PCM Archive
BRATLIE: Vers la Lumière – Bratlie, piano; David Bratlie – electro-acoustic transitions – 2L
JENS HARALD BRATLIE: Vers la Lumière – Bratlie, piano; David Bratlie – electro-acoustic transitions [track list fellows] 2L 2L-132-SACD Pure Audio Blu-ray + multichannel SACD, DTS-HD MA 192kHz/24 bit 5.1, DTS-HD MA 96kHz/24 bit, PCM 192kHz/24-bit stereo, Dolby Atmos, 9.1 Auro 3D, mShuttle: stereo MQA 96kHz + MP3 TT: 57:00 (Blu-ray is region free) (12/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: A piano/electronic combination that largely succeeds. Vers la LUMIÈRE is an interesting disc from the folks at 2L. It’s a collection of classical piano music, with each work featuring a ‘transitional work’ by pianist Jens Harald Bratlie’s son David. What we get is piano music interspersed with electro-acoustic music. On paper, such a hybrid program should not work, but actually, to my ear, it works quite well and it makes for an interesting musical journey. The classical pieces were chosen for their moodiness and introspection, including works by Liszt, Messiaen, and Bibalo. Between them are three short pieces by the younger Bratlie. The standard repertoire is played in lovely fashion. Each work follows nicely from the previous one. The more contemporary transitions don’t interrupt the program, but in fact enhance it, as was the original intent. The disc itself is a […]
Audio News for February 7, 2017
Jamie Parker Commemorates 150 Years of Classical Music in Canada – He is the face classical piano music thruout Canada and enjoys bringing its joys to audiences around the world. He is judge for the Cliburn Competition and often paralyses his Facebook followers with laughter. Competitors in the annual Piano Hero competition are evaluated mainly on their pre-recorded video presentation. Jamie says it is not a question of quality but rather of relevancy control: “…boards of directors do not do an adequate job of raising funds or keeping audiences engaged in their outreach initiatives.” He says “all musicians play well, if there are enough starving artists, then only the best are going to get jobs today.” “The Baby Boomers have not really migrated to classical music.” Linkplay Offers Turnkey WiFi Speaker Solution with Alexa – Linkplay Technology, a leading WiFi audio solution provider, offered at a one-day conference a way to educate customers interested in designing and building Powered by Linkplay products. The Amazon Alexa Voice Service is a broad ecosystem which can develop customer-differentiated audio products and other smart home devices. Linkplay’s patented Smart WiFi audio hardware and software module provides AVS integration, streaming music integration, app and cloud […]
MODEST MUSSORGSKY: Boris Godunov (2016)
A good quality ‘realistic’ production worth investigating. MODEST MUSSORGSKY: Boris Godunov (2016) Production: Sofia Opera, Bulgaria Performers: Martin Tsonev (Boris Godunov)/Mario Kratsev (Fyodor)/Irina Zhekova (Kseniya)/Sofia Opera Orchestra and Chorus/Konstantin Chudovski (cond.)/Plamen Kartaloff (stage director)/Stefan Mushatov (screen director) Studio: Dynamic [7/29/16] (Distr. by Naxos) Video: 1.33:1 color Audio: DTS-HD 5.1, PCM Stereo Subtitles: French, English, Italian, German, Russian, Bulgarian, Korean Length: 115 min. Ratings: Audio *** Video ***1/2 The opera, Boris Godunov, is considered by many to be Modest Mussorgsky’s masterwork. Mussorgsky was a member of Russian nationalist composers who became known as “The Five” (along with Balakirev, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and the fairly obscure Cesar Cui.) I’ve always felt that the most interesting thing about this group is actually how comparatively few big famous masterworks came out of this cadre. Mussorgsky is probably best known for his Pictures an Exhibition; and that due to Ravel’s lush orchestration. Boris Godunov is based on the Pushkin play about the real seventeenth-century czar who overcame attempted uprisings and the deaths of both family members and advisors to become a bridge between the Tsar, “Ivan the Terrible” and a ‘modern’ Russia. Like all the czars, Godunov’s reign and mandate was not wholly pure but he […]
Audio News for October 28, 2016
Sony to Expand Hi-Res to More Products; Reasons for Hi-Res
Audio News for October 14, 2016
Astell & Kern Hi-Res Players Get Tidal Integration – Tidal support is beginning to roll out to A & K players via an over-the-air (OTA) firmware update. This isn’t the first streaming service built into A & K players, but earlier services such as Groover+, MOOV, and Deezer were liited in terms of where they could be used. Tidal, on the other hand, is available in more than 50 countries. It features lossless audio, though Spotify and Apple Music still lack this feature. Tidal’s standard plan is $10 a month, with the lossless audio plan $20 a month. A 30-day free trial is available. (Tidal reportedly owes a great deal and is having trouble staying afloat.) Naim’s New Uniti Hi-Fi Kit – Audiophiles loved Naim’s wireless speakers and they sounded good. Now they have introduced the Naim Uniti star at about £3000. You will of course need good speakers with it. It supports all hi-res audio formats, it will rip from CDs to a USB stick and multiroom with existing Naims via iOS or Android apps, and there’s a five-inch color screen on the front. There’s also a half-sized unit without the CD drive for £1600. DTS:X Has a Scalable […]
PUCCINI: La Boheme (complete opera), C Major Blu-ray (2016)
It’s hard to divorce this release from recent events. PUCCINI: La Boheme (complete opera), Blu-ray (2016) Performers: Daniela Dessì (Mimì)/ Fabio Armiliato (Rodolfo)/ Alessandro Luongo (Marcello)/ Alida Berti (Musetta)/ Federico Longhi (Schaunard)/ Marco Spotti (Colline)/ Angelo Nardinocchi (Benoit/Alcindoro)/ Ugo Tarquini (Parpignol)/ Marco Simonelli (Sergente dei doganieri)/ Jacopo Bianchini (Un doganiere)/ Orchestra and Choir of the Puccini Festival Torre del Lago/ Valerio Galli Director: Ettore Scola Studio: C Major 736204 2014 Video: 16:9 HD 1080i, color Audio: PCM stereo 2.0, DTS-HD MA 5.1 Subtitles: Italian, German, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese No region code Length: 123 min. Rating: **** There is something particularly pathetic, in Act 3 of this production, hearing Mimi utter the words “Alas, I am dying.” For the magnificent soprano playing her, Daniela Dessi, died just a couple of months ago in August from colon cancer that she had just begun receiving treatment for, and the opera world is still in shock from the news. She had promised to be back on stage in October, so something obviously went horribly wrong between prognosis and treatment. Her husband and longtime singing partner, and the Rodolfo in this production, Fabio Armiliato, messaged: ‘A short, horrible and incomprehensible illness has […]
Audio News for September 16, 2016
The Loss of the Well-Rounded Musician – Mozart and his sister experienced many different styles of playing and composing around Europe, and Beethoven was known more as an improviser at the piano during his first years in Vienna. Today most musicians have become more specialized and strive for being note-perfect with perfect technical finish. It is now rare for professional classical musicians also to be composers. Improvising is generally out of fashion. Some critics feel that the separation of composers and instrumentalists as professions is slowly killing the spirit of classical music. Two New Smart Audio Technologies – Frontier Silicon, leaders in smart audio technologies, offered two new items at CECIA 2016: Minuet – a Googlecast-enabled speaker toolkit for Wi-Fi speakers, soundbars and hi-fi systems, and Venice 6.5 – a cost-optimized solution for multi-room speakers that includes Napster, Spotify Connect, and Deezer. The Minuet includes the entire design set needed to build an audio product and comes pre-certified for CE, FCC, the Wi-Fi Alliance and Bluetooth. It also handles the latest v. 4.2 of Bluetooth, the latest Wi-Fi, diversity antennas, a dual-core ARM A7 processor and multiple audio inputs and outputs. Venice 6.5 integrates with premium streaming music services, has […]
Audio News for September 2, 2016
Rotel Introduces New 14 Series Integrated Amplifiers and CD Player – For listeners who appreciate the look and feel of retro high-quality separate components including serious loudspeakers, as long as they can still plug in, Rotel is targeting you with its new 14 Series amplifiers and – courageously so – a CD player. “Stereo playback is enjoying a renaissance, particularly among younger people,” Doug Henderson, president of Rotel’s distributor, the B&W Group, said. Connection options include Bluetooth with AptX, standard analog and phono inputs, two each of coaxial and optical inputs, USB for PC and iOS which supports high-resolution playback of 32-bit/384kHz PCM, as well as DSD and DSD 2X. The three new 14 Series models will debut in October. The A14 integrated amplifier (80 watts per channel and high resolution) will retail for $1,300, the A12 (60 watts) $900, and the CD14 CD $600. Grado’s New Deluxe Cartridges an Audiophile’s Dream – After two years of research, development and a lot of listening, Brooklyn-based Grado is releasing its new Statement Series2 [sic] line of deluxe audiophile phono cartridges. Housed in Australian Jarrah wood, a eucalyptus species renowned for its versatility, durability and strength, and featuring “a fixed coil design […]
BERNARD HERRMANN : The Fantasy Film World of Bernard Herrmann – Nat. Philharmonia Orch. – HDTT
Bernard Herrmann film scores in startling surround sound! BERNARD HERRMANN : The Fantasy Film World of Bernard Herrmann – Journey to the Center of the Earth; The 7th Voyage of Sinbad; The Day The Earth Stood Still; Fahrenheit 451 – National Philharmonic Orch./ Bernard Herrmann – HDTT [various formats including hi-res 4.0 Surround Blu-ray audio and PCM stereo PCM & DSD from www.highdeftapetransfers.com] 46:09 ****: Using the same orchestra which played under Charles Gerhardt in RCA Victor’s Classic Film Scores series, Bernard Herrmann is at the helm for this release, one of seven featuring film music which he put together for Decca in the early 1970s. Besides writing a good deal of music for the concert hall and for the movies, Herrmann had a long and successful career as a conductor in the US and UK. At one stage during the mid-1950s, he had so impressed the London Symphony Orchestra during a series of concerts which included Charles Ives’ Second, that he was in line for the job of chief conductor. Herrmann remains most well-known these days for his film scores. Over the years he collaborated with Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, François Truffaut, and finally worked with Martin Scorcese. Harry […]
BACH: Goldberg Variations – Alexandre Tharaud, p. – Erato/Warner Classics + video DVD
BACH: Goldberg Variations – Alexandre Tharaud, piano – Erato/Warner Classics 0825646051779, 75:13 + video DVD (16:9), PCM stereo (12/4/15) *****: After a slow, elegant, spaced-out Aria theme, relentlessly hip Alexandre Tharaud proceeds to give a freewheeling 21st century piano virtuoso’s bird’s eye view of the Goldberg Variations. Whatever the attitudes he adopts as he proceeds with the 31 variations – energetic, jaunty, bold, bright and always, forthright – the brilliant recorded sound is like the playing, almost in your face at times; the sound is so integral to the performance that you can buy it on a vinyl and, most important, at whatever volume you play it is uniquely satisfying – although medium-loud enables you to hear more clearly just how much poetry Tharaud lavishes on what at first blush can be misconstrued as frontal attack. It is an eventful journey. Tharaud may soften with a hint of impressionists’ haze on track seven but soon returns to his semi-clattering, wandering, always fascinating ways. He also uses ornaments like earrings, to adorn the music at deliciously vulnerable places; in track 14, he goes to extraordinary lengths in the repeats with his ornaments and embellishments, as if Bach were a dandy at […]
“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 […]
CAROLA BAUCKHOLT: Need to talk to friends – Cikada Ensemble – 2L Pure Audio Blu-ray + SACD + downloads
CAROLA BAUCKHOLT: Ich muß mit Dir reden (Need to talk to friends) – Cikada Ensemble – 2L Pure Audio Blu-ray 2L-116-SABD + multichannel SACD, 54:20 – DTS-HD MA 192kHz/24 bit 5.1 & PCM stereo, mShuttle: stereo FLAC 96kHz + MP3 – (2/26/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: A haunting electronic score with superb sonics. This disc is a collection of contemporary music by composer Carola Bauckholt. Played by the Cikada Ensemble which has gained a reputation far beyond the boundaries of Scandinavia as a special ensemble for contemporary music, as well as for projects at the nexus of composition and improvisation. Its repertoire includes works for electrically amplified string quartet, as well as works which combine acoustic string sound and live electronics. The quartet also often works in unorthodox instrumental combinations such as quintet with accordion. The quartet’s core repertoire includes major works from the second half of the 20th century by composers such as Kaija Saariaho, Rolf Wallin, Luigi Nono, Iannis Xenakis, Toshio Hosokawa, and James Dillon as well as collaborations with musicians across genres such as Annette Peacock, Steve Swallow and Trygve Seim. Ms. Bauckholt was born in Krefeld, West Germany. She worked at the theater at the Marienplatz […]
Spectral Quartet – “Serious Business” = Music of SKY MACKLAY; DAVID REMINICK; JOSEF HAYDN; CHRIS FISHER-LOCHEAD – Sono Luminus
Spectral Quartet – “Serious Business” = Music of SKY MACKLAY; DAVID REMINICK; JOSEF HAYDN; CHRIS FISHER-LOCHEAD – Sono Luminus DSL-92198, 65:26 (CD + audio-only Blu-ray – 5.1 DTS, 2.0 PCM and 9.1 Auro 3D with FLAC and MP3 files) (1/29/16) ****: Comedy and humor in music. Reading the supplementary material that came with this disc I still wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s a tribute to humor, some in the music itself, some based on jokes by well known comedians rendered to music. It sounded strange, and vaguely dislikable, but the truth is this is an interesting ‘concept’ disc that hits its intended mark. It’s going to be hard to explain this in a review that is only text, but the Spectral Quartet said it well in their notes. Serious Business unpacks the theme of humor in classical music through the lenses of three works composed for Spektral by inventive young composers, and one entry from 1781. The quartet takes listeners on a wild ride through a bevy of colorful musical ideas, full of virtuosity and energy.” Agreed. It’s a wild ride. The music includes Sky Macklay’s Many Many Cadences, David Reminick’s The Ancestral Mousetrap, where the quartet sings some […]
Astell & Kern AK Jr. Digital Audio Player
Astell & Kern AK Jr. Digital Audio Player SRP: $500.00 A high end but relatively low cost DAP. Specs: Body Material: Aluminum Display: 3.1″ WQVGA (240 x 400) Touchscreen Storage 64 GB storage built in, up to 200 GB in aux slot with mini SD cards Output Level: 1.95Vrms Supported Audio Formats: WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE (Normal, High, Fast), AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF Sample rate: FLAC, WAV, ALAC, AIFF: 8kHz – 192kHz (8/16/24bits per Sample)/ DSD: DSD64 (1bit 2.8MHz), Stereo (DSD to PCM) It was almost exactly a year ago that I reviewed my choice for an iPod replacement, the FiiO X1. Cheaper than the iPod Classic (now discontinued by Apple) the FiiO had the advantage of playing high resolution music files. I just recently put the FiiO in my car to replace my aging iPod, and I’m quite pleased. On my car screen I get album art just as I did with the iPod, and I get the benefit of playback of higher quality files. With the FiiO in the car, I started looking for another digital audio player for home listening on my headsets. I looked at some of the higher priced FiiO gear, but […]
XTC – Oranges And Lemons – The Surround Series – Ape House/ Panegoric (CD + audio-mostly Blu-ray)
Controversial band reissues 1989 album on mostly-audio Blu-ray surround.
B. HERRMANN: Music from Citizen Kane et al. – National Philharmonic Orch. / Charles Gerhardt – HDTT (192/24 download of open reel)
Charles Gerhardt’s classic collection of music by Bernard Herrmann makes a very welcome return.
Fiesta a la Española – Eastman-Rochester Pops / Eastman-Rochester Orch.* / Frederick Fennell / Howard Hanson* – HDTT Hi-Res
A highly entertaining, energetic compilation of musical sunshine.
Audio News for June 30, 2015
Sony and Best Buy Plan Hi-Res Music Demos in 70 Stores; Interesting Article on “Audio Overkill”; High Ranking of Samsung HDTVs; PS Audio Launches PCM/DSD DAC for $1299; Jasco GE Chargers to Untangle the Nest of Wires
Audio News for June 26, 2015
SMPTE Australia Conference & Exhibit; SACD Is Staging a Comeback as a Computer Audio Option; Gunther Schuller and James Horner Die
![3-D Rarities – 22 rare restored 3-D Films [FilmList follows], Blu-ray (1922-2015)](https://www.audaud.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/3-D-RARITIES.jpg)
3-D Rarities – 22 rare restored 3-D Films [FilmList follows], Blu-ray (1922-2015)
A stunning collection of early 3D films for the format’s 100th anniversary.
Audio News for March 13, 2015
Mark Waldrep of AIX Comments On Hi-Res Mis-promotion; Apple TV Losing Share of Streaming Video Devices; Music Streaming Continues to Rise; Connected Audio Products Connect With Consumers
Audio News for February 27, 2015
Clark Terry Dies; Oppo Releases Portable Headphone Amp/DAC; Target Expanding CE Pilot; Sears’ CE Strategy; LG Pricing Set on UHD OLED Displays
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
