Yearly Archive: 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 and wide as a definitive expert in all matters audio, all matters for audiophiles. In the last year of his life, John stepped back from his beloved web site, assuming more of a Professor Emeritus role there. He was navigating the challenges of advancing years with the warmth and support of his friends; he was well cared for. John Sunier is survived by his wife Donna, his cat Melinda, and the memories held by all those who knew him—his colleagues, his friends, and his following throughout the Internet. He will be deeply missed. Audiophile Audition is creating a collection pictures and reflections honoring the life of John Sunier. If you have something you would like to share, please write to editor@AudAud.com Remembrances
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 Conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler referred to Anton Bruckner’s 1884-87 Symphony No. 8 (rev. 1889) as “a battle of demons,” given its alternating, apocalyptic darkness and moments of transcendent light. In several respects, the gigantic music parallels the Richard Strauss symphonic poem Death and Transfiguration, considering the motion of the first movement – a series of groping, perhaps abortive, kernels of melodic tissue that consistently avoid the tonic minor – to conclude in the minor key with exhausted, repetitive tropes in the violas. Bruckner himself confessed that the music captures the feeling of one “on his deathbed, while opposite him the clock ticks away as his life comes to an end.” This enervation from Death’s annunciation—Todesverkuendigung—comes, however, after a course of epic periods in which moments of supreme, mortal struggle occur, well in the spirit of Matthew Arnold’s clashing armies on a darkling plain. Because Furtwängler leads his […]
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 la Flamme, Op. 72; FRANCK: Prelude, Chorale et Fugue – Reed Tetzloff, piano – Romeo Records 7323, 70:40 (11/1/17) [Distr. by Albany] ****: Reed Tetzloff (b. 1992), a graduate of Mannes College and recipient of the CME International Performing Arts Grant, presents a recital in the spirit of C.S. Lewis, whom he cites in the liner notes: “I was made for another world… Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy [my desire] but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing.” Consequently, Tetzloff chooses music (rec. 15-24 March 2017) that appeals to his Platonic or Emersonian concept of the Over-Soul in the form of three hyper-Romantic composers. The 1919 Piano Sonata of Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1872-1920) opens the recital, a work of rather audacious vision on the part of the composer, who took his “German” training to and beyond the accepted musical envelope, […]
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 – trombone) There are few trumpeters who would attempt an all-brass music project. Dave Douglas is that kind of musician. In 2009 Douglas released the debut of Brass Ecstasy, an ensemble which included a French horn, trombone, tuba, trumpet and one drummer. The nature of that work continues to stimulate Douglas. He’s returned to a similar pathway with the 53-minute Little Giant Still Life, which features Douglas on trumpet; drummer Anwar Marshall (who is part of Philadelphia’s Fresh Cut Orchestra) and The Westerlies (a former Seattle quartet now based in NYC) which consists of trumpeters Riley Mulherkar and Zubin Hensler, and trombonists Andy Clausen and Willem de Koch. The Westerlies have issued two albums (their sophomore outing was a tribute to fellow Seattleite Wayne Horvitz) and have collaborated with roots/Americana band Fleet Foxes. Many of Douglas’ 12 originals on Little Giant Still Life (including the […]
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 accomplish this. Oliveira has performed with distinctive orchestras throughout the world—Boston Symphony, London Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, New York Philharmonic, and others in San Francisco, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia… His recordings appear on Naxos, Angel, Sony labels; he has performed works from days of Bach through to contemporary composers—Morton Gould, Benjamin Lees, Kristof Penderecki, Charles Wuorinen, and Joan Tower. This week’s show features a wide variety of pieces, including Elgar’s Violin Sonata, Rachmaninov Vocalise, Tchaikovsky Piano Trio, and works by Gershwin/Heifetz, Falla, Pizzetti, and Herbert. It is hosted, as always, by Dr Gary Lemco; it can be heard on 14 January 2018, between 19:00 and 21:00 PST, as well its live streaming broadcast through the ‘Net, from kzsulive.stanford.edu.
The Young Isaac Stern = Violin Concerti by HAYDN; MENDELSSOHN; TCHAIKOVSKY – Isaac Stern, violin/ Leopold Stokowski/ Pierre Monteux/ Serge Koussevitzky – Pristine Audio
Vintage, youthful Isaac Stern has three fine collaborations revived in this trinity of violin concertos. The Young Isaac Stern = HAYDN: Violin Concerto No. 1 in C Major; MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto in e minor, Op. 64; TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 – Isaac Stern, violin/ Philharmonic-Symphony of New York/ Leopold Stokowski/ Philadelphia Orchestra/ Pierre Monteux/ Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra/ Serge Koussevitzky – Pristine Audio PASC 519, 79:51 [www.pristineclassical.com] ****: Mark Obert-Thorn resuscitates live recordings, 1945-1950, of the Ukrainian-American violinist Isaac Stern (1920-2001), whose musicianship later became clouded by his idiosyncratic and ruthless version of empire-building, abetted by Columbia Artists Management. The young Isaac Stern, who practiced his chosen instrument with due diligence, admitted his need for punctual and punctilious technical application, and the sheer will to endeavor paid off in his 1943 debut at Carnegie Hall with his esteemed piano accompanist Alexander Zakin. The earliest of the revived broadcast performances, from Philadelphia (13 January 1945), features a last-minute program change, substituting the Mendelssohn Concerto for that of the Beethoven, and the Philadelphia Orchestra enjoys the rare leadership of veteran Pierre Monteux. A few nervous measures at the opening soon resolve into a dramatic, often piercing interpretation of […]
Michel Camilo – Live In London – Redondo Music
A glowing live concert by a master pianist! Michel Camilo – Live In London – Redondo Music 191924129394, 53:35 ****1/2; (Michel Camilo – piano) Michel Camilo has released his first live solo piano album, Live In London. The Dominican Republic native has established a reputation as a versatile (duo, trio, sextet, big band, symphony) jazz performer with a dedicated, relentless style of instrumental prowess. This seven track performance showcases original compositions and covers. As with many pianists, there is an elevated energy in solo projects and especially live performances. Live In London is no exceptions. On his previous solo piano projects (Solo/Telarc 2005 and What’s Up?/Okeh 2013), Camilo demonstrated a passionate, complex approach to interpretation. Recorded at Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2015, the long-awaited concert performance is finally available. Beginning with the trill-laden melancholy of “From Within”, Camilo is comfortable showcasing both his high-level technical expertise and overall command of musical genres. This track (unusual for its considerable length as a set-opener) varies in tempo with exquisite right hand notation. With a classically structured first part, the pianist injects a tango-like bravado with sweeping emphasis and subtle interludes. The intensity is always revisited and crescendos punctuate throughout. In a near […]
Eric Wyatt – Look to the Sky – Whaling City Sound
Masterful work from a saxophonist deserving of wider recognition. Eric Wyatt – Look to the Sky [TrackList follows] – Whaling City Sound WCS 104 (distr. by Naxos), 61:48 [10/27/17] ****: (Eric Wyatt – tenor, alto and soprano saxophone; vocals (track 3); Benito Gonzalez – piano; Keyon Harrold – trumpet; Eric Wheeler – bass; Shinnosuke Takahashi – drums; Kyle Poole – drums (tracks 4-6); Andrea Miller – vocals (track 3)) Family influence filters throughout saxophonist Eric Wyatt’s sixth album, and first for the Whaling City Sound label. The hour-long Look to the Sky is dedicated to Wyatt’s mother and father, who helped shape his attitude toward music: his father Charles passed away in 1989 and his mother Phennie more recently. Wyatt’s tone and style was also influenced by close family friend Sonny Rollins. In fact, Wyatt is considered Rollin’s godson. Wyatt titled his 1997 debut God Son (the title also nods to Wyatt’s religious faith). Spirituality is also an element of Look to the Sky: the title refers to looking to the heavens when Wyatt thinks of his parents. Spirituality is also a subject or theme in a few of the tunes. Wyatt has a winning quintet which plays on the […]
Nestor Torres – Jazz Flute Traditions – ALFI Records
fiery flutist in full flight Nestor Torres – Jazz Flute Traditions – ALFI Records ALFI 8817 72:23**** ( Nestor Torres – flute; Silvano Monasterios – piano; Jamie Ousley – bass; Michael Piolet – drums; José Gregorio Hernandez – percussion; Special Guests: Miguel Russell – percussion tracks#2,3,11; Ian Muños – alto sax tracks#2,6,8; Marcus Grant – drums track #8) Jazz flutist Nestor Torres is just that… a jazz flutist. He is not an alto sax or tenor sax player who doubles on flute. From the very beginning, he has concentrated on the instrument and has honed his skills accordingly. His most recent jazz outing is Jazz Flute Traditions where he provides a “tour d’horizon” of some of the great jazz flute players covering the compositions associated with them. Canadian jazz great Moe Koffman ( a multi-instrumentalist) wrote “Swingin’ Shepherd ( not Shepherds as in the liner notes) Blues in 1957 where it became a hit in the US rising to #23 on the Billboard charts. After a funky bluesy piano opening from Silvano Monasterios, Torres offers a straight-forward run through of the melody, after which Monasterios demonstrates that he is penetrating pianist with a rousing touch. Bassist Ousley is then given […]
GORDON GETTY: The Canterville Ghost – Oper Leipzig/ Gewandhausorchester/ Matthias Foremny – Pentatone
A splendid addition to the Getty catalog, one of his best works. GORDON GETTY: The Canterville Ghost – Alexandra Hutton (Virginia)/ Jean Broekhuizen (Mrs. Otis)/ Denise Wernly (1st Twin, Boy, Voice)/ Rachel Marie Hauge (2nd Twin, Boy, Voice)/ Timothy Oliver (Cecil Cheshire)/ Jonathan Michie (Hiram Otis)/ Anooshah Golesorkhi (Canterville), Matthew Trevino (Ghost)/ Oper Leipzig/ Gewandhausorchester/ Matthias Foremny – Pentatone multichannel SACD PTC 5186 541, 62:08 [Distr. by Naxos] *****: Oscar Wilde’s deliciously slick The Canterville Ghost, a story of a haunting where nobody will take the Ghost seriously, has been made into films several times, and even a musical, but the work itself cries out for operatic treatment, and aside from someone like Samuel Barber—who obviously is not going to be able to take it on—it is difficult to think of anyone more suited to the task than Gordon Getty. Getty’s music doesn’t always persuade me—sometimes I think he gets lazy mid-composition—but in this piece, he gets everything right. Gramophone magazine didn’t like it much, which is an almost automatic recommendation for me, showing an inherent bias against Getty’s music, little of which they like. Fortunately, Pentatone seems committed to giving us as much Getty as possible, the good and […]
MAHLER: Symphony No. 8 – Utah Symphony/ Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings
Spectacular, moving, and, well, what else do you need? MAHLER: Symphony No. 8 in E-flat – Orla Boylan, sop./ Celena Shafer, sop./ Amy Owens, sop./ Charlotte Hellekant, mezzo/ Tamara Mumford, mezzo/ Barry Banks, ten./ Markus Werba, bar./ Jordan Bisch, bass/ Mormon Tabernacle Choir/ Choristers of the Madeleine Choir School/ Utah Symphony/ Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings multichannel SACD FR-725SACD (2 Discs), 79:41 [Distr. by Naxos] *****: One of the highlights of my concert attending career was in the 1980s when Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony presented Mahler’s gargantuan Eighth Symphony. The performance was immaculate, the orchestra top notch, and the choral work spectacular. Add to that an all-star set of singers, and even the acoustics of Symphony Hall in Atlanta could not mar the experience, a sonic marvel that all who were there will never forget. Mahler’s opus is also one of those that conductors not especially noted for Mahlerian expertise like to tackle. Colin Davis made a wonderful SACD with the Bavarian Radio Symphony that still holds its own, and he was hardly known for this repertory. Shaw, who never shied away from anything big and choral, had a firm grasp on this work, which really is different […]
ELGAR: Violin Concerto; BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 1 – Rachel Burton Pine, violin/ BBC Symphony Orchestra/ Andrew Litton – Avie
Rachel Burton Pine makes the emotional connection of these two Romantic concertos quite clear. ELGAR: Violin Concerto in b minor, Op. 61; BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 1 in g minor, Op. 26 – Rachel Burton Pine, violin/ BBC Symphony Orchestra/ Andrew Litton – Avie AV 2375, 76:23 (1/5/18) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: In her accompanying liner notes. Rachel Burton Pine admits that the early pairing of the Elgar and Bruch concertos by the youthful Yehudi Menuhin for EMI played a significant role in her concept of these two Romantic staples of the violin repertory (rec. 9-11 January 2017). The 1909 Elgar Concerto came as a result of Elgar’s reading complimentary remarks about him made by Fritz Kreisler, expressing the thought that a violin concerto—the violin’s being Elgar’s own instrument—would be much appreciated. Elgar began sketching out the in 1905, but his most creative period began in 1909. The idea of “spring” suffuses the piece, that is in the form of a wood anemone or “Windflower,” as Elgar inscribes it. There are two such “Windflower” themes in the first movement, the second of which the clarinet utters. The Spanish inscription of “Here is enshrined the soul of . . .” adds […]
Robert Kennedy – Closer To Home
B3 jazz at its best! Robert Kennedy – Closer To Home – Self-Produced, 63:01 ***1/2 (Robert Kennedy – Hammond B-3; Terence Brewer – guitar; Ben Torres – tenor saxophone (tracks 1,3,4,5,6,8,10); Cody Rhodes – drums) As a Hammond B3 purveyor, Robert Kennedy has forged a unique legacy in the San Francisco/Bay Area music scene. In 1988, he played piano in the Stanford University Jazz Band and studied with renowned educator, Bill Bell. He was involved with local bands, including Hip Pocket Jazz Quintet and Double Funk Crunch. Inspired by the likes of Jack McDuff, Billy Childs, Larry Goldings, Tony Monaco and Herbie Hancock, Kennedy has immersed himself in the genre-bending B3 world of jazz, incorporating hard bop, bop, blues and soul chops. In 2015 he released the debut, Big Shoes. Comprised of all original compositions, this trio recording received critical recognition. Kennedy’s second album, Closer to Home contains 10 tracks of originals and covers. For good measure, he has added a tenor saxophone (Ben Torres/Pacific Mambo Orchestra) to expand the guitar (Terence Brewer) and drums (Cody Rhodes/Geographer). Opening the set is a traditional jazz number titled “Wild Bill” (a tribute to composer Bill Bell’s father). The tenor provides a muscular […]
Best of the year Discs for 2017 — Jazz Selections I
A few of the noteworthy Jazz releases from this past year, selected by our reviewers… Delfeayo Marsalis: An Evening with Delfeayo Marsalis – Troubadour Jass Records TJR 093017 Like father, like son… Review Link Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway – Just Friends Live @ The Village Vanguard – Resonance Records HCD2028 Another sharp arrow in Resonance Records’ quiver… Review Link Sherman Irby & Momentum – Cerulean Canvas- Black Warriors Records BWR 1006 Flat out great…! Review Link Sean Jones – Live from Jazz at the Bistro – Mack Avenue Records MAC 1111 Sean Jones heats up The Jazz Bistro… Review Link Art Pepper & Bill Watrous- West Coast Sounds, vol. 4- (reissue)- Omnivore Records OVCD 225 (1979) Alto and trombone, a mellow blend… Review Link Steve Davis – Think Ahead – Smoke Sessions Records SSR 1704 Steve Davis comes through again on Think Ahead… Review Link Thelonious Monk – Les Liaisons Dangeureuses (1960) Sam Records/SAGA (2 LP) Monk’s only recorded movie soundtrack – from original session tapes, now in remastered sound… Review Link Organissimo – B3tles: A Soulful Tribute to the Fab 4 – Big O 2424 B-3 trio plus […]
Editorial for January, 2018
In a career that now numbers more than 80 recordings under his own name, Ivo Perelman has established a variety of new benchmarks. He has developed an unsurpassed facility for integrating the tenor saxophone’s extra-high altissimo octaves with the instrument’s conventional range, bringing a new edge and polish to the concept of extended technique. To an extraordinary degree, he has engaged in the daredevil pursuit of utter spontaneity, in stupefying cogent recording sessions that start and end without written compositions or thematic elements, harmonic frameworks or preset tempos. He has assembled a world-class workshop of like-minded musicians on whom to draw for each new project, evincing a sorcerer’s touch for mixing these “ingredients” in novel ways and he has resorted to releasing several albums simultaneously, in order to keep pace with his runaway imagination and productivity. This month, Audiophile Audition is presenting a 6 CD collection of Perelman’s latest releases. Perelman has drawn upon different collaborators over the years, include: Matthew Shipp on piano; Nate Wooley, trumpet; for drums there are Bobby Kapp, Jeff Cosgrove, Joe Hertenstein, and Gerald Cleaver. The CDs include two live performances—Brussels and Baltimore—along with four tight ensemble releases: Heptagon, Octagon, Scalene, and Philosopher’s Stone: [metaslider id=64020] […]
Best of the year Discs for 2017 — Jazz Selections
A few of the noteworthy Jazz releases from this past year, selected by our reviewers… Wadada Leo Smith (solo trumpet) – Solo: Reflections and Meditations on Monk Putting Monk in a new light… Review Link Wadada Leo Smith – America’s National Parks[2-CD] A tribute to America’s shared legacies. Review Link Cuong Vu 4Tet – Ballet (The Music of Michael Gibbs) A masterful tribute to a top-notch composer and arranger. Review Link Gaudi – Magnetic A voyage into modern neo-dub. Review Link The Ed Palermo Big Band – The Great Un-American Songbook: Volumes I & II [2-CD] Who can mix prog-rock, British pop music, Miles Davis, Jeff Beck and West Side Story? It could only be the one and only Ed Palermo. Review Link Club d’Elf – Live at Club Helsinki[2-CD] A jazz, Middle Eastern, jam band exhibition. Review Link Procol Harum – Salty Dog – Mobile Fidelity UDSACD2192 (SACD) This is a stunning re-mastering of classic Procol Harum! Review Link Bill Evans – Another Time – Resonance HCD-2031 (CD) Nearly four decades after his death, Bill Evans is making news. Review Link […]
Best Classical of 2017 – I
Best of the Year Classical List for 2017 Recommendations by Steven Ritter Mahler: Symphony No. 8 – Mormon Tabernacle Choir/ Utah Symphony/ Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings Spectacular, moving, and, well, what else do you need? Link to Review GORDON GETTY: The Canterville Ghost – Oper Leipzig/ Gewandhausorchester/ Matthias Foremny – Pentatone A splendid addition to the Getty catalog, one of his best works. Link to Review SHOSTAKOVICH: Symph. No. 5; BARBER: Adagio for Strings – Pittsburgh Symph. Orch./Manfred Hobeck – Reference Recordings A breathtaking release of crushing power. Link to Review Recommendations by Gary Lemco Reiner conducts Wagner Pristine Audio PASC 517 Fritz Reiner’s legacy of Wagner from shellac sources proves memorably striking, given a fine restoration by Pristine Audio. Link To Review Beethoven: Symphonies 4 & 7 – Koussevitzky/BSO – Pristine Audio PASC 515 Previously unreleased Beethoven performances by Koussevitzky and BSO add significant documents to that conductor’s recorded legacy. Link To Review Kathleen Ferrier Remembered Somm CD 264 The restoration of long-buried Kathleen Ferrier archives warrants our unconditional praise and support. Link To Review Dvorak: String Quartet, Op. 105; String […]
TEN BEST CLASSICAL OF 2017 – II
Best of the Year Classical List for 2017 Recommendations by Fritz Balwit Bela Bartok: Complete String Quartets – Heath Quartet – Harmonia Mundi 907661.62 This young quartet has achieved the highest levels of concentration on this complete set of the quartets. All aspects of Bartok, from prickly agitation and folk humor to serene contrapuntal abstraction, are perfectly rendered. There is real excitement in the playing and the soundscape is outstanding. This recording narrowly edges out a release by the superb Chiara quartet, which, uniquely, plays the music without scores. Bjarte EIKE: The Ale-House Sessions – Rubicon 1017 This recording, reviewed on these pages this past summer, has only gotten better with repeated listening. Bjarte Eike has succeeded in presenting a frothy, joyous and surprising repertoire of Purcellian inspired fiddle music to popular audiences. The fiddlers can bawl out sea-shanties as well, but when Mr. Eike turns his bowing talent to a lament, there won’t be a dry eye in the house. Grand fun and superb musicianship. Star rating has been upgraded to *****! Link to Review DVORAK & SCHUBERT: String Quartets “Death and the Maiden” & “American” – The Dragon Quartet – Channel Classic 39417 Four […]
Nadia Reisenberg: The Remastered HAYDN Recordings, 1955-1958 – Nadia Reisenberg, piano – Romeo Records
Nadia Reisenberg: The Remastered HAYDN Recordings, 1955-1958 [Selection List Below] – Nadia Reisenberg, piano – Romeo Records 7324/5 (2 CDs) 72:13, 76:17 [Distr. by Albany] ****: Nadia Reisenberg’s 1950s Haydn programs receive new and astonishingly cleargloss from Romeo Records. Romeo Records refurbishes the series of Haydn performances that Nadia Reisenberg (1904-1983) produced for the Westminster label, 1955-1958, that had originally appeared on three LPs and then found their way in 1998 onto Ivory Classics (70806) under the supervision of Michael Rolland Davis. Although Reisenberg had “virtually retired” from active concert life by 1947, she made periodic appearances in the recording studio and at chamber music venues when the spirit and the camaraderie so moved her. The initial reaction to Reisenberg’s Haydn—rare enough at the time on records, with only occasional incursions into this vast repertory by the likes of Artur Balsam and Erno von Dohnanyi—proved unanimous and definitive: “[Reisenberg] has an unfailing understanding of classical form and spirit,” vaunted the Detroit Sunday Times. Robert Sherman, Ms. Reisenberg’s son—and a former colleague from my days at WQXR-FM – has re-arranged the Haydn works into two distinct groups of variations and sonatas, with the piano sonatas’ having been arranged chronologically from the […]
“Fantasia” = Violin works by RAUTAVAARA; SZYMANOWSKI; RAVEL – Anne Akiko Meyers, violin/Philharmonia Orchestra/Kristjan Jarvi – Avie Records
“Fantasia” = EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA: Fantasia; KAROL SZYMANOWSKI: Violin Concerto No. 1; MAURICE RAVEL: Tzigane – Anne Akiko Meyers, violin/Philharmonia Orchestra/Kristjan Jarvi – Avie Records AV2385, 48:16, (10/06/17) ****: A beautiful collection of mid-modern masterworks. Even if your only reason to acquire this beautiful and luxurious collection is out of curiosity for Rautavaara’s Fantasia for violin and orchestra then go get a copy—immediately. I admit that, for me, this was exactly my motivation and not due to curiosity. I have been a complete admirer of the late, great Finnish master’s music for over forty years and have never had an unfulfilling experience. Rautavaara’s music has always been a bit unique and hard to describe but for its lush, semi-Impressionistic orchestrations and beautiful slowly unfolding melodies. His early output was a bit more ‘post-Schoenberg’ and, while well-constructed and interesting though the early atonal stuff was, it is virtually all of Einojuhani’s output from the mid-1970s on for which he deserves to be remembered as one of the twentieth century’s great composers. The Fantasia was written in 2015 for Anne Akiko Meyers and is his last finished work, the composer having died in July, 2016. It is absolutely resplendent and evocative of the […]
Streams and Podcasts for 7 January 2018
This week, The Music Treasury is featuring the contemporary pianist, composer, arranger Andrew Wright. Andrew has been a champion of the “many hidden gems” of the repertoire from the 19th and 20th centuries. Of particular note was the release of his album “The Operatic Pianist” earlier this decade, followed by an encore release a few years later, reviewed on this site: The Operatic Pianist II, with Andrew Wright. On Sunday evening, Mr Wright will be an on-air guest, calling in from Dundee, Scotland. There will be the works of several composers presented, in piano adaptations—Wagner, Bellini, Rossini, Donizetti, Meyerbeer, Saint-Saens, Verdi, and Jaell. Hosted by Dr Gary Lemco, the show can be heard on 7 January 2018, between 19:00 and 21:00 PST, as well a streaming broadcast through kzsulive.stanford.edu.
TEN BEST CLASSICAL OF 2017 – II
TEN BEST CLASSICAL OF 2017 – Fritz Balwit Bela Bartok: Complete String Quartets – Heath Quartet – Harmonia Mundi 907661.62 This young quartet has achieved the highest levels of concentration on this complete set of the quartets. All aspects of Bartok, from prickly agitation and folk humor to serene contrapuntal abstraction, are perfectly rendered. There is real excitement in the playing and the soundscape is outstanding. This recording narrowly edges out a release by the superb Chiara quartet, which, uniquely, plays the music without scores. Bjarte EIKE: The Ale-House Sessions – Rubicon 1017 This recording, reviewed on these pages this past summer, has only gotten better with repeated listening. Bjarte Eike has succeeded in presenting a frothy, joyous and surprising repertoire of Purcellian inspired fiddle music to popular audiences. The fiddlers can bawl out sea-shanties as well, but when Mr. Eike turns his bowing talent to a lament, there won’t be a dry eye in the house. Grand fun and superb musicianship. Star rating has been upgraded to *****! Link to Review DVORAK & SCHUBERT: String Quartets “Death and the Maiden” & “American” – The Dragon Quartet – Channel Classic 39417 Four young Chinese musicians, who have established […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
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