Monthly Archive: December 2013
Illinois Jacquet, Leo Parker, Toronto 1947 – Uptown Records
A time, a place, a recording, equals history.
Audio News for December 20, 2013
Consumers’ Large Purchases Improve US Economy; Atlantic Adds Bluetooth to SoundBar and Lowers Price; Marantz Upgrades Two-Channel Components; Videos and Snapshots on the Move; Microsoft’s Takeover of Skype
STRAVINSKY: The Rite of Spring; Pastorale; BACH (arr. Stokowski): Toccata and Fugue in d; Fugue in g; Passacaglia and Fugue in c – Philadelphia Orch./ Yannick Nezet-Seguin – DGG
Conductor Nezat-Seguin revisits the Stravinsky masterpiece this centenary year, but even with Stokowski’s orchestra, the original magic fails to appear.
The Simpsons – The Sixteenth Season (2004/2005/2013)
A continued delight for the longest-running scripted program on TV.
The Beatles – Live At The BBC/The Collection Vol. 1 (1994) and Vol. 2 (2013) – Apple Records (4 CDs)
The Beatles show their live credentials on these recovered BBC sessions.
John Coltrane – A Love Supreme (1964) – Impulse /Universal Pure Audio Blu-ray
John Coltrane’s masterpiece in the closest sound to the original tapes we will hear today.
SHOSTAKOVITCH: Symphony No. 8 – Mariinsky Orch./ Valery Gergiev – Mariinsky
An excellent recording and performance of this lesser-known symphony.
Kneebody – The Line – Concord Records
Kneebody returns with more eclectic material for their post-jazz audience.
Signs, Games + Messages = Works of JANACEK & BARTOK – Jennifer Koh, violin/ Shai Wosner, p. – Cedille
Jennifer Koh and Shai Wosner explore the wages of folk music when it meets, headlong, the experimental genius of three Slavic composers.
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR: Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast; DVORAK: Symphonic Var. – Richard Lewis, tenor/ Royal Choral Society/ Philharmonia Orch./ Sir Malcolm Sargent – IDIS
The combination of two vintage Malcolm Sargent performances reminds us of his gift for choral and instrumental composition.
“In Search of the Miraculous” – Works by SAY; SHARAFAYAN; KHALII; HOVHANESS; SURMAN & CLEARY: Hilliard Ensemble/ EQ Ensemble/ Elisaveta Blumina, John Feeley and Pavlos Kanellakis – Louth Contemporary Music Society
Contemporary music with an eastern flavor hampered by a dearth of information.
Bob Dylan – The Complete Album Collection, Vol. 1 – Columbia/Sony Legacy 1962-2012 – 43 album titles comprising 35 studio albums, 6 live albums, and 2 CD “Side Tracks”
Chronicling the development of an American musical genius….
Quincy Jones Band – Big Band Bossa Nova – Mercury/Universal Pure Audio Blu-ray
A most enjoyable though somewhat dated-sounding big band bossa nova album.
“Wine Dark Sea” = JOCELYN MORLOCK: Three Meditations on Light; BALJINDER SEKHON: Drifting Seeds; GLENN BUHR: A monk, dancing – Ariel Barnes, cello/Heidi Krutzen, harp – Ravello
This Canadian duo offers some relaxing fare.
Yes – Close To The Edge (1972) – Panegoric Recordings (audio-only Blu-ray + standard CD)
Many different mixes, including some in hi-res surround, of the iconic 1972 album by Yes.
Mad Men – Season Six, Blu-ray (2013)
Flawed protagonist Don Draper loses himself…again!
“American Piano Concertos” = GERSHWIN: Concerto in F; COPLAND: Concerto for Piano and Orch.; BARBER: Concerto for Piano and Orch. – Xiayin Wang, p./ Royal Scottish Nat. Orch./ Peter Oundjian – Chandos
An excellent choice of three American piano concertos in superb performances and sonics.
Audio News for December 13, 2013
Publicity on HI-Res Downloads; CNET Editors’ Picks for Holiday; RadioShack Receives New Financing; Two More Hollywood Studios for Dolby’s Digital Plus
Bruce Hungerford plays BEETHOVEN = KASP Records (2 CDs)
A first release of a Bruce Hungerford all-Beethoven recital from 1965 reminds us what fate stole away cruelly in terms of a first-class musical practitioner.
The Columbia BEETHOVEN Centennial Series, Vol. III = Symphony No. 5 in C Minor; Symphony No. 6 in F Major, “Pastoral” – Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Felix Weingartner – Pristine Audio
Fast but penetrating performances of Beethoven’s middle symphonies performed by the esteemed Felix Weingartner.
JAKE HEGGIE: Moby Dick (complete opera), Blu-ray (2013)
This classic story is given a brilliant operatic treatment.
Audio News for December 10, 2013
Mandela Inspired Concerts, Songs, Movies, Poems, Fiction; LA Times’ List of Top Hi-Res Download Sites; A Premium Clock Radio from Yamaha; Dell Shipping Its First UHD Monitors in Early 2014; Biopic on The Beatles’ Manager; Spotify to Compete with Pandora and iTunes by Offering Free Music; La Scala Gala Season Closes with La Traviata
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
