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BRAHMS: Piano Quintet in f; SCHUMANN: String Quartet No. 1 – M. Pressler, p./ Pacifica Q. – Cedille

BRAHMS: Piano Quintet in f; SCHUMANN: String Quartet No. 1 – M. Pressler, p./ Pacifica Q. – Cedille

by | Mar 27, 2017 | Classical CD Reviews

An unusual pairing sets music of Brahms and Schumann together as masters of their respective idiom. BRAHMS: Piano Quintet in f, Op. 34; SCHUMANN: String Quartet No. 1 in a, Op. 41 – Menahem Pressler, p./ Pacifica Quartet – Cedille CDR 90000 170, 71:39 (3/10/17) [Distr. by Naxos] ****:  The etiology of the Brahms 1865 Piano Quintet (rec. 19-21 November 2014) has become common parlance, its having experienced two prior incarnations, as both a string quintet and a sonata for two pianos. The latter incarnation still survives and occasionally finds acolytes (as Op. 34b) in devoted musicians who wish to endure what the composer lamented as its “lack of charm.” And true, the opening Allegro non troppo does project a sense of broad melancholy, set as two contrasting ideas which provide the through-composed nature of the entire movement. Pressler (at ninety-one) himself can still impress us with his suave, cascading runs. The “symphonic” aspect of the writing constantly urges the music to the limit of what the ensemble can project without distortion. Much of the music’s evolution takes cues from Beethoven and Schubert, particularly the latter’s combination of grandeur and intimate nostalgia. Menahem Pressler and the Pacifica Quartet take a […]

Horace Andy – Straight To Hell – Fe True Records – 45 rpm

Horace Andy – Straight To Hell – Fe True Records – 45 rpm

by | Feb 13, 2017 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Horace Andy – Straight To Hell – Fe True Records – 45 r.p.m. stereo vinyl (20 min.) ****: Jamaican homage to The Clash remains topical. (Featuring Horace Andy and Big Youth; The Welders; Eric Blowtorch – guitar; Michael Dr. “Bassie” Bell – bass; Cecelia Negron Jr. – drums; Robin Pluer – organ) When the Clash burst on the scene, punk rock was shoving nearly every other pop music form aside. In addition to the social anger, political resentment was being voiced. At the same time, reggae music was influencing both British and American bands. Despite the joyful grooves, a darker political message was being transmitted by the likes of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Third World. Jamaican singer Horace Andy started out as a hit maker with songs like “Skylarking”, “You Are my Angel” and “Money Is The Root Of All Evil”. Years later, he recorded with “trip-hop” purveyor, Massive Attack. On a global scale reggae, punk rock and hip-hop was fused. Fe True Records has released a four-song 45 r.p.m., Straight To Hell. Horace Andy had previously collaborated with Joe Strummer in 1999, The two musicians shared a mutual admiration that dated back even further. Thirty-four years after its […]

SCHUBERT: Hermann Prey sings The Song Cycles, Blu-ray (2016)

SCHUBERT: Hermann Prey sings The Song Cycles, Blu-ray (2016)

by | Feb 3, 2017 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

SCHUBERT: Hermann Prey – The Schubert Song Cycles, Blu-ray (2016)  Don’t pass this one up. Performers: Hermann Prey, (baritone), Leonard Hokanson (p.), Helmut Deutsch (p.) Studio: Naxos [11/18/16] Video: 1.33:1  Color Audio: DTS-HD 5.1, PCM Stereo Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish Extras: Introductions by Hermann Prey Length: 252 minutes Ratings: Audio ****¾ Once in a great while you’ll encounter a video disc whose confluence of composer, performers, and production values is not only satisfying but one you positively must own. Michio Uchida’s Mozart: Great Piano Concertos is one such set. And so is Hermann Prey’s 1983 rendition of all three of Franz Schubert’s song cycles: Die schöne Müllerin (1823), Winterreise (1828), and Schwanengesang (1828). These are considered the best Liederzyklus (song cycles) ever written. And this is the best version I’ve ever seen. The cycles were released individually in the mid-eighties on LaserDiscs. (Remember those? State of the art at the time, they were also fragile, expensive, and had only one hour per side. I held out for DVDs.) Now the cycles are back, snugly tucked into one Blu-ray disc; and the transfer is perfect. At 54, Prey was at his peak and sings with artful tenderness, drama, and subtlety. […]

Audio News for December 9, 2016

by | Dec 9, 2016 | Audio News

The Guardian Top Classical Music Events of 2016 – 1. Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra at the BBC Proms, 2. Enescu’s Oedipe opera/oratorio, 80 years after its premiere, 3. New conductor of the Birmingham Symphony, Grazinyte-Tyla, 4. Kevin Volans’ Fourth Piano Concerto, and his 12th String Quartet, 5. Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard performing Messiaen’s Catalogue d’Oiseaux outdoors, 6. The Stravinsky Series put on by the Philharmonia Orchestra and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. Raumfeld Introduces Google Cast for Audio to its Speakers – The free update is for all current Raumfeld Wi-Fi speakers, and gives users access to over 100 new music apps, including Google Play Music, Spotify, Deezer, TIDAL, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, SoundCloud, Qobuz and Juke. A spokesman said this allows music lovers to discover new tunes, find old favorites, create their own playlists or try out playlists from others. A single device can be made part of different speaker groupings, and it’s even possible to combine Raumfeld speakers with other cast-enabled speakers. The various streaming services make it possible to listen to the perfect soundtracks for each location and mood. It works on either iOS or Android. The Raumfeld speakers are German-engineered and support digital files, […]

Cory Weeds Quintet featuring David Hazeltine – It’s Easy To Remember – CellarLive

Cory Weeds Quintet featuring David Hazeltine – It’s Easy To Remember – CellarLive

by | Oct 29, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

Cory Weeds Quintet featuring David Hazeltine – It’s Easy To Remember – CellarLive CL031716, 52:58 ****: An enthusiastic session from understanding and open-minded partners. (Cory Weeds – tenor saxophone; David Hazeltine – piano; Joe Magnarelli – trumpet; Paul Gill – acoustic bass; Jason Tiemann – drums) Here comes Cory Weeds. In what surely must be some kind of record for the issuance of albums by a Canadian tenor saxophonist, It’s Easy To Remember is the latest addition to Weeds’ substantial discography. Recorded live at Small’s Jazz Club in New York City on March 17, 2016, Weeds has surrounded himself with some top-notch New York-based musicians including the savvy, thoughtfully tasteful pianist David Hazeltine. In a session songbook of the known, nearly known, and unknown compositions, the band has an eclectic mix of numbers with which to display their inventiveness and curiosity. Starting out with a Kenny Drew piece, “With Prestige,” which has an entertaining bebop frame, the band demonstrates their exploratory spirit. Each member takes a piece of the action with Weeds showing his meaningful command of the saxophone, as Hazeltine delivers some long structural lines on the piano. Bassist Gill also dives in with a brief arco solo. “Smoke […]

Mark Murphy, Live In Athens, Greece – Harbinger

Mark Murphy, Live In Athens, Greece – Harbinger

by | Jun 15, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

Mark Murphy, Live In Athens, Greece – Harbinger HCD 3202 A singer of no-nonsense acumen. (Mark Murphy – vocals; Spiros Exaras – electric guitar; Thomas Rueckert – piano; Alex Drakos – drums; George Georgiadis – acoustic bass) When Mark Murphy died on October 22, 2015, at age 83, jazz lost one of the most interesting and innovative interpreters of vocal jazz. Unafraid to take chances, Murphy put his dynamic baritone voice to good effect as he ranged over an eclectic array of material that covered the spectrum from ballads to bebop. In this new release taken from a live performance in Greece in April 2008, the Murphy effect is in full flower as he dives and swoops over some well-known numbers that nevertheless still sound fresh. Beginning with “My Funny Valentine” Murphy stakes out his turf as he shows his vocal command by driving the tune through an interpretation that eschews that traditional with an up-tempo rendition that he scats in part with undiminished glee. That Murphy was an unabashed admirer of Miles Davis was well-known and the program presented at this live session was replete was Davis compositions or associated tunes starting with “All Blues”. With words by Oscar […]

Mordecai Shehori plays Fantasies = Piano works of BEETHOVEN, SCHUMANN, CHOPIN – Cembal d’amour

Mordecai Shehori plays Fantasies = Piano works of BEETHOVEN, SCHUMANN, CHOPIN – Cembal d’amour

by | Apr 1, 2016 | Classical Reissue Reviews

Mordecai Shehori plays Fantasies = BEETHOVEN: Fantasia in g minor, Op. 77; SCHUMANN: Fantasia in C Major, Op. 17; CHOPIN: Fantasy in f minor, Op. 49;  Polonaise-Fantasy in A-flat Major, Op. 61 – Mordecai Shehori, piano – Cembal d’amour  CD 182, 62:41 (2/7/16) [www.cembaldamour.com] ****: Beethoven and Schumann works allowing Shehori to improvise within restricted borders. Recorded 22-24 August 2009, this compilation of keyboard fantasies rather unleashes Mordecai Shehori in repertory that allows him – in accord with the colossal demands of the composers – to “improvise” within restricted borders. Shehori opens with Beethoven’s 1808 anomaly, his Fantasia in g minor, whose own designation belies its impatience for that starting point and gravitates to B Major.  In a series of expanding musical periods, Beethoven “settles” for a group of seven variations in B Major, with a kind of germ theme in an adagio section. Besides the explosive and impetuous aspects of the work, Shehori reveals that the fermatas prove just as dramatically potent. The Schumann 1836 Fantasy in C Major – dedicated to Franz Liszt – has its roots in the city of Bonn, which wished to erect a monument to their esteemed musical son.  Schumann spliced his devotion to […]

Bennie Wallace – Moodsville – Prestige/ Groove Note

Bennie Wallace – Moodsville – Prestige/ Groove Note

by | Dec 25, 2015 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Bennie Wallace – Moodsville – Prestige/ Groove Note GRV1010-1 two 45 rpm vinyls, 50:53 ****: Saxophonist combines traditional jazz plus hi-resolution. (Bennie Wallace – tenor saxophone; Peter Washington – doublebass; Mulgrew Miller – piano; Lewis Nash – drums) Jazz saxophonist Bennie Wallace draws heavily on his Tennessee roots. From his early days with the high school jazz orchestra, he understood the varied tempo signatures and moods of American post-bop jazz. Wallace has played with Barry Harris, Buddy Rich and Ray Anderson. His most significant recording output has come as a band leader. His albums have included Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Barron, Jack DeJohnette, Dr. John, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Scofield, Elvin Jones and Chick Corea. For nearly four decades, Wallace has explored jazz from many stylistic perspectives. Wallace’s latest release, Moodsville pays homage to the great Prestige and Moodsville label sessions of the late 1950s. This double 45 rpm. vinyl has been recorded in full analog technology with accessible results. Utilizing a classic jazz quartet, (tenor, piano, double bass and drums) Wallace offers melodic interpretations of standards and complex jazz compositions. Side A opens with a cover of “I’ll Never Smile Again”. For anyone familiar with Harry James’ big band version […]