Monthly Archive: February 2016
MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition; CHERUBINI: Symphony in D; BACK: Intrada – Orch. del Teatro “La Fenice”/ Sergiu Celibidache – IDIS
A spectacular Celibidache concert from Venice demonstrates his capacity for drama and vivid colors – always. MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition; CHERUBINI: Symphony in D Major; BACK: Intrada – Orch. del Teatro “La Fenice” di Venezia/ Sergiu Celibidache – IDIS 6708, 68:34 [Distr. by Naxos] ****: The live concert offered here, 31 October 1965, under the direction of Romanian maestro Sergiu Celibidache (1912-1996) proffers somewhat standard, spectacular fare, with the exception of Sven Erik Back’s 1964 Intrada, a percussive, convulsive work that tests the battery section of any ensemble. Back (1919-1994) had a role in contemporary Swedish music-making, and his sense of scoring certainly proves resonant, in a style that resembles Gottfried von Einem, at least in that most of the sound clusters fall within the traditional tonal syntax. But the clash of timbres and choirs within the large ensemble – their sense of entries and silences – have more in common with contemporary Japanese classical music and the concept of Ma, space. At the end of the ten-minute virtuoso piece, a slightly baffled audience reluctantly approves of what has transpired. The 1792 Cherubini Symphony in D opens with a lovely galant combination of strings and winds prior to its […]
Audio News for February 19, 2016
Trend Toward Mixing of Classical and Jazz; Wireless Technology Continues to Grow; Trends in Home Theater
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, Blu-ray (1937/2016)
The first feature-length animated film and perhaps the most important in history. Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, Blu-ray (1937/2016) Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment 131997 (2/2/16) [2 discs] Voice-overs: Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille LaVerne Video: 1.33:1 or “Disney View” 16:9, 1080p HD Technicolor Audio: English DTS-HD MA 7.1, DD 2.0 mono, French DD 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1 Dubbed: French, Spanish Subtitles: French, Spanish, English Extras: “In Walt’s Words,” “Iconography” – how the film influenced pop culture, art and fashion, “Disney Animation,” “The Fairest Facts of Them All”, Alternate sequence of the prince meeting Snow White, More, Previews Length: 83 min. Rating: ***** This 1937 effort was a great risk for Disney – there had never been a feature-length animated film before and he could have lost the whole studio if it had flopped. But not only didn’t it flop, it has influenced animated films ever since and may be one of the greatest films ever. The extras discussing the animators and their work are really interesting, and you will even learn that the original Snow White was a blond! The long list of names for the seven dwarfs, which Disney didn’t decide on until a few months […]
“Far in the Heavens” = Choral works of STEPHEN PAULUS – True Concord Voices & Orch./ Eric Holtan – Reference Rec./Fresh!
An essential recording of a much-missed artist. I’ll just leave it at that. “Far in the Heavens” = STEPHEN PAULUS: Prayers and Remembrances; Nunc dimittis; The Incomprehensible; I Have Called You By Name; Little Elegy; When Music Sounds – True Concord Voices & Orch./ Eric Holtan – Reference Recordings/Fresh! FR-716, 66:14 [Distr. by Naxos] *****: I had just finished reviewing this disc when the news came that Stephen Paulus had garnered a 2016 Grammy Award, for Best Classical Composition (Prayers and Remembrances). Often the Grammys, and certainly the Pulitzers, get things horribly wrong, but I must say that this recording, possessing a virginal freshness and utter simplicity of concept, is as worthy a winner as we have had in any number of years. Stephen Paulus, whom I first became acquainted during his 1980s stint as Composer-in-Residence for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (and with whom he recorded a magnificent disc of orchestral music in 1990 on New World Records) has been a mainstay on the classical scene for years now, a catalog of 600 works, 50 recordings, and a host of awards and accolades as deserving as any other contemporary composer. He gave classical music a good name. I say “gave” because […]
RAVEL: Piano Con. in G Major; Piano Con. for the Left Hand; FAURE: Ballade in F-sharp Major – Yuja Wang, p./ Tonhalle Orch. Zurich/ Lionel Bringuier – DGG
Yuja Wang’s first “incursion” into French music proves explosive, lyrical and virtuosic, at once. RAVEL: Piano Concerto in G Major; Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major; FAURE: Ballade in F-sharp Major for Piano Solo, Op. 19 – Yuja Wang, p./ Tonhalle Orch. Zurich/ Lionel Bringuier – DGG B00023931-02, 50:15 (10/9/15) [Distr. by Universal] ****: Piano virtuoso Yuja Wang makes her first incursion into the French repertory, inscribing (April-May 2015) the brilliant Ravel concertos, whose jazzy éclat appeals to her flamboyant style. The Concerto in G represents a successful fusion of disparate elements: Mozart’s poise and clarity, Saint-Saens’ wit and digital verve, and a folk element likely traceable to Ravel’s Basque heritage. At moments in the flurry of colors of the Allegramente first movement, we can detect blues riffs and the throes of Moorish Africa. Wang and Bringuier obviously relish the slow movement, Adagio assai, whose elegant waltz fuses Gershwin with Iberian sensibility in cross rhythm. The various woodwinds – English horn, flute, and oboe add their distinctive touches to a melodic curve that appears seamless, while in its compositional process Ravel remained at wit’s end to wring from his imagination. The jazz trombone and the symphony […]
Susie Arioli – Spring – Spectra Musique
Susie Arioli – Spring – Spectra Musique SPECD 7854, 46:41 ****: An unpretentious yet slick session from a singer who deserves a wider audience. (Susie Arioli – vocals; Don Thompson – piano, vibes; Terry Clarke – drums; Neil Swainson – bass; Reg Schwager – guitar; Phil Dwyer – tenor sax; Kevin Turcotte – trumpet; Andy Ballantyne – alto sax; Shirantha Beddage – baritone sax; Kelsley Grant – trombone ) There are many reading this review who will be completely unaware of the Canadian singer Susie Arioli. You will not be alone, as she has generated little exposure outside of Montreal where she currently resides. That is unfortunate, as she is a singer of taste, with a bright and expressive voice. Her latest release, Spring, is a strong outing, made all the more enjoyable as she is supported by a veritable who’s who of Toronto-based jazz musicians. With a mixture of original compositions, along with both better and lesser-known numbers from the standard American repetoire, Arioli delivers a song set that shows she knows how to connect with a lyric. Opening with her own tune “Loverboy” which swings along is fine fashion, Arioli and the band show that she has a […]
Spectral Quartet – “Serious Business” = Music of SKY MACKLAY; DAVID REMINICK; JOSEF HAYDN; CHRIS FISHER-LOCHEAD – Sono Luminus
Spectral Quartet – “Serious Business” = Music of SKY MACKLAY; DAVID REMINICK; JOSEF HAYDN; CHRIS FISHER-LOCHEAD – Sono Luminus DSL-92198, 65:26 (CD + audio-only Blu-ray – 5.1 DTS, 2.0 PCM and 9.1 Auro 3D with FLAC and MP3 files) (1/29/16) ****: Comedy and humor in music. Reading the supplementary material that came with this disc I still wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s a tribute to humor, some in the music itself, some based on jokes by well known comedians rendered to music. It sounded strange, and vaguely dislikable, but the truth is this is an interesting ‘concept’ disc that hits its intended mark. It’s going to be hard to explain this in a review that is only text, but the Spectral Quartet said it well in their notes. Serious Business unpacks the theme of humor in classical music through the lenses of three works composed for Spektral by inventive young composers, and one entry from 1781. The quartet takes listeners on a wild ride through a bevy of colorful musical ideas, full of virtuosity and energy.” Agreed. It’s a wild ride. The music includes Sky Macklay’s Many Many Cadences, David Reminick’s The Ancestral Mousetrap, where the quartet sings some […]
LALO: 3 Piano Trios – Leonore Piano Trio – Hyperion
Why these brilliant, melodically rich Lalo trios do not appear more often in concert remains the Sphinx’s own riddle. LALO: Piano Trio No. 1 in c minor, Op. 7; Piano Trio No. 2 in b minor; Piano Trio No. 3 in a minor, Op. 26 – Leonore Piano Trio – Hyperion CDA68113, 79:16 (12/31/15) [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****: Edouard Lalo (1823-1892), despite a prolific creative output, still survives in the popular mind via his Symphonie espagnole. While he never received the coveted Prix de Rome, he joined an association of composers – Duparc, Messager, Faure, D’Indy, and Chabrier – who supported each other in their musical efforts. Their musical credo urged against “academicism” in artistic expression, and the 1850 Piano Trio No. 1 came about directly as a result of Lalo’s friendship with violinist Jules Armingaud and singer Edmond Membree, the latter of whom received the dedication of Op. 7. Lalo consistently claimed Robert Schumann and the German tradition as his spiritual ancestors, and the c minor Trio bears witness to those influences. Elegant melodic lines pour forth from the cello (Gemma Rosefield) out the outset, and the two strings combine for lush harmony, with the keyboard part (Tim […]
WEINBERG: In search of freedom = Piano Quintet & 2 Quartets – Nikita Mndoyants, p./ Zemlinsky Q. – Praga Digitals
Expert readings of the more elusive of Weinberg’s chamber music come to us in keenly-wrought sound. WEINBERG: In search of freedom = Piano Quintet, Op. 18; String Quartet No. 10, Op. 85; String Quartet No. 13, Op. 118 – Nikita Mndoyants, p./ Zemlinsky Quartet – Praga Digitals mutichannel SACD PRD 250 296, 78:47 (10/9/15) [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****: Common musical consensus claims that the style of Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919- 1996) derives from several influences: Bartok, Miaskovsky, Mahler, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich. Most of the 150 works of this Polish composer from the Warsaw Ghetto remains painfully autobiographical in nature, a kind of musical documentation of a beleaguered humanity. The Piano Quintet in f minor (1945) received its world premier in Moscow from Emil Gilels and members of the Bolshoi Theatre strings. In five movements, it parallels aspects of the Shostakovich Piano Quintet, though perhaps more bitter in affect. The two scherzos propel the work with a grueling angst. The first movement, Moderato, weaves a melancholy odyssey through the circle of fifths. In the first scherzo: Allegretto, the color effects call for trills and harmonics, as well as selective col legno. The viola part (Petr Holman) proves gripping. Hints of […]
OFFENBACH: Orchestral Works = Various overtures, Tales of Hoffman music – Swisse Romande Orch. – Chandos
Estonian conductor finds the Paris experience of Jacques Offenbach entirely suited to his taste. OFFENBACH: Orchestral Works = Overture to Orpheus in the Underworld; Overture to La Belle Helene; Overture and Ballet from The Voyage to the Moon; Overture to La fille du tambour-major; Intermede and Barcarolle from The Tales of Hoffmann; Overture to Barbe-bleue; Overture to Le Mariage aux lanternes; Overture to La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein; Overture to Vert-Vert; Overture to La Vie parisienne – Orchestre de la Suisse Romande/ Neeme Jarvi – Chandos multichannel SACD CHSA 5160, 77:45 (11/13/15) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Neeme Jarvi assembles (rec. 23-24 June 2015) a series of scores by Jacques Offenbach, composed 1853-1881, that embrace diverse genres, from satirical, one-act pieces to more expansive theater works that offered lavish, historical or fantastical spectacles. Infectious themes and rhythms pervade these scores, many of which found their way into conductor-arranger Manuel Rosenthal’s popular Gaite parisiene in 1938 for the Ballet russe de Monte Carlo. The program opens with the 1858 Orpheus aux enfers, Offenbach’s parody of the Orpheus and Eurydice legend, which features some lovely playing, first from the oboe, then the cello, and later the “lute” of Orpheus, intoned by violin principal Bogdan […]
Audio News for February 16, 2016
First Headphones With Choice of Open or Closed Back; Stream Your Tablet to the TV With Chromecast; Sony’s PlayStation 4 Led January 2016 Hardware & Software Sales; See Mars Sand Dunes With NASA Video; How to Shop for Music on Vinyl
I Knew Her Well, Blu-ray (1965/2016)
A 1965 classic which helped define Italy in the ‘60s. I Knew Her Well, Blu-ray (1965/2016) Director: Antonio Pietrangeli Cast: Stefania Sandrelli, Mario Adorf, Jean-Claude Brialy Video: 1.85:1 for 16:9 screens, 1080p HD black & white Audio: Italian PCM mono Studio: RAI Cinema/ The Criterion Collection 801 (2/23/16) Subtitles: English Extras: New interview with Stefania Sandrelli, New interview with film scholar Luca Barattoni on director Pietrtangeli, Archival footage of Sandrelli’s audition, Essay in printed booklet by journalist and author Alexander Stille Length: 115 min. Rating: **** Italy was having a crucial transformation at this time, with things moving toward more of an urban and moneyed environment and away from the neo-realist films which their filmmakers had been doing earlier. Basically, this is an intimate portrait of a party girl in 1960s Rome, making it a woman at its center rather than the male of La dolce vita. The beautiful and seemingly liberated Adriana has a wide variety of men, and goes to parties, modeling jobs, and circulating among the rich and famous. This ends up being a character study of Adriana, as we move with her thru scenes that are funny and also tragic in some ways. The well-known actor […]
Frank Zappa – Roxy, The Movie, CD + Blu-ray (2015)
Frank Zappa – Roxy, The Movie, CD + Blu-ray (2015) A true rock genius is revealed in restored Blu-ray of a vintage performance. Studio: Eagle Vision EV8335219 Cast: Frank Zappa & The Mothers Video: 1.78:1 for 16:9 screen, 1080p HD, Color Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1; PCM 2.0 stereo TrackList: Something Terrible Has Happened/Cosmic Debris; Penguin In Bondage; T’Mershi Duween; Dog Meat (The Dog Breath Variations/Uncle Meat); RDNZL; Inca Roads; Echidna’s Art (of You); Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?; Cheepnis-Percussion; Cheepnis; I’m The Slime; Big Swifty; Be-Bop Tango (Of The Old Jazzmen’s Church); End Credits: Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow; Father O’Blivion Bonus Tracks: Pygmy Twylyte; The Idiot Bastard Son; Dickie’s Such An Asshole Length: 116 minutes Ratings: Audio: ***1/2 Video: ***1/2 Overall: ****: Certainly Frank Zappa’s music and career can be safely described as weird. His unique approach to rock, orchestration and avant-garde set him apart from his peers. The music was different and bent the rules of genre association and instrumental arrangement. Without reluctance, he would shake up the band lineup to bring a fresh perspective to his changing vision. One aspect of his musical career was film. 200 Motels (with The Mothers, Theodore […]
MATTHEW FIELDS: Double Cluster; Space Sciences – Gloria Chuang, p./ Moravian Phil. Orch./ Jan Kučera – Centaur
MATTHEW FIELDS: Double Cluster; Space Sciences – Gloria Chuang, p./ Moravian Philharmonic Orch./ Jan Kučera – Centaur CRC 3433 [Distr. by Naxos], (8/14/15) ***1/2: Complex but fascinating works inspired by deep space. Matthew Fields was a very interesting composer and amateur astronomer. To be frank, that’s what drew me to this recording for I share his love of space beauty. Additionally, I just discovered that he just passed away on February 7, 2016; precisely one week ago of this writing. So, in some ways, this very fine CD also serves as a bit of a memorial. People like Fields amazing me, actually, because he was a multi-talented man who held degrees in music from Stanford and DMA from the University of Michigan; but also in mathematics. While classical music was his love, his full time occupation for many years was as a programmer and IT specialist for the Michigan hospital system. His love for space science and apparently a great depth of knowledge also inspired many works such as the two here. A look at his website reveals that he was also very selective and self-critical of his own music, making available only the pieces he was most fond of […]
COPLAND: Symphony No. 3 in E Major; Quiet City; Appalachian Spring Suite – soloists/BSO/ Koussevitzky – Pristine Audio
Superlative, classic readings of Copland scores by his most ardent admirer among conductors, in fine sound. COPLAND: Symphony No. 3 in E Major; Quiet City; Appalachian Spring Suite – Georges Mager, trumpet/ Louis Speyer, Eng. horn/ Lukas Foss, p./ Boston Sym. Orch./ Serge Koussevitzky – Pristine Audio PASC 458, 73:09 [avail. in various formats from www.pristineclassical.com] *****: Aaron Copland conceived his Third Symphony (1946) through a commission from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation; and while Serge Koussevitzky gave the premiere at Symphony Hall, Boston 18 October 1946, he never inscribed the work for the RCA label. Copland claimed that Koussevitzky “liked music in the grand manner.” The rendition well-preserved here, courtesy of Andrew Rose, derives from a Carnegie Hall concert – the music’s fourth realization – 16 November 1946. The music reflects the composer’s post-War optimism, essentially a kind of spiritual progress from the nation’s rural origins through an industrial mentality, and into a dance-like third movement; and finally, a declamation of heroism in its “Fanfare for the Common Man” – commissioned by Eugene Goossens in 1942 Cincinnati for a series of fanfares – that opens the Allegro risoluto. Hailed as “the Great American Symphony” by Koussevitzky and various critics, the […]
MOHAMMED FAIROUZ: “No Orpheus” = Soloists – Naxos
MOHAMMED FAIROUZ: “No Orpheus” = Refugee Blues; Jeder Mensch; No Orpheus; Three Fragments from ‘Ibn Khafajah’; The Stolen Child; After the Revels; We Are Seven; Annabel Lee – Kate Lindsay, mezzo-sop./Kiera Duffy, sop,/Christopher Burchett, bar./ ensemble – Naxos 8.559783, 61:39 (2/12/15) ***1/2: Another side to this young dynamic composer. I have followed the music and career of Mohammed Fairouz for several years now and have been consistently impressed with his writing and his philosophy on music as a reflective art form. Indeed, many of his works use his own culture and background to make strong, but often optimistic, statements about the melding of cultures and the need to use history to guide our thoughts and perspectives. He is very talented, gifted and personable young man with much to offer as he becomes of one of America’s brightest young stars. This collection of – essentially – art songs by Mohammed both proves his versatility but also raises an eyebrow or two along the way. Several of these selections in fact do not even really sound like the Mohammed Fairouz that I – and others – are familiar with. The music along the way sounds at times like straight up lieder, at […]
NIGEL CLARKE, “Music for Thirteen Solo Strings” – Soloists/Longbow Ens. – Toccata Classics
NIGEL CLARKE, “Music for Thirteen Solo Strings” = Parnassus; The Scarlet Flower; Dogger, Fisher, German, Bight, Huber, Thames, Dover, Wight; Pulp and Rags; Epitaph for Edith Carvell – Sebastien Rousseau, Flugelhorn/ Malene Sheppard Skaerved, speaker/ Peter Sheppard Skaerved, violin/ Longbow ensemble – Toccata Classics TOCC 0325, 72:10, [Distr. By Naxos] (9/28/15) ***: A little bit of a mixed bag from this English composer. First, I had never heard of English composer Nigel Clarke until this disc, I admit. Clarke studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music with Paul Patterson, winning the Josiah Parker Prize (adjudicated by Sir Michael Tippett) and the Academy’s highest distinction, the Queen’s Commendation for Excellence. He has held positions as Head of Composition at the London College of Music and Media, visiting tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music, Associate Composer to the Black Dyke Band and many others. In 1997, Clarke joined the United States International Visitor Leadership Program sponsored by the US Information Agency. He is currently a Visiting Composer to the Middle Tennessee State University Bands. The music herein is interesting to be sure but I found it a bit of a mixed bag. One of the main premises of this […]
*********** MULTICHANNEL DISC OF THE MONTH ************ RACHMANINOV: Sym. No. 2; LIADOV: The Enchanted Lake – Bergen PO/ Andrew Litton – BIS
A glorious performance of sumptuous demeanor and satisfying execution. * RACHMANINOV: Symphony No. 2 in e, Op. 27; LIADOV: The Enchanted Lake – Bergen PO/ Andrew Litton – BIS multichannel SACD 2071, 70:54 [Distr. by Naxos] *****: I’ve always thought Rachmaninov the true Russian composer; something about his melodies and rich textures bespeak an authenticity that Tchaikovsky, normally considered the echt Russian composer, seems to lack. Not that the latter, easily the greater artist, was insincere. Simply that Rachmaninov’s Slavic soul was not as fettered with the cosmopolitan utterances of the internationalist Tchaikovsky. Yet in the realm of the symphony, vitally important in Russia at the time, Rachmaninov was woefully behind his elder. After a horrid 1897 premiere of the First Symphony, his confidence, never great to begin with, waned severely. Only in 1907 did he let on that he had completed a new second symphony, and that he was concerned about it. Because of his experiences with the First, he conducted the first performances of the Second Symphony in 1908, making only minor changes afterward for balance and texture. Later on critics inspired him to sanction ill-considered cuts to the piece that only eliminated about ten minutes of total […]
Jason Marsalis – Heirs Of The Crescent City – Elm Records
Jason Marsalis – Heirs Of The Crescent City – Elm Records ELM 19792, 66:11 ****: An interesting brief musical “tour d’horizon” of the Crescent City. (Tracks 1-5; 7-8; 11-12: Jason Marsalis – drums, percussion; Ashlin Parker – trumpet; Joe Goldberg – tenor saxophone, clarinet; Austin Johnson – piano; Peter Harris – bass; Tracks 6 & 9: Jason Marsalis – vibraphone; Austin Johnson – piano; Jasen Weaver – bass; Geoff Clapp – drums; Track 10: Marcus Roberts – piano) In New Orleans where jazz was born, there is a long and impressive line of individuals that left their imprint both on the city and the music, starting with Buddy Bolden, though Jelly Roll Morton, Joe “King” Oliver, and ultimately Louis Armstrong. However probably the most important family of jazz to come from the Crescent City is the Marsalis clan, headed by the “pater familias” pianist Ellis Marsalis. The four sons which include saxophonist Bradford, trumpeter Wynton, trombonist Delfeayo and drummer/percussionist Jason, all have made their profound mark on the music business. In Heirs Of The Crescent City, Jason has written the soundtrack music for a documentary film Heirs by Sascha Just which takes the listener on a musical journey through New […]
Audio News for February 12, 2016
Samsung and LG Show OLED Walls; Dying Technology – Hardware On the Way Out; Study Shows People Who Listen to Music Out Loud Have More Sex; New Canadian Site Offers Better Music Quality Plus Convenience; Only a Rumor So Far, But Apple May Make Lightning the Hi-res Audio Port of the Future
ROSSINI: Semiramide (complete opera) – Soloists/Vienna Concert Choir & Radio SO/ Panni – Nightingale Classics (3 CDs)
Gruberova is well worth hearing, even if the whole does not equal the sum of its parts. ROSSINI: Semiramide (complete opera) – Edita Gruberova (Semiramide)/ Bernadette Manca Di Nissa (Arsace)/ Helene Le Corre (Azema)/ Ildebrando D’Arcangelo (Assur)/ Juan Diego Florez (Idreno)/ Julian Konstantinov (Oroe)/ Vienna Concert Choir/ Vienna Radio SO/ Marcello Panni – Nightingale Classics NC207013 (3 CDs), 68:46, 64:43, 73:54 ***1/2: Though Semiramide, based on Voltaire’s tragedy Semiramis, was to be Rossini’s last Italian opera, in fact it represents a return to much of the vocal enthusiasms found in the operas of his youth. After this work he bolted from Italy to Paris, and never really was able to duplicate the greatness of this piece, adorned with scenery in true Baroque style, full choruses and expansive orchestral writing for an equally expansive orchestra. It has always maintained its popularity as one of the best operas in the repertory, and there have been many fine recordings, old and new. This one, a 1998 recording, is fine in many ways. I am especially partial to the Idreno of Juan Diego Florez, who was really singing well—and especially Rossini—at that time, and his artistry found its way onto other Rossini issues too. […]
Verismo Trio, “Cloud Server” = Trio works by DEASON, KNABLE, SHRUDE, BOZICEVIC, BARABBA, PETERSON & EMERSON – ACA Digital
Verismo Trio, “Cloud Server” = DAVE DEASON: Trio; SUNNY KNABLE: Glassworks; MARILYN SHRUDE: Notturno: In Memoriam Toru Takemitsu; IVAN BOZICEVIC: Spiritual Mountain; JASON V. BARABBA: Torschlußpanik; RUSSELL PETERSON: Trio No. 1; JASON EMERSON: cloudServer – Verismo Trio (Nicole Riner, flute/Scott Turpen, sax/Theresa Bogard, p.) – ACA Digital CM20113 [Distr. by Albany], 68:41, (12/08/15) ****: Very refreshing collection of new trio works and an interesting combination! The appreciable value in this disc is as much in getting to know the talented Verismo Trio as it is in their program of all new and really interesting program choices. I am not aware of another flute, saxophone and piano trio and I certainly did not know there were so many nice pieces out there written for this unusual but beautiful combination. This collection begins in an attention getting way with the very light, breezy and entertaining Trio by Dave Deason. There is a very nice jazzy vibe throughout the three movements that I quite enjoyed. This tone continues with Glassworks by pianist/composer Sunny Knable. The exact title reference to Philip Glass is very intentional; this work having been written for a different trio in Glass’s seventy-fifth birthday year. Each of the five one-minute […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
