrangements for Guitar = Sonata in a, Op. 1/4; Suite No. 8 in D; Suite No. 7 in d – Robert Gruca, guitar – MSR Classics
A gorgeous compendium of Handel for guitar that cried out for a sequel.
The Verve Jazz Ensemble – It’s About Time
A notable debut recording.
Pioneer SE-DIR800C Digital Wireless Surround Headphones
Pioneer SE-DIR800C Digital Wireless Surround Headphones SRP: $400 Components: Infrared transmitter unit Cordless stereo headphones Vertical stand for phones AC wall wart 2 rechargeable batteries (approx. 16 hours usage time) Coax digital cable Manual Features: Can create up to five virtual speakers in your head from DTS or Dolby Surround digital sources Built-in Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS 5.1 decoders Has three levels of Dolby Headphone technology for two-channel sources Transmission range of up to 26 ft. Built-in volume control on transmitter for plugging in corded phones as well as on wireless headphones Low profile, modern design of transmitter; use horizontally or vertically 24-bit A/D and D/A conversion, uncompressed Pioneer Electronics USA Box 1760 Long Beach, CA 90801-1760 [audaud-hr] Somehow these cordless phones have been well-reviewed online, although most reviews have pointed out that one always gets the best audio quality with wired headphones rather than wireless ones. (Just as wired audio of any sort is more reliable and sounds better than wireless.) It’s been available for some time, but I must say this is the first unit I’ve come across that shows that the Dolby Headphone process may actually work, but unfortunately the sound quality of […]
Frank Zappa – A Token of His Extreme (1974/2013)
Though he was never on drugs, Zappa is having himself a ball.
Audio News for June 4, 2013
CinemaScope Home Theater Setup; How to Build Your First Home Theater From Nothing; Digital Room Correction (DRC)
GESUALDO: Sacrae Cantiones (Book 2) –Vocalconsort Berlin/ James Wood – Harmonia mundi
A significant and in many ways monumental achievement.
GERSHWIN: Porgy & Bess Selections; Lullaby for String Quartet; KERN: All the Things You Are; The Way You Look Tonight; Bill; The Song is You; Smoke Gets in Your Eyes; Once in a Blue Moon – Joan Enric Lluna, clar./ Alexander String Q.– Foghorn Classics
Wait! Don’t skip this review—these performances will surprise and delight you!
“Journeys” — TCHAIKOVSKY: Souvenir de Florence; SCHOENBERG: Transfigured NIght – Emerson String Q. & guests – Sony Classical
The Emerson Quartet and guests perform two influential chamber works from the same decade, in order to capture their common expansion of traditional harmony towards a new 20th-century syntax.
“Conrad Tao: Voyages” — MONK: Railroad; RACHMANINOV: 5 Preludes; TAO: Vestiges; Iridescence; RAVEL: Gaspard de la Nuit – Conrad Tao, p. – EMI Classics
A frothy amalgam of jazz forms, classical, and contemporary musical styles.
LISZT: Christus (Oratorio, trans. Liszt) – Nicolas Horvath, piano – Edition Hortus
Pianist Nicolas Horvath realizes Liszt’s monumental Christus oratorio as an eight-movement cycle of religious devotion and keyboard wizardry, always in epic proportions.
Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed – London Records (1969)/ABKCO Records – vinyl
Greatest rock ’n roll band re-release their greatest album.
The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet – London Records (1968)/ ABKCO Records – vinyl
The Rolling Stones re-capture their magic and this hi-res vinyl is proof of that!
CHOPIN: 14 Waltzes; 24 Preludes; Sonata No. 2, “Funeral March”; 12 Etudes, Op. 10 & Op. 25; Trois nouvelles etudes – Robert Lortat, p. – Doremi (2 CDs)
Among the early “integralist” Chopin interpreters, Robert Lortat bequeathed a powerful legacy, 1928-1931, that Doremi restores for our delectation.
DURUFLE: Requiem (organ version); POULENC: Praises of St. Anthony of Padua; MESSIAEN: O Sacrum convivium – Patricia Fernandez, mezzo-sop./ Michel Bouvard, organ/ Les Elements/ Joel Suhubiette – Hortus
A fine rendition of a work that deserves its own spotlight.
Soft Machine Legacy – Burden of Proof – MoonJune
Soft Machine Legacy: not merely reconstructing past glory.
Cloud Atlas (Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy) (2012/2013)
A complex and distinctive nearly three-hour film that may take more than one viewing to really appreciate.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
