music Archive
Dave Holland, doublebass – Aziza – Dare2
Dave Holland, doublebass – Aziza [TrackList follows] – Dare2 DR2-009, 68:34 (10/14/16) ****: (Dave Holland – bass/ Lionel Loueke – guitar/ Chris Potter – saxophones/ Eric Harland – drums) Dave Holland Quartet keeps the intensity alive. With legendary Bassist Dave Holland celebrating his 70th birthday this year, we might reasonably expect him to settle down and apply himself to something a little more sedate and reflective. Perhaps, a “Gateway Trio Unplugged does Bob Dylan,” or better yet an orchestral version of “Conference of the Birds with lyrics by Rumi.” But that isn’t Dave; Instead, we get another version of the Dave Holland Band, now stripped down to a quartet, playing some of the most raucous, funky, and spirited jazz of the year. The record under review appears on his own label, which he founded in 2005. His long tenure with ECM, a label on which Dave’s brand of energy jazz seemed to be incongruous, and seems to be over. We might wonder if this signals a new direction in his music. The answer is no. There is no swerving or slowing for Mr. Holland. Joining the band is Lionel Loueke. Lionel is originally from Benin and arrived in United States […]
A. SCARLATTI: La Gloria di Primavera – Soloists/Philharmonia Baroque Orch. & Chorale/ Nicholas McGegan – Naxos
What a shame the American continent had to wait 300 years for this wonder. ALESSANDRO SCARLATTI: La Gloria di Primavera – Performers: Diana Moore (Primavera)/ Suzana Ograjensek (Estate)/ Clint Van Der Linde (Autumno)/ Nicholas Phan (tenor)/ Douglas Williams (Giove)/ Philharmonia Baroque Orch. & Chorale/ Nicholas McGegan – Naxos Pure Audio Blu-ray PBP-09BD (5.1 surround + PCM 2.0), TT: 138:36 *****: It’s amazing that this work, unearthed after a 300-year hibernation, has come to light again, especially considering its scope—well over two hours long, obviously a major effort by any standard. McGegan and company have brought it to light in honor of the 30th season of his Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (has it been so long?), and the piece certainly deserves it. Scarlatti was asked if he could produce, rather quickly, an occasional piece honoring the recent and long awaited birth of Archduke Leopold Johann, the heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. This birth was hoped to assuage the long-standing European wars, but hopes faded fast when the unfortunate Archduke didn’t last very long. Neither, apparently, did Scarlatti’s serenata, a work somewhere between a cantata and an opera, not staged, and in form rather simple—a series of recitatives followed by […]
Audio News for September 20, 2016
Amazon’s Echo is Taking Over the World – The $180 small cylindrical speaker is much more than that, and there is a new $50 version called the Dot which can also be used with existing audio systems, and software which keeps multiple units from answering your voice commands. Amazon is building its Alexa army, tied in somehow with Kindel (which the company itself spells Kindel but Amazon insists on spelling it Kindle). Alexa is a plug-and-play hardware now integrated with Lutron and Creston, and Nucleus has a home video intercom device with Alexa built in. Echo is controlled by your voice, and streams music from top services via its 360-degree mono omni-directional audio. It can hear you even on top of music playing and from across the room. It can answer questions, read audiobooks, give the news, info on local businesses etc. It can control lights, switches, and thermostats on smart home devices. Things are constantly being developed to expand what it does. One observer called the virtual assistant the closest thing to a Star Trek computer available today. (But an audio club member complained that the speaker part is mono and has no bass end.) BBC Radio 3 Observes […]
MICHAEL TORKE: Three Manhattan Bridges; Winter’s Tale for cello and orchestra – Joyce Yang, p./Julie Albers, cello/Albany Sym. Orch./David Alan Miller – Albany
A wonderful look at this composer’s more recent style. MICHAEL TORKE: Three Manhattan Bridges; Winter’s Tale for cello and orchestra – Joyce Yang, p./Julie Albers, cello/Albany Sym. Orch./David Alan Miller – Albany TROY 1643, 57:24 (9/01/16) ****: I have appreciated Michael Torke’s music for many years now, going all the way to back to his idiomatic ‘color’ pieces (like Ecstatic Orange, et al) which were created in a sort of bouncy and ‘optimistic’ minimalism with shades of jazz. However, if that it is the only iteration of Michael’s music that one is familiar with then we are missing the growth of his very unique and captivating style. These two pieces are about as far from that much earlier ‘para-minimalist’ brand as one could get. Both Three Manhattan Bridges as well as Winter’s Tale are essentially concertos for piano and orchestra and cello and orchestra, respectively. Three Manhattan Bridges is structured in three movements that create almost a musical painting of the feel of three neighborhoods and moods landmarked by three of the most famous – and most often traversed – bridges that lead in and out of Manhattan; the George Washington Bridge, the Queensboro Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge. This […]
The Modern Jazz Quartet, Germany 1957-1958 “Lost Tapes” – SWR>>Music, Jazz Haus
These 19556-58 German recordings show the outstanding performances of the early MJQ. The Modern Jazz Quartet, Germany 1957-1958 “Lost Tapes” [TrackList follows] – SWR>>Music, Jazz Haus mono 101 731 *****: Pianist-composer John Lewis, in these early recordings, turns the four musicians of the quartet into a sensitive instrument which vibrates in the same universe of sound, achieving a communion unique in the jazz world. His idea was to present a unique style that incorporated both jazz and classical elements with great polish and artistry. And this they did. This is really cool jazz by players who really know the music. There are some nice variations in the German recordings from the U.S. releases, which make the disc worth getting. There is an interlude by John Lewis on “Ralph’s New Blues,” which presents this MJQ classic in a whole new light. On “Midsommer,” the MJQ is heard together with the Harald Banter Ensemble in a third stream style. Then there is their early interpretation of my favorite jazz tune, John Lewis’ “Django.” TrackList: Ralph’s New Blues, God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, Willow Weep for Me, I’ll Remember April, Misömmer, Bluesology, Django, Sun Dance, Cortege. You Go to my Head, I Can’t […]
********* CORIGLIANO: The Ghosts of Versailles (complete opera) ********* LA Opera – Pentatone (2)
At long last, a recording of one of the most important American operas – ever. * CORIGLIANO: The Ghosts of Versailles (complete opera) – Victoria Livengood (Woman with hat)/ Kristinn Sigmundsson (Louis XVI)/ Scott Scully (Marquis)/ Christopher Maltman (Beaumarchais)/ Patricia Racette (Marie Antoinette)/ Lucas Meachem (Figaro)/ Lucy Schaufer (Susanna)/ Joshua Guerrero (Count Almaviva)/ Guanqun Yu (Rosina)/ Renée Rapier (Cherubino)/ Patti LuPone (Samira)/ LA Opera Orchestra & Chorus/ James Conlon – Pentatone American Operas multichannel SACD PTC5186538 (2 discs), 80:57, 74:37 [Distr. by Naxos] (4/8/16) *****: Hard to fathom the fact that it has been 25 years since Ghosts so dramatically entered the scene. Conceived as a commission for the Met’s 100th anniversary, it was twelve years in the making and eight years past the deadline. The catalyst was James Levine, and the opening cast was a blazing fury of stars and up-and-coming stars. It was recorded on video and eventually released on DVD—no longer available except from some Amazon rip-off sites for two hundred bucks—and though there have been a fair amount of performances, most are of a scaled down version that does not reflect the original “Grand Opera Buffa” espoused by the composer. So this release is something of […]
The Cell, Blu-ray (2016)
Stephen King thinks the cell phone is bad – REAL bad… Cell, Blu-ray (2016) Cast: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Stacy Keach Director: Tod Williams Studio: Saban Fims, 120dB Films, Genre Co./Lionsgate (9/27/16) Video: 2.40:1 for 16:9 screens, 1080p HD color Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish Extras: Audio commentary track with Director, “To Cell and Back:” The Making of the Film, Ultraviolet digital HD Length: 89 min. Rating: **** One of the Amazon reviews repeats in caps: This Is Not a Zombie Movie!” Well, I eschew zombie movies and I found this one plenty disturbing but having certain similarities to zombie movies. It’s based on a decade-old novel by Stephen King (who changed the ending to a more positive one for the film) and opens with nearly everybody using a cell phone or smart phone at the Boston Airport turning into a foaming-at-the-mouth rabid killer or self-destroyer. This is supposedly brought about by an electronic signal from somewhere. The cell phone connection is never made entirely clear (there’s one scene where a pile of cell phones have been burned.) But the Cusack character (who has been separated from his wife and young son […]
SCHUBERT: Impromptu in A-flat Major; Sonata in c minor – Luisa Guembes-Buchanan, p. – Del Aguila
A much-respected pedagogue performs Schubert in a manner thoroughly sympathetic to the Viennese style. SCHUBERT: Impromptu in A-flat Major, D. 899, No. 4; Sonata in c minor, D. 958 – Luisa Guembes-Buchanan, p. – Del Aguila DA 55312, 40:00 [L4muse@comcast.net] ****: Pianist Luisa Guembes-Buchanan enjoys a reputation as an able pedagogue and Professor of Piano who has volunteered for more than 15 years at the “Summer School Wust” in Germany, an inspirer especially of young students of that instrument from the new “Länder” in central Germany. She has recorded the complete Beethoven piano sonatas and lectured extensively on the significance of the late sonatas. This all-Schubert disc, featuring Ms. Guembes-Buchanan’s artistry on a Fazioli instrument, was recorded in Cambridge, MA in 2015. The Schubert A-flat Major Impromptu of 1828 receives a fluent and vibrant reading: from its opening a-flat minor, the music progresses, Allegretto, in ¾, with felicity and assurance. The pianist prepares us, through canny pedal, lyrical runs, and adjusted dynamics, for the transition into c-sharp minor, where Schubert plays his wonted enharmonic tricks with the melodic tissue. The slightly disruptive repetition of minor seconds in the designated Trio section achieves a sonorous turn via the Fazioli’s special particular […]
DVORAK: Sym. No. 9 in e minor, “From the New World”; Sym. No. 8 in G Major – Czech Philharmonic Orch./ Frantisek Stupka – Praga Digitals stereo-only
For those unfamiliar with the veteran Czech conductor Stupka, these two Dvorak performances provide a brilliant introduction. DVORAK: Symphony No. 9 in e minor, Op. 95 “From the New World”; Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88 – Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/ Frantisek Stupka – Praga Digitals stereo-only SACD PRD/DSD 350 134, 78:23 (8/12/16) [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] *****: The name of Czech conductor Frantisek Stupka (1879-1965) certainly did not convey to me the same authority as I had accorded Vaclav Talich, Karel Ancerl, and Rafael Kubelik, but these performances – of the “New World” Symphony (6 January 1964) and the G Major Symphony (8 January 1959) – have changed my perspective. Stupka – having made his reputation with the Czech String Quartet – served as co-director of the Czech Philharmonic from 1946-1956 and director of the Moravian Philharmonic, the latter of which remained an “Eastern” ensemble without recorded documentation. The live broadcasts here preserved by Praga prove instantly refreshing and eminently affectionate readings of repertory that once more – under an inspirational conductor – throw off any sedimentation or ossification from long-wrought familiarity. The reading of the New World Symphony proceeds linearly but with inflamed interior voices from the […]
HANDEL: Messiah at Grace Cathedral – audio-only Blu-ray (2015)
Rather laidback for my taste. HANDEL: Messiah at Grace Cathedral (1753 Foundling Hospital Version) – audio-only Blu-ray (2015) Mary Wilson, sop./ Eric Jurenas, countertenor/ Kyle Stegall, tenor/ Jesse Blumberg, bar./ John Thiessen, trumpet/ American Bach Soloists/ American Bach Ch./ Jeffrey Thomas (Live from Grace Cathedral, San Francisco 2014) Producer: Abigail McKee Director: Frank Zamacona Studio: American Bach Soloists (1 Blu-Ray Disc) Video: Full HD 1920 X 1080i 16:9 color Audio: PCM Stereo 2.0, DTS-HD MA 5.1 Length: 147 min., 31 min. (doc.) Extras: Welcome to Grace Cathedral, About Handel’s Messiah Rating: *** Grace Cathedral presents a music series every year, and of course Messiah is a perennial favorite, as it is at almost every music series in the country. This year the American Bach Soloists decided to grace the cathedral with their take on this most popular piece of music in the world, the sterling Jeffrey Thomas leading the pack. I have always been a fan of Thomas and his ABS, but I must say that this release is a major disappointment. First the visuals: Aside from the over-reliance on camera pans to the various pieces of artwork in the cathedral, and the extraordinarily superfluous twenty miles of streamers from […]
CHOPIN: Four Ballades; Berceuse in D-flat Major; Four Mazurkas – Yundi Li, piano – DGG
Yundi’s Chopin recital surveys the epic, the poetic, and the intimate with grace and stylistic security. CHOPIN: Four Ballades; Berceuse in D-flat Major, Op. 57; Four Mazurkas, Op. 17 – Yundi Li, piano – DGG 481 2443, 56:00 (2/26/16) [Distr. by Universal] ****: Having become the first Chinese performer ever to win the prestigious Chopin Competition in 2000, Yundi Li (b. 1982) has gleaned a reputation more for poetic sensitivity than for sheer bravura and flamboyant foppishness, in the manner of Lang Lang. Yundi (at eighteen) became the youngest winner in the history of the event, and the first player in fifteen years to be granted first prize. Yundi has already recorded the Preludes as part of his ongoing Chopin Project. Yundi here (rec. December 2015) turns to the four Chopin Ballades, 1835-1843, the composer’s subjective response to the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz, wherein many of the musical impulses assume a direct connection to the verse conceits of the narratives. From the outset of the dynamic Ballade No. 1 in g minor, Op. 23, Yundi demonstrates a combination of virile strength and flexible, poetic introspection. The rubato Yundi employs enhances the lyric ebb and flow of the melodic, vocal line, […]
SCHUBERT: Piano Sonatas: No. 18 in G; No. 20 – David Korevaar, p. – MSR Classics
David Koervaar provides an intimate and almost intrusive glimpse into these late Schubert works. SCHUBERT: Piano Sonatas: No. 18 in G, D.894; No. 20 in A, D.959 – David Korevaar, p. – MSR Classics MS 1557, 71:37 [Distr. by Albany] ****: Korevaar, currently at University of Colorado Boulder (where this was recorded), is a wide-spectrum type of pianist who nevertheless brings a certainly stylistic sensibility to everything he records. One criticism that is often leveled at actors, for instance, is that in every role they play we discern the personality first and the character second. In music however, this is not a bad thing. One is never able to recreate, despite the best of intentions, who the “real” Beethoven or Mozart is, let alone the “true intentions” (whatever that means) of the composer. Interpretative musical art will always be a best guess scenario, and the re-creative aspects of musical performance dictate that each and every effort is in some way the union of multiple—and often disparate—musical personalities. I say this because Korevaar is an artist whose human sensibilities, no matter what he is playing, are always at the forefront. He seem anxious to communicate to us the deeply personal elements […]
DVORAK: Piano Concerto in g minor; SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto – Stephen Hough, p./ City of Birmingham Orch./ Andris Nelsons – Hyperion
The unusual combination of Schumann and Dvorak concertos certifies Stephen Hough’s mastery in music of the Romantic temperament. DVORAK: Piano Concerto in g minor, Op. 33; SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in a minor, Op. 54 – Stephen Hough, p./ City of Birmingham Orch./ Andris Nelsons – Hyperion CDA68099, 74:11 (4/1/16) [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****: My own familiarity with the Dvorak Piano Concerto of 1876 derives from a recording by Frantisek Maxian and Vaclav Talich – wonderful playing of an edition by pedagogue Vilem Kurz (1872-1945), amending a “concerto for two right hands.” Rudolf Firkusny, too, performed the abridged version, recording it with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. So, whatever the innate fluency and often Bohemian charm of the piece, it maintained a reputation for its awkward pianism, its lack of virtuoso bravura, and its rarity in performance. Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997) altered our perception of the work, reverting to the uncut, original edition and subsequently performing it with Kondrashin and recording it with Carlos Kleiber. Now, the tendency is for pianists to perform the original version as a matter of course, adjusting its idiosyncratic demands to a fluent, poetic realization that makes us question why the work ever fell out […]
“The Return” = Preludes of RACHMANINOFF, Works of BABAJANIAN – Raffi Besalyan, p. – Sono Luminus CD & audio-only Blu-ray
Riveting sound and brilliant performances add up to a most desirable set. “The Return” = RACHMANINOFF: Prelude Op. 3, No. 2 in C sharp minor; Prelude Op. 23, No. 5 in G minor; Prelude Op. 23, No. 6 in E flat major; Prelude Op. 23, No. 7 in C minor; Prelude Op. 23, No. 5 in G minor; Prelude Op. 23, No. 10 in G flat major; Prelude Op. 23, No. 12 in G sharp minor; Étude-Tableau, Op. 33, No. 6 in E flat minor (published as No. 3); Étude-Tableau, Op. 39, No. 1 in C minor; Étude-Tableau, Op. 39, No. 5 in E flat minor; Étude-Tableau, Op. 39, No. 6 in A minor; Variations on a theme of Corelli, Op. 42; ARNO BABAJANIAN: Prelude; Melody and Humoresque; Elegy; Vagarshapat Dance – Raffi Besalyan, piano – Sono Luminus DSL-92187, 65:42 (CD + audio-only Blu-ray – 5.1 & 7.1 DTS, 2.0 PCM with FLAC and MP3 files downloadable) *****: I had no idea that such a powerhouse pianist as Raffi Besalyan worked so close to me. Just downtown from where I live, as Assistant Professor of Piano at Georgia State University, resides this technical wiz and bold Rachmaninoff master. On the […]
![TIPPETT: Symphony No 2* [ world première]; BLISS: Short works – Boult/Bliss – Pristine Audio](https://www.audaud.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/TippettBliss.jpg)
TIPPETT: Symphony No 2* [ world première]; BLISS: Short works – Boult/Bliss – Pristine Audio
An intriguing collection of English Music from both sides of the coin. TIPPETT: Symphony No. 2* [ world première]; BLISS: Welcome The Queen – March; March from ‘Things to Come’; Checkmate (excerpts); Theme and Cadenza for violin and orchestra; Overture: Edinburgh / BBC SO / Sir Adrian Boult*/ BBC Concert Orch. / Sir Arthur Bliss – Pristine Classical PASC460; 78:20 [www.pristineclassical.com] reviewed as a 24-bit download (24 & 16-bit download or CD-R available) ****1/2: Pristine Classical presents a very valuable Janus of a release, the two faces of which are clear from the contents. First we hear the world premiere, together with its unfortunate collapse early on the performance, of Sir Michael Tippett’s knotty and energetic Second Symphony, and then some of the urbane Sir Arthur Bliss’s music on the lighter side. Widely differing music by widely differing composers make for an intriguing combination and a successful one. Sir Michael Tippett was inspired for his athletic and boldly rhythmic Second Symphony by the insistent rhythms of music by Vivaldi to which he was listening, captivated, while on holiday by the shores of Lake Lugano in the early 1950s. It took some years for the inspiration to gestate and assume the […]
“Tavener Conducts Tavener” – Cappella Nova/ Alan Tavener – Linn
A Tavener tribute of substance and compelling emotion. “Tavener Conducts Tavener” – Cappella Nova/ Alan Tavener – Linn CKD 539, 74 min. [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Cappella Nova has a long association with the music of the late John Tavener (2013), and so this tribute album is bookended with music from the very first composition they commissioned from him, Resurrection. Conductor Alan Tavener is a relation, but not close, though he seems to have an innate understanding of this music that only a close relative could! Cappella sings everything here with endearment and understanding. In fact this is as fine a compilation of Tavener’s music as I have heard, and there are many. He was an uneven composer; at his best, as in many of the smaller choral works, The Protecting Veil, and in my opinion his finest piece, The Veil of the Temple, his music approached the sublime. At the other end it often felt as if he were on autopilot, or at best unsure of his direction. Spiritually towards the end of his life this same dilemma plagued him, though he professed to remain an Orthodox Christian. His influence however, is not in doubt. Just listening to the […]
Audio News for February 12, 2016
Samsung and LG Show OLED Walls; Dying Technology – Hardware On the Way Out; Study Shows People Who Listen to Music Out Loud Have More Sex; New Canadian Site Offers Better Music Quality Plus Convenience; Only a Rumor So Far, But Apple May Make Lightning the Hi-res Audio Port of the Future
MAHLER: Symphony No. 6 in a minor – NY Philharmonic/ Dimitri Mitropoulos – Archipel
MAHLER: Symphony No. 6 in a minor – NY Philharmonic/ Dimitri Mitropoulos – Archipel ARPCD 0440, 72:57 [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Archipel issues the same performance of the Mahler Sixth (10 April 1955) previously made available on Music&Arts CD-1214, which I reviewed before. The inscription bears all the hallmarks of Mitropoulos’ eminently physical response to Mahler’s over-wrought emotionalism, touched by a palpable yearning for transcendence. When the music calls for overt tenderness and sentiment, Mitropoulos accords the moment a decided eroticism, tinged with imminent tragedy. I here reproduce the gist of my original printed reaction, with a few added remarks, given my “refreshed” familiarity with this epic reading. Mitropoulos provides us with a staggering, superheated Mahler Sixth, a work he first introduced to the United States in 1947, to a mixed critical reception. The 1955 realization has the typical earmarks of the Mitropoulos approach: committed, explosive, excruciatingly poignant, and unsentimental. Mitropoulos opts to place the Andante moderato second, a choice obviously not etched in stone, since his later WDR appearance put the slow movement after the Scherzo, which wins nods from self-styled Mahler scholars. The energized, focused quality of the Philharmonic string, wind, and brass choirs warrants praise, especially as […]
BARTOK: Concerto for Orchestra; Dance Suite – London Sym. Orch./ Sir Georg Solti – Decca vinyl
A classic Solti recording of two Bartok works, on a remastered vinyl. BARTOK: Concerto for Orchestra; Dance Suite – London Sym. Orch./ Sir Georg Solti – Decca 4788558, 70 min. vinyl (3/6/15) ***(*): When Solti’s Concerto for Orchestra with the LSO was released in 1965, it set standards in sound and performance that lasted for the rest of the decade. It was a brilliant statement of Decca’s commitment to doing for the music, and by extension the conductor, the orchestra and the recording company, what Stokowski had done for classical music in Fantasia – without the color animation. It was just the musicians, Bartok and your loudspeakers, and the effect was explosive, one of London’s crack orchestras showing what it could for the superstar Solti; the fact that he was Hungarian, like Bartok, made the project all the sweeter, and automatically more authentic. The competition against which Solti scored this huge success was formidable. Fritz Reiner’s 1956 Chicago Symphony still was beloved of American audiophiles, and Solti’s passionate approach and razor-sharp execution was for some “Reiner with heart.” The main contenders on the European side were Ferenc Fricsay’s 1957 taping with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, also an audiophile […]
Audio News for July 7, 2015
Slate Article Defends Audiophiles; Another New Vinyl Pressing Plant; Music Lovers Ready to Invest
“Venice, The Golden Age” – Oboe Concerti by VIVALDI, PORTA, MARCELLO and others – Xenia Löffler, oboe /Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin – Harmonia mundi
The very best Italian baroque oboe concertos.
“Music for a Queen” = ANGELO MICHELE BARTOLOTTI: Passacaglie in G; Suite in C; Folia in g; Suite in d; Suite in D – Fredrik Bock, Baroque guitar – LAWO
Not the greatest master of all things guitar, but this composer more than deserves a careful and considered hearing.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
