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“ORGANISM” – TRYGVE MADSEN, KJELL MØRK KARLSEN, and KJELL FLEM – Terje Winge, organ – 2L

“ORGANISM” – TRYGVE MADSEN, KJELL MØRK KARLSEN, and KJELL FLEM – Terje Winge, organ – 2L

by | Sep 11, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

“Organism” – TRYGVE MADSEN, KJELL MØRK KARLSEN, and KJELL FLEM  – Terje Winge, organ – 2L Pure Audio Blu-ray 2L-123-SABD + multichannel SACD, DTS-HD MA 192kHz/24 bit 5.1, DTS-HD MA 96kHz/24 bit 7.1, PCM 192kHz/24 bit stereo, Dolby Atmos, 9.1 Auro 3D, mShuttle: stereo MQA 96kHz + MP3 (8/25/16) (1:09:17)  [Dist. by Naxos] ****: Excellent contemporary organ music in a variety of listening formats, both hi and low-res. The organ music on this album is written by three composers with different musical backgrounds, who give us excellent contemporary music for organ. Trygve Madsen studied with organist-composer Egil Hovland, one of the 20th century’s most significant pioneers in the field of church music. Kjell Mørk Karlsen grew up in a rich church music milieu, inspired by his father, Rolf Karlsen, who was Oslo cathedral organist for over fifteen years. Kjell Flem studied piano and organ, gaining a close knowledge of the organ’s technical and musical possibilities. Included on the disc are: 1 Kjell Mark Karlsen: Sonata “De profundis”, Op. 142 (21:13) 2 Trygve Madsen: Le Tombeau de Dupré, Op. 62 (22:30) 3 Kjell Flem: Ecclesia in mundo (25:35) As is always the case with 2L, this is a beautiful recording. It arrives […]

TCHAIKOVSKY: Swan Lake Suite; RACHMANINOFF: Piano Con. 2 – both Philadelphia Orch. & Ormandy – HDTT audio-only Blu-rays

TCHAIKOVSKY: Swan Lake Suite; RACHMANINOFF: Piano Con. 2 – both Philadelphia Orch. & Ormandy – HDTT audio-only Blu-rays

by | Mar 24, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Two potboilers in proper quadraphonic surround sound on Blu-ray. TCHAIKOVSKY: Swan Lake Suite – Philadelphia Orch./ Eugene Ormandy – from RCA Quad 4-track tape 1972 – HDTT audio-only Blu-ray (4.0 & 2.0) DTS-HD MA ****: RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 2 – Artur Rubinstein, p. / Philadelphia Orch./ Eugene Ormandy – from RCA Quad 4-track tape 1972 – HDTT audio-only Blu-ray (4.0 & 2.0) DTS-HD MA ****: PentaTone are not the only ones bringing four-channel quadraphonic recordings of the past to present-day multichannel formats, but now HDTT is doing the same with these two quad 4-track prerecorded tapes. They have a 192/24 resolution on the four tracks. The results are processed via the very high-end facilities of HDTT and even though four-track rather than two-track, there is no noticeable hiss at all to be heard and the fidelity is excellent. Max Wilcox was the producer and Paul Goodman was the engineer for the first, the second Blu-ray is uncredited. The 14 sections of the suite which Ormandy selected are beautifully played and the sonics are first rate. Rubinstein’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is one of the great recorded performances of the work and holds a lot of appeal. The Rachmaninoff Blu-ray […]

Best of the Year Discs for 2012

by | Dec 28, 2012 | Best of the Year

* = 12 Best Multichannel Discs of the Month CLASSICAL (Incl. HI-RES), CLASSICAL REISSUE & CL. VINYL ACHRON: Complete Suites for Violin and Piano –  Shaham/Erez – Hyperion CDA 67841 VOLKMAR ANDREAE: Symphony in C Major, Op. 31; Notturno and Scherzo, Op. 30; Music for Orchestra, Op. 35; Kleine Suite, Op. 27 – Bournemouth Sym. Orch. / Marc Andreae – Guild GMCD 7377 ARNOLD: Overtures – London Philharmonic/ Malcom Arnold – Reference Recordings HRx 176.4/24bit files HR-48 * BACH: Sonatas No. 1 in b, BWV 1014; No. 3 in E, BWV 1016; in g, BWV 1020; in b, BWV 1030; in E-flat: Siciliana – Lara St. John, v./ Marie-Pierre Langlamet, harp – Ancalagon SACD 139 BEETHOVEN: Diabelli Variations – Andreas Staier, fortepiano – Harmonia Mundi HMC 902091 * BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique; Ov. to Beatrice and Benedict – Scottish Ch. Orch./ Robin Ticciati – Linn SACD CKD 400 YORK BOWEN: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 – BBC Philharmonic/Sir Andrew Davis – Chandos 10670 BRAHMS: Sym. No. 1 – Furtwaengler/Hamburg Philh. – Tahra TAHRA FURT 2010 * BRITTEN: War Requiem – Soloists/ Choir of Eltham College/ London Sym. Chorus/ London Sym./Gianandrea Noseda – LSO Live SACD LSO0719 (2 discs) ALFREDO CASELLA: Concerto for Orchestra; War […]