SACD Archive
Lux: Nidaros Cathedral Girls Choir, Trondheim Soloists – 2L Records
What a fine sounding disc from the always reliable 2L label. Lux is a collection of three compositions.
The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet 50th Anniversary Edition – ABKCO Records
Re-mastered SACD of a seminal Rolling Stones album sounds great!
“So is my love” – Ensemble 96 – 2L
A gorgeous album in typically gorgeous 2L sound.
TCHAIKOVSKY: String Quartet No. 1, Sextet – Meccore String Quartet – SACD MDG
Elegant and passionate Tchaikovsky chamber music from the Meccore String Quartet and gifted guests.
HOFF trio – Polarity – L2 Pure Audio Blu-Ray
State of the art L2 sound provides new standard in immersive listening experience of cool Nordic piano trio!
Ulrich Zeitler: Veni Sancte Spiritus – Ensemble 333 – MDG
Emotional and inspiring choral music loving recorded and expertly performed.
Utopias: Radical Interpretations of Iconic Musical Works for Percussion – Kjell Tore Innervik – 2L
Contemporary percussion music wrapped in an exquisite recording!
Minor Major – Oslo String Quartet – Beethoven: String Quartet No. 11; Schubert: String Quartet No. 15 – 2L
2L can always be counted on for exceptional audiophile pleasing fidelity, and they always seem to get the music right in terms of performance and selection.
Grigori Frid: Clarinet Sonatas – John Finucane, Elisaveta Blumina – MDG Multi-channel SACD
Russian sonatas by Grigori Frid in stunning surround sound Grigori Frid: Clarinet Sonatas – John Finucane (clarinet), Elisaveta Blumina (piano) (6/8/18) MDG Multi-channel SACD Catalogue No: MDG9032069 TT: 57:16 ****: Gregori Frid is not a well known name in classical composing, but he was a unique voice and I’m thrilled to see more of his works appearing on disc. Frid, who died in 2012 was a Russian composer of music written in many different genres, including chamber opera. Frid was a prolific composer. His most notable works are his two chamber operas, both to his own libretti. The Diary of Anne Frank is a monodrama in 21 scenes for soprano and chamber orchestra. He wrote three symphonies (1939, 1955, 1964), a series of instrumental concertos including a Concerto for viola, piano and string orchestra (1981), as well as film scores. For this disc, we get 3 Clarinet Sonatas, numbers 1-3. John Finucane performs on the clarinet, while Elisaveta Blumina is the pianist Frid was alive during the musical reign of such greats as Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff, and some of the other Russian greats, but Frid’s sound is unique and yet has a distinctive Russian sound. I found all three sonatas a […]
THOMAS ADÈS: Asyla; Tevot; Polaris; Brahms – London Sym. Orch./Thomas Adès – LSO Live (Blu-ray & SACD)
Audiophile quality in these works by this always provocative composer. THOMAS ADÈS: Asyla; Tevot; Polaris; Brahms – London Sym. Orch./Thomas Adès – LSO Live, LSO0798 (Blu-ray audio-only and SACD), 62:55, (3/03/17) ****: Thomas Adès has become, arguably and justifiably, England’s most prominent living composer. His music is regularly very creatively scored, picturesque and frequently a bit thought provoking. This audiophile quality package holds two different discs; a Blu-ray audio and a SACD version. I listened to both versions and they are both very clean, well balanced and “lively.” I have no clear preference as I didn’t hear a definite difference between the two. They are both very fine iterations of the same live recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra, with the composer conducting. Adès has something in common with America’s John Adams in that they are both excellent and well-known composers who are also very fine conductors, it seems. (I’ve seen Adams and his music live on several occasions. One day I would love to duplicate that experience with Thomas and his work.) To the music itself, these are three of the composer’s most acclaimed works and – to his credit – these pieces have been performed and recorded more […]
Audio News for April 7, 2017
V-Moda Wireless Bluetooth Headphones Go Hi-Res – The M-100 – a favorite of DJs – now has improved sound, better battery life, more colors, and a much-requested hinge. This model of the V-Moda lacks the noise cancellation of some other more expensive phones, but that can pollute the pure sound. The new Crossfade 2 has larger and deeper cushions and an adjustable Steelflex headband, to keep the bad noise out and the good noise in. The Japan Audio Society was involved in approval of the model in wired mode. The M-100s are both cabled models and Bluetooth-enabled. New dual-diaphragm 50mm drivers feature hi-res CCAW coils and the AptX codec has been improved. They have a concealed mic for phone calls and voice recognition. And one feature that was conspicuously missing from the original Wireless headphones was the company’s CliqFold hinge mechanism, an omission that caused much disquiet among Crossfade users and resulted in the travel case being quite bulky. This was rectified in the Crossfade 2 Wireless circumaurals. They are $350 in gold, and less in black or white. T+A Introduces MP 3100 HV Media Player with SACD Drive – Enthusiasts with substantial SACD collections will take a keen interest […]
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Job; Symphony No. 9 – Andrew Davis/ Bergen Philharmonic – Chandos
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Job; Symphony No. 9 – Andrew Davis/ Bergen Philharmonic – Chandos multichannel SACD CHSA 5180, 77:29 (2/17/17) ****: Davis returns to Vaughan Williams in a fine performance and recording. This new recording from Chandos couples a stunning performance and recording of two of Vaughan Williams’ great works. This is not the first time these compositions, conducted by Andrew Davis, have been on CD. He recorded the pair for Teldec in the ‘90s with the BBC Symphony. The first work, Job: A Masque for Dancing, has a scenario by Geoffrey Keynes based on William Blake’s illustrations of the Old Testament Book of Job. The score was first performed in concert in 1930. Some consider it Williams’ greatest orchestral creation and I wouldn’t argue with that sentiment. The piece is richly orchestrated, and the Bergen Philharmonic is precise and dynamic. The recording captures the glorious sound of the Bergen Cathedral, with its fine organ making an appearance on track 7. The Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 9 is also a pleasure to hear. It was the last symphony Williams composed, but it is strong and defiant in nature. It was premiered in London in 1958. Williams was clearly thinking of his […]
ADAM SCHOENBERG: American Symphony; Finding Rothko; Picture Studies – Kansas City Sym. /Michael Sterns – Reference Recordings
ADAM SCHOENBERG: American Symphony; Finding Rothko; Picture Studies – Kansas City Sym. /Michael Sterns – Reference Recordings multichannel 5.1 SACD RR-139, 64:58 (1/20/17) ****: American music by Schoenberg wonderfully recorded and performed. This CD/SACD from Reference Recordings contains newly recorded works by Adam Schoenberg (no relation to composer Arnold Schoenberg). Schoenberg has had a productive relationship with the Kansas City Symphony and conductor Michael Stern, so the disc contains some early works by Schoenberg and a work commissioned by the KCS. Schoenberg’s works are increasingly being played by American Symphony Orchestras. He has a unique voice, and audiences seem to be connecting to his music. The disc opens with Finding Rothko, written while Schoenberg was his doctoral program, studying with John Corigliano. It’s inspired by the Russian painter Mark Rothko, and this composition followed extensive study of the artist before it was set to music. American Symphony is the composer’s first post-graduation work. The symphony is upbeat, and while not patriotic in character, it was inspired by the 2008 election. Finally we have Picture Studies for Orchestra, commissioned by the Kansas Citians and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The orchestra wanted a Pictures at an Exhibition type piece, and Schoenberg […]
JAN GUNNAR HOFF : Stories – Jan Gunnar Hoff, p. – 2L Blu-ray & SACD
JAN GUNNAR HOFF : Stories – Jan Gunnar Hoff, piano [Tracklist follows] – Pure Audio Blu-ray – 11.1 Dolby Atmos + 9.1 Auro-3D + 5.1 surround + stereo + mShuttle /SACD multichannel and stereo; 2L-131 TT: 57:03 ea. (2 discs) [Distr. by Naxos] *****: A terrific recital on both audio-only Blu-ray & multichannel SACD. Recorded during August 2016 in the fine acoustics of Sofienburg Church, this is Jan Gunnar Hoff’s third recording for the Norwegian label, 2L, and his sixteenth in total. The package includes both a Pure Audio Blu-ray and a multichannel SACD, as well as mShuttle for accessing the Blu-ray’s music on your computer. Hoff (b. 1958) is a composer-pianist with wide interests, including classical, rock and jazz idioms; he’s an academic at the Universities of Tromsø and Agder, and finds time to organize festivals and camps, and to tour as a solo artist. And to make fine recordings, such as this one. The works on this release are largely his own works, and link together in a nicely varied fashion, alternating the introspective and musing with the more upbeat energetic works. The whole program is a remarkably satisfying hour’s listening. The recital opens with Värmlandsvisan a Swedish […]
ELGAR & TCHAIKOVSKY: Cello Concerto; Variations on a Rococo Theme – Johannes Moser, cello/ Orch. de la Suisse Romande/ Andrew Manze – Pentatone
ELGAR & TCHAIKOVSKY: Cello Concerto; Variations on a Rococo Theme – Johannes Moser, cello/ Orch. de la Suisse Romande/ Andrew Manze – Pentatone multichannel SACD 5186 570, 64:46 (2/3/17) *****: A compelling pairing of two works by like-minded composers, delivered in stunning super-audio format. With a little imagination and modest time travel, it is possible to witness the following encounter. A man, elegantly dressed with cane and boater, enters a pub. His rigid posture of self-composure contrasts with the look of utter despondency on his face. Peering about, he spies a solitary figure in a shadowy corner. The beard looks familiar and upon approach, it turns out to be Peter Tchaikovsky, slumped over a pint of ale, his face a picture of forlorn melancholy. Sir Edward acknowledges the fellow sufferer and takes a seat. Soon the two composers are commiserating over their personal troubles, their shared feeling of grief and disillusionment. Edward, recently widowed, finds himself in artistic doldrums, unable to stir the sources of his once fertile creativity. His wider points of reference include the ruin of the Great War, which has cast every human value into doubt. Peter, for his part, has a litany of complaints: fractured relationships, […]
Furtwangler Conducts BEETHOVEN = Leonor Ov.; Sym. No. 7 & No. 8 – Vienna Philharmonic – Praga Digitals
Praga gives us three Beethoven performances by the veteran Furtwaengler. BEETHOVEN: Leonore Overture No. 3 in C, Op. 72a; Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92; Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 – Vienna Philharmonic Orch./ Wilhelm Furtwaengler – Praga Digitals mono-only SACD PRD/DSD 350127 (1/6/17) 79:22 [Distr. by PIAS] ****: Assembled from Vienna concert and studio performances, 1944-1954, Praga revives three extremely potent readings of Beethoven by Wilhelm Furtwaengler (1886-1954), of which the Beethoven Eighth Symphony (8 August 1954) from Salzburg eluded – as had the performance of the Second Symphony (10/3/48 from Vienna) – collectors for many years. The disc opens with a June 2, 1944 reading of the Leonore Overture No. 3, a symphonic poem of 1806 in its own right that precludes any need for stage drama. Besides possessing a grand leisure, the performance moves with regal authority in all parts, as luminous as it can be sudden and fraught with intimations of the abyss of Florestan’s unjust imprisonment. Furtwaengler builds a terrific tension that at first culminates in the famed trumpet call that resounds with the urge to political and personal freedom, certainly an ironic commentary on the climate of the occasion […]
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 […]
ELGAR: Enigma Variations; In the South, Carillon; etc. – BBC Scottish Sym. /Brabbins – Hyperion
Need another Enigma Variations? Listen to this one. ELGAR: Enigma Variations, Op. 36; In the South “Alassio”, Op. 50; Carillon, Op. 75; Une voix dans le desert, Op. 77; Le drapeau belge, Op. 79; Pleading, Op. 48 – Florence Daguerre de Hureaux, narrator/ Kate Royal, sop./ Yann Ghiro, clar./ BBC Scottish Sym. Orch./ Martyn Brabbins – Hyperion CDA68101, 81:57 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi/PIAS] ****: When an English orchestra takes up the Enigma Variations, the record company must have put a great deal of thought behind it. After all, this venerable piece has been carved out (and up) by virtually every British conductor and orchestra for the last 80 years. Toscanini had the first really great one years ago with the BBC, and there is a special pride that comes with being the only nation qualified to accurately interpret this work. Maybe. Leonard Bernstein came up with one for the ages, and they hated him for it. Slatkin they loved. Sargent, in my opinion, still has the best one on record. But one of two things has to be English—the orchestra, or the conductor. Here we have both, sort of. Since the Scottish attempt at independence failed, I guess we can […]
SHOSTAKOVICH: Sym. No. 10; encores – Texas Music Fest. Orch./ Mei-Ann Chen – HDTT
Written just after the death of Stalin, the composer stated that this symphony is about the Stalinist era, but others disagree. SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 10; AN-LUN HUANG:: Sebei Dance No. 2 “Lantern Festival”; RACHMANINOFF: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; CHOPIN: Etude Op. 27/7 – Texas Music Festival Orch./ Mei-Ann Chen; (Extras:) Moores School Sym. Orch./Franz Anton Krager/ Kenneth Broburg, p. – HDTT multichannel Pure Audio Blu-ray (5.0 or 2.0) 24/96 (Rec. 2013 & 2014) ****: Although Shostakovich said his Tenth Symphony clearly is about the Stalinst era in the Soviet Union, critics disagree and say it was an example of Shostakovich’s synthesis of allusions to the symphonic tradition on the one hand, and encoded references to his own particular time and place on the other. It was premiered under Mravinsky in December of 1953. The first movement is in a rough sonata form. The short scherzo movement is the second, full of syncopated rhythms and furious sixteenth note passages. The third movement is a moderate dance-like suite which the composer called a nocturne. It uses two musical codes: the DSCH which represents the composer, and the Elmira Theme – representing a student of Shostakovich’s with whom he fell in […]
BARBER: Adagio for Strings – BRUCKNER: String Quintet in F Major – Konzerthaus Kammerorch., Berlin- Cugate Classics
BARBER: Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 – BRUCKNER: String Quintet in F Major – Konzerthaus Kammerorchester, Berlin- Cugate Classics CG013- two multichannel SACDs (5.0), 50:26 [Distr. by Naxos] (10/14/16) *****: A lovely paring of moving works for strings by Barber and Bruckner. Back in 2004 the BBC asked its radio listeners to vote for the saddest music ever written, Barber’s Adagio For Strings won hands down. It’s a lovely piece, and the outcome of the poll is not a great surprise. It’s been recorded many times, and it’s especially nice to have a well-played SACD of this work. The disk also offers Bruckner’s String Quartet in F Major. The work was composed at the suggestion of the famous Viennese violinist Joseph Hellmesberger. Written about the time of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, it is a surely a Romantic work, symphonic in scale but rather intimate in character. The Adagio, in contrast to Barber’s sadness, expresses transcendent bliss. Both pieces are very well played by Konzerthaus Kammerorchester of Berlin. Sayako Lusaka and Michael Erxleben are the Concertmasters. In terms of sonics, I find no fault. The realism of the strings, the dynamic range, and the lower registers are all served well by […]
January 2017 Editorial Page
Our January free drawing is for a 24-CD box set featuring famed conductor Charles Groves in British music, from Warner Classics. It includes such favorite works as Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra and Holst’s The Hymn of Jesus conducted by Groves and performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra along with the Liverpool Philharmonic Choir. Here is a listing of all the recordings on this 24-CD set, plus a review if it. All you need to do to enter the drawing is simply to check below on the “Register To Win” banner and fill out all the few fields we ask. The lucky winner of the Groves set will be announced here next month. The two winners of the Naxos-donated CD albums – the 9-CD My First Classical Albums, and the My First Christmas Album – our December drawing – are: Glenn Marceil of Winston-Salem, NC and James Le Blanc of Houston, TX. Congrats to both! 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 […]
BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique – Royal Concertgebouw Orch./ Daniele Gatti – RCO/ Avotros 45rpm vinyl (2)
Amazing fidelity in this 45 rpm vinyl, though perhaps not the best performance. HECTOR BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique – Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/ Daniele Gatti – RCO/ Avotros 45 RPM vinyl (2 discs) ****1/2: Gatti is the seventh conductor of the famed Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amserdam, and takes an unconventional version of the score which has astonished audience since its premiere in 1830. He has a sense of surprise and freshness based on the thorough knowledge of Berlioz’ score, and the joy of making music with the RCO member players who choose Gatti as their new chief conductor. This a masterful job of remastering at 45 rpm. Unfortunately, the performance – while excellent – doesn’t seem to find anything new in this extraordinary work of Berlioz. It is also available on a fine RCO multichannel SACD (which I have not heard) but using the pseudo-surround feature on most preamps creates an absolutely enveloping music in surround effect with this magnificent 45 rpm remastering. One writer compared the SACD sonics to the SACDs of the ten Mahler Symphonies released a few years ago by the Concertgebouw. The warmth and ambiance of the acoustically-perfect concert hall come thru either way. You would have to […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
