Monthly Archive: January 2016
Mordecai Shehori – The Alice Tully Hall Recital of 7 June 2000 = Works of MOZART, BRAHMS, RAVEL, LISZT, CHOPIN & MOZSKOWSKI – Cembal d’amour
The Mordecai Shehori recital from Alice Tully Hall in 2007 reveals a master Romantic pianist.
MASON BATES: “Mothership” = Gil Rose, cond. – BMOP
MASON BATES: “Mothership” = Mothership; Sea-Blue Circuitry; Attack Decay Sustain Release; Rusty Air in Carolina; Desert Transport – Boston Modern Orch. Project/Gil Rose – BMOP 1045 SACD [Distr. by Albany], 54:22, (11/17/15) ****: The always interesting Bates gives us something a little “funky”! Mason Bates is, in my mind, one of the best and most promising younger generation American composers. His music is always refreshingly different with its reliance on a blend of electronic sound sources and live sampling plus traditional acoustical sources. He is not afraid to be just a little coy, humorous or shocking in his aesthetic, either, but always amazing! So, for example, the opening and title track, Mothership, is the truly “funky” offering here. Written for the also wildly innovative approach to hooking young musicians, the You Tube Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas; this ode to electronic media is propulsive and funk rock inspired mayhem. It features some very catchy bits of melody and rhythm in the whole orchestra and joined by an electronic mix that is truly eccentric with sounds that are (or sure sound close enough!) taken from a mid-70s “beat box” to an electronic metronome to effects pedals. We also get to hear, […]
Audio News for January 12, 2016
Three Important B’s of Music Die – Paul Bley was a Canadian pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing. Bley was a fanstistic jazz pianist and a long-time resident of the United States. He died last week at age 83. Pierre Boulez was a French composer, conductor, writer and pianist. He was also the founder and director of the Paris based Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique. He made many acclaimed recordings and was a titan of contemporary music. He died last week at age 90. Pop performer and song-writer David Bowie has died at age 69 after an 18-month battle with cancer. He taught generations of musicians about the power of drama, images and personas, and was also a noted actor in films. He had just released his last album on his 69th birthday, Blackstar, with a jazz quartet. Sony Introduces PS-HX500 “Hi-Res” Turntable – At CES Sony is showing a new turntable system directed toward audiophiles, collectors and connoisseurs. It can convert the analog files off vinyl to either Sony’s propietary DSD format or 96K/24-bit WAV audio files, and feed out via […]
“Fingergull – Schola Sanctae Sunnivae/ Anne Kleivset – 2L
A unique office adorned with some outstanding chant in fabulous sound. “Fingergull – In festo susceptionis sanguinis Domini” – Schola Sanctae Sunnivae/ Anne Kleivset – 2L multichannel SACD 2L 114, 78:17 [Distr. by Naxos] *****: Don’t be put off by the strange name of this disc—“Fingergull” is not some kind of weird bird, but instead the name of a golden ring, finger-gold, that contained a drop of Christ’s blood. You heard right—there are indeed extent relics in European Christendom, what’s left of it anyway, especially in Bruges, Belgium, of drops of Christ’s blood. There is some historical basis for this, as Joseph of Arimathea was said to have preserved the Precious Blood after he had washed the dead body of Christ. But with the heavy traffic of relics during the middle ages and during the time of the Crusades, it has become almost impossible to verify any of this. Bruges, as mentioned, continues to have an active yearly celebration in the Basilica of the Holy Blood, so despite some suggestions in the notes to this release to the contrary, this is still an active and very much living tradition. So what is this release about? Simple—the city of Nidaros, now […]
Roger Waters’ “Amused To Death” – 2 stereo vinyls – Analogue Prod.
Now even more applicable to this time than when it was created 23 years ago. Roger Waters’ Amused To Death [TrackList follows] – Two limited edition stereo vinyls – Columbia/Legacy/Analogue Productions (Acoustic Sounds) APP 468761 (8/28/15) *****: (Roger Waters (Composer), London Welsh Chorale Kenneth Bowen (Conductor), String Arrangements John Dupree (Conductor), Bass, Synthesizer & Vocals Roger Waters (Performer), Keyboards & Choir Arrangement Patrick Leonard (Performer), Guitar Jeff Beck (Performer), Arpeggio Guitar Geoff Whitehorn (Performer), Electric & Acoustic Guitar Andy Fairweather Low (Performer), Chorus Guitar Tim Pierce (Performer), Bass Randy Jackson (Performer), Drums Graham Broad (Performer), Vocals P. P. Arnold (Performer), Sound Effects Marv Albert (Performer), London Welsh Chorale (Artist), Background Vocals Doreen Chanter (Artist), Background Vocals N’Dea Davenport (Artist), Background Vocals Natalie Jackson (Artist), Background Vocals Katie Kissoon (Artist), Peddal Steel Guitar B. J. Cole (Artist), Guitar Steve Lukather (Artist), Guitar Rick DiFonso (Artist), Acoustic Guitar Bruce Gaitsch (Artist), Bass James Johnson (Artist)) This amazing two-disc 200-gram vinyl remastering presents the 1992 creation of Roger Waters – famed for his association with Pink Floyd, The Wall, and various types of surround sound (these vinyls were remixed in the new technology called Qsound). The issues Waters addresses have only grown in […]
The American Friend, Blu-ray (1977/2016)
One of the best films by German director William Wenders. The American Friend, Blu-ray (1977/2016) Director: William Wenders Cast: Dennis Hopper, Bruno Ganz, Lisa Kreuzer Studio: Wm. Wenders Foundation/Janus Films/The Criterion Collection 793 [1/12/16] (Distr. by Orange Media) Video: 1.66:1 for 16×9 screen, 1080p HD color Audio: German, English & French DTS-HD MA 5.1 Subtitles: English Dubbed: French & German Extras: 2002 commentary track by Wenders & Hopper, New Wenders interview, New Ganz interview, Deleted scenes with commentary by Wenders, Theatrical trailer, Illustrated booklet with essary by author Francine Prose Length: 126 min. Rating: ****1/2 Wenders says in his interview that he wanted to make films of various books by Patricia Highsmith (who died in 1995) but they were all already optioned. Several of her novels have resulted in films, beginning with Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train. Finally she gave him a new one and this is it. Wenders substantially altered the book, which is the third in the Tom Ripley series. Hopper plays Ripley and is The American Friend, and Bruno Ganz plays a naive Hamburg picture framer. (Ganz is not German but Swiss.) They are two exceptionally different protagonists. In the extras Wenders explains that at the start […]
Quartets by FRANÇOIS DEVIENNE – Musica Reale – Channel Classics
FRANÇOIS DEVIENNE (1759-1803): Flute Quartets, Op. 66 , 1 and 3; Bassoon Quartets, Op. 73, 1 and 3 – Musica Reale – Channel Classics CCS SA 35415 SACD (11/3/15) [Dist. by Harmonia mundi] *****: For those who’ve forgotten their elementary music school textbooks, Françoise Devienne was a bassoonist, flutist and composer whose contemporaries were Mozart and Haydn – in fact, after listening to this CD it’s no stretch to add, as if Mozart had been French and loved the flute. Even being no Mozart, Devienne’s flute music in particular is of great importance to flutists and the list of those who have recorded his music begins with Jean-Pierre Rampal and continues with superstars like Sir James Galway and Patrick Gallois. Now we can safely say it extends to Mr. Kerstin McCall, principal flautist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra since 2005. His work in the two flute quartets is so exquisite that you almost don’t mind when Devienne’s inspiration flags. No problem. The fast last movements of each, designed to thrill a very sophisticated, tuned-in audience, do their job so spectacularly well that, together with each of the six movements in the two bassoon quartets, this disc is a must for […]
BACH: The Cello Suites (complete, Anna Magdalena manuscript) – Matt Haimovitz, cello – Pentatone (2 discs)
An excellent recording in stunning audio of the Anna Magdalena manuscript. BACH: The Cello Suites (complete, Anna Magdalena manuscript) – Matt Haimovitz, cello – Pentatone (Oxingale Series) multichannel SACD PTC 5186 555 (2 discs), 133:90 [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Haimovitz gives thoughtful and well-considered performances of these seminal works in resonant sound that captures his baroque cello and cello piccolo (Suite 6) in terrific sonics. I won’t harp yet again on the felicities of recording solo and small ensembles in surround sound—often more than the largest Mahler symphony, these sorts of settings benefit from the finest sound, allowing the most subtle of expressions to come across as if one was sitting directly in the presence of these artists in the most intimate of listening spaces. There are some benefits to these readings. For one, Haimovitz insists on using the original version of these pieces as found in the manuscript of second wife Anna Magdalena, a faithful copy of the original—as far as we know—and one of only two sources for this music, the score having long been lost. Haimovitz, who was raised with the Casals recordings as his standard and bible, first attempted the Suites on record in the late […]
Experimenter – The Stanley Milgram Story, Blu-ray (2016)
Not at all your usual movie. Not fantastic but worth seeing. Experimenter – The Stanley Milgram Story, Blu-ray (2016) Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, Winona Ryder Director: Michael Almereyda Studio: Magnolia Home Ent. 10908 [1/5/16] Video: 1.78:1 1080p HD color for 16:9 screens Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Subtitles: English, French, Spanish Extras: “The Making of Experimenter,” “Designing Experimenter,” Interview with Joel Milgram on understanding Stanley Milgram Length: 98 min. Rating: **** The famous experiment designed by associate professor Stanley Milgram in the Yale psychology department consisted of various subjects giving what they think are painful electric shocks to the same affable stranger who is strapped to a chair in another room. The subjects are supposedly divided in random fashion into “teacher” and “learner,” but it is fixed so the same actor plays the stranger supposedly getting the shocks. Despite his pleas for mercy, most of the “teachers” do not stop the experiment and administer what they think a near-fatal higher and higher electric shock, just because they have been told to. Both the scientific community and pop culture became suddenly aware of the experiments, and in some circles Milgram was accused of being a deceptive and manipulative monster – when actually […]
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5 in e minor; Romeo and Juliet – Fantasy Ov.; SHULMAN: A Laurentian Ov. – NBC Sym./ Guido Cantelli – Pristine Audio
The talented Guido Cantelli appears in 1952 Carnegie Hall for some rousing Tchaikovsky and a rare Shulman performance. TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5 in e minor, Op. 64; Romeo and Juliet – Fantasy Ov.; SHULMAN: A Laurentian Ov. – NBC Sym./ Guido Cantelli – Pristine Audio PASC 457, 72:08 [avail. in various formats from www.pristineclassical.com] ****: Andrew Rose revives two live concerts from Carnegie Hall featuring Italian virtuoso conductor Guido Cantelli (1920-1956) at the podium, in flamboyant display of his persuasive, interpretative powers. The 1888 Tchaikovsky Fifth Symphony did not glean much respect from the NBC’s official leader Arturo Toscanini, but Cantelli maintained a healthy, searching respect for the score. Cantelli remains attentive (1 March 1952) to the perpetual struggle of this “fate” symphony between darkness and light, the tensions between a nervous e minor and E Major in the first movement. No less lyrically tragic, the second movement Andante cantabile moves from b minor to periodic flights of D Major. What makes the first movement especially effective derives from Cantelli’s flexible sense of rhythm and inflected rubato, much in a Romantic style we might associate with Koussevitzky, but less flagrantly epic. The NBC woodwinds – the oboe, clarinet and flute […]
VERDI: Macbeth, Blu-ray (2015)
Lots to recommend in this opera. It’s a keeper. VERDI: Macbeth, Blu-ray (2015) Cast: Anna Netrebko, Zeljko Lucic, René Pape, Joseph Calleja, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Studio: Deutsche Grammophon [10/30/15] (Dist. by Universal) Director: Fabio Luisi Video: 1.77:1 1080p HD Color for 16:9 screens Audio: DTS-HD 5.1, PCM Stereo Subtitles: English, German, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, French, Italian Length: 155 minutes Extras: Backstage at the Met – interviews Ratings: Audio: ****½ Video: ****½ Overall ****½ Who would have thought the old play had so much music in it? Unjustly considered one of Verdi’s second tier operas (just below his other Shakespearean operas, Otello and Falstaff), Macbeth nevertheless boasts excellent duets, solos, and several well-timed ensemble pieces. Yet it is rarely performed and even more rarely recorded. A film version (1987) transferred to DVD (2007) with Shirley Verrett and Leo Nucci is eminently splendid, with its simian topless witches (acrobats perhaps?), a musty Godfrey of Bouillon castle, and lots of blue-gray lighting. It set the bar very high, but lately it’s begun to creak in this age of HD and RF mikes. As Macbeth, Zeljko Lucic does a decent job, particularly at the beginning as he totes his AK-47 and […]
Valery Ponomarev Jazz Big Band – Our Father Who Art Blakey – Zoho
Valery Ponomarev Jazz Big Band – Our Father Who Art Blakey – Zoho ZM 201001, 58:25 ****: Big band bop at its best. (Valery Ponomarev – trumpet, composer, arranger, conductor; Benny Golson – tenor saxophone tracks 2, 7) Our Father Who Art Blakey is a live recording by the Valery Ponomarev Jazz Big Band from August and December 2014 at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Centre, and the Zinc Bar in New York City. It was undertaken by Ponomarev to recognize Art Blakey, both for his contribution to jazz music, but particularly for his mentorship to Ponomarev while he was with the Jazz Messengers during the mid-1970s. This is a tight, driving, big band that plays Ponomarev’s charts with precision and a ‘take no prisoners’ approach to the music starting with Bobby Timmons’ “Moanin’”. After the opening statement by the band, Ponomarev takes over the solo space with his trumpet, which is then followed by tenor saxophonist Benny Golson in the first of his two guest appearances in this session. Golson at the time of this recording was eighty-five, and had been playing since he was a teenager. For anyone who has seen Golson perform in person recently, […]
Audio News for January 5, 2016
Developer to Bring Gesture to Virtual Reality; New Google Glass 2.0 for 2016; OLEDs for Smartphones; Dash Radio
Lyn Stanley – Interludes – AT Music
Lyn Stanley – Interludes – AT Music 3104 – stereo-only SACD, 58:44 ***1/2: Jazz singer covers the classics on an SACD. (Lyn Stanley – vocals; Bill Cunliffe – piano; Chuck Berghofer – bass; Ray Brinker – drums; John Ciodini – guitar; Rob McChesney – trombone; Henrick Meurkens – harmonica; Brad Dutz – percussion; Cecelia Tsan – cello; Mike Garson – piano; Paul Kreibich – drums; Steve Rawlins – finger snaps) Unlike most vocalists, Lyn Stanley singing was a second act. After a career in advertising the Washington native trained as a ballroom dancer. She overcame a serious car accident to become a national champion. Stanley always had an interest in singing (with a keen appreciation for Judy Garland), and in 2010 pursued this dream. After just a few months of singing lessons, she recorded her successful debut, Lost In Romance. The album garnered international success. She followed with Potions (produced by Kenny Werner) which boasted a collection of 50’s-era tunes. Stanley’s third album, Interludes is a veritable standard library of love songs.. With a jazz ensemble backing, the singer (who doubles as producer) envelops these songs with her sensual alto. The opening track is a Gershwin classic, “How Long Has […]
Nicolai Malko & The BBC Symphony Orchestra, 1957-1960 = Works of TCHAKOVSKY, SHOSTAKOVICH, MUSSORGSKY, RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, BRUCKNER, HAYDN & KODALY – Lyrita (4 CDs)
It’s about time we had Nicolai Malko for this music, so all credit to the BBC and Lyrita! Nicolai Malko & The BBC Symphony Orchestra, 1957-1960 = TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17 “Little Russian”; SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 1 in f minor, Op. 10; HAYDN: Symphony No. 83 in g minor “La poule”; MUSSORGSKY: Prelude to Khovantschina; RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Overture to The Tsar’s Bride; Symphony No. 2 in f-sharp minor, Op. 9 “Antar”; BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 7 in E Major; KODALY: “The Spinning Room” – BBC Sym. Orch./ London Sym. Orch. (The Tsar’s Bride)/ Nicolai Malko – Lyrita REAM 2120 (4 CDs), 66:15, 66:21, 65:14, 70:00 (11/6/15) [Distr. by Naxos] *****: The Lyrita label (1952) as a whole emerged from founder Richard Itter’s penchant for taping BBC transmissions and archiving them. In 2014, the Lyrita Recorded Edition Trust obtained permissions to release selective performances to the public, and this current set devoted to Russian conductor Nicolai Malko (1883-1961) comes as a direct result Itter’s conscientious preservation of these historic performances. Conductor Malko maintained a working relationship with the BBC from 1929 until his passing in 1963. So far as Malko’s commitment to Russian music is concerned, the 1957-1958 […]
Extant – The Second Season, Blu-ray (2015)
Another even greater season for this good sci-fi TV series. Extant – The Second Season, Blu-ray (2015) Cast: Halle Berry, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Goran Visnjic, Pierce Gagnon Exec. Producer: Stephen Spielberg Studio: CBS-TV/ Paramount (12/15/15) 4 Blu-rays Video: 1080p HD color for 16:9 Audio: English DTS-HD MA, 5.1 or 2.0 Subtitles: English SDH Extras: Extant: A Look at Season 2, A Tour of the Sets, The Carnival of the Mind, Chemistry: Molly & JD, Two Humanichs: Ethan & Lucy, The Season Finale, Deleted Scenes (on several of the 12 episodes), Gag reel Time: TT: 9 hours Rating: ***** Supposedly a third season has been cancelled, although there were two quick shots in the season finale that seemed to hint at a coming third season of this well-done series. I thought the second season was even better than the first, though the first was a quite intriguing mystery. Halle Berry, as Molly Wood the astronaut, had been alone in space for many months. Upon returning to earth she was pregnant with an alien spore. Her husband had created a humanichs small son for them who seemed just like a real human but was actually a very advanced robot. The novel concept […]
Rayford Griffin – Reflections Of Brownie – RazorEdge
Rayford Griffin – Reflections Of Brownie – RazorEdge 39:15 ***: A new age inquiry into a musical institution. (Rayford Griffin – drums; Phillippe Saisse – keyboards; Everette Harp – saxophone; Doug Webb – saxophone; Rock Braun – trumpet ; Brian Bromberg – bass; Michael “Patches” Stewart – trumpet; George Duke – keyboard ; Nicolas Peyton – trumpet; Roy Hargrove – trumpet) If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Rayford Griffin’s recorded “homage” to his uncle, Clifford Brown, entitled Reflections Of Brownie would fall into that category. While not in the hard bop tradition, but rather a smooth jazz approach to the material, it nevertheless fulfills an inquiry into a musical institution. In the Twilight Zone of introductions, imagine if you will, the voice of MC Pee Wee Marquette live from Birdland in NYC at some point in the early 1950s, introducing “the trumpet sensation Clifford Brown”, which segues into Griffin’s re-imagining of Brown’s own composition “Daahoud”. Griffin’s arrangements feature a wall of sound approach driven by drums/bass interaction and the two keyboardists Phillippe Saisse and the late George Duke who create thematic palates of sound. On Ray Noble’s “Cherokee” the tune is offered in almost a ballad form […]
Charles Rumback – In the New Year – ears&eyes
Modern jazz music which seems to pull apart even as it attains continuity. Charles Rumback – In the New Year [TrackList follows] – ears&eyes ee:15-o38, 52:40 [12/4/15] ***1/2: (Charles Rumback – drums, co-producer; Caroline Davis – alto saxophone; Jeff Parker – guitar; Jason Stein – bass clarinet; John Tate – bass) Chicago drummer Charles Rumback is a musician who is comfortable in a myriad of genres, from rock to jazz, which gives his improvisations and compositions a dynamic, eclectic nature, somewhere between modern jazz and avant-garde. If a name has to fit, consider calling it alternative jazz. Rumback’s debut, Two Kinds of Art Thieves (Clean Feed, 2009) was an open-minded, free-fluctuating affair. Rumback charts a parallel, liberating direction on his latest outing, the 52-minute In the New Year (issued in late 2015 but well worth hearing at the beginning of another year). For this effort, Rumback recruited some of the finest unconventional artists associated with the Chicago and New York outsider jazz scenes, comprising alto saxophonist Caroline Davis; guitarist Jeff Parker (Chicago Underground Trio, Tortoise and Ken Vandermark); bass clarinetist Jason Stein (Exploding Star Orchestra, and others); and bassist John Tate. Rumback penned six of the eight tunes; Tate wrote […]
Weather Report – The Legendary Live Tapes 1978-1981 – Columbia/Legacy (4-CDs)
Weather Report – The Legendary Live Tapes 1978-1981 – Columbia/Legacy (4-CD set) TT: 237:25 [11/20/15] ****: Weather Report finally releases vintage performances in a four-CD remastered box set. (Joe Zawinul – piano, keyboards, ARP Quadra, bass synthesizer; Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; Jaco Pastorious – bass; Peter Erskine – drums; Robert Thomas, Jr. – hand drums) Jazz fusion has always generated controversy. By combining elements of rock and funk with complex jazzy time signatures and chords, it attempted to create a wider accessibility using electric instruments. There was a movement in 1960s England to embrace this hybrid genre, most notably with The Graham Bond Organisation (featuring Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker) The jazz community was unenthusiastic about fusion, despite the advocacy and subsequent work by Gary Burton, Larry Coryell and especially Miles Davis. The veteran trumpeter had been a formidable innovator and was respected by his peers. Davis recorded a series of albums which featured a variety of musicians including Chick Corea, Ron Carter, Dave Holland, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Tony Williams, Herbie Hancock and John McLaughlin. These musicians eventually formed their own bands. The most enduring “post-Miles” fusion band was Weather Report. Featuring two Davis alumni (Zawinul […]
JIMMY LÓPEZ: Péru Negro; Synesthésie; Lord of the Air; América Salvaje – HM
JIMMY LÓPEZ: Péru Negro; Synesthésie; Lord of the Air; América Salvaje – Jesus Castro-Balbi, cello/Norwegian Radio Orch./ Miguel Harth-Bedoya – Harmonia mundi HMU 907628, 77:39 (8/14/15) ****: Bold new works from this exciting new composer. Strictly speaking, Peruvian-born Jimmy Lopez is not ‘new’ – except to me. In fact, López was recently hailed by The Chicago Sun-Times as, ”one of the most interesting young composers working anywhere today.” It is easy to see why based on these four captivating works included here. Lopez’s sound is fully tonal and fully exciting with a feel that contains much of his South American roots and an almost cinematic breadth. There are spots that reminded me of Chavez, Revueltas and also John Adams and various film scores. It is nearly impossible to describe and all the more refreshing for it. Lopez is also a very cosmopolitan and widely educated man, having received training in his homeland of Peru, also at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and a doctorate at UC Berkeley. The four works here are all diverse and representative of his highly attractive style. For example, his Péru Negro (Black Peru) is based on indigenous Afro-Peruvia melodies and was written for the present […]
Audio News for January 1, 2016
Another Sony Hi-Res Audio Walkman; CES Coming Up; Apple May Broadcast More Beats Radio Channels; Progress Sometimes Brings Regress
FELIX MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY: “Complete Chamber Music for Strings” = Mandelring Q. & Q. di Cremona – Audite (4 CDs)
FELIX MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY: “Complete Chamber Music for Strings” = String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 12; String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13; String Quartet in E-flat major; String Quartet in D major, Op. 44, No. 1; String Quartet in e minor, Op. 44, No. 2; String Quartet in f minor, Op. 80; String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 44, No. 3; Four Pieces for String Quartet, Op. 81, Nos. 1-4; Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20; String Quintet No. 1 in A major; String Quintet No.2 in B-flat major – Mandelring Quartet/Gunter Teuffel, viola/Quartetto di Cremona – Audite 21.436 (4 CDs), TT: 296:12 [Distr. by Naxos](8/14/15) ***1/2: Very well-done and comprehensive collection of these masterworks. Felix Mendelssohn is considered by many to be a chamber music master at heart. Given his early start as a performer who wrote for talented friends, like violinist and composer Ferdinand David, in salon settings; this is to be expected. As much as I do like his larger works, like his orchestral and choral output, there is something rich and intimate about works such as these that I have always enjoyed. This collection is a very rewarding compilation of all Mendelssohn’s chamber music for […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
