Monthly Archive: October 2016
************ Chick Corea (piano) & Bela Fleck (banjo) *********** Two – Concord Jazz
A terrific live 2-CD album covering many genres which you’ll probably play over and over. * Chick Corea (piano) & Bela Fleck (banjo) – Two [TrackList follows] – Concord Jazz CIA-37992-2 (2 CDs) [9/11/15] *****: This is a live version follow-up to an earlier studio album the pair entitled The Enchantment. Ten of the 11 tracks are repeats, but the improvisations go on about twice as long in each case. These are among the best duets ever recorded, and the rather strange combination of banjo and piano go together just perfectly, in a completely enthralling fashion. We didn’t get The Enchantment, but this one is a total winner from start to finish. The communication between these two is amazing – They like having more time and space during their concerts, and clearly love performing and improvising together. Each one gives the other one plenty of room to listen to exactly what they are doing at the moment, and they do this intently and intuitively. Never mind their sometimes corny stage patter when they are talking to the audience, pay attention to the music. The audience goes absolutely wild when Bela says they will be doing a bluegrass number since he played some […]
BERIO: Sinfonia; MAHLER: Ten Early Songs – Goerne, bari./The Synergy Vocals/BBC Sym. Orch./Josep Pons – Harmonia mundi
A great way to reexamine Berio’s genius. LUCIANO BERIO: Sinfonia; GUSTAV MAHLER: Ten Early Songs – Matthias Goerne, bari./The Synergy Vocals/BBC Sym. Orch./Josep Pons – Harmonia mundi/PIAS HMC 902180, 61:11, (9/09/16) ****: The late 1950s and 1960s “new music” movement in Europe or what was the avant-garde of the time took off a little slower in Italy (not particularly known even today as a country that produces a lot of ‘contemporary classical’ music.) There are a lot of reasons for this but certainly to be included on the short list would be Luigi Dallapiccolo, Luigi Nono, composer-conductor Bruno Maderna and the present Luciano Berio; maybe the best and most renowned of the group. Berio had a unique talent and a style that was not embroiled in the twelve-tone serialism movement nor in the aleotoric “chance” music of the time. In fact, the very helpful and well-written program booklet notes by Jeremie Bigorie summarize nicely that Berio truly believed in “Down with Dogma!” Of his many works that earned an international performance life, the one that has survived and flourished to this day with several important recordings available is his Sinfonia for vocal ensemble and large orchestra. It is an iconoclastic […]
“Latino Ladino – Songs of Exile & Passion From Spain” – Ensemble Barrocade/ Ensemble NAYA – Naxos
“Latino Ladino – Songs of Exile & Passion From Spain” – Ensemble Barrocade/ Ensemble NAYA – Naxos 8.2, 66:54 (7-8-16) *****: Unusual folkish music and poetry of Sephardic and other cultures of the 17th century. Extraordinary stuff here, achingly personal and exquisitely lyrical. It’s music and poetry of numerous persecuted and exiled minority cultures that flourished throughout the Mediterranean and South America during the 17th century, the experience of these displaced communities retaining powerful resonance today. What makes this recording of these ancient reflections on beauty, love, joy and sorrow so profoundly expressive of basic human feelings and needs is the haunting voice and vulnerable phrasing of Yaniv d’Or’s haunting countertenor, backed by a folkish Baroque instrumental backdrop that suggests a Fellini fantasy. Singing a deeply moving succession of the ancient story-telling songs linked to European ballad tradition called romancas, the narratives on cultural traditions such as holidays, food and scriptural stories, called coplas; and love songs in the lyric tradition called cantigas, d’Or shows why he has established an international reputation in music from Cavalli and Gluck to Henze and John Wolf Brennan. The outstanding backing musicians, virtuosos steeped in history, represent an international polyglot: The Ensemble NAYA was […]
Esperanza Spalding – Emily’s D+Evolution – Concord
Esperanza Spalding – Emily’s D+Evolution [TrackList follows] – Concord CRE-38265-02, 45:29 (3/04/16) ****: Enter stage right: Esperanza’s artistic evolution! While jazz is predominantly the style you’ll hear emit from her work, Esperanza Spalding transcends the genre on her new full-length album, Emily’s D+Evolution, which shows many alternative and rock-influenced styles, with a passionate theatrical element to the sound. Spalding worked closely with producer Tony Visconti, David Bowie’s primary producer, on several tracks on the album – which could have helped give her this edge. Lyrically, the album pays tribute to her journey by telling the story of Emily, which is Esperanza’s middle name, but also the spirit-muse whose story unfolds throughout this incredibly complex album. At first listen, I initially was unsure of allowing the music to guide my ear on the journey – as it was difficult to define what I was hearing! What pulled me in was giving my attention to the vocals, which have a beautiful unfettered quality displaying her intuitive confidence in every track. Emily sings from the heart. Whether singing as more of a melodic accompaniment, or stealing the stage with her a cappella speak-acting – you can tell that there is not one regretful […]
CRAIG HELLA JOHNSON: Considering Matthew Shepard – Conspirare – Harmonia mundi
Some beautiful choral writing in an emotional tribute. CRAIG HELLA JOHNSON: Considering Matthew Shepard – Conspirare – Harmonia mundi multichannel SACD HMU 807638.39, 105:26, two discs (9/09/16) [Dist. by HM/PIAS] ****: By now, I am sure – or hope – that all readers have at least heard of the horrific 1998 murder of the then twenty-year-old gay college student Matthew Shepard. The fact that he was a young gay man who was hardly what most would consider an “activist” and who essentially executed made his name and his case move to the forefront of the fairly recent gay rights movement. This piece takes, as its emotional base, the relative simplicity of Matthew’s life and the seemingly idyllic setting of Laramie, Wyoming and creates a mood of simple reflection and a certain amount of celebration of Shepard’s existence. This is not a work that goes “over the line” with anger or sadness. The narration – necessarily tough to listen to – comes close but this is one of those stories that, similarly to other landmark human rights cases and crimes over the years, we need to be reminded a bit, actually happened. Craig Hella Johnson is a renowned choral conductor, composer […]
The Infiltrator, Blu-ray (2016)
Just because it didn’t do well in the theaters doesn’t mean this thriller is not well worth seeing. The Infiltrator, Blu-ray (2016) Cast: Bryan Cranston, Diane Kruger, John Leguizamo, Benjamin Bratt Director: Brad Furman Studio: LipSync/ good films/Broadgreen Pictures 941805540 (10/11/16) Video: 2.40:1 for 16:9, 1080 HD color Audio: English & Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish DTS 5.1 Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish Extras: Audio commentary track by director and Bryan Cranston, Deleted scenes, The Three Bobs, How to Infiltrate Length: 127 min. Rating: ****1/2 There were some similarities between this film and the series The Night Manager. This film is based on the true story of a U.S. customs agent who was about to retire, but instead of playing it safe, works undercover under tremendous pressure to take down a huge Columbian money-laundering scheme and cocaine dealers. At any moment, the slightest slip (such as when his suitcase with a tape recorder hidden inside suddenly becomes visible to some of the bad guys) can get him killed. “Bob” Mazur (one of his cover names) finds that he has deeply infiltrated Pablo Escobar’s drug operation in 1986 by posing as a slick money-grubbing businessman. The actor of HBO fame is teamed […]
Audio News for October 11, 2016
Basics of the New Roku Express – It is cheap ($30), easy to use and loaded with streaming apps for your music, but it is slower, especially with Netflix, than alternatives like Comcast. But it may be worth spending a bit extra on a faster streamer for your music. Facebook is Gonna Make VR Social – Facebook is leading the charge of taking over VR by social networks. Onstage at the Oculus Connect 3 Conference, Mark Zuckerberg showed off live VR chat using emotion options which make avatars show facial expressions, to let you look surprised, happy or confused in VR. You can change the backgrounds to live locations such as your home. Zuckerberg said “Virtual reality is the perfect platform to put people first because of presence.” Facebook acquired Oculus in 2014 for one billion dollars. Two Competing Smart Plugs – You do need a smart phone to download the app that runs the smart plug. You can schedule them, track energy useage, control them and speak to them. c|net has a whole page comparing the two. Such a plug can make any pluggable device “smart”: “If you prefer Apple HomeKit as a platform, then the iDevices Switch might […]
RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No. 2 in c; 5 Morceaux for Piano; Vocalise; Romance in A and Valse in A – soloists/Royal Liverpool Phil./ Alexander Vedurnikov – Erato
Rachmaninov large and intimate provides a fine hour for Alexander Tharaud and his associate Alexanders. RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No. 2 in c, Op. 18; 5 Morceaux for Piano, Op. 3; Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14; Romance in A Major and Valse in A Major (for 6 hands) – Sabine Devieilhe, sop./ Alexander Tharaud, p./ Alexander Melnikov and Aleksander Madzar, p./ Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orch./ Alexander Vedernikov – Erato 019029595469, 66:41 (10/21/16) [Distr. by Warner Classics] ****: Alexander Tharaud comments on his recent (rec. 5-7 January 2016) Rachmaninov recording: “I was still quite young when I first played this concerto,” explains Tharaud. “I adored it … Rachmaninov’s virtuosity really appeals to young pianists. Today, of course, I’m still enthralled by the concerto’s virtuosity, but now I’m more interested in its dark shadows: the sense of despair, of staring into the abyss. My interpretation of Rachmaninov has changed a lot over the years.” I cannot attest to any prior recording of the ubiquitous 1900 c minor Concerto by Tharaud, but this performance proves exemplary, with perhaps the finest exposition of the opening Russian-bells sequence in F, crescendo, since the Kapell collaboration with William Steinberg. Lovely flute and clarinet work complements Tharaud at […]
“The Travels of FROBERGER” – Music by FROBERGER and his contemporaries – Magdalena Hasibeder, harpsichords & organ – Raumklang (2 CDs)
“The Travels of FROBERGER” – Music by FROBERGER and his contemporaries – Magdalena Hasibeder, harpsichords and organ – Raumklang (2 CDs) RK 3503, TT: 2:19:13 (6/17/16) [Dist. by Naxos] *****: A magnificent set of keyboard music of Froberger & others. Johann Jacob Froberger’s 400th birthday has inspired a large number of brilliant recorded responses that have both individually and cumulatively brought an immensely influential musical force back into view. Froberger was born in Stuttgart in 1616 and died in 1667 in the service of a widowed Duchess in the House of Württemberg. He traveled extensively and wrote mainly for keyboard instruments and in many forms, so that his influence was felt across the breadth of the burgeoning international (I.e., European) classical music network. He used all the keyboard instruments common at that time; on this recording, the wonderfully expressive Magdalena Hasibeder plays Vienna’s oldest playable organ, built in 1642/43 by Johann Wöckherl and erected in the choir of the Franziskanerkirche. Hasibeder’s harpsichords are an anonymous Italian instrument from the mid-17th century and a two-manual model from Avignon built ca. 1680 and attributed to Claude Labréche, voiced with real quills, and strung in historical iron wire based upon studies of surviving […]
The Case of the Three Sided Dream, Blu-ray (2016)
Cast: Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Joel Dorn, Steve Torre Director: Adam Kahan Studio: Arthaus Music 109252 (8/26/16) Video: for 16:9 screens, HD color 1080p Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Subtitles: English SDH, German, French Extras: Joel Dorn (DJ) talks about Rahsaan; Bright Moments – performed live at Ken Kesey’s, 1977 Length: 107 min. Rating: **** Rahsaan Roland Kirk, who died in 1977, was a genuinely unique artist who did not use his multi-instruments capability as a “gimmick” in any way. His technical and aesthetic abilities are unimpeachable. He had a delightful sense of humor and great social consciousness. He was blinded in early childhood by the nurse putting too much silver nitrate in his eyes. He says his name of Rahsaan came to him from God in a dream (dreams were very important to him), but it was actually his birth middle name. He was not a Black Muslim. Rahsaan liked to call jazz “black classical music” and he had an amazing knowledge of music history. This is a wonderful portrait of a remarkable man and musician, though it is unfortunate that Yusef Lateef – with which he often performed – is not included in the film along with DJ Joel Dorn. There are many […]
Dave Stryker, guitar – Eight Track II – Strikezone
Making the oldies new. Dave Stryker, guitar – Eight Track II [TrackList follows] – Strikezone 8814, 65:47 [9/2/16] ****: (Dave Stryker – guitar/ Steve Nelson – vibraphone/ Jared Gold – organ/ McClenty Hunter – drums) Guitarist Dave Stryker once again gets the gold—AM Gold, that is—on Eight Track II, his sequel to 2014’s Eight Track. The 66-minute Eight Track II follows the same approach as Eight Track: soul-jazz interpretations of Baby Boomer songs which filled the AM (and FM) radio waves, the soundtrack of an earlier era. This time out, Stryker does striking renditions of material associated with Prince, two from Stevie Wonder, two by Marvin Gaye, some British rockers (Cream and the Zombies) and others which continue to circulate on oldies broadcast formats. This isn’t mere reminisce or nostalgia. Stryker is too determined and too perceptive to just do jazzy takes of familiar riffs, themes and melodies. Rather, Stryker and his band spin, twist and re-arrange most of the material to give tunes a new life, a different perspective, and help listeners redefine how they might experience this well-known music. Stryker and his trio—vibraphonist Steve Nelson and drummer McClenty Hunter—are joined by guest Hammond B-3 organist Jared Gold (who […]
RAMEAU: Dardanus (complete opera), Blu-ray (2016)
Rameau is always worth seeing as well as hearing, even in a piece as whacky as this. [This is our free drawing for October!] RAMEAU: Dardanus (complete opera), Blu-ray (2016) Performers: Reinoud Van Mechelen (Dardanus)/ Gaëlle Arquez (Iphise)/ Karina Gauvin (Venus)/ Florian Sempey (Anténor)/ Nahuel Di Pierro (Teucer, Isménor)/ Katherine Watson (Un Songe/ Amour)/ Etienne Bazola (Berger)/ Virgile Ancely (Un Songe)/ Guillaume Gutiérrez (Un Songe)/ Ensemble Pygmalion/ Raphaël Pichon Producer: Michel Fau Studio: Harmonia mundi/PIAS 9859051.52 2015 Video: 16:9 HD 1080i fir 16:9 Audio: PCM stereo 2.0, DTS-HD MA 5.1 Subtitles: German, English, French No region code Length: 3 hr. 12 min. 24 sec. Bonus: Dardanus: Behind the Scene (Blu-ray only), 20 min. Rating: **** Dardanus is opera number six out of the composer’s 30-odd creations in the genre. The court of Louis XV was a gaudy, irascible time for spectacular productions—the kitsch present in this age is something that many directors have attempted to avoid or at least soften. Not here. This production embraces it as a legitimate and even beautiful expression of style that so marked the transitional time between Rameau and Lully, rivals at the time, but more exacerbated by their followers. In fact, after the 1739 […]
HANDEL: Piano Concertos – Matthias Kirschnereit, p./ Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss/ Lavard Skou Larsen – CPO
HANDEL: Piano Concertos, Op. 7 – Matthias Kirschnereit, piano/ Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss/ Lavard Skou Larsen – CPO multichannel SACD 777855-2; 75:02 (8-12-16) [Distr. by Naxos] *****: A wonderful surround recording of the Op. 7 piano concertos of Handel. In 2013, Matthias Kirschnereit recorded Handel’s Six Organ Concertos Op. 4 on piano, backed by the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss, across the Rhine from Düsseldorf, conducted by Lavard Skou Larsen. I listened to that CD many times, not just enchanted but with a sense of Handel transformed. Even more than Bach, Handel’s musical magnificence in his many organ concertos is so openly-scored that the depth and beauty of these concertos can be heard in full on virtually any instrumental configurations. It was then, and remains now for me, a discovery akin to hearing Glenn Gould playing the Goldberg Variations for the first time, but with a far greater knowledge and understanding of the Baroque aesthetic. Kirschnereit writes in his notes, “It is known that Handel enlivened his performances with embellishments and variations. Everything is set, everything is spontaneous – for me a balancing act! In fact quite a lot of the ornaments, varied playing figures, and cadenzas emerged during the recordings!” The surround sound, […]
DOWLAND: Lachrimae or Seven Tears – Phantasm – Linn
JOHN DOWLAND: Lachrimae or Seven Tears – Phantasm – Linn multichannel SACD CKD 527, 57:00 (8-12-16) [Distr. by Naxos] *****: Phantasm just keep doing excellent recordings of early music. This new audiophile recording, featuring lutenist Elizabeth Kenny and Phantasm, directed by Laurence Dreyfus, takes listeners on a refreshingly varied Dowland soundscape in which sublime sadness, grief, anger and melancholy is consoled by moments of joy and gladness. Dowland’s exceptional melodies combined with Phantasm’s luxuriantly rich sound really is a match made in heaven. Half in jest, I asked Phantasm why they need a director on a recording by five musicians. Here is Phantasm’s wonderful answer: “Some viol consorts are more democratic groupings, but Laurence Dreyfus founded and has directed Phantasm since they were first formed in 1994 and he’s been called director on each of their 17 or so recordings since then. The idea was first to develop a unified approach to sound and ‘interpretation’ – Dreyfus also works on all editions and manuscript sources when needed as Phantasm make their way through the entire tradition of English viol music along with Bach’s Art of Fugue (and still to come, some French and Italian repertoires), and it shows, we think, […]
Peter Brendler, doublebass – Message in Motion – Positone
Peter Brendler, doublebass – Message in Motion – Positone PR8156, 56:39 (7/15/16) ****: The bass leads the way. (Peter Brendler – doublebass/ Rich Perry – tenor sax /Peter Evans – trumpet /Vinnie Sperrazza – drums /Ben Monder – guitar) It is easy to overlook the bass in a jazz ensemble. It is the least noisy and attention-grabbing instrument. However, its importance can hardly be overstated. As always when I discover a new bassist, I listen in on my Sennheiser 600 headphones with rapt attention to the footfalls of the walking bass, which are a sure path through the music. The quarter-notes are a way of finding the complexities of the harmony. I like to think of the bass – especially in the absence of a chordal instrument– as the brains of the ensemble which thus thinks from the bottom up. A superior bassist exemplifies Henry David Thoreau’s dictum that “walking is a kind of thinking.” As long as the bass stays on the trail, one cannot get too lost. The CD under review here “Message in Motion” offers a good example of ‘basic’ virtues. The leader of the group, Baltimore-based Peter Brendler, was unknown to me before this debut recording […]
Into The Forest, Blu-ray (2016)
A very realistic apocalyptic story that rings as perfectly true prophesy. Into The Forest, Blu-ray (2016) Cast: Ellen Page, Evan Rachel Wood, Max Minghella, Callum Keith Rennie Director: Patricia Rozema Studio: Lionsgate (10/4/16) Video: 1.85:1 for 16:9 screen, 1080p HD color Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish Extras: “The Making of Into the Forest,” Audio commentary track with writer/director Patricia Rozema Length: 104 min. Rating: **** Set in the near future, this riveting apocalyptic drama follows two sisters whose heretoforth fairly peaceful lives are disrupted by a world-wide power outage. The sisters (in the NorthWest) must work together in order to survive, and their world becomes increasingly treacherous. Their father dies suddenly and they are left alone some miles from the nearest town with only enough gas to get there for an emergency. All transportation, internet, electricity, gas and deliveries are stopped. One of the sisters is raped by a neighbor and they have to birth and care of the baby. When they return to their house after the birth of the baby in a hut nearby, the house is full of black mold and one of the sisters suggests burning it down, so they do. One […]
HANDEL: Giulio Cesare (complete opera) (2016)
May the good Lord spare us from these kinds of inanities. HANDEL: Giulio Cesare (complete opera) (2016) Performers: Cecilia Bartoli (Cleopatra)/ Andreas Scholl (Cesare)/ Philippe Jaroussky (Sesto)/ Anne Sofie von Otter (Cornelia)/ Christophe Dumaux (Tolomeo)/ Ruben Drole (Achilla)/ Jochen Kowalski (Nireno)/ Peter Kálmán (Curio)/ Il Giardino Armonico/ Giovanni Antonini Directors: Moshe Leiser, Patrice Caurier Studio: Decca 074 3856 2016 (5/20/16) Video: 16:9 color Audio: Dolby Digital stereo, DTS 5.1 Subtitles: German, English, French No region code Length: 249 min. Rating: ** Why some critics salivate over this kind of nonsense is beyond me. Opera Today called this 2012 production, the first of Cecilia Bartoli’s tenure as Artistic Director of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival, a “dynamite new production”. Really? Do we need to see Bartoli, dressed as a cheap Clockwork Orange type prostitute, riding a rocket off into the air while singing an aria? Or performing “Piangerò la sorte mia” on her knees with hands bound and a bag over her head? Or watch an immensely disgusting Tolomeo masturbate while looking at pornographic pictures? I’m no puritan, but I do insist on intelligence in opera, and directors Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier deserve some kind of award for displaying absolutely none here. […]
Mordecai Shehori, p.: Learning by Example Series, Vol. 4 = Pieces by BEETHOVEN, SCHUMANN, DUSSEK, DIABELLI, MASSENET & Others – Mordecai Shehori, p. – Cembal d’amour
Listen and learn’ serves as the satisfying rubric for this diverse excursion into the music of many styles. Mordecai Shehori: Learning by Example Series, Vol. 4 = DUSSEK: Allegro in G Major; DIABELLI: Bagatelle in C Major; HAYDN: “Gypsy” Rondo; BEETHOVEN: Gertrude’s Dream Waltz; “Rage Over a Lost Penny,” Op. 129; SCHUMANN: Traeumerei, Op. 15, No. 7; The Prophet Bird; GRIEG: Papillon; WALDTEUFEL: The Skaters Waltz; FIELD: Nocturne in B-flat Major; FAURE: Romance sans Paroles; MASSENET: Melodie; DEBUSSY: Clair de Lune; Deux Arabesques; Reverie; A. RUBINSTEIN: Romance in E-flat Major; ALBENIZ: Malaguena; SCRIABIN: Album Leaf; KABALEVSKY: Having Fun; JOPLIN: The Cascades – Mordecai Shehori, piano – Cembal d’amour 184, 70:33 (8/1/16) *****: The first piece I sought out on Mordecai Shehori’s latest “Learning by Example” disc (rec. 6/16) was Beethoven’s 1795 “gypsy” rondo in G Major, his “Rage over a Lost Penny.” Ever deceptive in its innocent lightness and charm, this work establishes a pattern – 56 measures long – of repeats in the left hand with an ascent in the right that move from G Major to e minor and then back to g minor. Beethoven exploits this “ternary” pattern throughout, with modulations to A-flat Major and E Major […]
“Into Great Silence” (2007)
A magnificent and entrancing glimpse into the sounds of silence. “Into Great Silence” (2007) DISC ONE, THE FILM Director: Philip Gröning Actors: The Carthusian Order Studio: Zeitgeist Films Z1094 (10/23/07) Video: 1.85:1, 16:9 transfer, created from hi-def elements Audio: English, French, Latin DD 5.1 Subtitles: English Region 1 coding Extras: U.S. theatrical trailer DISC TWO, THE EXTRAS: The Making of Into Great Silence : With behind-the-scenes footage, Location photos and handwritten notes from monks Additional scenes, including a segment on the preparation of the Carthusian’s world-famous Chartreuse liqueur; Night Mass The Carthusian Order: An informative guide to the rules, architecture, and daily schedules of the monks and the monasteries; Photo, poster, and press kit galleries Producer: Shannon Attaway Video: for 16:9 screens, color, no music or narration (2 DVDs) Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English No region code Length: 162 min., Extras: 53 min. Rating: ***** B000OYNVOY The Carthusians have always been one of the most esoteric and mythical of all the western religious orders. For those who aren’t familiar with them, they were founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and include both monks and nuns. They are a Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics that combines both seclusion […]
Audio News for October 7, 2016
Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Starts Today – The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest starts today, October 7, from noon to 7 pm, in the Denver Marriott Tech Center. The three-day audio show, which ends on October 9 at 4pm, promises 128 exhibit rooms, 32 vendor displays, plus three more in the parking lot, 332 exhibit companies, and, at 62 exhibits, and a CanJam for headphone aficianados. Stellavox Reference Recordings – Kostas Metaxas had an ambitious project creating hi own library of reference recording which can be used to create the ultimate playback system. He says that many manufacturers are already using some of his tracks to “voice” their equipment. He is stuck on the Stellavox SM8 and SU8 decks, one of which he purchased on eBay and and had refurbished by an expert in Switzerland. He also uses a Stellavox AMI48 modified mixer, and modified Neumann TLM50 mics plus a pair of Newmann M150 tube mics. There is an interview with Mark Levinson on YouTube about how Metaxas was inspired by Stellavox, and some of his albums can by purchased as actual copies of the master tapes from Todor Dimitrov. An Immersive VR Experience at a Kansas Convention Center – […]
PUCCINI: La Boheme (complete opera), C Major Blu-ray (2016)
It’s hard to divorce this release from recent events. PUCCINI: La Boheme (complete opera), Blu-ray (2016) Performers: Daniela Dessì (Mimì)/ Fabio Armiliato (Rodolfo)/ Alessandro Luongo (Marcello)/ Alida Berti (Musetta)/ Federico Longhi (Schaunard)/ Marco Spotti (Colline)/ Angelo Nardinocchi (Benoit/Alcindoro)/ Ugo Tarquini (Parpignol)/ Marco Simonelli (Sergente dei doganieri)/ Jacopo Bianchini (Un doganiere)/ Orchestra and Choir of the Puccini Festival Torre del Lago/ Valerio Galli Director: Ettore Scola Studio: C Major 736204 2014 Video: 16:9 HD 1080i, color Audio: PCM stereo 2.0, DTS-HD MA 5.1 Subtitles: Italian, German, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese No region code Length: 123 min. Rating: **** There is something particularly pathetic, in Act 3 of this production, hearing Mimi utter the words “Alas, I am dying.” For the magnificent soprano playing her, Daniela Dessi, died just a couple of months ago in August from colon cancer that she had just begun receiving treatment for, and the opera world is still in shock from the news. She had promised to be back on stage in October, so something obviously went horribly wrong between prognosis and treatment. Her husband and longtime singing partner, and the Rodolfo in this production, Fabio Armiliato, messaged: ‘A short, horrible and incomprehensible illness has […]
RACHMANINOV: Variations on a Theme of Chopin; Variations on Theme of Corelli – Marianna Prjevalskaya, p. – Fanfare Cincinnati
Strong virtuosity and intelligent virtuosity mark pianist Prjevalskaya’s sojourn into Rachmaninov variations. RACHMANINOV: Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22; Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42 – Marianna Prjevalskaya, p. – Fanfare Cincinnati FC-008, 51:30 (6/10/16) [Distr. by Naxos] *****: Marianna Prjevalskaya (b. 1982), gold medal winner of the 2013 Cincinnati World Piano Competition, performs (rec. 20-24 July 2015) two sets of Rachmaninov variations, each respectively a testament to the composer’s love for Chopin and Liszt. Prjevalskaya recorded these Rachmaninov works in the Robert J. Werner Recital Hall at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. The more neglected of the sets, those composed in 1902-30 on Chopin’s c minor Prelude from Op. 28, presents a major challenge to composer, interpreter, and audience alike. What may appear as a relatively static piece – rather a study in gradations of tone – become via Rachmaninov’s sense of tone-color and harmonic exploration, increasingly complex, increasing their depth and vertical density. A large song-form in structure, the variations fall into three broad sections: 1-10, which share the c minor tonality; 11-18, which exploit lyrical and contrapuntal aspects of the music’s potential; and 19-22, which close the large arc of the […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
