Monthly Archive: September 2016
Audio News for September 30, 2016
New Roku Express Competition to Google’s Chromecast – It is only $30 and does everything the current Roku Stick does, including best-in-class app selection, cross-platform search and simple interface. Plus it’s plenty speedy and comes with a remote control. For an additional $10 you get a cable to output analog audio and video. This Express+ is designed for those who want to add streaming to older TVs without HDMI connectors. The $130 Roku 4 is its UHD-capable streamer and there is a recent $80 Premiere model which is minus a few extras but still accesses more UHD apps than other streamers. The Premiere+ model is $100 and accesses high dynamic- range video from streaming apps. Its remote uses Wi-Fi technology so you don’t need to point it as with the other cheaper models. There is also an Ethernet port for wired internet connections. Roku’s best streamer is the Roku Ultra ($130), which offers everything found on the Premiere+ and is beefed up with a few more ports and a full-featured clicker, plus gaming support and a cool remote finder function. The UHD models support Dolby Atmos. All models are fanless and you can use headphones to listen privately with any […]
STRAVINSKY: Pulcinella Suite; Apollon musagète; Concerto in D for String Orchestra ‒ Orch. de Ch. de Lausanne/ Joshua Wellerstein ‒ MD&G
STRAVINSKY: Pulcinella Suite; Apollon musagète; Concerto in D for String Orchestra ‒ Orch. de Chambre de Lausanne/ Joshua Wellerstein ‒ Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm, multichannel SACD MDG 940 1955-6 (2+2+2); 65:36 (6/3/2016) ***: Stress-free Stravinsky. A musical sedative, anyone? Sometime during the First World War, while Stravinsky was riding out the storm in Switzerland, he decided that the huge orchestras that European composers, including himself, had written for before the war were passé. In the post-Apocalyptic world of the late teens and twenties, there just wouldn’t be resources available to fire up again the grand late-Romantic symphony orchestra. So Stravinsky commenced to write a string of works for more modest performing forces, starting with L’histoire du soldat and continuing with, among others, the first two pieces on the current disc, aptly played by a chamber orchestra. Like Handel, Stravinsky was a notorious borrower of other composers’ good musical ideas, and he was forthright about the practice. “Lesser artists borrow; great artists steal,” he was supposed to have said. So we have Pulcinella (1922), a ballet in the style of the commedia dell’arte and based on music attributed (mostly incorrectly) to Baroque composer Giovanni Pergolesi. To be fair, Stravinsky at first […]
MOZART: Serenade in B-flat Major; “Gran Partita”; Serenade in E-flat Major – EU Ch. Orch./ Santiago Mantas – Divine Art
Conductor Mantas and his European Union Chamber Orch. Wind Octet do honor to Mozart. MOZART: Serenade in B-flat Major, K. 361 “Gran Partita”; Serenade in E-flat Major, K. 375 – European Union Ch. Orch./ Santiago Mantas – Divine Art dda 25136, 77:21 [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Of all the recorded music in rather generous collections of German conductor Wilhelm Furtwaengler and the Russian Serge Koussevitzky, the one curiosity persists in their Mozart repertory, and that is the 1781 Serenade in B-flat Major, the so-called Gran Partita. I assume that is because the work presents a mammoth design for chamber wind instruments, it provides a masterful display piece for any philharmonic’s principal players. The seven movements of the Gran Partita consist of a sonata-allegro with a Lento introduction, a Menuetto and double trio, an Adagio, another Menuetto and double trio featuring an obvious ländler, a tripartite Romance: Adagio, a theme and variations with a curious interruption, and a spritely finale, Molto allegro, totaling nearly an hour of music. The one performance during Mozart’s lifetime occurred 23 March 1784, at a benefit concert created by clarinet virtuoso Anton Stadler, though he auditioned only four of its movements. Since answers to the questions of eingangen (little […]
Hunt for the Wilder People (2016)
Hands-down one of the best films of year! Don’t miss it! Hunt for the Wilder People (2016) Cast: Julian Dennison, Sam Neill, Rhys Darby Director: Taika Waititi (New Zealand) Studio: Orchard/ Sony Pictures 48158 (9/27/16) Video: 2.35:1 for 16:9 screen, color 1080p Audio: English DD 5.1 Dubbed: French Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish Extras: Commentary track with director, Neill & Dennison, Behind the Scenes, Blooper Reel Length: 101 min. Rating: ***** B01IGFGG2G The defiant little 12-year-old kid Ricky Baker is getting a new start in a foster home in the New Zealand countryside. He tries to run away but Aunt Bello gets him back with her loving attention. There is a lot of attention given to the “hottie,” which in NZ language is a hot water bottle to sleep with. Unfortunately, she dies and the father (who has been in prison in the past) and the child take off for the jungle with their dog. Ricky doesn’t want to be shipped to another home, and so he and the man go on the run in the NZ bush. Their manhunt is in all the papers and they become a national concern, branded as outlaws. The book on which this […]
![FRANCOIS COUPERIN: Music for Two Harpsichords Vol 1 & 2 – [TrackList follows] – Jochewed Schwarz & Emer Buckley – Toccata Classics](https://www.audaud.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/FrCouperinVols12.jpg)
FRANCOIS COUPERIN: Music for Two Harpsichords Vol 1 & 2 – [TrackList follows] – Jochewed Schwarz & Emer Buckley – Toccata Classics
Two volumes covering two-harpsichord Francois Couperin material. FRANCOIS COUPERIN: Music for Two Harpsichords Vol 1 & 2 – [TrackList follows] – Jochewed Schwarz and Emer Buckley – Toccata Classics TOCC 0203 & 0258, 62:21, 66:03 ****: Fr. Couperin published two set of chamber works, Concerts Royaux and Les Nations, scored so that they could be performed by whatever instruments were at hand (as many composers did at the time). But the composer said he himself preferred to perform them on two harpsichords. These two albums use selected movements from both works, and in the first volume three short pieces from his Pieces de Clavecin, in the second and third books. These are strong and vital-sounding performances from both ladies (Schwarz is Israeli and Buckley is Irish), and the series of movements from the Quatrime Ordre of Les Nations amounts to over 22 minutes long. A later series from the Second Ordre totals 29 minutes. Many of these selections are first recordings of these works. And also are very well-recorded. They both play von Nagel harpsichords, the recordings were made in his workshop in Paris and Ms. Schwarz was also the producer. The double-manual instruments are based on 18th-century French originals […]
Patterns, Blu-ray (1955/2016)
An interesting restoration of a TV presentation with Rod Serling as the director, but no sci-fi. Patterns, Blu-ray (1955/2016) Cast: Van Heflin, Ed Begley, Everett Sloane Director: Rod Serling Studio: Kraft TV Theater (1955)/ United Artists/The Film Detective FDO562 (8/30/16) Video: 1.66:1 for 16:9 screens, B&W, restored Audio: English mono DD Length: 83 min. Rating: **** This is the tenth release on Blu-ray of a Film Detective restoration. The story of ruthless men clawing for control of a billion-dollar business empire first aired on the Kraft Television Theater in January 1955, and won the first of six Emmys for Rod Serling. The TV presentation was such a success that United Artists created a big screen feature, using most of the original cast, which was used for this restoration. Van Heflin has the major role in this acid-etched chronicle of the cutthroat corporate world. He plays a businessman who has been attracted to New York City from his job in Pennsylvania, not knowing that he is meant to replace a very decent vice president who has his office right next to his and who he gets to know and like very much. The ruthless president of the corporation is intent on […]
Simple Gifts – Chamber pieces of GOTTSCHALK, DVORAK, BARBER, O’CONNOR, COPLAND & FOSTER – The Social Orch. for Ensemble – CMS Live
As “authentic” a Shaker experience in the classics as it gets. Simple Gifts – The Chamber Music of Lincoln Center at Shaker Village = GOTTSCHALK: The Union – Concert Paraphrase on National Airs for Piano, Op. 48; DVORAK: Sonatina in G Major for V. and P., Op. 100; BARBER: Souvenirs for Piano Four Hands, Op. 28; O’CONNOR: F.C.’s Jig for Violin and Viola; COPLAND: Appalachian Spring for Ensemble; FOSTER: Sel. from The Social Orch. for Ensemble – Gilles Vonsattel, p. / Arnaud Sussmann, violin/ Wu Han, p. / Paul Neubauer, viola/ David Shifrin, clarinet/ Brook Speltz and David Finckel, cellos/ Kristen Lee, violin/ Peter Kolkay, bassoon/ Tara Helen O’Connor, flute – CMS Live, 75:00 [Distr. by Naxos] (9/16/16) ****: The series of concerts and collaborations on this disc were assembled (May 2015) at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, for PBS broadcast for “Live from Lincoln Center” production. David Finckel and Wu Han, artistic directors of the Chamber Music Society, also coordinate the Music@Menlo series in Palo Alto, CA, where many of the featured musicians have been wont to appear. The Shaker melody “Simple Gifts” appears in Copland’s 1944 ballet Appalachian Spring, so it seems appropriate that the 13 […]
RESPIGHI: Sinfonia Drammatica; Belfagor Ov. ‒ Orch. Philharmonique Royal de Liège / John Neschling ‒ BIS
RESPIGHI: Sinfonia Drammatica; Belfagor Ov. ‒ Orch. Philharmonique Royal de Liège / John Neschling ‒ BIS multichannel SACD BIS-2210; 70:03 (7/8/16) ****: Respighi off the beaten track. Stimulating and enjoyable. Jean-Pascal Vachon’s useful notes to this recording lay out the complex history of Ottorino Respighi’s musical education by way of explaining why this great big Sinfonia Drammatica sounds so unlike what we’ve come to think of as Respighi’s musical language. It’s easy to hear the influence of Respighi’s teacher Rimsky-Korsakov in his highly colorful and effective orchestration. In the numerous pieces based on medieval and Renaissance music (Ancient Airs and Dances, Concerto Gregoriano. Concerto in modo misolidio, The Birds, Church Windows, Metamorphosen), Respighi pays tribute to his teacher Luigi Torchi, a musicologist and expert on ancient music. In the Roman Trilogy, Respighi’s best-known works, we note that as his musical language matured, the composer took his lead increasingly from France and specifically Claude Debussy. However, the composer also studied with Giuseppe Martucci—whose music reflects the influence of his musical heroes, Schumann and Brahms—and with the echt German Romantic Max Bruch. Martucci happened also to be one of the first champions of Wagner in Italy. Small wonder, then, that early in […]
Marc Ribot – The Young Philadelphians, Live in Tokyo – Yellowbird/Enja
Get a whole lot funkier and have some fun with Marc Ribot. Marc Ribot – The Young Philadelphians, Live in Tokyo [TrackList follows] – Yellowbird/Enja yeb-7760, 53:55 [7/29/16] ****: (Marc Ribot – guitar; Jamaaladeen Tacuma – bass; G. Calvin Weston – drums; Mary Halvorson – guitar; Takako Siba – viola; Yoshie Kajiwara – violin; China Azuma – cello) Guitarist Marc Ribot has had some brash ideas for his music projects. His latest release may be one of his boldest. It’s certainly one of the funkiest. The 54-minute Young Philadelphians Live in Tokyo marries two seemingly incompatible musical legacies: Ornette Coleman’s harmolodic theory (specifically the material he wrote for his first Prime Time band) and the 1970s Philadelphia soul and disco scene. To render this concept a reality, Ribot enlisted fellow guitarist Mary Halvorson (who has recorded or toured with Anthony Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, Trevor Dunn and Ches Smith); bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma (who has worked with James Blood Ulmer and many others); and drummer G. Calvin Weston (whose résumé includes Ulmer as well as John Lurie). Both Tacuma and Weston were important to Ribot’s quartet, because both were in Coleman’s Prime Time group. To make things even more interesting, Ribot […]
Shirley Horn, vocals – Live at the 4 Queens – Resonance
Shirley Horn – a unique vocal talent… Shirley Horn – Live at the 4 Queens – Resonance HCD-2015 (1988), 52:43 ***1/2: (Shirley Horn – piano and vocals; Charles Ables – bass; Steve Williams – drums) For far too long Shirley Horn’s fame was confined to the greater Washington, D.C, area, where she resided and raised her daughter. That changed, however, in the mid 1980s, when she began recording for the Verve label. At that time, Verve was a major player on the jazz scene, and Shirley’s unique talents were shown off to a much larger audience. She was a favorite of Miles Davis, and her 1997 album, I Remember Miles, earned her a Grammy for Best Vocal jazz album. Horn recorded nearly 30 albums (mostly for Verve), but it has been almost a decade since new material has been issued. Coming to the rescue, once again, is Zev Feldman, of Resonance Records, super sleuth in discovering live unreleased gems largely from radio sources. As part of a syndicated weekly broadcast at station KNPR (Las Vegas), Shirley was recorded on May 2, 1988 at the 4 Queens club in Vegas. The sound restoration by George Klabin and Fran Gala, is exceptional, […]
![Greg Ward and 10 Tongues – Touch My Beloved’s Thought [Charles Mingus tribute] – Greenleaf Music](https://www.audaud.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/WardGregFramed.jpg)
Greg Ward and 10 Tongues – Touch My Beloved’s Thought [Charles Mingus tribute] – Greenleaf Music
Mingus’ spirit continues to inspire. Greg Ward and 10 Tongues – Touch My Beloved’s Thought [TrackList follows] – Greenleaf Music GRE-CD-1050, 50:55 [7/8/16] ****: (Greg Ward – alto saxophone, co-producer; Tim Haldeman – tenor saxophone; Keefe Jackson – tenor and baritone saxophone; Ben LaMar Gay – cornet; Russ Johnson – trumpet; Norman Palm – trombone; Christopher Davis – bass trombone; Dennis Luxion – piano; Jason Roebke – bass; Marcus Evans – drums) Charles Mingus’ music has inspired, influenced and stimulated artists, listeners and others in many ways. For example, Joni Mitchell took Mingus’ music into the pop realm on her 1979 record, Mingus; and countless jazz musicians have covered Mingus. Chicago saxophonist/composer Greg Ward was asked in 2014 about the possibility of producing a large-ensemble project which could accompany dance choreography, and incorporating elements from Mingus’ 1963 LP, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. The idea became a contemporary and unique presentation which paid homage to Mingus and his spirit via a modern sensibility. The dance/music performance, with music by Ward and his 10 Tongues group, premiered in August, 2015. The live music was taped, and the result is the 50-minute Touch My Beloved’s Thought, a nine-track CD on […]
“Himmelrand” – Hymns from the new Hymnal of the Church of Norway- The Uranienborg Vocal Ens. – 2L
“Himmelrand” – The Uranienborg Vocal Ens. /Elisabeth Holte/ Inger-Lise Ulsrud, organ – 2L 126-SABD – Pure Audio Blu-ray + multichannel SACD, DTS-HD MA 192kHz/24 bit 5.1, DTS-HD MA 96kHz/24 bit, PCM 192kHz/24 bit stereo, Dolby Atmos, 9.1 Auro 3D, mShuttle: stereo MQA 96kHz + MP3 (9/30/16) TT: 61:00 [Dist. by Naxos] ****: Lovely music with a stunning surround recording. Himmelrand is a recent release from 2L and it’s yet another sonic treat from the Norwegian label. In 2013, The Church of Norway adopted their new Hymnal. The goal of this new hymnal was to hold firmly to the traditions of earlier hymn books, and two, bring a modern spin to them with new harmonic ideas. This Nordic hymns are an important part of Scandinavian heritage. The disc offers contains a lovely collection of hymns performed by the Uranienborg Vocal Ensemble conducted by Elisabeth Holte. The group formed in 2002. Besides frequent performances in Norway, the group also tours Europe and the United States. Since this is a 2L disc, it’s reasonable to expect a stunning recording, and that is exactly what we get. The disc offers various formats. A Blu-ray audio disc, with a choice of DTS 5.1 audio, a […]
Audio News for September 27, 2016
Snapchat Introduces Sunglasses with a Video Camera to Record 10-second Videos – This rather bizarre unit will retails for $130 and makes use of a 115-degree lens making all recorded video circular. The idea is that the recorded video will more closely approximate the human eye’s range of vision. It also will come in three colors. Snapchat became an online phenomenon, so perhaps the glasses will too. David Beckham Does Pushups to Live Classical While Drinking Atop a Piano – You can see him on Instagram this week sharing his journey for the 22 Pushup Challenge. It is to bring awareness for service men and women who take their lives post-conflict. In the video, he says “…I’m 79 floors up, I’m lying on top of a piano, and I thought I’d bring a pianist with me…I thought you’d find it romantic.” Black Violin and Other Classical Music Events – On the 23rd the two classical-trained Florida musicians fused hip-hop with pop and classical. The next day was the premiere at Oberlin of What Noises Remain, a one-hour-long work for percussion, electroacoustic sound, text and video. Its basis it eh Shakespeare play The Tempest. The Oberlin Orchestra also gave its first […]
Som Howie, clarinet – “Premiere Rhapsodie” – Works of DEBUSSY, POULENC, BARTOK, RAVEL & Others – Cala
Very rewarding recital from this talented father and son duo. Som Howie, clarinet – “Premiere Rhapsodie” = CLAUDE DEBUSSY: Premiere Rhapsodie; BÉLA KOVACS: Hommage a Manuel de Falla; FRANCIS POULENC: Sonata for clarinet and piano; BÉLA BARTÓK: Romanian Folk Dances; JOHANNES BRAHMS: Sonata No. 1 in F-minor; MAURICE RAVEL: Pièce en forme de Habanera; JOSEPH HOROVITZ: Sonatina for clarinet and piano; TED SNYDER: Who’s Sorry Now; SID PHILLIPS: Clarinet Cadenza – Som Howie, clar./David Howie, p. – Cala CACD77020, 72:51 [Distr. by Albany] (8/09/16) ****: Som Howie is the very definition of young virtuoso. He grew up in in Sydney, Australia and grew up listening to and studying from Mark Walton at the Conservatorium where his dad, David Howie, was also Walton’s regular accompanist. Both are very fine players and this disc offers much to admire; especially for young clarinetists to emulate. This is also a very substantial program containing a few clarinet ‘war horses’ as well as a few lesser played works and new things. In the ‘war horse’ department, Howie’s rendition of the Debussy, the Brahms first Sonata and the Poulenc are all very fine; indeed. The pacing in the Debussy is a little different than what is […]
Maureen Forrester – Berlin, 1955-1963 = Vocal music of MAHLER, LOEWE, BRAHMS, SCHUMANN, SCHUBERT, FRANCK, HAYDN, BRITTEN & others – Audite (3 CDs)
Audite gathers integral Maureen Forrester performances from RIAS that testify to her colossal range. Maureen Forrester – Berlin, 1955-1963 = MAHLER: Five Songs by Friedrich Rueckert; LOEWE: Four Songs, Op. 9; WAGNER: Gretchen am Spinnrade; Wesendonck Lieder; BRAHMS: 8 Gypsy Songs from Op. 103; SCHUBERT: 11 Songs; SCHUMANN: Five Songs; Gedichte der Koenigin Maria Stuart, Op. 135; C.P.E. BACH: Two Songs; J.W. FRANCK: Two Songs; HAYDN: Arianna a Naxos; BRITTEN: A Charm of Lullabies, Op. 41; BARBER: Melodies Passageres, Op. 27; POULENC: La Fraichaeur et le Feu; Le Travail du Peintre – Maureen Forrester, alto/ Hertha Klust, Felix Schroeder & Michael Raucheisen, piano – Audite 21.437 (3 CDs) 62:26, 60:11, 67:27 (8/12/16) [Distr. by Naxos] *****: When we read the biography of Canadian alto Maureen Forrester (1930-2010), we note how many points of commonality she shared with her great British counterpart Kathleen Ferrier in musical associations. Forrester, who found her original impetus into the classical repertory via baritone Bernard Diamant (1912-1999), made her debut in 1951 in Elgar’s The Music Makers. She then found pianist John Newmark, who had gained a reputation after WW II for accompanying Kathleen Ferrier. Forrester’s European debut came in 1955 at the Salle Gaveau; then […]
The Jungle Book, Blu-ray (2016)
A delightful live action family movie version of the Disney animated classic. The Jungle Book, Blu-ray (2016) Only live action human: Neel Sethi Voice-overs: Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johanssen, Christopher Walken, Idris Elba Director: Jon Favreau Studio: Walt Disney 135331 (8/30/16) (also avail. in 3D) Video: 1.85:1 for 16:9 screens, HD 1080p color Audio: English, DTS-HD MA 7.1, DD 5.1 English descriptive audio, Spanish, French Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French Extras: “The Jungle Book Reimangined,” “I Am Mowgli,” King Louie’s Temple: Layer by Layer, Audio commentary during film with director Length: 106 min. Rating: **** This is not the original Disney animated classic of the stories of Rudyard Kipling, but a live action version which closely follows the story of the original but uses modern CGI effects for everything but the live “human cub,” with the various major animals voiced by a string of top celebrities that add a great deal to the English version. The winner is for me the voice (and singing talents) of the amazing Christopher Walken as the gigantic gorilla who lives in a ruined Buddhist temple, although Bill Murray is also wonderful as the bear, Balloo. (In the animated original, Louis Prima voiced the big gorilla.) […]
Tribute to Hans Rosbaud – Works of BERG, WEBERN, SIBELIUS, BARTOK – Rosbaud cond. – Praga Digitals
Praga presents a cross-section of Hans Rosbaud, a conductor who explores and experiments with all music. Tribute to Hans Rosbaud – BERG: Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6; WEBERN: Six Pieces for Large Orch., Op. 6; SIBELIUS: Valse Triste, Op. 44; Tapiola, Op. 112; BARTOK: Sonata for Two Pianos & Percussion – Maria Bergman & Hans Rosbaud, pianos/ Werner Brabinger and Erich Seiler, perc./ SWR Sym. Orch., Baden-Baden/ Berlin Philharmonic (Sibelius)/ Hans Rosbaud – Praga Digitals PRD 250 333, 79:57 (10/7/16) [Distr. by Harmonia mundi/PIAS] ****: Hans Rosbaud was a champion of contemporary music during the pre-stereo era. Hans Rosbaud (1895-1962) remains a vital force in the history of contemporary music, his having championed the work of serial composers, Bartok, and neo-Expressionists at a time when his only serious rivals in these efforts had been Hermann Scherchen and Rene Leibowitz. In the world of more” conventional” musical composition, Rosbaud could be as insightful land emotionally pungent as his colleagues Fricsay, Fuurtwaengler, and Klemperer, though his own approach lay well within the literalist tradition. My late colleague at the New York based “First Hearing” microphone, Richard Kapp, had been a devoted pupil of Rosbaud who never ceased arguing for Rosbaud’s under-rated, […]
Baden Powell, guitar – Images On Guitar – MPS vinyl
Baden Powell – Images On Guitar – MPS 0210990MSW (1971/2016) stereo vinyl, 41:02 ****: Brazil’s legendary guitarist shines on this vinyl re-mastering! (Baden Powell – guitar, vocals; Janine de Walleye – vocal; Ernesto Gonsalves – bass; Alfredo Bessa – atabaque, percussion; Joaquim Paes Henriques – drums) Baden Powell was an influential guitarist. The Brazilian native (and yes, he was named after Boy Scout founder Robert Baden-Powell) was renowned for his embrace of the emerging bossa nova movement. His influence on music was attributed to the connection of Latin jazz to classical music. He eschewed the electric guitar that permeated music in the ‘50s and ‘60s to concentrate on acoustic. His career took hold when his composition, “Samba Triste” was covered by Stan Getz. Powell was a force in popularizing the 2/4 samba meter, and he started recording as a solo artist in 1961. But it was his early seventies catalog with MPS that globalized his popularity. Images On Guitar was initially released by MPS in 1971. The album featured a quartet with guest vocalist Janine de Walleye. Now there is a 180-gram re-mastered vinyl available. The improved technology translates the artistic vision of Powell. Throughout the recording, he expresses a […]
GRUNDSTROM: “An Orchestral Journey” – Omega Studios Orch./Erik Ochnsner – Navona
Very pleasant music that connects and engages. BRIAN WILBUR GRUNDSTROM: “An Orchestral Journey” – Contentment, Poem for Orchestra; Jubilation! Dance for Orchestra; Suite for Chamber Orchestra; American Reflections for Strings and Harp; Chenonceau – Omega Studios Orch./Erik Ochnsner – Navona NV6047 [Distr. by Naxos], 79:56, (8/12/16) ****: Here is a very fine introductory collection of works by a composer new to me; and it is genuinely pleasant, direct and uncomplicated music with an appeal to all. Brian Wilbur Grundstrom was trained as a pianist at Gettysburg College and studied composition with John David Earnest. He is largely self-taught as a composer; one with a gift for melody and a very direct and appealing style. Brian’s music, in this collection, has a very nice and mostly unfettered sound to it; sounding in places like wind ensemble repertoire and, at other times, very theatre ready; conducive to dance and film scores (which he has apparently done much of.) He is also apparently presently working on an opera. One interesting fact about this album, though, is that the Omega Recording Studios is an educational and audio engineering facility and Grundstrom had assembled this group, led by the fine Erik Ochsner, specifically to record […]
Monteux at Tanglewood, Vol. 4 – BEETHOVEN: Sym. No. 2; R. STRAUSS: A Hero’s Life – Pristine Audio
A fourth entry into the Monteux legacy at Tanglewood delivers mirth and heroism, at once. Monteux at Tanglewood, Vol. 4 (1962) – BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36; R. STRAUSS: Ein Heledenleben, Op. 40 – Boston Sym. Orch./ Pierre Monteux – Pristine Audio PASC 481, 72:30 [avail. in various formats from www.pristineclassical.com] ****: Producer Andrew Rose extends his rewarding survey of the Pierre Monteux legacy at Tanglewood, here in 1962, a year in which the famed French maestro appeared six times before his old colleagues of the Boston Symphony. The music of this concert comes to us on 29 July 1962. The reading of the Beethoven Symphony No. 2 (1802) revels in its boundless mirth, despite the fact that at the time of its composition Beethoven felt the first real strains of his oncoming deafness. The first movement has Monteux’s urging his horns to exploit the ceaseless energy of its sudden injections of buoyant vitality. The strings whirl at dizzy pace, the tympani’s marking the cadences with gusto. Berlioz had claimed that the D Major Symphony smiles in every bar. The peroration that Monteux achieves at the coda becomes breathtaking, symmetrical in its ecstasies to the point […]
“Shadow, Echo, Memory” = NW U. Cello Ensemble – Music by ZACHARY WADSWORTH, GABRIEL FAURÉ, MICHAEL VAN DER SLOOT, RACHMANINOV, AARON JAY KERNIS, LIGETI, HANS THOMALLA and MAHLER – Sono Luminus
“Shadow, Echo, Memory” = NW U. Cello Ens. – Music by ZACHARY WADSWORTH, GABRIEL FAURÉ, MICHAEL VAN DER SLOOT, SERGEI RACHMANINOV, AARON JAY KERNIS, GYÖRGY LIGETI, HANS THOMALLA and GUSTAV MAHLER (TrackList follows) Hans Jorgen Jensen, dir. – Sonos Luminus SLE-70004 CD, TT: 63:05 (7/9/16) *****: Hauntingly beautiful cello music. This disc was an unexpected surprise. In my stack of review discs for the month, I placed it near the bottom thinking I would not find it very interesting. Instead, this disc was a pleasure to listen to, containing eight works transcribed for cello ensemble. I should begin by saying I’ve never heard a cello ensemble, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I imagined a small group of cellos, but instead some of these selections feature up to 58 players, mostly cellists, but there are also bass, guitar, percussion and harp. The music on offer includes classical, and contemporary music, some familiar, some not. It’s all excellently presented and very nicely played. Some of these transcriptions, like Ligeti’s Lux Aeterna. I predicted would simply not work for cellos. It did, and it’s lovely. So is Fauré’s Apres Un Reve. Same for the Mahler Adagietto from the Symphony No. 5. […]
The Beach Boys Pet Sounds, Blu-ray (2016)
The definitive authorized story of the early Beach Boys and “Pet Sounds”. The Beach Boys Pet Sounds, Blu-ray (2016) Cast: The Beach Boys, various talking heads Studio: Eagle Vision/Universal EV8335479 Video: for 16:9 screens, HD 1080i color Audio: English, DTS-HD MA, PCM stereo Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese Extras: Additional interviews (30 min) Rating: **** This documentary explores the beginnings of the Beach Boys and preparations for their acclaimed 11th studio album, Pet Sounds. Brian Wilson, the brains behind The Beach Boys, had quit touring about a year before in order to concentrate on writing and recording in the studio. The documentary features archive footage and exclusive interviews, looking at the relationships in the band at the time and the creative process behind what many consider to be one of the most influential albums of the ‘60s. Brian worked in the studio while the rest of the boys were out touring, and he created multi-layered compositions with painstaking attention to details, utilizing orchestration, sound effects and unusual instruments. The band then returned from touring and added their trademarked complex vocal harmonies, with several singing falsetto. The band was highly affected by The Beatles’ Rubber Soul album (as I […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
