Monthly Archive: February 2017
Audio News for February 28, 2017
Home Electronics Spying on You? – The convenience of your Amazon Echo and Google Home could come at a cost, according to some security experts. The “wake word” is either “Alexa” for the Echo or “Hey, Google” for Google Home, but in order to recognize those words, the two devices are, by definition, listening to everything you say, even when you think your are out of earshot. That’s just a bit scary. And it’s not just those two companies who can access your devices. Somehow outside your home can access your machine and potentially use these items to spy on you. One security expert says “Make sure you have a firewall, and certainly use antivirus and malware software on your computers.” Google Home Adds Voice Shopping – You can now order everyday items just by asking Google Home. You’ll have to set up a default address and payment method, of course. Just to the Google Home app More Settings and select Payment under the Google Account Setting section. Agree to the terms, enter your card information and billing address under Payment Method. Follow the on-screen prompts and select your delivery address. Over 50 retailers already participate and thru April 30 […]
CSI: CYBER – TV Series, Final Season (2016)
We are all potential targets in this exciting CSI finale season of TV episodes. CSI: CYBER – TV Series, Final Season (2016) Actors: Patricia Arquette, James Van Der Beek, Charley Koontz, Shad Moss, Ted Danson, Hayley Kiyoko Studio: CBS SVS/ Paramount [5 discs] (9/6/16) Video: for 16:9 screens, Tehnicolor Audio: English Dolby 5.1 Extras: Hack My Ride, Kelly Osbourne visits CSI:CYBER, Behind the Firewall: Season 2 of CSI: CYBER, Mr. Russell Goes to Washington, Pixel Perfect, The Sounds of Cyber, Gag Reel, Deleted Scenes from episodes Length: 753 min. for all 18 episodes Rating: ****1/2 Technology is somewhat on our side thanks to the capable staff at CSI: CYBER. I liked the Ted Danson role, applying his traditional (though getting into all the latest Networking gadgetry) experience in forensics to the many cutting-edge threats. Pat Arquette plays the terrific director of the cyber-crime section, and uses her knowledge of behavioral psychology to understand the all-too-human personalities working for her. The super-skilled team (which includes two supposedly “black hat” super-hackers serving their time) takes on the constantly-evolving tactics of the next generation of networking crime. They are now using their skills for justice, and often achieve it. The leading analyst can […]
Manchester by the Sea, Blu-ray (2016)
A real downer of a film but worth watching, perhaps twice. Manchester by the Sea, Blu-ray (2016) Actors: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges Director: Kenneth Lonergan Studio: The Farm/ Lionsgate [2/21/17] (2 discs) Video: 1.85:1 for 16:9 screens, 1080p color HD Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish Extras: Conversation with writer/dir. Kenneth Lonergan, Deleted scenes, “Emotional Lives” – The Making of Manchester by the Sea Length: 137 min. Rating: ****1/2 The Ebert site said this was a very depressing film, and it was, but with terrific acting that made you feel you were really a part of the story on the screen. Casey Affleck plays a working-class man recently divorced and overpowered by losses and love. You might grasp the complexity of the various characters on a second viewing and appreciate it more. Do not view it if you are in a bad mood to begin with. Now wonder the film has five Golden Globe Nominations, which is highly promoted in the publicity for the film. There is humor in the film, but just enough to not make it a total downer. You think that towards the end he will fall for the mother […]
ROBERT WARD: The Crucible – Purchase Opera/Jacques Trussel, artistic dir./Purchase Sym./Hugh Murphy – Albany (2 CDs)
An important American masterwork given a very fine performance. ROBERT WARD: The Crucible – Purchase Opera/Jacques Trussel, artistic dir./Purchase Sym./Hugh Murphy – Albany TROY 1656/1657, 2 CDs: 113:54, (1/01/17) ***1/2: Robert Ward (1917-2013) was Eastman and Juilliard-trained and even studied with Aaron Copland for a bit. His opera, The Crucible, after the play by Arthur Miller won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize. It is a fine work, indeed, and for a variety of reasons became Ward’s ‘signature’ work; the one by which he is most remembered. I remember hearing the original cast recording on vinyl many years ago. If I had a copy of the CRI release, I sure cannot find it, unfortunately! So kudos to Albany for releasing this recording of Ward’s The Crucible with a libretto by Bernard Stambler. Miller’s play, upon which Stambler’s libretto is based, was directly relevant to the Sen. Joe McCarthy anti-Communist ‘witch-hunt’ indictments and trials of the 1950s. In fact, Miller, himself, was summoned to appear before the House “Un-American Activities Committee” and he was cited for contempt of Congress when he refused to ‘finger’ potential ‘Communists’ in the arts in the United States. This really is, still, a very fine work that pays […]
BEETHOVEN: Missa solemnis in D – Soloists/ Arnold Schoenberg Chor /Concentus Musicus Wien /Nicholas Harnoncourt ‒ Sony
BEETHOVEN: Missa solemnis in D Major, Op. 123 ‒ Laura Aikin, sop./ Bernarda Fink, alto / Johannes Chum, tenor/ Ruben Drole, bass/ Arnold Schoenberg Chor /Concentus Musicus Wien /Nicholas Harnoncourt ‒ Sony 88985313592, 81:00 (7/15/16) ***1/2: Harnoncourt was a great Beethoven conductor, but his final recording is not entirely successful. Did you know that Beethoven notated over thirty different tempo markings in his Missa solemnis? Neither did I. That’s just one of the wonderful bits of information you can glean if you take time to read the program notes that come along with recordings. Another interesting fact is that Nicholas Harnoncourt’s first seven performances of the Missa solemnis were delivered not from the podium but from a chair in the cello section of the Vienna Symphony. Apparently, none of these performances seemed to capture the essence of the work for him. Indeed, only as he prepared for his own first performance of the work as conductor, in 1988, did he fully come to terms with Beethoven’s difficult masterpiece. Harnoncourt wrote about the experience, “All that had seemed to me to be empty bathos suddenly turned into the opposite.” Empty bathos? Wow! Those seven prior performances not only left him with […]
MENDELSSOHN: Songs Without Words; Andante and Rondo capriccioso – Ania Dorfmann, p. – Pristine Audio (2 CDs)
Mark Obert-Thorn restores Ania Dorfmann’s impressive effort in the complete set of Mendelssohn’s poetic tone-pictures. MENDELSSOHN: Songs Without Words; Andante and Rondo capriccioso, Op. 14 – Ania Dorfmann, p. – Pristine Audio PAKM 069 (2 CDs), TT: 2:12:21 [avail. in various formats from www.pristineclassical.com] ****: In his extensive “Producer’s Note,” Mark Obert-Thorn justly laments the fact that Russian pianist Ania Dorfamnn (1899-1984) remains in the collective memory of classical music enthusiasts as a “singular success,” her having recorded the C Major Beethoven Piano Concerto with Arturo Toscanini. Happily, thanks to the compact disc medium, much of her recorded legacy – excepting the Chopin waltzes – has returned, documentation of her wide-ranging gifts in Romantic repertory, with an occasional visit to contemporary music, specifically Menotti. Obert-Thorn restores her survey of the complete Mendelssohn Songs Without Words (rec. October – December 1956) and the brilliant Rondo capriccioso (12-13 January 1953), salon works in eight books that frequently attain a modest virtuoso status. Mendelssohn, himself a fine pianist, often writes left-hand accompaniments that demand wide leaps, while the fleetest of these miniatures asks for a firm tenor or soprano melodic line. When the RCA Victor set (LM 6128) had a review in […]
BEETHOVEN: Coriolan Ov.; Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major “Eroica” – Vienna Philharmonic Orch./ Berlin Philharmonic Orch./ W. Furtwaengler – Pristine Audio
BEETHOVEN: Coriolan Overture, Op. 62; Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 “Eroica” – Vienna Philharmonic Orch. (Op. 55)/ Berlin Philharmonic Orch. (Op. 62)/ Wilhelm Furtwaengler – Pristine Audio PASC 488, 62:07 [avail. in various formats from www.pristineclassical.com] *****: Great performances in the best sound by the great Futwaengler from the World War II era. Given the extensive commentary and analytical documentation regarding these two wartime performances by Furtwaengler – the Coriolan (27-30 June 1943) and the Eroica (19-20 December 1944) – especially from John Ardoin, I can hardly shed new light upon these recordings. What they do testify to, given their ferocity and intensity, asserts that Furtwaengler’s greatest, humanistic, creative powers emerged at precisely the wrong moment in cultural history, while surrounded by the nadir of political regimes. Perhaps it doesn’t so much surprise us that Furtwaengler meant to suppress legally any document of the occasion, when the Urania label (in 1953) brought out this performance of the Eroica. The terrific tension that suffuses every measure – even more concentrated in the Marche funebre – gives us the impression of an Atlas whose shoulders bear the weight of the world, at least its aesthetic if not its moral, character. […]
BEETHOVEN: Violin Sonata in A Major; Violin Sonata No. 4 in a; Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major – Zanta Hofmeyr, v./ Ilia Radoslavov, p. – Blue Griffin
Energetic, well-crafted readings of three selected Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano. BEETHOVEN: Violin Sonata in A Major, Op. 12, No. 2; Violin Sonata No. 4 in a, Op. 23; Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1 – Zanta Hofmeyr, v./ Ilia Radoslavov, p. – Blue Griffin BGR425, 57:45 (1/9/17) [Distr. by Albany] ****: Recorded 13-15 March 2016, these three Beethoven sonatas from these two gifted enthusiasts, Zanta Hofmeyr and Ilia Radoslavov, enjoy an immediacy of effect quite captivating, given the crisp articulation from their respective instruments. The 1799 A Major Sonata (dedicated to Antonio Salieri) sails in easy, neat triplet figures between the two principals in its opening Allegro vivace, whose “striving for strange modulations” irritated one contemporary reviewer of the work. Like the opening movement, the Andante proceeds by patient imitation, intoning a sweet tune in a minor and then weaving a lyrical aria, dolce et legato, between them. Beethoven saves his quietly revolutionary new style – at least insofar as Mozart and Haydn had been predecessors – for his Allegro piacevole finale, in which syncopations and shifts in dynamics keep both players and listeners absorbed. Beethoven’s sense of humor exhibits itself in the […]
Eric VLOEIMANS / Holland Baroque Society – Old, New and Blue – Channel Classics
Eric VLOEIMANS / Holland Baroque Society – Old, New and Blue – Channel Classics multichannel SACD 35613, 63:05 (12/10/13) *****: (Eric Vloeimans; trumpet/ Marc Constandse; bandeon/ Judith Steenbrink; violin and director) A spectacular collaboration between Dutch genre-hopping trumpeter and Holland’s leading early music ensemble. Dutch jazz has for a long time now distinguished itself from the adjacent Germano-Nordic musical culture through a quality that might best be described as affable eccentricity. While there is no shortage of musical prowess or brainy innovation, what predominates in so many performances I have seen and heard is a lively theatricality, sometimes bordering on the absurd. As long ago as 1967, the ICP Orchestra (Instant Composers Pool) was founded around an original almost game-like concept of improvisation. The founders of the group, Hans Bennick and Misha Mengelberg, played with Eric Dolphy in the heady days of the ‘60s avant-garde and along the way, imbibed the ideals of intensity and freedom. However, in their own interpretation of this radical aesthetic, they evolved counter-balancing notions of comic fun, group interaction, and compositional cleverness equally distributed. So for two generations now, the group has held up the banner of a distinct musical performance, while spinning off many […]
Curtis Stigers, vocals – One More For The Road – with The Danish Radio Big Band – Concord Jazz
Curtis Stigers – One More For The Road – with The Danish Radio Big Band – Concord Jazz CJA00011, 33:28 ***: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. (Curtis Stigers – vocals; The Danish Radio Big Band) Charles Caleb Colton, an English cleric of the 19th Century, offered the following quotation: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. Curtis Stigers provides his own interpretation of this quote with his release One More For The Road, in which he covers ten songs that are inextricably associated with the late, great, Frank Sinatra. Accompanied by the super-charged Danish Radio Big Band using transcribed arrangements from the original sources such as Billy May, Nelson Riddle, and Quincy Jones, Stigers works the numbers to his best advantage. However in doing so, one is always faced with fact that the master is still the master, and comparisons end up to be a mugs game. With that caveat in mind, Stigers has a voice that is in the same range as Sinatra’s but without the swagger. However he tackles each number with gusto, and since most of the tunes are up-tempo affairs, he appears to be fully at home with the material. Anyone familiar with the […]
Russian Ballet Transcriptions for 2 Pianos = STRAVINSKY, BORODIN, TCHAIKOVSKY, KHACHATURIAN – Piano 21
Cyrpien Katsaris and Etsuko Hirose provide fingers and firepower to a compilation of Russian ballet favorites. Russian Ballet Transcriptions = STRAVINSKY: The Firebird – Suite No. 2; BORODIN: Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor, Act II; TCHAIKOVSKY: Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66: Adagio; The Nutcracker – Suite, Op. 71a; Swan Lake, Op. 20: 3 Dances; KHACHATURIAN: Gayaneh: Sabre Dance and Lezginka – Cyprien Katsaris and Etsuko Hirose, pianos – Piano 21 P 21 056-N, 76:06 (1/20/17) [www.cyprienkatsaris.net] ****: Hearing this 2016 performance of Stravinsky’s The Firebird – Suite (1919) in Achilleas Wastor’s 2-piano arrangement, I could well recall director Jan Kounen’s 2010 Stravinsky & Coco Chanel and its dramatized (and apocryphal) evolution of the ballet music for Le Sacre du Printemps. We feel through the excellent ensemble of Katsaris and Hirose – in this world premier recording – the evocation of those colors the orchestra will realize, along with Stravinsky’s use of the 50 Russian Folksongs that aided Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, especially in the latter’s Op. 31 Sinfonietta on Russian Themes. The two keyboards literally purr in the Ronde des princesses and then explode with flatulent fire in the Danse infernale du roi Kastchei. Though I miss the ineffable harp’s entry for […]
Mordecai Shehori – The Celebrated New York Concerts, Vol. 10 = SCHUBERT: Impromptu in f, D, No. 1; CHOPIN: Piano Sonata No. 3 in b; Mazurka in c-sharp; PROKOFIEV: Romeo and Juliet: Dance of the Girls with Lillies, The Montagues and the Capulets, Suggestion Diabolique; SHEHORI: Lament – In Memory of 9/11/2001 Victims; GLUCK: Melodie from Orfeo – Mordecai Shehori, p. – Cembal d’amour
The tenth of the Shehori New York recitals gives us a composite of gorgeously-rendered works. Mordecai Shehori – The Celebrated New York Concerts, Vol. 10 = SCHUBERT: Impromptu in f, D. 935, No. 1; CHOPIN: Piano Sonata No. 3 in b, Op. 58; Mazurka in c-sharp, Op. 30, No. 4; PROKOFIEV: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 75: Dance of the Girls with Lillies, The Montagues and the Capulets;, Suggestion Diabolique, Op. 4, No. 4; SHEHORI: Lament – In Memory of 9/11/2001 Victims; GLUCK: Melodie from Orfeo – Mordecai Shehori, p. – Cembal d’amour CD 186, 58:00 (1/29/17) [www.cembaldamour.com] ****: Mordecai Shehori offers a compilation of New York recitals on a CD he proudly calls “my most beautiful one that will challenge anyone, even among the great dead ones.” Certainly beauty of tone appears to dominate the ethos of this collection of works performed 1985-2001 at Merkin Concert Hall and Alice Tully Hall. The majority of compositions – the first eight bands on the disc – derive from a successful traversal of Schubert, Chopin, and Prokofiev works, of which the great 1844 b minor Sonata of Chopin dominates the stage. Not that the Schubert f minor Impromptu lacks power or lyric drama. […]
DVORAK: Piano Trio in f; Piano Trio in e, “Dumky” – Trio Wanderer – Harmonia mundi
Splendid renditions of Dvorak’s two late Piano Trios, part of Trio Wanderer’s thirtieth-year offerings. DVORAK: Piano Trio in f, Op. 65; Piano Trio in e, Op. 90 “Dumky” – Trio Wanderer – Harmonia mundi HMM 90228, 65:13 (2/24/17) *****: Recorded January 2016, this fine CD brings together two of Dvorak’s potent piano trios as performed by the sumptuously elegant Trio Wanderer, now celebrating its thirtieth anniversary. More than one commentator has applied the epithet “Brahmsian” to the f minor Trio of 1883, which tends to take its cues from the Brahms Piano Quintet in the same key. The broad opening movement, a powerhouse of musical concision and polyphonic richness, features aggressive ensemble as well individual bravura from all three players, and Raphael Pidoux’s cello sings with especial resonance. Bur no less do the violin parts from Phillips-Varjabedia and the sterling piano playing by Vincent Coq impart a colossal grasp of the music at hand, as intimate as it is dramatic in its dotted rhythms. Dvorak’s capacity to create seamless transitions has already manifested itself in this dark work, akin to elements of the Symphony No. 7. If the urgent stresses and nostalgic moments of conflict betray any precise model, we […]
SHAKESPEARE: Hamlet & Othello (comp.productions by Royal Shakespeare Co.), Blu-ray (2016)
SHAKESPEARE: Hamlet & Othello (comp.productions by Royal Shakespeare Co.), Blu-ray (2016) SHAKESPEARE: Hamlet ‒ Paapa Essiedu, Hamlet / Natalie Simpson, Ophelia / Cyril Nri, Polonius / Clarence Smith, Claudius / Tanya Moodie, Gertrude / Hiran Abeysekera, Horatio / Marcus Griffiths, Laertes / Ewart James Walters, Ghost; Gravedigger / James Conney, Rosencrantz / Bethan Cullinane, Guildenstern / Kevin N Golding, Bernardo / Priest, Player King / Theo Ogundipe, Fortinbras; Marcellus; Lucianus / Doreene Blackstock, Player Queen / Marième Diouf, Cornelia; Player / Romayne Andrews, Osric / Eke Chukwu, Voltimand / Simon Godwin, Director / Royal Shakespeare Company ‒ Opus Arte Blu-ray OA 807172 D, 180 min., main features; 5 min., extras (10/28/16) ****: SHAKESPEARE: Othello ‒ David Ajao, Montano / Nadia Albina, Duke of Venice / Scarlett Brookes, Bianca / James Corrigan, Roderigo / Ayesha Dharker, Emilia / Eva Feiler, Citizen of Venice / Owen Findlay, Gentleman of Cyprus / Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Cassio / Guy Hughes, Soldier / Gwilym Lloyd, Gratiano / Rina Mahoney, Citizen of Venice; Messenger / Lucian Msamati, Iago / Ken Nwosu, Gentleman of Cyprus / Brian Protheroe, Brabantio / Hugh Quarshie, Othello / Herald, Jay Saighal, Gentleman of Cyprus / Tim Samuels, Lodovico / Joanna Vanderham, Desdemona […]
GINASTERA: Panambi (complete ballet) – Piano Concerto No. 2 – Manchester Chamber Choir – BBC Philharmonic/Juanjo Mena – Chandos
Exciting, atmospheric and complex orchestral music from South America. GINASTERA: Panambi (complete ballet) – Piano Concerto No. 2 – Manchester Chamber Choir – BBC Philharmonic/Juanjo Mena – Chandos 10923, 69:07 ****: The music on this disc represents the early and late music of one of the most influential South American composers of the 20th century, Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983). The ballet Panambi (1934-36), represents his early blend of Argentinian folk music with his own nationalistic style – using polytonality, and pounding rhythms. It’s both thrilling and atmospheric. But in the 1950s Ginastera came under the influence of the Second Viennese School (Schoenberg, Berg and Webern) and his music became “neo-expressionistic.” He integrated 12-tone and serial techniques with dramatic, ritualistic and expressive effects, while maintaining the earlier characteristics of ostinato (repetition of phrases). The Piano Concerto No. 2 is a good example of his later style. Audiophiles are familiar with the suite from Panambi, but this is the first recording of the complete ballet. It was an astonishing debut for the young composer and the popular music to the ballet Estancia followed in 1941. When Ginastera heard a performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in 1918, he commented, “The primitivism of the […]
Ron Boustead – Unlikely Valentine – Art-Rock Music
Ron Boustead – Unlikely Valentine – Art-Rock Music, 43:56 ***: A tasty treat. (Ron Boustead – vocals; Bill Cunliffe – piano, Fender Rhodes; Hammond B-3; Mitchel Forman – piano, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3, accordion; John Leftwich – acoustic bass; Jake Reed – drums, percussion; Pat Kelley – acoustic & electric guitar; Bob Sheppard – saxes, flute; Bob McChesney – trombone; Ron Stout – Flugelhorn; Fabiana Passoni – vocal track 5) Who was Ron Boustead’s Unlikely Valentine? A review of the set list from his latest release does not provide any clues. Nevertheless, Boustead’s lively vocals through both the covers and original compositions from this album will be welcomed by his devotees. Backed by a full-throated stylish band, Boustead dives into the tunes with an uncanny reflection of singer Mark Murphy. The opening title track “Unlikely Valentine” was written by pianist Bill Cunliffe based on the chord changes of My Funny Valentine with lyrics from Ron Boustead. It is a rousing bebop styled number, with a husky vocals from the artist. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller began their song-writing careers in Los Angeles and eventually became one of popular music’s songwriting legends. “Love Potion No. 9” was originally recorded in 1959 […]
Dave Douglas and Frank Woeste – Dada People – Greenleaf
Making music for Man Ray’s masterful art. Dave Douglas and Frank Woeste – Dada People [TrackList follows] – Greenleaf GRE-CD-1051, 63:14 [10/14/16] ****: (Dave Douglas – trumpet, co-producer; Frank Woeste – piano, Fender Rhodes, co-producer; Matt Brewer – bass; Clarence Penn – drums) Want to appreciate an artist’s efforts in a fresh way? Then try experiencing a person’s creativity filtered through another artist’s imagination. That’s the impetus behind the hour-long Dada People, the collaboration by trumpeter Dave Douglas and keyboardist Frank Woeste, alongside bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Clarence Penn. Douglas and Woeste set about penning music which offers a musical viewpoint focusing on famed artist Man Ray, who fashioned paintings, photography, “ready-mades” and other artistic endeavors (both commercial and non-commercial) and was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, though not formally a member of those groups. The ten original tracks (which are credited equally: five Douglas and five Woeste compositions) impart audio portraits but not always directly related to Man Ray’s creative output. Douglas states the material deliberately engages in the “spirit of mischievousness, of play, of mystery, and also of the ‘play of identity’ within the work of Ray and his circle.” That sphere of […]
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Major; SCRIABIN: Piano Concerto in f-sharp; DVORAK: Sym. Variations – Paul Badura-Skoda, p./ Polish Radio Sym. Orch./ Charles Mackerras – Pristine Audio
Charles Mackerras makes his Pristine debut with a concert appearance in Scotland with the Polish Radio Orchestra. SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 70; SCRIABIN: Piano Concerto in f-sharp minor, Op. 20; DVORAK: Symphonic Variations, Op. 78 – Paul Badura-Skoda, p./ Polish Radio Sym. Orch./ Charles Mackerras – Pristine Audio PASC 487, 74:47 [www.pristineclassical.com] ****: I had the privilege of meeting Sir Charles Mackerras (1925-2010) and his wife in Atlanta after a symphony concert. Mackerras’ fine recording of Handel’s Messiah for EMI having piqued my interest in a conductor of such nice proportions and instrumental balances, I felt no less curiosity about his having studied with one of my idols, Vaclav Talich. “We tried to convince Talich to leave Czechoslovakia,” urged Mackerras, “but by 1960 his health issues had become manifest and was simply too late.” The present disc from Pristine comes from the Edinburgh Festival (27 August 1962, in stereo), from a BBC transcription of a second concert by the Polish Radio Orchestra unissued in the United Kingdom but pressed onto vinyl for US broadcast. The piano solo for the rare Scriabin Concerto, Viennese Paul Badura-Skoda (b. 1927), performs a work derivative of Chopin but already rife […]
RICHARD DANIELPOUR: Songs of Solitude; War Songs; Toward the Splendid City – Thomas Hampson, bari./Nashville Sym. Orch./ Giancarlo Guerrero – Naxos
Some very moving and well-written songs on topics of war. RICHARD DANIELPOUR: Songs of Solitude; War Songs; Toward the Splendid City – Thomas Hampson, bari./Nashville Sym. Orch./Giancarlo Guerrero – Naxos 8.559792, 60:48, (10/14/16) ****: For people who follow American contemporary classical music only casually composer Richard Danielpour might not be one of the first names they would manage to mention. However, he has for quite some time now been writing emotional and deeply attractive music and should definitely be thought of as one of our greatest living composers. He also has the gift and talent for being able to write well; technically proficient, well structured and very accessibly for the solo voice and/or chorus. This in indeed not easy to do. A very good example can be found by listening to Danielpour’s Ancient Voices, composed for soprano Hila Plitmann. Here we have two more splendid song cycles for solo voice and orchestra (in this case the soloist is the amazing Thomas Hampson.) Both Songs of Solitude as well as War Songs are written on themes of loss and war. Songs of Solitude uses poetry by William Butler Yeats to reflect on the moods very shortly after the “9-11” attack on […]
“Schumann’s Enigma” = SCHUMANN: Sonata for V. and P. No. 1 in a; Sonata for V. and P. in d ‒ Svetlana Tsivinskaya, v. / Natalia Tokar, p, ‒ Blue Griffin
“Schumann’s Enigma” = SCHUMANN: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in a, Op. 105; Sonata for Violin and Piano in d, Op. 121 ‒ Svetlana Tsivinskaya, v. / Natalia Tokar, p, ‒ Blue Griffin BGR 391, 48:10 [Distr. by Albany] **1/2: Sadly, the chief enigma here is why anyone would choose to invest in this recording. The enigma of the album title refers to Robert Schumann’s lifelong fascination with puzzles and ciphers, which crops up, for example, as the cryptic little “Sphinxes” section in Carnaval and the musical cryptograms that appear throughout the composer’s work. The most interesting aspect of the current release is the very informative notes; they describe in detail Schumann’s cryptographic encoding in the Grand Sonata in D Minor, Op. 121. Noting the musical equivalents in Italian and English notation of D minor (Re minor), E minor (Mi minor), B minor (Si minor), and G major (Sol major), the note-writers (apparently Yelena Franklin and Stefan Koch) explain that with these four musical notes Schumann had the necessary musical “characters” to spell out, in shorthand at least, his own name in his compositions. Thus the first movement of the sonata is dominated by Re minor (Robert) “with […]
“Fluvial” = SIBELIUS: Four Lyric Pieces; RAVEL: Jeux d’eau; BYSTRÖM: Air russe varié in g; SCHUBERT: Piano Sonata in A – Anna Kuvaja, p. – Alba
“Fluvial” = SIBELIUS: Four Lyric Pieces, Op. 74; RAVEL: Jeux d’eau; THOMAS BYSTRÖM: Air russe varié in G Minor; SCHUBERT: Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 959 – Anna Kuvaja, p. – Alba multichannel SACD ABCD 386, 70:53 [Distr. by Albany] (7/29/16) ****: Half of the music on this recital is new to me. Perhaps it will be to you as well. I usually enjoy recital albums such as this for their variety but even more because they usually introduce me to unfamiliar music and composers. That’s certainly the case here. Thomas Byström (1772‒1839) is a new name to me, and I suspect it will be to you as well. Two years younger than Beethoven, the Finnish composer outlived the German master by twelve years. But despite a relatively long and productive career as a composer, he is scantly represented on recordings. Interestingly, Byström relocated to Stockholm and served as an officer in the Swedish army, fighting in the Napoleonic Wars and Finnish Wars of 1808‒09. He was a member of the Swedish Music Academy and taught piano as well as organ at the Institute of the Academy for a number of years. Byström is said to have produced three fine […]
Audio News for February 17, 2017
Your Next Home Phone May Be an Echo or Google Home – Both Amazon and Google are reportedly looking into bringing speakerphone functionality to their smart little speakers. It’s the next local step for increasingly popular devices, and one some consumers have asked for. The current roadblocks are concerns about privacy, telecom regulations, access to emergency services and user experience. The new feature could however arrive as soon as this year. Both voice-enabled devices have had a meteoric rise lately. Epson Home Cinema for Winter Dream Staycation – The Cinema 3700 projector ($1,499) is compact and has 3000 lumens of color brightness and 3000 lumens of white for a bright images in a range of viewing environments. The 3LCD technology gives up to 3 times brighter colors. Setup is simple, with a range of placing options from a bookshelf to mounting on the ceiling. Its 1.6x zoom ensures easy installation – you can project a sharp-focus 110-inch image from just 10.5 ft. away. It supports HDMI and MHL and delivers full HD 1080p images. Dolby Labs is Among Fast Company’s Most Innovative Consumer Electronic Companies – Its focus on innovation has led to breakthrus across its major product lines: Dolby […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
