Register Archive
Editorial for November 2015
Our drawing for this November is for four sets of the new 11-CD Complete 15 Symphonies of Shostakovich, on the Naxos label. The conductor is Vasily Petrenko, and Fanfare said this is the the set of all the symphonies that may be the best. Here is our review of the set. In order to register to be one of the four winners of this $77 set, you need only to register using our simple form here. The four winners will be listed below next month. Here are the six winners of the 2-CD set of A Death in the Family from Albany Records, our October drawing. Congratulations to all: Mary Lee Walker, Sanford NC; Elaine Fisher, Champaign IL; Peter Sjogren, Briarcliff Manor NY; Ronald Jernigan, Southfield MI; David Ohberg, Albuquerque NM & Charles Volstad, Eden Prairie MN. EDITORIAL AUDIOPHILE AUDITION began as a local program in San Francisco and then in 1985 as a weekly national radio series hosted by John Sunier, and aired for 13½ years on up to 200 public radio and commercial stations. In September 1998 its web site for program listings was expanded to this free Internet publication. November 2015 is our 200th issue! All disc reviews are added thru […]
Editorial for September 2015
For September our free drawing is for three copies of the 3-CD boxed set The Perlman Sound – a selection of items from the new complete 59-CD comprehensive set of everything the famous violinist has recorded for Warner, EMI and Teldec over 30 years. Some of his collaborations with the world’s greatest orchestras and soloists are included, including Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Andre Previn. All the analog recordings have been remastered in 96K/24-bit digital format at Abbey Road Studios and the designs reflect the original jackets. All you have to do to be considered as the winner of this set is to register this month using our simple non-intrusive form (and be sure to list your accurate address and email address). The three lucky winners will be announced in this space next month. The lucky winner of the 53-CD Mercury Living Presence Vol. 3 set from Decca/Universal – our August free giveaway – is Joe Higday of Leawood, KS. Congrats – you have a lot of great listening there! [audaud-hr] EDITORIAL AUDIOPHILE AUDITION began as a local program in San Francisco and then in 1985 as a weekly national radio series hosted by John Sunier, and aired for 13½ years […]
Home Page for September 2015
Our September drawing is for three sets of the new 3-CD box titled The Perlman Sound. It features many of the most popular works and recordings from the complete edition of 77 Perlman albums on 59 CDs, and proves why Itzak Perlman is regarded as today’s supreme violinist. Here is a complete list of all the selections on the 3 CDs. The complete set includes recordings Perlman made for Warner, EMI and Teldec over a 30-year period. To be considered for this month’s free drawing for three readers you must register using our simple form HERE. (And please give us your full name and your address or we won’t know where the send your recordings if you are one of the winners.) The winner of last month’s drawing for the 53-CD Mercury Living Presence Vol. 3 set will be announced on our Editorial Page, where you will find more details on this month’s drawing.
Home Page for August 2015
Our August drawing for all visitors here is the 53-CD Vol. 3 of the Mercury Living Presence Collector’s Edition boxed set, which completes the entire series of releases by this pioneering audiophile label. HERE is our review of it, and HERE is the detailed listing of every single CD in the 53-CD reissue package. They have mostly been remastered by Wilma Cozart Fine, using the equipment originally used to master the three-channel original tapes to two channels for LP release. Ten albums are included in the set for the very first time. The 192K/24-bit format was used thruout for the processing of the reissues. To be considered for this month’s free drawing you must register using our simple form HERE. (And please give us your full name and your address or we won’t know where the send your recordings if you are one of the winners.) The winners of last month’s drawing for two 7-CD sets of the Dvorak symphonies conducted by Jose Serebrier are now announced on our Editorial Page, where you will find more details on this month’s drawing.
Home Page for April 2015
Born just four years before J.S. Bach George Philip Telemann has always suffered from comparisons with that towering figure of classical music. At the time though he was considered one of the greatest German composers, and he was highly productive – his total output compares well with Bach’s. One 1767 obituary merely stated ‘his name is his eulogy.’ This Brilliant Records set is the most comprehensive selection of his music ever released, consisting of 50 CDs with complete notes. To be eligible for this April drawing, you must register this month on our simple form. More details on the Editorial Page, plus the name of the winner of our March drawing for the Oppo headphones. On April firsts of some years we have done some music humor links. Here is a great list of the 10 Best Videos of classical music comedies and parodies in The Guardian. Have a look and listen!
Home Page for March 2015
For March 2015 we are offering one item for a lucky AUDIOPHILE AUDITION reader: The $699 Oppo PM-2 planar magnetic headphones, which use the same driver and technological breakthrus as the $1100 model PM-1, including a seven-layer diaphragm and double-sided spiraling coils. These reduced-weight headphones are a distillation of Oppo’s acoustic and industrial design features into a more affordable price point. To be eligible, you must register this month on our simple form. More details on the Editorial Page, plus the name of the winner of our February drawing for the 51-CD set.
Home Page for February 1, 2015
For February 2015 we have one of the largest disc sets we have ever awarded a reader – the 51-CD collection of the complete Decca, Philips & DGG recordings made by phenomenal Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter. He is widely regarded as perhaps the greatest pianist of the 20th century, and is known for his virtuoso technique, huge repertory and the depth of his interpretations. His collaborations with Rostropovich, Karajan and Benjamin Britten are included, plus a booklet with rare photos and an essay by Jed Distler. Here are listings of all 51 CDs. To be considered, just register using our simple form on the site. More details on our Editorial Page, plus the names of the winners of the January drawing.
Home Page for January 2015
For January 2015 we have two fine new jazz CDs going to six AUDIOPHILE AUDITION readers. One is Such Sweet Thunder, by Vance Thompson’s Five Plus Six featuring the core quintet with six additional horns. Their debut CD is full of panache and surprise, and includes music of Ellington and Monk plus country and folk. Here’s our review of it. The second CD is Lonely City, from vocalist-composer Allegra Levy. This is her clearly autobiographical debut album, and is a lyrical collection of 11 originals. Pictured are the covers both CDs. To be considered, just register using our simple form on the site, and you may be one of the lucky six readers. More details on our Editorial Page, plus the name of the winner of December’s major SACD set. Here is our Best Discs of 2014 List
Home Page for November 2014
Our November drawing is for two 45-CD sets of The Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon by famed conductor Ferenc Fricsay. Here is a complete list of all the selections on this multi-CD boxed set. And here is our review of it. These have been specially remastered for this collector’s set. The Hungarian conductor, who died in 1963, was known for his interpretations of Mozart and Beethoven, as well as works of his teachers Bartok and Kodaly. He was Chief Conductor of the German Symphony Orchestra Berlin for two periods. He conducted without a baton and recorded exclusively for DGG from the 1950s until his death. The two sets will go to two AUDIOPHILE AUDITION readers who this month register using our simple form. (Those who don’t completely fill out the form will not be eligible for the drawing, including those who registered in previous months.) The two winners will be listed on our Editorial Page next month, where this month you’ll find more details on the drawing. Here’s our survey of 16 Christmas CDs & SACDs.
Editorial for November 2014
This month our drawing/giveaway is for two 45-CD boxed sets of The Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon by famed conductor Ferenc Fricsay. It includes his probing recordings of such works at the Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 & 9 plus the Piano Concerto No. 3; Bartok’s three Piano Concertos, Concerto for Orchestra, Dance Suite and Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta; Brahms’ Symphony No 2 & Haydn Variations; Dvorak & Bruch’s Violin Concertos; two versions of Dvorak’s New World Symphony; six Haydn symphonies; seven Mozart symphonies; Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring & Petrouchka; ballet music from Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and the Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky; opera instrumentals by Verdi, Ponchielli, & Tchaikovsky; plus the works of many others. The two winners will be chosen from those AUDIOPHILE AUDITION readers who register this month using our simple form. (When you register we don’t share any information except your address of mailing of the discs.) The winners’ names will be listed here next month. Here are the six lucky winners of the Complete Beethoven String Quartets by the Tokyo Quartet on eight Harmonia mundi hybrid SACDs, our October drawing.: David Sims, Simsbury CT; James Kreh, Hoschton GA; Hudson Fair, Chicago IL; […]
Johanna Martzy, Vol. 3 = Music of VIVALDI, RAVEL, SYMANOWSKI, BARTOK, BRAHMS, FALLA, MOZART, BACH, SUK & others – with var. orchestras – Doremi (2 CDs)
Violinist Johanna Martzy accumulates more recorded legacy to enhance her already cult-like status.
Home Page for October 2014
Our October drawing is for six collector edition sets of the complete Harmonia mundi 8-SACD set of the Complete Beethoven String Quartets performed by the world-famous Tokyo String Quartet. This quartet existed from 1969 to 2013 and has 40 landmark recordings in their discography. Their version of this cycle of the Beethoven String Quartets (Nos. 1-16 + the Grosse Fuge) is elegantly packaged as a set of eight multichannel hybrid SACDs which will go to six AUDIOPHILE AUDITION readers who this month register using our simple form. Here is our review of the set. (Those who don’t completely fill out the form will not be eligible for the drawing, including those who registered in previous months.) The six lucky winners will be listed on our Editorial Page next month, where this month you’ll find more details on the drawing and the winners of last month’s drawing.
Editorial for September 2014
This month our drawing/giveaway is for a pair of CDs of the finest operatic voices to five AudAud readers: Joyce DiDonato and Maria Callas. First is the new Erato CD by bel canto singer Joyce DiDonato: Stella di Napoli. Second will be a special sampler CD of complete selections from the new 69-CD Maria Callas Remastered Collection on Warner Classics, which was just remastered to 96K/24-bit audio files, and brings out details in her voice which were never heard before outside of the studio. The five winners of this pair of CDs will be chosen from among those AUDIOPHILE AUDITION readers who register this month using our simple form. When you register we don’t share any of your information except your address (used only for mailing the discs), and you won’t be receiving emails from anyone else. The winners’ names will be listed here next month. Here are the winners of our August drawing for the Herbert von Karajan/Richard Strauss Anniversary Set of a Pure Audio Blu-ray and 11 CDs: Frans Coetzee, Potomac, MD; Rich Mays, Savannah, GA. Congrats to both! EDITORIAL AUDIOPHILE AUDITION began as a local program in San Francisco and then in 1985 as a weekly national […]
Chris Connor – This Is Chris – Bethlehem (1955)/ PurePleasure (mono)
Some music is just that good that you want to listen to it over and over.
A Tribute to Erling Bloendal Bengtsson, Vol. 3 = KABALEVSKY: Cello Concerto No. 1; MENDELSSOHN: Cello Sonata No. 2; JOLIVET: Suite en concert pour violoncello – Erling Bloendal Bengtsson, cello/ Anker Blyme, piano/ Iceland Sym. Orch. / Jean-Pierre Jacquillat – Danacord
From Icelandic Radio tapes issued for the first time, we have more evidence of the broad range and sterling musicianship of cello wizard Erling Bloendal Bengtsson.
Home Page for February 2014
Our drawing for February is for six of the new audiophile vinyl pressings of jazz vocalist Gregory Porter’s 2010 album Water. (His new album Liquid Spirit just won the GRAMMY for Best Jazz Vocal Album of the Year.) The 11 songs are based on themes of love and protest. He’s been said to be stylistically similar to the late Gregory Hines, with phrasing like Stevie Wonder, enunciation like Kurt Elling, and using techniques of singers like Jimmy Witherspoon and Joe Williams. All you need to do (besides owning a turntable system) is to register on our simple form this month; we will not share your email with anyone. The six lucky winners will be announced on our Editorial Page next month and you’ll find more details there this month. Our Best Discs of 2013 are published now.
Editorial for February 2014
Motema has donated six copies of their GRAMMY-nominated 2010 album Water, by Gregory Porter to go to six lucky AUDIOPHILE AUDITION readers who register on our simple form this February. Jazz Wise said Porter had “outstanding original songs, erudite lyrics and social comment, top drawer musicianship and improvisation, and a voice to die for.” Porter just won a Grammy, he’s a nominee for FM Jazz in the UK, got SoulTracks’ album of the year, iTunes’ Jazz Vocal Album of the Year, one of NPR’s Top 10 Albums of the 2012, NPR Music’s 100 Favorite Songs of the 2012, and the Edison Music Award for Jazz Vocal Album of the Year. The NY Times said, “outstanding original songs, erudite lyrics and social comment, top drawer musicianship and improvisation, and a voice to die for.” “Gregory Porter has most of what you want in a male jazz singer, and maybe a thing or two you didn’t know you wanted.” He is undoubtedly the next big male vocal jazz star. To be eligible, just register this month via our simple non-intrusive form, and we won’t share your email address. The six winners will be listed in this space next month. GUEST EDITORAL by Dr. Mark […]
Editorial for January 2014
SONO LUMINUS has donated six of their Pure Audio Blu-ray plus CD albums to our January drawing/giveaway. Three SL albums: Entendre (violin/cello duo), Sprung Rhythm (3 American composers), and American Anthem (Ying Quartet and guests) will be sent to our six winners (at random) early in February. The Blu-ray audio-only hi-res surround or stereo tracks play back on any Blu-ray deck and the standard CD is for playing in your computer, car, or mobile CD player. To be eligible, just register this month via our simple non-intrusive form, and we won’t share your email address. The six winners will be listed in this space next month. The lucky winners of one of the three 50-CD legacy boxed sets from Erato, Teldec and Das Alte Werk labels—our December drawing—are: Charles Wheeler, Pikeville KY; David Altschuler, Los Angeles CA & Brian Woods, Minneapolis MN. EDITORIAL AUDIOPHILE AUDITION began as a local program and then in 1985 as a weekly national radio series hosted by John Sunier, and aired for 13½ years on up to 200 public radio and commercial stations coast to coast. In September 1998 its web site for program information was expanded to the present free Internet publication. January 2014 is our […]
Editorial for December 2013
Naxos Distributors are offering three 50-CD legacy boxed sets of recordings from three of their labels this month as our drawing/ giveaway. They are from the Teldec, Erato and Das Alte Werke classical labels and have been painstakingly compiled to represent some of their most highly-regarded recordings. They are beautifully packaged with complete notes and retail on Amazon for $210 each box. For a complete list of all selections in all three boxes, go here for Teldec, here for Erato and here for DAW. To be eligible, just register this month via our simple non-intrusive form, and we won’t share your email address. The three winners will be listed in this space next month. Here are the three winners of the Pure Audio Blu-ray and CDs historical set of BRITTEN’S War Requiem – our November drawing: George Witterschein, Mendham, NY Peter Barach, Cleveland Heights, OH Carl H. Albright, Geneva, IL Congratulations to all three! [audaud-hr] EDITORIAL AUDIOPHILE AUDITION began in 1985 as a weekly national radio series hosted by John Sunier, which aired for 13½ years on up to 200 public radio and commercial stations coast to coast. In September 1998 its web site for programming information was expanded to the present free […]
Home Page for May 2013
Our drawing/giveaway for May is for five readers of AUDIOPHILE AUDITION who will be selected to receive the new 12-CD box set The Complete Beethoven Symphonies, Concertos and Overtures from Naxos, the world’s leading classical music group. Beethoven laid down the foundations of the Romantic era and changed the course of music history. The set (which retails for $60) features all nine Symphonies, the five Piano Concertos, the Triple Concerto and the Violin Concerto. Don’t forget to register on our simple form this month (please enter all fields), and visit the May Editorial Page for more information. See our Guide to Hi-Res Downloading
Our July drawing/giveaway is for two of the Complete Beethoven Symphonies 6-SACD boxed sets on the Dutch Challenge Classics label, with the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jan Willem de Vriend. De Vriend is regarded as an outstanding conductor with a new and fresh point of view on Beethoven. Curiosity and eagerness are part of the way he works, and these are excellent hi-res multichannel recordings of all nine symphonies. Please register right now to be considered as one of the two winners at the end of this month. More details on our July Editorial Page. See our new Guide to Hi-Res Downloading
Editorial for July 2012
Register Here using our non-intrusive email-protected form and you will have a good chance of being one of the two AUDIOPHILE AUDITION readers this month to receive the Complete Nine Beethoven Symphonies 6-SACD set on Challenge Records—our drawing for July. Jan Willem de Vriend conducts the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, and of course these are all hybrid CDs as well, in case a winner is one of our readers who isn’t yet set up for SACD playback. The two winners will be announced here in early August. Here are the two lucky winners of the 51-CD Mercury Living Presence set of remastered CDs—our June drawing: Carol Strand, Waupaca WI & Melvin Bernay, Raleigh NC. Congrats! [audaud-hr] EDITORIAL AUDIOPHILE AUDITION began in 1985 as a weekly national radio series hosted by John Sunier, which aired for 13 1/2 years on up to 200 public radio and commercial stations coast to coast. In September 1998 its web site for programming information was expanded to the present Internet publication. July 2012 is our 160th issue, and features improved navigation and enhanced appearance using Word Press. All disc reviews (124 for June) are added thru the month as they are written and received, usually daily. […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
