Monthly Archive: July 2014
BACH: Art of Fugue; PACHELBEL: Canon in D; Chaconne in F; 13 Chorale Preludes; Chaconne – Barbara Harbach, organ – MSR Classics (2 CDs)
Art of Fugue on the organ—always the best bet, and Harbach brings it home.
HANDEL: Teseo (highlights) – Dominique Labelle (Medea)/ Amanda Forsythe (Teseo)/ Amy Freston (Agilea)/ Drew Mintner (Egeo)/ Chorus (Jonathan Smucker)/ Philharmonia Baroque Orch./ Nicholas McGegan – Philharmonia
A spectacular effort—but where is the rest?
O Vos Omnes: Music for Lent and Holy Week – Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola/ Kent Trittle – MSR Classics
16 years old, but worth every year—this has aged well.
MARTIN WIND: Turn out the Stars (Music Written or Inspired by Bill Evans) [TrackList follows] – Scott Robinson (tenor sax)/ Bill Cunliffe (piano)/ Joe LaBarbera (drums)/ Martin Wind (bass) /Orch. Filarmonica Marchigiana – What If Music
Another tribute to the late great jazz composer-pianist Bill Evans.
MELINDA WAGNER: Trombone Concerto; Four Settings; Wick – var. performers – Bridge
An easy recommendation as one of the finest classical discs since the century began.
SCHUBERT: Winterreise – Barbara Hendricks, sop./ Love Derwinger, p. – Arte Verum
I was astounded at Hendricks’s soluble limpidity and profound emotion in this recording.
ELGAR: Symphony No. 1 in A-flat Major – London Philharmonic Orch./ Sir Georg Solti – HDTT
The 1972 Solti performance of Elgar’s A-flat Symphony returns in spectacular sound from HDTT.
Sheryl Bailey – A Meeting Of Minds – Cellar Live
A straight-forward and demanding band grounded in rhythmic expression.
PALESTRINA: Vol. 5 = Dum complerentur; Loquebantur variis linguis; Veni Creator Spiritus; Iam Christus astra ascenderat; Missa Iam Christus astra ascenderat; Veni sancte Spiritus; Song of Songs (Nos. 13, 14, & 15); Magnificat quarti toni – The Sixteen/ Harry Christophers – Coro
The series continues, and should prove to be a landmark when completed.
XTC – Skylarking [Corrected Polarity Edition] [TrackList follows] – Panegyric/Ape House/Virgin
XTC’s most popular album as it was intended to be heard and seen.
300: Rise of an Empire, Blu-ray 3D & 2D+DVD+UV Digital Copy (2014)
The 3D sequel to the 2007 film 300.
Audio News for July 4, 2014
Cut the Cord for Independence; PonoPlayer Coming October; Samsung Launches Free Streaming Service; Quantum Carries Line of Wi-Fi Boosters; Home Depot Adds Home Automation
Jodorowsky’s Dune – documentary, Blu-ray (2014)
An amazing documentary on the ill-fated original film project of Herbert’s “Dune.”
Louis Prima Jr. & The Witnesses – Blow – Warrior Records
More reverie than revelation.
The Horace Silver Quintet – Song for My Father (Cantiga Para Meu Pai) [TrackList follows] – Blue Note vinyl
A quintessential jazz album; Horace Silver’s best on vinyl.
Stephane Grappelli and Toots Thielemans – Bringing It Together [TrackList follows] – LiSem EnterprisesHendrik Meurkens and Mischa Tsiganov, Duo & Quartet – Junity [TrackList follows] – self
Two fine CDs featuring the much-maligned jazz harmonica.
Stephane Grappelli and Toots Thielemans – Bringing It Together [TrackList follows] – LiSem EnterprisesHendrik Meurkens and Mischa Tsiganov, Duo & Quartet – Junity [TrackList follows] – self
Two fine CDs featuring the much-maligned jazz harmonica.
BERLIOZ: Harold in Italy; Reverie et Caprice; Roman Carnival Ov.; Benvenuto Cellini Ov. – Lise Berthaud, viola/Givanni Radivo, violin/Orch. National de Lyon/ Leonard Slatkin – Naxos Pure Audio
A fine Harold in Italy for multichannel fans without SACD but with Blu-ray decks.
VIERNE: Vol. 3: Symphony No. 5 in a minor; Symphony No. 6 – Hans-Eberhard Ross, Goll-Orgel of St. Martin, Memmingen – Audite
The third and final volume of the six Vierne organ symphonies, closing out this series of excellent performances and sonics.
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major; Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor – Martha Argerich, p./ Orch. Mozart/ Claudio Abbado – DGG
In their final collaboration, Argerich and Abbado perform two noble Mozart concertos from the Lucerne Festival, 2013.
Home Page for July 2014
Our July drawing/giveaway will be for three EuroArts 14-hour-plus Blu-ray Classical Archive Collector’s Editions focusing on Ensembles. These are great video performances by some of the legendary musical artists of the 20th century. Outstanding ensembles of the past show their thrilling artistry in inimitable performances, including concerts, recitals and detailed booklet information. Among the performers are Rostropovich, Richter, David Oistrakh, Both Menuhins, Casadesus, Francescatti, and the Amadeus Quartet. All you need do to be considered as one of the three winners (plus having a Blu-ray deck and being into classical) to be selected is to register using our simple form this month. (Those who don’t completely fill out the form will not be considered for the drawing.) The three lucky winners will be listed on our Editorial Page next month, where this month you’ll find more details on this drawing.
Editorial for July 2014
For July EuroArts will donate three of their 14-hour-plus Classical Archive Collector’s Editions highlighting Ensembles, courtesy of Naxos Distributors. The videos were originally made from 1956 thru 1975 and are in black & white and color. Works of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Franck, Prokofiev, and Schubert are performed by some of the legendary soloists and ensembles in the world. [Here’s the entire list.] The three winners of this set will be chosen from among those AUDIOPHILE AUDITION readers who register this month using our simple form. When you register we don’t share any of your information except your address, and you won’t be receiving emails from anyone else. The three winners’ names will be listed here next month. Here are the three lucky winners of the 11-CD boxed set of all of Rachmaninov’s Complete Works for Piano, with Vladimir Ashkenazy & Bernard Haitink – our June drawing: Tom Homrich, Belmont, MI; Troy Bonar, Abilene, TX; Diane Leland, Wheeling, IL. Congratulations! EDITORIAL AUDIOPHILE AUDITION began as a local program in San Francisco and then in 1985 as a weekly national radio series hosted by John Sunier, and aired for 13½ years on up to 200 public radio and commercial stations. In September 1998 its […]



