Sony Archive
Sol Gabetta plays SCHUMANN: Five Pieces in Folk-style; Fantasy Pieces for Cello and Piano; Cello Concerto – Sony
Sol Gabetta presents a wonderful walk through Robert Schumann’s works for ‘cello…
Johann Sebastian BACH. The suites for solo cello “Six Evolutions”—Yo-Yo Ma, cello—Sony
“Better than average, yes. And the best of Ma’s recordings of Bach’s cello suites. This is a recording devoid of an artist’s ego; it showcases his love for music.”
AUDIO NEWS FOR WEEK OF SEPT. 4TH – BY JOHN SUNIER
Audio News Is Back – We hereby return to the Audio News feature, but only once a week instead of two… John Sunier Use of MQA Has Widened – At the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin it was announced the MQA technology will be enbedded in products from the follwing: LG, Sony Pioneer, Onkyo, iFi, Electrocompaniet, Rotel, dCS, Groovers, Sim Audio, and others. Since the majority of the legacy recordings are analog 2 or 3-track on 7 1/2 or 15 ips tapes, MQA makes little difference on older recordings. Five Most Expensive Home Theater Installations – Civilized’s web site has a new article on the five most expensive Home Theater installations. One cost $3.5 million and is a Bat Cave format. New Sony Complete Home Audio System for $1300 – The new Sony MHC-V90W has 10 speakers, a “powerful surround audio system” – it doesn’t say exactly what power – and party and speaker lights to give you a disco feel, gesture control, control from Google’s “Home,” spread-out sound (the tweeters have horns), a Karaoke feature to let you sing along, a Fiesta Mode to create a party sound, even outdoors, a guitar input, a USB port, and Bluetooth […]
Audio News May 19, 2017
Onkyo is boosting its product line with new 7-channel receivers — Next month, Onkyo — the creator of the premier RZ series receivers— will be adding three new network AV Receivers to its product lineup: TX-RZ820, TX-RZ720, and TX-RXZ620. Of note is support for a 5Hz to 100 kHz spectral range, six Dolby Vision HDMI input ports, 5GHz/2.4GHz Wi-Fi, along with many other features. There is also an Onkyo Controller app for Apple and Android devices, which can be used with Spotify and other streaming services. For more information of these exceptional receivers, see www.onkyousa.com. More portable players are going Hi-Res — Pioneer has come out with a new compact audio player (XDP-30$) which supports a full gamut of formats, from MP3 through AAC, up to 192 kHz at 32-bit resolution. A handheld portable, down to pocket size, it is lightweight, and also has Wi-Fi input and Bluetooth output capabilities, suitable for the new SE-CH5BL-K ear headphones. Hi-Res Smartphone — In addition to Pioneer offering, there is the new Sony Xperia XZ Premium 4K smartphone. With this, Sony touts a range of hi-res formats, along with automatic detection of headphone type (for optimization), their Digital Noise Canceling option, as well as […]
Audio News for March 31, 2017
Google & Sony Collaborate to Bring Hi-Res to Android – The new Android Nougat has over 30 new features and about 250 bug fixes so every Andriod mobile user will benefit from Google. Bluetooth is reliable but not hi-res yet, so Sony lent its LDAC wireless audio coding tech to Android O. This is the same technology already in the Sony sound bar, Walkman NW-ZX2, and Sony Glass Sound Speaker. It can transfer data at about three times better than Bluetooth, and allows for efficent coding and optimized packetzation for an impressive sound quality. Google has already added this tech to their AOSP base code so developers can take advantage of it. The goal is to have hi-res streaming on your smart phone whether it’s a Sony or not. UK Ban on Carrying Laptops and Tablets on Inbound Flights Could be Extended to All Flights – Passengers can no longer carry large electronic devices on inbound flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. It would theoretically stop terrorists from physically triggering a bomb concealed in a laptop. It follows a similar measure announced by U.S. authorities affecting flights originating in a longer list of mainly Muslim countries. […]
BEETHOVEN: Missa solemnis in D – Soloists/ Arnold Schoenberg Chor /Concentus Musicus Wien /Nicholas Harnoncourt ‒ Sony
BEETHOVEN: Missa solemnis in D Major, Op. 123 ‒ Laura Aikin, sop./ Bernarda Fink, alto / Johannes Chum, tenor/ Ruben Drole, bass/ Arnold Schoenberg Chor /Concentus Musicus Wien /Nicholas Harnoncourt ‒ Sony 88985313592, 81:00 (7/15/16) ***1/2: Harnoncourt was a great Beethoven conductor, but his final recording is not entirely successful. Did you know that Beethoven notated over thirty different tempo markings in his Missa solemnis? Neither did I. That’s just one of the wonderful bits of information you can glean if you take time to read the program notes that come along with recordings. Another interesting fact is that Nicholas Harnoncourt’s first seven performances of the Missa solemnis were delivered not from the podium but from a chair in the cello section of the Vienna Symphony. Apparently, none of these performances seemed to capture the essence of the work for him. Indeed, only as he prepared for his own first performance of the work as conductor, in 1988, did he fully come to terms with Beethoven’s difficult masterpiece. Harnoncourt wrote about the experience, “All that had seemed to me to be empty bathos suddenly turned into the opposite.” Empty bathos? Wow! Those seven prior performances not only left him with […]
Audio News for February 14, 2017
Dolby Atmos Soundbars – Since a vast majority of households are thining of home theater in terms of a TV display plus a soundbar, the era of Dolby Atmos soundbars is upon us. Systems from LG, Sony, Onkyo, Samsung, Yamaha, Pioneer, Philips and Creative create a choice for consumers. Some of them support DTS:X as well. It can be remarkable what reflected sound can do for a soundbar. For example, the Yamaha YSP models reflect beams of sound off the walls to create surround efffects. Samsung’s K950 soundbar is the only soundbar to provide 5.1.4 Atmos experience using wireless surround speakers. The systems’ satellites feature integrated Amos-enabled upfiring capability. It turns out that height effects add ambience and a sense of space to make up for the lack of traditional surround sound. The PC gaming audio X-Fi Sonic Carrier boasts 1000 watts of power into an 11.2.4 speaker configuration compatible with Dolby Atmos; plus you can add wireless subwoofers for more bass. Home Audio Market Future Analysis for 2019 – Customers buy home entertainment products mainly due to the rise in disposable incomes of families and better quality products. Systems that can perform AV switching and play and stream audio stored […]
SCHUMANN: Cello Concerto in a; Sym. No. 2 in C Major – Jan Vogler, cello/ Dresden Festival Orch./ Ivor Bolton – Sony
Suave and elegant Schumann played in natural, heroic manner by all principals. SCHUMANN: Cello Concerto in a, Op. 129; Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61 – Jan Vogler, cello/ Dresden Festival Orch./ Ivor Bolton – Sony 88985372122, 59:06 (12/2/16) ****: Clara Schumann once referred to the people of Dresden as “Philistines,” convinced that, after six years’ habitation in the city, “no musician could be found.” With a prospective move to Duesseldorf, the entire Schumann family felt a renewed vigor, and Robert conceived his Cello Concerto in fifteen days of October 1850. Curiously, despite extensive correspondence with cellist Emil Bockmuehl about the virtuosic capacities of the piece, Schumann opted for relative restraint and economic compression of the musical materials. Still, Clara Schumann lauded the work’s Romantic fervor, its “vivacity, freshness and humor, its euphony and deep feeling.” Schumann had already demonstrated his penchant for through-composed cyclic form, connecting each of the movements thematically, with the middle movement’s serving as a kind of intermezzo-recitative before the 6/8 finale recycles motifs heard earlier in the form of jittery dance. In the Violin Concerto in d minor, Schumann presses even further into this experiment in form, though one could argue that the […]
Audio News for January 27, 2017
End-To-End Multilingual Streaming Solution – Osprey Video has partnered with Belgium-based streaming company Streamovations. to present videos in multiple languages thru a single turnkey system based on software certified to work with Osprey Video hardware. They wanted to develop a system so that any organization could accomplish its streaming goals, since many need to share live video on the web in multiple languages simultaneously, but there is no out-of-the-box system to do it. Customers can capture, encode, transcode, manage, analyze and store all content, streaming up to 32 audio feeds with one system. The video is properly mixed with the different audio tracks for each language. It uses new Osprey cards, and simplifies streaming for anyone in any industry, even if they need to stream in just one language. Samsung Soundbar Works Without Rear Speakers – The New Samsung HW-K850 Soundbar delivers both the width and height of sound associated with Dolby Atmos mixes, and its powerful subwoofer ensures there is not shortage of movie-friendly bass, too. The subwoofer is just a big black box, but it is wireless and is designed to sit behind another chair or cabinet. It has full 4K, HDR passthrough in a compact and attractive […]
Best of the Year Discs for 2016
Best of the Year Discs for 2016 = The 12 Multichannel Hi-Res Discs of the Month for 2016 CLASSICAL (incl. HI-RES), CLASSICAL REISSUES, CLASSICAL VINYL & PURE AUDIO BLU-RAY KATI AGÓCS: The Debrecen Passion – BMOP Sound 1046 American First Piano Sonatas – Licad, p. – Danacord * ”For the Beauty of the Earth” – Celebrating Creation – Works of WIDOR, VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS and others – Gabriel V Brass Ensemble/Sharon Rose Pfeiffer, pipe organ/ percussion ens. – Arte/ Paraclete SACD GDCD 061 * BEETHOVEN: The Nine Symphonies (1963); Rehearsal of the Ninth Sym. – Berlin PO./ Herbert von Karajan – DGG Pure Audio Blu-ray stereo 00289 479 5977 Maya Beiser, “Transclassical” – Innova 952 Jussi Bjoerling in Copenhagen – JSP Records LUCIANO BERIO: Sinfonia & GUSTAV MAHLER: Ten Early Songs – HMC 902180 BRAHMS AND HINDEMITH Viola Sonatas Reisenberg/Doktor – Romeo Records * COUPERIN: Trois Lecons de Tenebres; SEBASTIEN DE BROSSARD: Trio Sonatas in c and a; Stabat Mater – La Nuova Musica/ David Bates – Harmonia mundi SACD HMU 807659 * Chick Corea (piano) & Bela Fleck (banjo) – Two – Concord Jazz CIA-37992-2 (2 CDs) * CORIGLIANO: The Ghosts of Versailles (complete opera) – Soloists/ LA […]
Hints On Shooting a Classical Video – (From a Grammy-award-winning producer: Choose the piece but film the moment; Set the scenes & shoot it lean; Keep it real; Tell a story; Get intimate. “If the viewer wants to focus purely on the music they’re welcome to shut their eyes. But if they want to watch you making the music, make sure they are watching something interesting.” Most Home Theater Companies Missing from CES – Only four companies were there: AudioControl, Wolf Cinema, James and Vutec. Though the Venetian suites had a $196,000 home theater demo, the lack of true home theater was noticeable at CES in Las Vegas. It is becoming apparent that manufacturers seeking to create trade channel partnerships with integrators are bypassing CES. But there was still plenty to see the show from a display standpoint. LG, Sony and Panasonic showcased impressive flat panel technology, namely OLED. But there were few audio companions. The exorbitant hotel prices are also reducing media traffic, and then there is the huge congestion at the show. Moving between venues generally takes one to two hours. The Return of the Violin – The violin is getting much attention in recordings and live concerts […]
Audio News for January 13, 2017
Things Alexa Cannot Yet Do – The shortfall of Alexa’s IFTT integration is the lack of any actions whatsoever. You cannot complete a task for have Alexa play a tune. You must divide every command into its own statement – no trying to get Alexa to do more than one thing at a time. There are currently no notifications, audio or visual. It would be nice if Alexa spoke the name of the person calling you, but no. Only three words wake Alexa devices: Alexa, Amazon or the name of the device – no customized wake words. There is no voice-memo function – you cannot leave messages for others in your household. Alexa does not distinguish different voices. If you have multiple Amazon devices around the house, you cannot speak to just one of them and Alexa will not stream the same music to all your Echo speakers, but you can with Google Home and Chromecast. “This Decade Belongs to Gustavo Dudamel and His Innovative Ways” is a statement by the author of an article Can Classical Music Survive With Shedding Its Obsessions with Purism? It came about due to the current musical film La La Land, which has swept […]
Audio News for January 6, 2017
LG’s Ultra-thin TV at CES – The new LG Signature LED W7 might be – at 2.6 mm – the thinnest TV ever made. They call it a “Picture on Wall” and it uses both magnetic hardware and nails to mount it nearly flush to the wall. And it is UHD, and allows you to impress your friends by peeling it off the wall. It will be available in 55-inch and 65-inch screen sizes with a premium aluminum stand and bezel in the screen size. It includes a Dolby Atmos-enabled sound bar that delivers 2.0.2 Atmos sound. They are expected to ship in April, and will be expensive. Sony Now Also Has OLEDs – The Sony A1E is based on an OLED LG display, but includes the X1 Extreme processor, a powerhouse with three main functions: a dual database for noise reduction and 4K upscaling, Super Bit Mapping to smooth gradations by reproducing the equivalent of 14 bits from an 8 bit source, and object-based HDR remastering that identifies individual objects in the image. Speakers are eliminated entirely: the entire screen vibrates to reproduce stereo sound. It also supports Dolby Vision HDR and Chromecast lets you send contact from a […]
Audio News for December 27, 2016
Alexa Control4 Home Automation Setup – Control4 is smart-home-as-a-service company which specializes in custom-installed connected entertainment setups. Fairly high end, the master receivers start at $600 and go as high as $2000, and to that must be added costs of your smart home gear. But it offers seamless, dealer-installed integration of all home AV needs, along with the lighting, climate and security gadgets. In one test, Alexa replaced a two-switch control setup for the gas fireplace with a single switch that controlled the lights, ceiling fans, fireplace, and even toggled pre-programmed scenes. It includes stuff that most people never thought of automating. Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 3700 – at $1499, gives the wonderful feeling when the lights go down and movie starts in your home theater. It is the mid-level projector of three models in the Home Cinema line, and does not lack for brightness or sharpness. It also makes 3D look good, and can be easily connected to better speakers than those built into the unit. The image is very adjustable, and the projector need not be placed directly in line with the screen. It can project a 100” image just ten feet away from the screen. Biggest Works […]
Audio News for December 20, 2016
Audio Issue with Google Pixel Smartphones – All Google Pixel XL smartphones, when you crank up the volume to one of the last three volume settings, produce a static distortion. Not heard on other smartphones. Google doesn’t seem to know about the problem. DEG Hi-Res Audio Pavillion at CES – The Digital Entertainment Group will have a coalition of Hollywood studios, CE retailers, manufacturers, technology providers, and the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing at the Pavillion, in the Central Hall of the LVCC. People from the RIAA, Japan Audio Society, MQA Ltd, and the major music labels (there are only Warners and Universal now) will also be there. Their goal is “to bring a studio-quality experience to a new generation of fans.” A series of live sessions with award-winning music producers and engineers will take place. Attendees will get insight into the process of creating hi-res studio-quality recordings and a perspective on how to better appreciate these recordings as a listener. Classical Music Helps Men at Work (But Not Women) – New research at the Imperial College London and the Royal College of Music was part of the Centre for Performance Science, and was part of their wider research […]
Monk in Tokyo – The Thelonious Monk Quartet – Sony SOPW 69-70/ Speakers Corner double vinyl
A full listen to a Japanese performance by Monk’s quartet in 1963. Monk in Tokyo – The Thelonious Monk Quartet [TrackList follows]- Sony SOPW 69-70/Speakers Corner double vinyl – (12/9/16) ****: (Thelonious Monk, piano/ Charlie Rouse, tenor/ Butch Warren, bass/ Frankie Dunlop, drums) Recorded in Sankei Hall in May 1963, this was Monk’s last performance in Tokyo on this tour. Many managers, club owners and festival managers had tried unsuccessfully to get Monk away from the TV set in his living room to perform these classics again on stage. All the old Monk favorites are on this double vinyl, “Just a Gigolo (a piano solo),” “Blue Monk,” “Epistrophy,” “Bemsha Swing,” and so on. They made audience and will make record collectors alike sit up and take notice. Everything is at a very high standard. The very first track on the first side is one of the best blues Monk ever made: “Straight, No Chaser.” And the second track is “Panonica,” dedicated to Baroness Panonica “Nica” de Koenigswarter, who was at the concert and was a friend and patron of many great jazz musicians. Some of the album was originally released on a Columbia LP. The Toykyo concerts were not without […]
Audio News for November 29, 2016
New Sony Dub Stage Equipped to Master Films in Immersive Sound Formats – The new Culver City stage is designed to simulate a typical home theater environment. It includes object-based surround formats like Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Auro-3D. It is currently preparing several feature titles for Blu-ray, 4K UHD and digital delivery. It is equipped to master feature films and TV in immersive sound formats. The mix stage features an Avid Pro Tools S6 mixing console with 24 faders, two Pro Tools HDS systems, Ancillary gear from Blackmagic, Pegasus and Brainstorm, and a custom-built Delicate Audio truss system for mounting nearfield speakers to conform to the specs of individual sound formats. “Flexibility is essential,” says one of the Sony designers. New Complete Mozart on DGG & Decca – Deutsche Grammophon and Decca have released the ultimate in over-the-top gifts in their 200-CD Mozart 225: The New Complete Edition. The box weighs about 20 lbs. and includes 240 of old and new recordings of every known Mozart score: his operas, symphonies, concertos, piano music, even his arrangements of Bach and Handel. Some 600 eminent artists perform the Mozart works and you download the opera librettos and song texts from a web […]
Audio News for November 4, 2016
Classical Music Can Be Your Best Friend in This Political Turmoil – Research suggests that classical music could be just the thing to calm you down. Sort of like Vivaldi replacing Valium. Recent Research in Bochum, Germany had 120 participants in which half lay down in silence while the other half listened to classical music. When vital signs were taken afterwards, all had lower heart rates and other benefits, but the benefits were greatest in those who had listened to the classics. iPhones Not the Only Apple Products Dropping the Optical Out Jack for Headphones – The old MacBook Pro had an optical audio output but it is gone with the new 13-inch model, and not likely on higher-end models either. The port is described by Apple as a 3.5mm headphone jack with support for audio line out (digital/analog). There is no listing for S/PDIF optical digital audio output. Apple says “plenty of USB-C zero-latency professional peripherals are available now, or coming very soon.” Whether the MacBooks are provided with an adaptor for headphones like the new iPones is unknown. New Inexpensive LG 3D Blu-ray Deck – The PB556 is only about $166, plays Blu-rays, DVDs and CDs, has Wi-Fi […]
Audio News for October 28, 2016
Sony to Expand Hi-Res to More Products; Reasons for Hi-Res
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 9, 2016
Everything by Mozart Gets 200-CD Set – Decca Classics has now released a massive 200-disc box set for Mozart completlists. DGG also participated in the Universal Music Group release titled Mozart 225: The New Complete Edition, which arrives late next month. It contains all his symphonies, concertos and all 22 operas plus a newly-discovered composition. (It was a friendly competition with Antonio Salieri and involved a song.) There are also two hardcover books, with a new biography and several frame-worthy prints. The collection was created in partnership with the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation and Mozart expert Cliff Eisen. Amazon will sell it for $479.36, while Presto Classical appears to have it for only $350. Other Mozart products being prepared are a 33-DVD package all of his operas, a 3-CD collection of “singles,” digital download bundles, streaming albums and themed playlists. The box set consists of 4000 tracks, with 15,000 minutes of music, 600 performers and ensembles, 60 orchestras, 20 different record labels, 5 hours of newly-recorded performances, two hours recorded on Mozart’s own instruments, and it would take ten days to listen to all the music. 70% of the recordings are different from the last major Mozart box set. Video Games […]
Audio News for August 26, 2016
Sony Is Advertising a Hi-Res Turntable – There cannot be such a thing as a hi-res turntable. It may be designed to convert vinyl discs to audio files, but it is not therefore hi-res. Vinyl may often sound fantastic, but it is not hi-res and never will be. Post-iPod Players – Both new and experienced audio fans are flocking to hi-res audio players for music while on the go. Rather than the old-fashioned MP3 players like Apple’s iPod, they have sophisticated electronics such as DACs, making them capable of reproducing hi-res audio that the iPod cannot handle. The hi-res mobile players have also become cheaper and more feature-packed recently. Hi-res correctly refers to anything in digital audio files which is more than the standard 44.1K/16-bit of compact discs. (The current low-end hi-res is considered to be 48K/24-bit.) The bit depth is usually pushed up to 24-bits and the sampling to at least 96K, which results in clearer, richer and more authentic audio. Enthusiasts sometimes compare hi-res audio to so-called 4K video (actually UHD) in terms of better sound quality, clarity, and authentic audio. Such players now range from $150 to $6000. Tracks can be streamed via services like Tidal and […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
