Monthly Archive: January 2018

Furtwängler conducts Romantic Poems and Viennese Dances = Orchestral works by LISZT; WAGNER; BRAHMS; SMETANA; TCHAIKOVSKY; STRAUSS – Vienna Phil. Orch./ Berlin Phil. Orch. / Wilhelm Furtwängler  – Praga Digitals 

Furtwängler conducts Romantic Poems and Viennese Dances = Orchestral works by LISZT; WAGNER; BRAHMS; SMETANA; TCHAIKOVSKY; STRAUSS – Vienna Phil. Orch./ Berlin Phil. Orch. / Wilhelm Furtwängler – Praga Digitals 

Praga Digitals restores in stunning sound Wilhelm Furtwängler’s explorations into tone-poems and orchestral works that gain his sense of Romantic ardor. Furtwängler conducts Romantic Poems and Viennese Dances = LISZT: Les Preludes; WAGNER: Siegfried Idyll; BRAHMS: Variations on a Theme of Haydn, Op. 56a; SMETANA: The Moldau; TCHAIKOVSKY: Waltz and Finale from Serenade for Strings […]

SCHUMANN: String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 41 No. 1; String Quartet in F Major, Op. 41 No. 2; String Quartet No. 3 in A Major, Op. 41 No. 3 – Modigliani Quartet – Mirare

SCHUMANN: String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 41 No. 1; String Quartet in F Major, Op. 41 No. 2; String Quartet No. 3 in A Major, Op. 41 No. 3 – Modigliani Quartet – Mirare

Very Romantic interpretations of the Schumann Quartets, but it’s all a little soft-grained for my taste. SCHUMANN: String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 41 No. 1; String Quartet in F Major, Op. 41 No. 2; String Quartet No. 3 in A Major, Op. 41 No. 3 – Modigliani Quartet – Mirare MIR 346, 78:00 (11/24/17) […]

Mozart: 16 Sonatas for Violin and Piano. Tomas Cotik (violin), Tao Lin (piano)—Centaur [Dist. by Naxos]

Mozart: 16 Sonatas for Violin and Piano. Tomas Cotik (violin), Tao Lin (piano)—Centaur [Dist. by Naxos]

Mozart: 16 Sonatas for Violin and Piano. Tomas Cotik (violin), Tao Lin (piano)—Centaur CRC 3619/20/21/22—4:27:43 [Dist. by Naxos] ****1/2 : In this new recording from Tomas Cotik (violin) and Tao Lin (piano) are presented sixteen sonatas by Mozart on modern instruments. Cotik has a very warm tone which contrasts nicely with the more acoustically-distant piano […]

Kate McGarry, Keith Ganz, & Gary Versace – The Subject Tonight is Love – Binxtown Records

Kate McGarry, Keith Ganz, & Gary Versace – The Subject Tonight is Love – Binxtown Records

The first Five Star release of 2018… Kate McGarry, Keith Ganz, & Gary Versace – The Subject Tonight is Love – Binxtown Records – 61:09 – *****: (Kate McGarry – vocals, piano; Keith Ganz – acoustic and electric guitars, acoustic bass guitar; Gary Versace – piano, keyboard, organ, accordion; Special Guests: Ron Miles – trumpet, […]

STRAVINSKY: Chant funebre; Le Sacre du Printemps – Sophie Koch, mezzo-soprano/ Lucerne Festival Orchestra/ Riccardo Chailly – Decca

STRAVINSKY: Chant funebre; Le Sacre du Printemps – Sophie Koch, mezzo-soprano/ Lucerne Festival Orchestra/ Riccardo Chailly – Decca

This compilation of Stravinsky’s early works restores a long-lost tribute to the composer’s revered teacher, Rimsky-Korsakov. STRAVINSKY: Chant funebre, Op. 5; Feu d’artifice, Op. 4; Scherzo fantastique, Op. 3; Le Faune et la Bergere, Op. 2; Le Sacre du Printemps – Sophie Koch, mezzo-soprano/ Lucerne Festival Orchestra/ Riccardo Chailly – Decca 483 2562, 70:19 (1/12/18) […]

Streams and Podcasts for 28 Jan 2018

Streams and Podcasts for 28 Jan 2018

Pianist Andrew Write will be featured in this week’s show from The Music Treasury, with the apt subtitle “The Art of Transcription”. Driven by his own enthusiasm and creativity, Andrew Wright has searched out “hidden gems” from some more minor figures of composers from the 19th and 20th century.  Aside from piano literature, Wright has […]

Benny ANDERSSON, Piano – DG

Benny ANDERSSON, Piano – DG

Refreshing, relaxing, and simply beautiful. Benny ANDERSSON, Piano – DG 479 8143, 76:47 [Distr. by Universal] *****: Anyone who remembers or who is a fan of the pop rock group ABBA from the late 1970s will no doubt have heard, seen, or know who Benny Andersson is. The phenomenal success of the Swedish “fab four” […]

Vienna Philharmonic 2018 New Year’s Concert = Works by Johann STRAUS I; Johann STRAUS II; Josef STRAUSS; SUPPE; CZIBULKA – Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/ Riccardo Muti – Sony 

Vienna Philharmonic 2018 New Year’s Concert = Works by Johann STRAUS I; Johann STRAUS II; Josef STRAUSS; SUPPE; CZIBULKA – Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/ Riccardo Muti – Sony 

In his fifth year of leading the Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s concerts, Riccardo Muti adds six new items to the sparkling elixir of musical champagne.  Vienna Philharmonic 2018 New Year’s Concert = Marches, Dances, and Concert Pieces by JOHANN STRAUSS II; JOHANN STRAUSS I; JOSEF STRAUSS: ; SUPPE; CZIBULKA – Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/ Riccardo Muti […]

Dan Pugach Nonet – Plus One – Unit Records

Dan Pugach Nonet – Plus One – Unit Records

A nonet that gives the impression and conviction of a larger group driven by a musically creative drummer. Dan Pugach Nonet – Plus One – Unit Records UTR 4816 52:28*** [Artist and Track List follows] It is generally conceded that the nonet which Miles Davis brought to the Royal Roost club in New York City […]

Chris Parker – Moving Forward Now

Chris Parker – Moving Forward Now

An engaging album from a young jazz artist. Chris Parker – Moving Forward Now – Self-released, 75:20 [10/6/17] ****: [Artist and Track List below] What were you doing at age 20? Trying to get through university? Maybe a hitch in the military? Finding your footing in a post-high school job? Navigating that first serious relationship? […]

The Topping Tooters of the Town = Music of the London Waits 1580-1650 — The City Musick / William Lyons — Avie

The Topping Tooters of the Town = Music of the London Waits 1580-1650 — The City Musick / William Lyons — Avie

The Topping Tooters of the Town. Music of the London Waits 1580-1650 — The City Musick, dir. William Lyons— Avie, AV2364, 50:00  ****: This recording of 30 tracks is a compilation of pieces—dances really—from the likes of Anthony Holborne, John Adson, Peter Philips, Thomas Morley, Thomas Ravenscroft, and John Playford. These are names I haven’t […]

Frank MARTIN: Music for Winds = Concerto for Winds & Piano; Concert Suite; March – Massachusetts Chamber Players/ Nadine Shank, piano – MSR Classics

Frank MARTIN: Music for Winds = Concerto for Winds & Piano; Concert Suite; March – Massachusetts Chamber Players/ Nadine Shank, piano – MSR Classics

Wind music by Swiss composer Frank Martin embodies the pacifist nation’s virile national identity. MARTIN: Music for Winds = Concerto for Winds Instruments and Piano (1924); Concert Suite from “A Dance of Death in Basel in the Year 1943”; Official March of the Swiss National Exhibition – Massachusetts Chamber Players/ Nadine Shank, piano – MSR […]

Streams and Podcasts for 21 January 2018

Streams and Podcasts for 21 January 2018

Sir Thomas Beecham built a reputation as a conductor working with major UK orchestras—London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, as well as Liverpool and Hallé.  Among other things, he is to be noted for introducing operas by Strauss and Delius to the English stage. This week will showcase Sir Thomas Beecham conducting works by Alwyn, Gretry, Liszt, […]

Free Radicals – Outside the Comfort Zone – Free Rads 

Free Radicals – Outside the Comfort Zone – Free Rads 

A brash, brassy and boisterous band. Free Radicals – Outside the Comfort Zone – Free Rads RWE017, 68:28 [9/23/17] ****: (Pete Sullivan – baritone saxophone; Jason Jackson – alto saxophone; Aaron Varnell – tenor saxophone; Tom VandenBoom – trombone; Matt Serice – trumpet, keyboards; Nick Cooper – drums, percussion; Al Bear – guitar; Jacob Breier […]

Jason Kao Hwang and Sing House – Sing House

Jason Kao Hwang and Sing House – Sing House

Jason Kao Hwang and Sing House – Sing House  A musical building with unexpected twists, turns and passageways. Jason Kao Hwang and Sing House – Sing House [TrackList follows] – Euonymus EU03, 49:22 [5/5/17] ****: (Jason Kao Hwang – composer, violin (tracks 1, 2, 4), viola (track 3), producer, mix engineer; Andrew Drury – drum […]

Phil DeGreg Trio – Queen City Blues

Phil DeGreg Trio – Queen City Blues

A trio with an open-ended attitude towards exploration  Phil DeGreg Trio – Queen City Blues – Self Released 65:57***: ( Phil DeGreg – piano; Aaron Jacobs – bass; John Taylor – drums) Self released albums are generally looked on with some degree of skepticism as they usually beg the question “why couldn’t this band, group, […]

John Sunier Remembrance

John Sunier Remembrance

As a listener and reader John Sunier’s radio show and website, Audiophile Audition has been a source of many superb classical music discs that has widened and deepened my love for classical music for over 20 years. As a writer for Audiophile Audition, John has given me an opportunity to identify and share with reader’s […]

John Sunier — 1937 – 2018

John Sunier — 1937 – 2018

After a glorious career in Audio of over half a century, John Sunier passed away in January of this year. John’s incredible energy and drive found a distinctive expression in Audiophile Audition.  Starting as a radio show in the 1980s, it transformed into a web site as the 21st century unfolded.  Sunier was recognized far […]

BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 8 in c minor – Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/ Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/ Wilhelm Furtwängler – Praga

BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 8 in c minor – Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/ Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/ Wilhelm Furtwängler – Praga

Superb, eminent readings of Bruckner’s darkest symphony under Furtwängler return with striking authority.  BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 8 in c minor – Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/ Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/ Wilhelm Furtwängler – Praga Digitals PRD/DSD 350 133 (2 CDs) 77:04; 76:55 (1/5/18) [Distr. Harmonia mundi/PIAS] *****:   This review is dedicated to the Spirit of John Sunier […]

Reed Tetzloff: Sounds of Transcendence = Piano Works by GRIFFES; SCRIABIN; FRANCK – Reed Tetzloff, piano – Romeo Records 

Reed Tetzloff: Sounds of Transcendence = Piano Works by GRIFFES; SCRIABIN; FRANCK – Reed Tetzloff, piano – Romeo Records 

Pianist Reed Tetzloff approaches three late Romantic composers by way of their transcendent visions.   Reed Tetzloff: Sounds of Transcendence = GRIFFES: Piano Sonata; The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan; SCRIABIN: Valse in A-flat Major, Op. 38; Fragilite, Op. 51, No. 1; Enigme, Op. 52, No. 2; Sonata No. 7, Op. 64 “White Mass”; Vers […]

Dave Douglas with The Westerlies and Anwar Marshall – Little Giant Still Life – Greenleaf Music

Dave Douglas with The Westerlies and Anwar Marshall – Little Giant Still Life – Greenleaf Music

Trumpeter Dave Douglas goes all-brassy and bold. Dave Douglas with The Westerlies and Anwar Marshall – Little Giant Still Life [TrackList follows] – Greenleaf Music GRE-CD-1058, 53:11 [10/20/17] ****: (Dave Douglas – trumpet, producer; Anwar Marshall – drums; The Westerlies: Riley Mulherkar – trumpet; Zubin Hensler – trumpet; Andy Clausen – trombone; Willem de Koch […]

Streams and Podcasts for 14 January 2018

Streams and Podcasts for 14 January 2018

Violinist Elmar Oliveira is the featured artists on this week’s Music Treasury show. Oliveira is quite the distinguished violinist, whose achievements include winning the Gold Medal at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky International Competition, the first (and only) American violinist to do so; also to his credit are winning the Avery Fisher Prize, again the first violinist to […]