Monthly Archive: June 2017

MAHLER :  Symphony No 2 – Heather Harper (sop) / Helen Watts (mezzo) / London SO and chorus / Georg Solti – HDTT

MAHLER :  Symphony No 2 – Heather Harper (sop) / Helen Watts (mezzo) / London SO and chorus / Georg Solti – HDTT

MAHLER :  Symphony No 2 – Heather Harper (sop) / Helen Watts (mezzo) / London Symphony Chorus / London SO / Georg Solti – HDTT [various formats including hi-res PCM & DSD from www.highdeftapetransfers.com] [Reviewed from DSD64 files] TT: 80:34 ****: A historic recording of Mahler’s Second Symphony under Solti’s baton, now “resurrected” with HDTT! […]

HÉROLD-LANCHBERY:  La Fille Mal Gardée – Orch. of the Royal Opera House / John Lanchbery – HDTT

HÉROLD-LANCHBERY:  La Fille Mal Gardée – Orch. of the Royal Opera House / John Lanchbery – HDTT

HÉROLD-LANCHBERY:  La Fille Mal Gardée – Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / John Lanchbery – HDTT [various formats including hi-res PCM & DSD from www.highdeftapetransfers.com] [Reviewed from DSD64 files] TT: 50:41***** A well-loved classic reappears in a first-class transfer. La fille mal gardée (“The badly supervised girl”) began life in Paris mere […]

Keith Oxman – East of the Village – Capri 

Keith Oxman – East of the Village – Capri 

Keith Oxman – East of the Village [TrackList follows] – Capri 74145-2, 60:36 [2/17/17] ****: Bringing back soulful 1960s organ jazz with a few modern twists. (Keith Oxman – tenor saxophone; Jeff Jenkins – Hammond B3 organ, mixing, mastering; Todd Reid – drums) Big thumbs up to Denver-based tenor saxophonist Keith Oxman and his organ […]

Tribute to Piatagorsky = BRAHMS: Double Concerto; SAINT-SAËNS: Cello Concerto; BLOCH: Schelomo – Gregor Piatagorsky (cello) / Nathan Milstein (vln.)  – Praga Digitals

Tribute to Piatagorsky = BRAHMS: Double Concerto; SAINT-SAËNS: Cello Concerto; BLOCH: Schelomo – Gregor Piatagorsky (cello) / Nathan Milstein (vln.) – Praga Digitals

Tribute to Piatagorsky = BRAHMS: Double Concerto in a minor, Op. 102; SAINT-SAËNS: Cello Concerto No. 1 in a minor, Op. 33; BLOCH: Schelomo – Rhapsody – Gregor Piatagorsky, cello/ Nathan Milstein, violin/ Robin Hood Dell Orchestra  of Philadelphia/ Fritz Reiner/ Boston Symphony Orchestra/ Charles Munch (Bloch) – Praga Digitals PRD 250 368, 70:56 (6/9/17) […]

Duo Sabil = Zabad: “Twilight Tide” – HM

Duo Sabil = Zabad: “Twilight Tide” – HM

Duo Sabil = Zabad: “Twilight Tide” – Harmonia Mundi 905279, 62:11 (3/30/17)  ****½:  (Ahmad Al Kathib, oud/ Elie Koury; bouzouki/ Youssef Hbeisch, percussion/ Hubert Dupont; bass) An original take on the traditional forms of Arabic music by an ensemble with tremendous aesthetic poise and technical polish. In traditional Arabic music, the fretless lute, or ‘oud, is […]

The Beatles – Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band – 2 CD edition – 1967 – Apple/ Parlorphone

The Beatles – Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band – 2 CD edition – 1967 – Apple/ Parlorphone

The Beatles – Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band – 2 CD edition – 1967 – Apple/ Parlorphone B0026524-02 (CD1 39:49, CD2 60:29) ****1/2: A welcome 50 year reunion of Sgt. Peppers with surprises… (John Lennon – guitars, piano; Paul McCartney – bass, guitars, piano; George Harrison – guitars; Ringo Starr – drums) The 50th […]

Audio News 4 June 2017

Audio News 4 June 2017 LG Releases new Sound Bar, enhancing Cinematic Experience — matched with the LG Super UHD and OLED TVs, superb picture quality with high quality sound fidelity.  LG SJ9, SJ8, SJ7. SF Jazz Festival Starts Next Week!  35th Annual Jazz Festival, a defining event in the world of Jazz.  Some 43 […]

Copland Before the LP (1928-1949) = Song and Pieces for Piano, Violin, Cello – Aaron COPLAND, Leo Smit (p.) / Ivor Karman, Jacques Gordon, Louis Kaufman (vln.) / David Freed (c.) / Ethel Luening (sop.) – Parnassus

Copland Before the LP (1928-1949) = Song and Pieces for Piano, Violin, Cello – Aaron COPLAND, Leo Smit (p.) / Ivor Karman, Jacques Gordon, Louis Kaufman (vln.) / David Freed (c.) / Ethel Luening (sop.) – Parnassus

Copland Before the LP (1928-1949) = Le chat et la souris; Piano Variations; Vitebsk; Two Pieces for Violin and Piano; Vocalise; Danzon Cubano; Sonata for Violin and Piano; Two Pieces for Violin and Piano; Four Piano Blues – Aaron Copland, piano/ Leo Smit, piano/ Ivor Karman, violin/ David Freed, cello/ Jacques Gordon, violin/ Ethel Luening, […]

Martin Myhre OLSEN:  “Modes for All Eternity” and “Lonely Creatures” – AMP and Øra Fonogram

Martin Myhre OLSEN: “Modes for All Eternity” and “Lonely Creatures” – AMP and Øra Fonogram

Martin Myhre OLSEN & Wako & Oslo Strings = Modes for All Eternity – AMP Music, 43:39 (1/20/17) ****½: Martin Myrhe OLSEN & MMM Ensemble = Lonely Creatures – Øra Fonogram,   48:50, (4/1/16) ***½: Two bright concept albums featuring small jazz ensembles exploring musical territory of wide visual and literary reference. I suspect that the students […]

“A Couple of Men from 1810” = piano music SCHUMANN and CHOPIN  – Findlay Cockerel (p.) – Albany Records

“A Couple of Men from 1810” = piano music SCHUMANN and CHOPIN – Findlay Cockerel (p.) – Albany Records

A Couple of Men from 1810 – piano music of Robert Schumann and Frédéric Chopin – Findlay Cockrell, piano – Albany Records TROY1601/02 – 2 CDs (74:42, 78:02) *****: Double CD of well selected and well played piano music by two giants of the Romantic Era who share a birth-year (1810) – Schumann and Chopin. Though […]

Arrigo BOITO: Mefistofele, Blu-ray (2016)

Arrigo BOITO: Mefistofele, Blu-ray (2016)

If you can ignore the tedious staging, the singing is good. Arrigo BOITO: Mefistofele, Blu-ray (2016) Cast: René Pape, Joseph Calleja,  Kristine Opolais, Karine Babajanyan.  Music: Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Chorus and Children’s Chorus of the Bayerische Staatsoper. Conductor: Omer Meir Wellber Director: Roland Schwab Studio: Unitel. Blue-ray. [l1/18/16] Run Time: 140 minutes Video: 1.77:1  Color.  Audio: […]

Cello Effect = Works by PROKOFIEV, PUCCINI, RACHMANINOFF, etc.  – Rastrelli Cello Quartet – GENUIN

Cello Effect = Works by PROKOFIEV, PUCCINI, RACHMANINOFF, etc.  – Rastrelli Cello Quartet – GENUIN

Cello Effect – Works by PROKOFIEV, PUCCINI, RACHMANINOFF, JOBIM, HANDY, BRUBECK, ANDERSON, DESMOND, TCHAIKOVSKY  – Rastrelli Cello Quartet – GENUIN GEN15364 – 53:45 **** A Cello Quartet performs a wide variety of short classics transcribed and arranged by one of its members. One may wonder why anyone would want to listen to four cellos (celli?) […]

Jazz in the Space Age – George Russell, Bill Evans – American Decca

Jazz in the Space Age – George Russell, Bill Evans – American Decca

Jazz in the Space Age – George Russell and his orchestra featuring Bill Evans – American Decca/HDTT DVD-Audio, 42:49 [admin@highdeftapetransfers.com]: A great album to have finally in better sonics. [Hal McKusick (tracks: 2, 5), Walt Levinsky (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6); Baritone Saxophone – Sol Schlinger (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6); Bass – Milt Hinton; […]

Max RICHTER, “Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works” – Max Richter (p. / synth.) /Deutsches Filmorch. /Robert Ziegler – DG

Max RICHTER, “Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works” – Max Richter (p. / synth.) /Deutsches Filmorch. /Robert Ziegler – DG

Max RICHTER, “Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works” – Max Richter, piano, synthesizer/Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg/Robert Ziegler – Deutsche Grammaphon 00289 479 6952, 67:24, (11/11/16) ****: Absolutely beautiful music that should not be taken lightly. The German born American composer-violinist Max Richter writes overtly emotional and beautiful music that some websites have taken to categorize as ‘neo-classical.’ […]

Editorial for June 2017

Editorial for June 2017

For our June free drawing we have the great Stabat Mater collection by Brilliant Classics! The text of Stabat Mater Dolorosa, a hymn to the Virgin Mary, is attributed to Jacopo Todi (1230‐ 1306). It is a lamentation upon the tragic fate of Mary, bewailing the suffering and death of her son Jesus Christ at the cross. […]