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RICHARD SUSSMAN: Evolution Suite – Richard Sussman – p., electronics, & others – Zoho

RICHARD SUSSMAN: Evolution Suite – Richard Sussman – p., electronics, & others – Zoho

by | Jan 15, 2017 | Jazz CD Reviews

RICHARD SUSSMAN:  Evolution Suite – Richard Sussman – p., electronics, Scott Wendholt – trumpet, Flugel horn, Rich Perry – tenor sax, Mike Richmond – acoustic & elec. bass, Anthony Poinciotti – drums/ The Sirius Quartet, With special guest: Zach Broc – elec. violin – Zoho CD ZM 201614, 71:00 (10/7/16) [Distr. by Allegro] *** 1/2: An important classical/jazz work but hurt a bit by the lack of a great recording. Richard Sussman’s ground-breaking The Evolution Suite for Jazz Quintet, String Quartet, and Electronics is the culmination of almost a decade of development. This five-movement, hour-long composition was funded by a Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Grant, and premiered and recorded on December 20, 2015, at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space in New York City. The work is a fusion of jazz and classical music. Composer Richard Sussman said it best: “”By combining jazz improvisation and many diverse rhythms and instrumental textures from throughout the world with contemporary classical music, I feel we can more truly reflect and more strongly connect with a wider cross-section of the multi-cultural society in which we live.” The disc includes another work, called Prevolution, a 10-minute track Sussman considers a ‘prequel’ to […]

BERLIOZ: Roméo et Juliette ‒ Soloists/ Valery Gergiev on London Sym. Live SACD & Soloists/Robin Ticciati on Linn CD

BERLIOZ: Roméo et Juliette ‒ Soloists/ Valery Gergiev on London Sym. Live SACD & Soloists/Robin Ticciati on Linn CD

by | Nov 17, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

BERLIOZ: Roméo et Juliette ‒ Olga Borodina, mezzo-sop. / Kenneth Tarver, tenor / Evgeny Nikitin, bass-bari. / Guildhall School Singers / London Sym. Chorus / London Sym. Orch. / Valery Gergiev ‒ London Symphony Live 2SACD LSO0762 (2 SACDs), 57:06, 33:19 (7/8/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ***: BERLIOZ: Roméo et Juliette ‒ Katija Dragojevic, mezzo-sop. / Andrew Staples, tenor / Alastair Miles, bass / Swedish Radio Choir / Swedish Radio Sym. Orch. / Robin Ticciati ‒ Linn CKD 521 (2 CDs), TT: 94:00 (10/14/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Two approaches to a Berlioz classic; one SACD and one CD. Berlioz’s hybrid masterwork, dubbed by the composer a symphonie dramatique, could be considered an advance on Beethoven’s Choral Symphony. Like Beethoven’s final symphony, it includes among its forces vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra. But whereas Beethoven’s work is a symphony with an uncommon choral finale (and some boneheaded commentators still take the composer to task for daring to tinker with the basic tenets of symphonic construction), Berlioz’s conception is more radical, incorporating as it does set pieces that could only be considered orchestral tone poems (before the fact) along with lengthy narrative-dramatic sections delivered by the soloists and orchestra. Perhaps the only genuinely symphonic […]

MOZART: Le nozze di Figaro, (The Marriage of Figaro) (complete opera) – DGG (3)

MOZART: Le nozze di Figaro, (The Marriage of Figaro) (complete opera) – DGG (3)

by | Nov 16, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

A fine mid-course addition to what is proving an excellent series. MOZART: Le nozze di Figaro, K492 (complete opera) – Thomas Hampson (Conte)/ Sonya Yoncheva (Contessa)/ Angela Brower (Cherubino)/ Christiane Karg (Susanna)/ Luca Pisaroni (Figaro)/ Maurizio Muraro (Bartolo)/ Anne Sofie von Otter (Marcellina)/ Philippe Sly (Antonio)/ Regula Mühlemann (Barbarina)/ Rolando Villazón (Basilio)/ Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (Don Curzio)/ Ch. Orch. of Europe & Vocalensemble Rastatt/ Yannick Nézet-Séguin – DGG 4795945 (3 CDs), TT: 173:34 [Distr. by Universal] ****: Record reviewers don’t seem to know what to make of this latest installment of the Rolando Villazón-inspired series of the seven mature operas of Mozart (this is number four). Metropolitan opera designee conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin has had interesting things to say so far, and this, arguably the most popular of all Mozart’s operas, gets similar treatment. So what exactly is this? Simply, modernly brisk though tasteful tempos, period instrument brass punctuations and over-dynamic forte explosions, crisp string playing, and an insistence that the drama keeps moving. Though modern instruments are used, they are employed with ancient instrument sensibilities even though the more lyrical passages actually sound lyrical and not like the all-too-typical rubber band sound of many period instrument recordings. The singers are also […]

“Double Triple Koppel” = Michala Petri on recorder & others – Decapo / BEAMISH: The Singing – Works of that composer cond. by Martyn Brabbins – BIS

“Double Triple Koppel” = Michala Petri on recorder & others – Decapo / BEAMISH: The Singing – Works of that composer cond. by Martyn Brabbins – BIS

by | Oct 1, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

“Double Triple Koppel” = ANDERS KOPPEL: Concerto for Recorder, Saxophone, and Orchestra; Triple Concerto for Mezzo Saxophone, Cello, Harp, and Orchestra ‒ Michala Petri, recorder / Benjamin Koppel, saxophones / Tine Rehling, harp / Eugene Hye-Knudsen, cello / Odense Sym. Orch. / Henrik Vagn Christensen ‒ Dacapo multichannel SACD 6220633 [Distr. by Naxos]; 67:25 (8/14/15) ***1/2:</br> “SALLY BEAMISH: The Singing” = The Singing: Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra; A Cage of Doves; Under the Wing of the Rock; Reckless; Trumpet Concerto ‒ James Crabb, accordion / Branford Marsalis, sax / Håkan Hardenberger, trumpet / Royal Scottish National Orch. / Nat. Youth Orch. of Scotland (Trumpet Concerto) / Martyn Brabbins ‒ BIS multichannel SACD BIS-2156 [Distr. by Naxos]; 73:56 (10/9/15) ****: Two contemporary composers who manage to do up the old wine of the classical concerto in surprising new skins. Here we have two very different approaches to the concerto from two very different contemporary composers. Anders Koppel (b. 1947) is the son of the distinguished Danish composer Herman D. Koppel. In fact, Anders is now better known than his father, thanks to a loyal following among enthusiasts of crossover music, and specifically those who appreciate the melding of classical music […]

JENNIFER HIGDON: Cold Mountain (comp. opera) – Soloists /Santa Fe Opera Orch. & The Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers/ Miguel Harth-Bedoya – Pentatone (2 SACDs)

JENNIFER HIGDON: Cold Mountain (comp. opera) – Soloists /Santa Fe Opera Orch. & The Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers/ Miguel Harth-Bedoya – Pentatone (2 SACDs)

by | Aug 25, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

The birth of a truly distinguished American opera. JENNIFER HIGDON: Cold Mountain (comp. opera) – Jay Hunter Morris (Teague)/ Robert Pomakov (Owens)/ Adrian Kramer (Owens’ Son)/ Nathan Gunn (W.P. Inman)/ Kevin Burdette (A Blind Man)/ Isabel Leonard (Ada Monroe)/ Emily Fons (Ruby Thewes) The Santa Fe Opera Orch. & Members of The Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers/ Miguel Harth-Bedoya – Pentatone multichannel SACD PTC5186583 (2 discs), TT: 145:40 [Distr. by Naxos] *****: Like most novels of sufficient length and depth, it is virtually impossible to react while maintaining the consistency and formative narrative that makes the work succeed—or not. But when doing so for an opera, one does at least have a chance providing the music is up to the task. Opera, after all, is able to amplify and illumine specific static moments of a work in a way that even the most verbose text is unable to accomplish, emotionally speaking. This stylized formula, tried and true after so many years, and when in the hands of a genius composer, is often able to give birth to new and varied aspects of characterizations and hidden layers of meaning not present even in the original. No one, for example, […]

Denny Zeitlin, solo piano – Early Wayne – Sunnyside Communications

Denny Zeitlin, solo piano – Early Wayne – Sunnyside Communications

by | Aug 2, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

Denny Zeitlin, solo piano – Early Wayne –  Sunnyside Communications SSC1456, 69:59 ****: A dynamic, percussive, pianist with a gift for illuminating modern jazz that is harmonically articulate. In 1978, the late American psychiatrist M. Scott Peck published a book entitled The Road Less Travelled which purports to be a description of the attributes that make for a fulfilled human being. This is not meant to suggest that pianist/psychiatrist Denny Zeitlin does not have a fulfilled life. But rather it propounds that he has successfully developed his career on his own terms, following a path that is free of the shibboleths that might constrain his creative ideas. His current release Solo Piano: Early Wayne is a continuation of this voyage. A number of  Wayne Shorter’s compositions featured here, were written during the period  from 1964 to 1970, when he was a member of The Miles Davis Quintet. His compositions were intricately structured with meandering contours that allowed for a variety of interpretations which Denny Zeitlin has embraced. “Speak No Evil”is a perfect introduction to this recital, as Zetlin demonstrates his eloquent flexibility and dependable curiosity. Wayne Shorter, who is now eighty-two years old, and has achieved iconic status, continues to […]

MENDELSSOHN: Elijah – Soloists/ RIAS Kammerchor / Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin/ Hans‐Christoph Rademann – Accentus

MENDELSSOHN: Elijah – Soloists/ RIAS Kammerchor / Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin/ Hans‐Christoph Rademann – Accentus

by | Jul 10, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

MENDELSSOHN: Elijah, Op. 70 – Marlis Petersen (sop.) / Lioba Braun (mezzo) / Maximilian Schmitt (tenor) / Thomas Oliemans (bari.)/RIAS Kammerchor / Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin/ Hans‐Christoph Rademann – Accentus ACC30356 (2 CDs); TT 1h, 25m (3/25/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ****1/2: Recorded live, Rademann’s Elijah is long on drama, managing to downplay the sentimental elements of this flawed masterpiece. It’s easy to forget that Felix Mendelssohn wrote operas. Two of them, Der Oncle von Boston and Die Heimkehr aus die Fremde, were written for private performance only and the one opera which Mendelssohn wrote for public performance, Die Hochzeit des Comacho, was treated so dismissively by the critics that he decided to foreswear opera composition altogether. This, at the ripe old age of eighteen. Well, he didn’t turn his back entirely on opera, considering German mythology and even Shakespeare’s The Tempest as possible subjects, but he never committed to any project leaving only sketches. However, following the model of one of his musical heroes, Handel, Mendelssohn created in Elijah an oratorio that is fully operatic in its more dramatic passages. Like Handel’s Saul and Belshazzar, Elijah contains a series of dramatic scena that have managed to win it a […]

SCHUBERT: Complete Symphonies, Masses & opera Alfonso und Estrella – Soloists/Berlin Philharmonic/ Nicolaus Harnoncourt – Berlin Phil. – (8 SACDs + 1 Blu-ray stereo only)

SCHUBERT: Complete Symphonies, Masses & opera Alfonso und Estrella – Soloists/Berlin Philharmonic/ Nicolaus Harnoncourt – Berlin Phil. – (8 SACDs + 1 Blu-ray stereo only)

by | Jul 2, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

FRANZ SCHUBERT: Symphonies, Masses and Alfonso und Estrella (TrackLists below) – Berlin Philharmonic Orch./Nikolaus Harnoncourt – Berlin Phil. BPHR 15006 [Distr. by Naxos] – The set contains 8 CDs, and identical content on one Blu-ray audio disc in 2.0 PCM + Bonus video: Nikolaus Harnoncourt in conversation [in German w/ English subtitles] (38 min) HD 1080P 16×9 – Region free – TT: 613:30 (6/5/15) ****: For Schubert completists – all the symphonies, two masses and a rather unknown  complete opera . This is a ‘monster’ set of all the Schubert Symphonies, along with Schubert’s final two masses, plus there is a a rare recording of the opera Alfonso und Estrella. This massive set contains 8 SACDs, 1 Blu-ray audio disc that has all the music from the SACDs in DTS-HD MA 2.0. That disc also contains a video interview with conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt. [$123 on Amazon…Ed.] If you want to download the music, the set gives you a code to download FLAC files in 24/48 for any digital devices you own that can support the format. The performances were recorded between 2003 and 2006. I listened to everything contained in the set over several days, and found the performances consistent […]

BACH: St. John Passion – Soloists/RIAS Ch. Choir/ Academy for Old Music Berlin/ Rene Jacobs – Harmonia mundi (2 discs)

BACH: St. John Passion – Soloists/RIAS Ch. Choir/ Academy for Old Music Berlin/ Rene Jacobs – Harmonia mundi (2 discs)

by | Jun 6, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Outstanding in every facet, this could be, just maybe, the one to own. BACH: St. John Passion (1749 + 1725 Appendix) – Werner Gura, tenor/ Sumhae Im, sop/ Benno Schachtner, alto/ Sebastian Kohlhepp, tenor/ Johannes Weisser, bass/ RIAS Chamber Choir/ Academy for Old Music Berlin/ Rene Jacobs – Harmonia mundi multichannel SACD (2 discs) + DVD HMC 802236.37, 2:15:20 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi/PIAS] *****: This is the version completed right at the end of Bach’s life, with the powerful and familiarly haunting “Herr, Herr, Herr” in the opening chorus. I mention this because there is an appendix from the 1725 version that includes some numbers also rather popular but not in the regular performing version presented here, and the opening of that earlier edition is absent the aforementioned chorus. However, in a generous and wonderfully intelligent decision by Harmonia mundi, they have included three free downloads, one of the 1749 version given in toto here, and also the complete 1725 edition as well, both offered in a high def 24 bit FLAC file, about ten times the size of a normal 128kbps MP3 file. This is a great treat, and you can even give the third download to a friend […]

HANDEL: Messiah at Grace Cathedral – audio-only Blu-ray (2015)

HANDEL: Messiah at Grace Cathedral – audio-only Blu-ray (2015)

by | May 10, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

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 […]

Robin Eubanks – More Than Meets the Ear – ArtistShare

Robin Eubanks – More Than Meets the Ear – ArtistShare

by | Jan 1, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

Big band jazz for modern ears. Robin Eubanks – More Than Meets the Ear [TrackList follows] – ArtistShare AS0141, 71:38 [11/20/15] ****1/2: (Robin Eubanks – acoustic and electric trombone, percussion pads, producer, co-mixer; Antonio Hart – alto saxophone; Alex Cummings – alto and soprano saxophone; Marcus Strickland, Bobby LaVell – tenor saxophone; Lauren Sevian – baritone and bass clarinet; Lew Soloff, Alex Sipiagin, Duane Eubanks, Aaron Janik – trumpet; Jason Jackson, James Burton – trombone; Jennifer Wharton – trombone, tuba; Douglas Purviance – bass trombone; Glenn Zaleski – piano; Mike King – organ; Boris Kozlov – acoustic and electric bass; David Silliman – percussion; Nate Smith – drums) What would you do with a year off from work? Trombonist Robin Eubanks was given a one-year sabbatical from Ohio’s Oberlin College (where he is a professor) and used that time to do something he’d never accomplished before: write, arrange and plan out a jazz big band project. The result is the 72-minute collection, More Than Meets the Ear, which features nine Eubanks originals performed by Eubanks (acoustic and electric trombone and percussion pads), five saxes (led by Antonio Hart), four trumpets (led by the late Lew Soloff), four additional trombonists (led […]