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THOMAS ADÈS: Asyla; Tevot; Polaris; Brahms – London Sym. Orch./Thomas Adès – LSO Live (Blu-ray & SACD)

THOMAS ADÈS: Asyla; Tevot; Polaris; Brahms – London Sym. Orch./Thomas Adès – LSO Live (Blu-ray & SACD)

by | Apr 8, 2017 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

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 […]

BACH: The Partitas and French Suites – Richard Egarr – HM

BACH: The Partitas and French Suites – Richard Egarr – HM

by | Apr 1, 2017 | Classical CD Reviews

BACH: The Partitas – Richard Egarr – Harmonia Mundi 907593. CD 1: 75:39, CD 2 79:20 (3/24/17) *****: BACH: The French Suites – Richard Egarr – Harmonia Mundi 907583, CD 1: 47:04, CD 2: 58:29 (5/27/16) ****1/2 : (Richard Egarr; harpsichord) Egarr continues his successful tour of the complete Bach solo repertory played on his fine Ruckers copy double-manual instrument. In recent years, Richard Egarr has somehow managed to balance his responsibilities as musical director of the Academy of Ancient Music with his ambitious project of recording the entire solo harpsichord repertory of J.S. Bach. These recordings have appeared as collections of the “little” works such as the 2004 “per cembalo solo…” on Harmonia Mundi, but more recently as double-CDs of the major suites. Under review here are two major installments which nearly complete the journey. Egarr has been loyal to his splendid instrument, a 1991 Joel Katzman copy of a 1638 Ruckers harpsichord. It is a massive double-register keyboard with a booming voice. It can rattle frightfully on some of the heavy ornamentation of a Bach Gigue, but it possesses an almost mystical side; the 8-ft single register has such a bell-like clarity, especially in the lyrical Sarabande, that […]

“Dawn to Dust” – Music of THOMAS, MUHLY, and NORMAN – Utah Sym. Orch. / Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings

“Dawn to Dust” – Music of THOMAS, MUHLY, and NORMAN – Utah Sym. Orch. / Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings

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

“Dawn to Dust” – Music of THOMAS, MUHLY, and NORMAN – Utah Sym. Orch. / Thierry Fischer – Reference Recordings multichannel SACD FR-719, 69:31 (4/8/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Notable contemporary music from Utah in a lovely recording. Dawn To Dust contains live recordings of three significant and interesting works by leading composers Augusta Read Thomas, Nico Muhly, and Andrew Norman. Each of the three compositions is performed by the Utah Symphony under the baton of Thierry Fischer. All are world premiere recordings. The first work on the disc is a lovely and dynamic contemporary ballet for orchestra by Ms. Thomas, called EOS – Goddess of the Dawn. It has a rich palette of orchestra sounds, The piece is in seven parts and presents musical depictions of the dawn against a background of Greek mythology. The next work is by Muhly called Control – Five Landscapes for Orchestra. The landscapes in question are from Utah, and are inspired by the spectacular geography the state offers. I’ve just returned from a photo shoot in St. George and Bryce Canyon, Utah, so the disc came to me at an appropriate time. Here again, there are very rich orchestrations, and evocations of the […]