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MENDELSSOHN: Syms. Nos. 1 & 4 – London Sym./Gardiner – LSO Live

MENDELSSOHN: Syms. Nos. 1 & 4 – London Sym./Gardiner – LSO Live

by | Jan 20, 2017 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

A vigorous and incisive Italian, with a fresh and even more exhilarating “First”. MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 1 in c, Op. 11; No. 4 in A, Op. 90 “Italian” (1833 version) – London Sym. Orch./ John Eliot Gardiner – LSO Live multichannel Pure Audio Blu-ray & SACD LSO0765 (2 discs, on audio-only Blu-ray), 62:11 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****: Mendelssohn’s tour of Europe from 1829-31 ended with a sojourn in Italy, where the 22-year-old immediately began writing a symphony that would reflect his experiences. It is easily the sunniest of all his compositions, though it did cause him heartache, so much so that he decided to revise it in 1834. But since it was never published in his lifetime, it is the earlier version commonly played today, and so Gardiner offers it here. I expected something rather on the quick side, and he does not disappoint. What is most surprising is the ability of the LSO to articulate some of the fast triplet passages in the first and last movements as clearly and cleanly as they do, a real tribute to the virtuosity of the orchestra. This is an exciting if predictable performance (there have been others in this mold as […]

Audio News for December 23, 2016

by | Dec 23, 2016 | Audio News

Suggested VR Social Platform –  MyVR users can discover, save, stream or share online content including news articles, music and videos. MyVR, available free, enables owners to visit others’ virtual rooms, and hold group voice chats while browsing the web, watching videos, reading articles or listening to music.  It is available for iOS devices at:  itunes.apple.com/us/app/myvr-virtually-everything/id1171449912?mt=8 and Android users at:  itunes.apple.com/us/app/myvr-virtually-everything/id1171449912?mt=8 New users can choose from five pre-set rooms for their profile. After the coming update, users will be able to use real-life items to design their room. When complete, users select different items in the room to access different feeds of content – such as selecting the TV to watch viral videos or the music player to listen to their favorite songs. Hundreds of trending articles, recipes, videos, photos, music and more will be available the moment they are published. MyVR will bring everything people love to do online into a run and social virtual reality world, taking advantage of the platform’s voice and motion recognition technology to make finding and sharing interesting content easier and more intuitive. Pono Will Re-Invent Itself as a Streaming Service – Neil Young will change his his Pono hi-fi service to a hi-res […]

RUTTER: Visions; Requiem – The Temple Boys Choir/ Roger Sayer – Aurora Orch. – Collegium

RUTTER: Visions; Requiem – The Temple Boys Choir/ Roger Sayer – Aurora Orch. – Collegium

by | Dec 18, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

JOHN RUTTER: Visions; Requiem – The Temple Boys Choir/ Roger Sayer – Aurora Orch./ solo violin: Kerson Leong – Collegium COLCD 139, 58:00 (10/18/16) ****: Something new and something old from John Rutter. This new CD pairs John Rutter’s most recent work with one of his most popular. Visions celebrates the utopian ideal of heavenly peace in in four movements, written specially for the solo violin of Kerson Leong, string ensemble and the boy choristers of the Temple Church choir. The Requiem of 1985 receives a significant new recording under the guidance of its composer. Visions was composed at the invitation of the 2016 Menuhin Competition and premiered at a Festival concert in London’s historic Temple Church by Kerson Leong, winner of the 2010 Junior Menuhin Prize, and the Choristers of Temple Church. They are joined by the Cambridge Singers and the young and vibrant Aurora Orchestra. Visions is a strikingly beautiful piece, lovingly played and artfully executed. The work is based on four biblical texts. Rutter has a large following, so this new work is certain to be well received and talked about. I think the appeal of the Requiem is Rutter’s conducting. The work has plenty of energy, […]

DVORAK: Slavonic Rhapsodies; Symphonic Variations – Prague Philharmonic/ Jacub Hrusa – Pentatone

DVORAK: Slavonic Rhapsodies; Symphonic Variations – Prague Philharmonic/ Jacub Hrusa – Pentatone

by | Nov 22, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

DVORAK: Slavonic Rhapsodies; Symphonic Variations – Prague Philharmonic/ Jacub Hrusa – Pentatone multichannel SACD PTC5186554, 60:28 [Distr. by Naxos] (10/7/16) ***1/2: Lesser known Dvorak lovingly played and very nicely recorded. For the third of his three-album series for Pentatone, the young and increasingly popular Jakub Hrusa conducts the Prague Philharmonic in an all-Dvorak program of appealing orchestral works comprising the Symphonic Variations Op. 78 coupled with the lesser known Slavonic Rhapsodies Op. 45, not to be confused with the well known Slavonic Dances. It’s nice to get a release of Dvorak’s non symphonic works, which are very popular, but there was more to the great Czech composer, and people who listen to this disc will agree. This is a lovely recording, with very nice instrumental positioning in the front channel, while the rears provide ambiance. Massed strings are very clean, and the SACD format renders the strings in a natural stress-free sound. The brass are also quite realistic. The low end is solid in this 5.0 recording. Hrusa has been a strong advocate of Dvorak, and he’s filling out the catalog nicely. Although these works are not the most familiar of Dvorak’s output, this is a most welcome recording and […]

John Lee Hooker – The Modern, Chess & Vee-Jay Singles And Collection 1949-1962 – Acrobat Music (4 CDs)

John Lee Hooker – The Modern, Chess & Vee-Jay Singles And Collection 1949-1962 – Acrobat Music (4 CDs)

by | Nov 5, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

John Lee Hooker – The Modern, Chess & Vee-Jay Singles And Collection 1949-1962 – Acrobat Music ACQCD7103 (4-CDs) mono box set [10/7/16] ****1/2: This is a seminal anthology of a blues icon. (John Lee Hooker – guitar & vocals) Among the icons of blues, John Lee Hooker stands tall. In classic legendary cult persona, his birthplace is one of two places in Mississippi. But that’s Delta country and Hooker would represent the sub-genre with his own inimitable style. in 1948, he recorded the standard “Boogie Chillen” in Detroit, which was released on Modern Records out of Los Angeles. The single became the biggest “race” record of 1949, launching a memorable career. Throughout his years with various labels including Modern, Chess, Vee-Jay, Atlantic, and Verve (and others), he added songs like “Boom Boom”, “Crawling King Snake” and “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” to the blues landscape. His early work was renown for its unusual rhythmic structures (which made it difficult for musicians to accompany) and guitar-based boogie music. Due to money (or lack of money issues), Hooker recorded a lot of music under assumed names. Acrobat Music has released a 4-CD box set highlighting Hooker’s catalog with Modern, Chess and […]