Monthly Archive: July 2016
Audio News for July 5, 2016
Panasonic Has a $699 UHD Blu-ray Deck – The DMP-UB900 has 60fps playback, HDR support, and can stream UDH content from Netflix and YouTube. Audio specs include hi-res playback of WAV, FLAC, DSD and ALAC files, digital tube-sound with up-sampling, isolated twin HDMI ports for audio and video, and 7.1 analog audio output. Samsung also has one, at about half the price, and the new Xbox One S will support UHD Blu-ray playback for as little as $300 later this year. What Does a Classical Conductor Do? – The Helsinki Conservatory is the unique center for training of classical conductors. In many countries, student conductors rarely get to practice their conducting on professional orchestras, and the Conservatory solves this. To some audiences, orchestral conductors seem to dramatically wave their arms with no discernible effect on the music. In reality, they undergo rigorous conservatory training, followed by further feedback on the job as they move up the career ladder. What they learn, however, remains a mystery to most non-musicians, and what constitutes good conductor training even more so. Students come from all over the world to study at the Helsinki Conservatory. One of them said: “…you have to learn the mechanics, […]
Monteux at Tanglewood Vol. 2 = MENDELSSOHN: Piano Con. No. 2; Sym. No. 4; SCHUMANN: Intro & Allegro appassionato; Manfred Ov. – w/ Serkin, p. – Pristine
Some rousing Mendelssohn and Schumann grace this live Monteux concert from “The Shed” at Tanglewood. Monteux at Tanglewood Volume 2 = MENDELSSOHN: Piano Concerto No. 1 in g minor, Op. 25; Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90 “Italian”; SCHUMANN: Introduction and Allegro appassionato in G Major, Op. 92; Manfred Overture, Op. 115 – Rudolf Serkin, p./ Boston Sym. Orch./ Pierre Monteux – Pristine Audio PASC 473, 77:36 [avail. in several diff. formats from www.pristineclassical.com] ****: The concert of 1 August 1959 for the summer music festival of the Boston Symphony features two veteran musicians, Pierre Monteux (1875-1964) and pianist Rudolf Serkin (1903-1991). Collectors are likely aware that Serkin recorded the two concertante pieces for CBS with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra under slightly less manic conditions. Still, if one can forgive Serkin’s finger slips – mostly in the Concerto’s first movement – the performance here proffers a musical fireball by two acolytes of the Romantic ethos. Monteux opens with a work he did not record for RCA commercially, the “Italian” Symphony of Mendelssohn. Monteux takes the oft-neglected repeat in the first movement, and then proceeds to compensate for the added minute by injecting a heated velocity into […]
MENDELSSOHN: Ruy Blas Overture; The Fair Melusine; Hebrides Overture; Die Erst Walpurgisnacht – soloists/ Zürcher Sing-Akademie / Musikkollegium Winterthur / Douglas Boyd – MDG
MENDELSSOHN: Ruy Blas Overture, Op. 95; The Fair Melusine, Op. 32; Hebrides Overture, Op. 26; Die Erste Walpurgisnacht, Op. 60 – Birgit Remmer, alto / Jörg Dümüller, tenor / Reinhard Mayr, bass / Zürcher Sing-Akademie / Musikkollegium Winterthur / Douglas Boyd – Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm, multichannel SACD MDG90119496 (2+2+2), 64:26 [Distr. by eOne] ****: An interesting Mendelssohn program made more interesting by the choice of edition used for the Ruy Blas performance. This program includes three of Mendelssohn’s finest concert overtures, a genre the composer specialized in. Concert overtures were a favorite form of early Romantic composers, giving them the opportunity to express literary ideas in music. But whereas the Lisztian tone poem is more specific in its pictorialism, the concert overture creates a tone painting, using broader strokes. For instance, we know from the first notes of Ruy Blas that the subject is tragic, and we know from the brilliant coda that ends the work that the tragedy has a semi-happy ending. Yet even if we’re familiar with the individual actions of the play, we’re hard pressed to locate them in the overture; Mendelssohn is content to create atmosphere rather than portray individual actions. Mendelssohn hated Victor Hugo’s play Ruy […]
Mike Jones Trio – Roaring – Capri
Mike Jones Trio – Roaring – Capri 74142-2 61:54 ****: An effervescent take on some well-worn material. (Mike Jones – piano; Katie Thiroux – bass; Matt Witek – drums) Jazz and Las Vegas are words that are not necessarily synonymous. Although from the 50s through the 70s, many of the big bands such as Count Basie, Buddy Rich and Woody Herman had long standing gigs at places like The Sands and The Tropicana among others. The current musical director for the esteemed magic team Penn and Teller, who have been ensconced for over fifteen years at The Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino, Mike Jones has gained a reputation as a versatile swinging pianist of the first order. His latest release Roaring with bassist Katie Thiroux and drummer Matt Witek showcases the tunes of the 1920s, each of which has stood the test of time. Bassist Katie Thiroux opens “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby” with a couple of bars of deep-throated bass playing, which then evolves into a swinging groove by pianist Jones who expands upon the theme with some block-chord ruminating. The tune had a bit of a renaissance in 1966, when Frank Sinatra’s evocative album Strangers In The […]
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat, “Eroica”; Coriolan Ov.– Le Concert des Nations / Jordi Savall – Alia Vox
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat, Op. 55, “Eroica”; Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 – Le Concert des Nations / Jordi Savall – Alia Vox multichannel SACD AVSA9916, 52:14 (4/29/16) *****: Beethoven in wonderful, powerful overdrive: the finest original-instruments performance of the Eroica that I know. I usually think of Jordi Savall only in connection with Baroque and before, a period that he and his original-instruments band do great justice to. But this recording from the Alia Vox archives shows that Savall has a full grasp of the Classical idiom and of Beethoven’s monumental Classical style. Savall’s achievement is, as always, the result of deeply informed scholarship, but more, he inspires his players with a real sense of the drama inherent in the music of the Napoleonic Era. The result is just about the most unrelentingly dramatic Eroica I’ve heard in many years and certainly my favorite original-instruments version of the piece. Savall’s interpretation is fleet of foot, dynamic in the extreme. There’s a famous anecdote about the first time the symphony was performed. An audience member was supposed to have stood up and offered the conductor a thaler if he would “just make the damned thing stop.” Well, there’s no […]
Shehori – The Celebrated New York Concerts, Vol. 9 = Works of BEETHOVEN, LISZT, SCHUBERT, TCHAIKOVSKY, CHOPIN & MOSZKOWSKI – Mordecai Shehori, p. – Cembal d’amour CD
A moment of New York musical history is preserved, in which Shehori pays homage to Vladimir Horowitz. Shehori – The Celebrated New York Concerts, Vol. 9 = BEETHOVEN: 15 Variations and Fugue in E-flat Major, Op. 35 “Eroica”; LISZT: Impromptu in F-sharp Major; Au Bord d’une Source in A-flat Major; Canzone “Nessun maggior dolore” (after Rossini’s Otello); Funerailles; SCHUBERT: Sonata in A Major, D. 959; TCHAIKOVSKY (trans. Shehori): Melodie for Violin and Piano in E-flat Major, Op. 42, No. 3; MOSZKOWSKI: Etincelles, Op. 36, No. 6; CHOPIN: Mazurka in g minor, Op. 24, No. 1 – Mordecai Shehori, p. – Cembal d’amour CD 183 (2 CDs) 46:05, 48:27 (5/20/16) ****: The latest installment of “The Celebrated New York Recitals” by Mordecai Shehori preserves a distinctive moment (19 May 1992) for him and us at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall: he pays tribute to his mentor Vladimir Horowitz, even as the great pianist’s widow sits near his keyboard. Later, Mrs. Horowitz would remark: “Mordecai, you are the only pianist that learned from my husband but you do not imitate him.” Shehori opens with a Liszt group, a selection of four pieces that explore Liszt’s penchant for polar ecstasies of emotion. The […]
“Orpheus” Choreography for Nine Dancers and Seven Musicians, Blu-ray (2014); BRETON: Orfeo ed Eurydice – one-act opera – Ens. Lorenza da Ponte – Fra Bernardo
“Orpheus” Choreography for Nine Dancers and Seven Musicians, Blu-ray (2014) Music by: PYOTR ILICH TCHAIKOVSKY, YVAN TALBOT, CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI, CHRISTOPH W. GLUCK, PHILIP GLASS, FRANCESCO DURANTE, GIOVANNI DURANTE, GIOVANNI FELICES SANCES, GIUSEPPE MARIA JACCHINI, WILLIAM BYRD, LUIZ BONFÁ, LA SECTA PHONÉTIK, SERGIO BALESTRACCI Choreography: Dominique Herviu and José Montalvo Production: Marie-Pierre Bousquet Realization: Denis Caiozzi Scenery and Video Design: José Montalvo Studio: Art Haus Musik 108124 [1/27/15] (Distr. by Naxos) Video: for 16:9 1080i HD color Audio: 24-bit PCM stereo Menus in English No Region Code Length: 78 minutes Rating: *** FERDINANDO BERTONI: Orfeo ed Euridice – Vivica Genaux, mezzo-soprano/Francesca Lombardi-Mazzuli, sop./Jan Petryk, tenor/Coro Accademia di Santo Spirito/Ensemble Lorenza da Ponte/Roberto Zarpellon – Fra Bernardo CD FB 1601729 [Distr. by Naxos], 70:44, (3/25/2016) ***: A chance to compare two very different iterations of the Orpheus legend. There have been a few well-known musical adaptations of the Greek legend of Orpheus, most notably the Gluck opera and a lesser known and much lesser played attempt by Berlioz. There have also been some interesting and unusual modern iterations including Philip Glass’ Orfee intended to be performed as a soundtrack to the film by Cocteau and the ballet done by Stravinsky with the […]
“Fresh Dimensions” = CRAIG MADDEN MORRIS: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra; PAUL JOHN STANBERY: Robert McCloskey: The Life for Me – Frank T. Restesan, violin/Hamilton Fairfield Sym. Orch./Paul John Stanberry – Navona
A couple of new names and some very refreshing melodies. “Fresh Dimensions” = CRAIG MADDEN MORRIS: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra; PAUL JOHN STANBERY: Robert McCloskey: The Life for Me – Frank T. Restesan, violin/Hamilton Fairfield Sym. Orch./Paul John Stanberry – Navona NV6026 [Distr. by Naxos], 55:48 (2/12/2016) ***1/2: I confess I had not really heard of composers Morris or Stanberry before but thanks to this disc I am glad to become somewhat acquainted with their work. Morris’ Concerto for Violin and Orchestra presented here was originally written for violinist Christine Kwak. It is lovely work that has a decidedly “Americana” feel to it and each movement echoes some aspect of folk material or countryside living. I was especially taken with the buoyant and rather Barber-esque second movement, “Breezes.” Soloist Frank Restesan does a very fine job with this work, that I think all violinists should get to know. Paul John Stanbery was also new to me. Stanbery is currently music director of the Hamilton Fairfield Symphony, the featured orchestra on these recordings and conducted by Stanbery. His mentors and teachers included conducting studies with Emil Raab, Ivan Trusler, Robert Porco and John Leman. He studied composition with Wallace DePue and H. […]
Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Blu-ray (1941/2016)
This 1941 original inspired many remakes and is considered by many still the best of them. Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Blu-ray (1941/2016) Cast: Robert Montgomery, Claude Rains, Evelyn Keyes Director: Alexander Hall Studio: Columbia Pictures/ The Criterion Collection 819 [6/14/16] Video: 1.33:1 or 4:3 B&W 1080p HD Audio: English mono PCM No region rating Extras: Conversation bet. critic Michael Sragow and filmmaker/distributor Michael Schlesinger, Audio-only interview (1991) with daughter of Robert Montgomery, Audio-only Lux Radio Theatre version of film (1942) with Cary Grant & Claude Rains, Theatrical trailer, Essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme in printed booklet Length: 94 min. Rating: ***** This film won an Oscar for the screenwriting and stars Montgomery as a good-Joe boxer headed for a championship fight (who also struggles on the sax on the side) until he is killed in a plane crash. He was whisked out of the crashing plane by mistake by Edward Everett Horton – the angel assigned to Montgomery. Heaven’s head man, Mr. Jordan (Claude Rains) has to find Bob a new body allowing him to have his title fight. The first body is that of a recently-murdered millionaire, leading to further complications. James Gleason plays Bob’s befuddled fight manager, […]
Warren Wolf, vibes – Convergence – Mack Avenue
Warren Wolf, vibes – Convergence – Mack Avenue MAC 1105 67:51 ****: A sure-footed investigation of a smart jazz aesthetic (Warren Wolf – vibes, marimba 5/6/9/10/11, Fender Rhodes 2/9, piano 9; Christian McBride – bass 1/2/3/5/6/7/8/9/10; Brad Mehldau – piano 1/2/4/5/7; John Scofield – guitar 1/7; Jeff “Tain” Watts – drums 1/2/5/6/7/8/9/10) There was a period back in the 1970s or so, when rock supergroups were all the rage with the likes of Cream, Traffic, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young among others. Jazz never quite went in that direction apart from the unintended exception of The Quintet ( which came together for one performance only at Massey Hall, Toronto in 1953, and the historic recording that followed) and perhaps VSOP. One never quite thought of the classic Bill Evans Trio or Oscar Peterson Trio or the original Miles Davis Quintet along those lines although it would have been possible to do so. The Warren Wolf release Convergence has combined star power and individuality, and thus has all the attributes of a supergroup. Thankfully no such promotional efforts have detracted from the breadth and scope of the originality of the music coming from this band. With a judicious mix of original […]
ATTERBERG: Orchestral Works, Vol. 4 = Sym. ‘Västkustbilder’; Three Nocturnes; Vittorioso – Gothenburg Sym. Orch. /Neeme Järvi – Chandos
Excellent performances of works as part of a resurgence. KURT ATTERBERG: Orchestral Works, Volume 4 = Symphony No. 3, Op. 10 ‘Västkustbilder’; Three Nocturnes, Op.35bis; Vittorioso, Op. 58 – Gothenburg Sym. Orch./Neeme Järvi – Chandos CHAN10894, 62:23 (3/25/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: The music of twentieth century composer Kurt Atterberg has been undergoing quite a resurgence these past twenty or so years with many recordings, especially of his symphonies, and other orchestral pieces getting a lot of attention. This is volume four of a particularly interesting set with conductor Neeme Järvi and the Gothenburg Symphony, as part of this resurgence. What little I have heard of the Atterberg symphonies, in particular, I have enjoyed and the present Symphony No. 3, ‘West Coast Pictures’, is certainly the focal point of this album. With the movement subtitles “Summer Haze”, “Storm” and “Summer Night”, this is a work clearly designed to be a set of three short ‘tone poems’ of sorts that depict the composer’s impressions of the Swedish west coast. Originally, Atterberg wrote the three movements quite separately and only after a couple of performances of the first two, deciding to write a third a reconsider the work as a symphony. As […]
ELLIOTT MILES McKINLEY: Infinite Landscapes = Three Portraits; String Quartet No. 7 – SOLI Chamber Ens./Martinů Q. – Navona
Very compelling works with a bit of jazz feel. ELLIOTT MILES McKINLEY: Infinite Landscapes = Three Portraits; String Quartet No. 7 – SOLI Chamber Ens./Martinů Quartet – Navona NV6040, 72: 57 (5/13/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: The more I hear of Rhode Island based composer Elliott Miles McKinley the more I like his work. I had previously heard some of his other string quartets on a prior Navona release and I like the unique nature of his music. The opening work here, Three Portraits, was commissioned by the San Antonio Texas-based SOLI Chamber Ensemble and is scored for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. This is a very strong and attractive piece that portrays the feel of midsummer through the eyes and ears of the composer in a very interesting way; one that seems to constantly skirt about between moods of the mysterious and the playful. For example, in “A July Watercolor” there are two themes, one ascending and one descending, as other instruments play trills and cluster chords. “August Watercolor” uses quite the blend of harmonies and thematic distributions reminiscent of Ives with elements that echo reggae styles. (I thought this movement, especially, was amazingly unusual and captivating with its ‘send […]
SCHUBERT: Complete Symphonies, Masses & opera Alfonso und Estrella – Soloists/Berlin Philharmonic/ Nicolaus Harnoncourt – Berlin Phil. – (8 SACDs + 1 Blu-ray stereo only)
FRANZ SCHUBERT: Symphonies, Masses and Alfonso und Estrella (TrackLists below) – Berlin Philharmonic Orch./Nikolaus Harnoncourt – Berlin Phil. BPHR 15006 [Distr. by Naxos] – The set contains 8 CDs, and identical content on one Blu-ray audio disc in 2.0 PCM + Bonus video: Nikolaus Harnoncourt in conversation [in German w/ English subtitles] (38 min) HD 1080P 16×9 – Region free – TT: 613:30 (6/5/15) ****: For Schubert completists – all the symphonies, two masses and a rather unknown complete opera . This is a ‘monster’ set of all the Schubert Symphonies, along with Schubert’s final two masses, plus there is a a rare recording of the opera Alfonso und Estrella. This massive set contains 8 SACDs, 1 Blu-ray audio disc that has all the music from the SACDs in DTS-HD MA 2.0. That disc also contains a video interview with conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt. [$123 on Amazon…Ed.] If you want to download the music, the set gives you a code to download FLAC files in 24/48 for any digital devices you own that can support the format. The performances were recorded between 2003 and 2006. I listened to everything contained in the set over several days, and found the performances consistent […]
SCHUBERT: Arpeggione Sonata in a minor, D. 821; String Quintet in C Major, D. 956 – Matt Haimovitz, cello/ Itamar Golan, p./ Miro String Quartet – Pentatone
Two classic collaborations from cellist Matt Haimovitz enjoy sonic glory in these restorations from Pentatone. SCHUBERT: Arpeggione Sonata in a minor, D. 821; String Quintet in C Major, D. 956 – Matt Haimovitz, cello/ Itamar Golan, p./ Miro String Quartet – Pentatone multichannel SACD PTC 5186 549, 76:55 (6/10/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: From the opening piano chords in Schubert’s 1824 Arpeggione Sonata – the obsolete instrument’s having been supplanted by the modern cello – we find ourselves enthralled by Itamar’s seductive keyboard and the sympathetic sonority of the Matt Haimovitz instrument, a 1710 Matteo Gofriller cello. The original recording (30 October 2001) enjoys the remastered sonics that project the glories of Schubert’s lyric genius to full advantage. The music blends a Bohemian ethos into a three-part song that asks of the solo part flurries of bravura filigree interspersed with broken chords, both arco and pizzicato. The first movement, Allegro moderato, projects a resigned, autumnal nostalgia that we must attribute to the composer’s awareness of his fateful mortality. The Adagio presents a quiet, intimate lied of rarified beauty, a sentiment that transforms into a slow, darkly-hued waltz marked by plangent, low tones in the cello. The tempo becomes virtually funereal […]
Seunghee Lee, “Embrace” – music for clarinet and piano – Seunghee Lee, clar./Evan Solomon, p. – Summit
Seunghee Lee, “Embrace” – music for clarinet and piano [TrackList follows] – Seunghee Lee, clar./Evan Solomon, p. – Summit DCD577, TT: 50:26, (11/08/11) ***: Lovely and mostly rewarding collection of “easy listening” clarinet. Korean born Seunghee Lee is a very refined and talented artist with a pleasant tone and facile technique. There is much to admire in her playing and in looking at her training resume this is not a surprise. Lee grew up in Chicago and studied with many of the country’s great clarinetists including David Shifrin, Charles Neidich, George Silfies and John Bruce Yeh, to name but a few. Her accompanist Evan Solomon has a similar pedigree, having accompanied violinist Sarah Chang. Solomon also has a degree in mathematics and has served on the accompanying staff of the Julliard School since 1986. Ms. Lee has several other recordings out that I think are well worth investigating. As I said, her playing is lovely and rather “recital ready” as her tone and technique are very fine indeed and chamber music focused. This collection is made up of several short snippets of lovely and mostly non-flashy melodies from a variety of sources. These include many easily recognized tunes such as […]
Audio News for July 1, 2016
Sennheiser Looking to Have Own Stores in India – Sennheiser is exploring options to up company-owned stores in India in addition to their five company-owned stores globally. They are talking to the government to relax their 30% local sourcing norm as Sennheiser makes products involving cutting edge technology. This may also pave the way for Apple to set up its own stores in the country, and even Chinese smartphone maker LeEco has applied for relaxation from sourcing for its stores. Celebration of Irish Composers Neglects Women and Composers Under 30 – The Festival Composing the Island runs from September 7th thru the 25th, extends to seven orchestral concerts and 20 concerts of vocal, chamber, instrumental and choral music. A chronological trajectory thru the orchestral concerts is being used, starting with a 1927 Symphony No. 1 by Ina Boyle. The name of Charles V. Stanford crops up most frequently with 11 works represented including six of his songs. Other composers whose profile is raised by songs are Sir Hamilton Harty, Herbert Hughes and Philip Martin. New Study Shows People Can Hear the Difference in Hi-Res Audio – According to a new study from Queen Mary University of London, listeners can hear […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
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