Monthly Archive: November 2015
JULIA WOLFE: Anthracite Fields – Bang On a Can All Stars/ The Choir of Trinity Wall Street/ Julian Wachner – Cantaloupe Music
“Not mainstream history”, or music, but well worth a listen.
SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 4 in A Major, “Italian” (first version, 1834); SCHUMANN: Symphony in g minor “Zwickau”; Symphony No. 4 in d minor – Bamberg Sym. Orch./ Marc Andreae – Guild
Conductor Marc Andeae presents us a triptych of Romantic “originals,” – musically and historically beguiling.
PORTER: String Quartets Nos. 7, 5, 6, 8 – Ives String Q. – Naxos
The first volume of Quincy Porter quartets bespeaks a master of a contrapuntal, personal idiom.
BRAHMS: Violin Sonata No. 2; Violin Sonata No. 3; SCHUMANN: 3 Romances; DIETRICH-SCHUMANN-BRAHMS: Violin Sonata “F-A-E” – Isabelle Faust, v./ Alexander Melnikov, p. – Harmonia mundi
Isabelle Faust completes her Brahms sonata cycle, with complements from Schumann and Dietrich.
BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata No. 14, “Moonlight”; BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major – Mindru Katz, p./ Jerusalem Philharmonic Orch./ Mandi Rodan – Cembal d’amour
Masterful Beethoven and Brahms from Cembal d’mour’s keyboard giant, Mindru Katz.
The Magics of Music + Castelfranco Veneto Recital (2015)
Two terrific film portraits of musical genius Daniil Trifonov.
HINDEMITH: Sonatas for Viola and Piano = Sonata for Viola and Piano; Sonata for Viola and Piano Op. 25; Sonata for Viola and Piano (1939) – Geraldine Walther, viola/ David Korevaar, p. – MSR Classics
Three viola sonatas of Hindemith played with warmth and intelligence.
Audio News for November 27, 2015
Futuristic Universal Remote; Tips On How to Improve Speaker Performance Without Buying New Speakers; Apple May include OLED Displays in iPone by 2018; Pandora Listeners Say Hello to Adele
Sherlock Holmes Serial, Blu-ray (1916/2015)
A surpisingly enjoyable 1916 silent serial on Sherlock Holmes, beautifully restored.
BRAHMS: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Major; Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major; BRAHMS: Violin Sonata No. 3 in d minor – Georg Kulenkampff, v./ Georg Solti, p. – Pristine Audio
Violinist Georg Kulenkampff has his Decca Brahms sonata cycle restored, a testament to the artist’s fine gifts.
BACH: Six Trio Sonatas BWV 525 – 530 – arr. and performed by Eliot Fisk, guitar & Albert Fuller, harpsichord – Nimbus
Six charming Bach organ sonatas arranged and performed by Eliot Fisk and Albert Fuller.
Josh Maxey – Celebration Of Soul – Miles High
A venturesome guitarist looking for passengers on his music train.
MAHLER: Symphony No. 5 in c-sharp minor – Seoul Philharmonic Orch./ Myung- Whun Chung – DGG
Conductor Chung extends his ongoing Mahler cycle to embrace a powerful reading of the Fifth Symphony.
Bruce Hungerford: The Last Recital = MOZART: Sonata in A Major; March in C Major; SCHUBERT: Waltzes and Laendler; Impromptu in A-flat Major; BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata No. 5 in c minor; Piano Sonata No. 32 in c minor; BACH (arr. Hess): Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – Bruce Hungerford, piano – KASP (2 CDs)
KASP issues a marvelous tribute to Bruce Hungerford: his last solo recital.
SMETANA: String Quartet No. 1 in e minor “From Mt Life”; JANACEK: String Quartet No. 1 “The Kreutzer Sonata”; String Quartet No. 2 “Intimate letters” – Takacs String Q. – Hyperion
Brilliantly played and ferociously captured in sound.
Audio News for November 24, 2015
Crowdfunded Hi-Fi Streamer Looks Like a Flask; Another Kickstarter-funded TV Audio Device; Update of Google Chromecast; DTS Expansion of Play-Fi Wireless Audio Ecosystem
Ensemble Ernst plays MATRE, NORDHEIM & SCIARRINO, Lawo Classics
Contemporary chamber music well played and beautifully recorded.
King Crimson – THRAK – Discipline Global Mobile (CD & DVD-A)
Sonic pioneer King Crimson releases Blu-ray update of Thrak!
Ikiru (To Live), Blu-ray (1952/2015)
A very moving Kurosawa classic dissecting Japanese city political life.
SCRIABIN: Piano Sonata No. 5; Piano Sonata No. 4 in F-sharp Major; Poeme in F-sharp Major; Vers la flamme: poeme; JANACEK: On the Overgrown Path, Book I; Piano Sonata 1 “From the Street” – Stephen Hough, p. – Hyperion
Stephen Hough explores the keyboard world of two exotics, Scriabin and Janacek.
PENDERECKI: A Sea of Dreams Did Breathe on Me – Olga Pasichnyk, sop./Ewa Marcienic, mezzo/Jaroslaw Bręk, bar./ Warsaw Philharmonic Choir/Warsaw Philharmonic Orch./ Antoni Wit – Naxos
Absolutely atmospheric settings from this ever-adapting master.
XTC – Oranges And Lemons – The Surround Series – Ape House/ Panegoric (CD + audio-mostly Blu-ray)
Controversial band reissues 1989 album on mostly-audio Blu-ray surround.