{"title":"Bob Murphy","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"the-poor-clares-songs-for-midwinter","title":"The Poor Clares: Songs for Midwinter","description":"Classical Music","brand":"Centaur Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44712144568554,"sku":"044747502229","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2243386.jpg?v=1778319433"},{"product_id":"lucky-to-be-me-3","title":"LUCKY TO BE ME","description":"LUCKY TO BE ME","brand":"HIGHNOTE","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44929443856618,"sku":"632375709426","price":16.63,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/440529.jpg?v=1778356772"},{"product_id":"wild-free-3","title":"WILD \u0026 FREE","description":"When Mark Murphy died in October 2015, the obituaries claimed that he had been almost the last of his kind. Murphy, it was said, was a man who embodied the spirit of postwar bohemia, the 'On The Road' Kerouac generation who fought against the straight life of prosperity and numb consumerism they saw all around them. With a catalogue of more than 40 albums under his own name as well as numerous collaborations, Mark Murphy resisted orthodoxy. He could very likely have enjoyed a successful mainstream career had he remained a crooner in the vein of Mel Torm� or Jack Jones, but he had greater ambition to carry the jazz vocal flame. He was a consummate improviser, who never sang a song the same way twice. It is that Mark Murphy we encounter here in a historic engagement at the Keystone Korner which was his only performance in the club. Familiar Murphy favorites are here along with a few surprises with Mark's voice alternately thundering and whispering through the inspired setlist.","brand":"HIGHNOTE","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44929447493866,"sku":"632375731021","price":16.63,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3540117.jpg?v=1778355046"},{"product_id":"links-3","title":"LINKS","description":"The release of a Mark Murphy recording renders hyperbole superfluous. Other people have said it all: Murphy is \"a hipster's hipster,\" writes the New York Post. Featuring his latest effort Links, Mark performs classic tunes and original lyricst and otehr adventurous choices make this mark's finest record to date.","brand":"HIGHNOTE","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44929455292650,"sku":"632375707729","price":16.63,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/379183_42de7b33-af29-4ddb-900c-34712ed93bc5.jpg?v=1778366557"},{"product_id":"ballet-for-children-blu-ray-84136","title":"Ballet for Children [Blu-ray]","description":"This unique collection brings together four jewels of the Royal Ballet repertoire that will delight and captivate young viewers the world over. Prepare to be enchanted by the timelessly colourful characters of Beatrix Potter including Peter Rabbit and friends; swept up in the magical world of Clara and her beloved Nutcracker; dazzled by Alice's weird and wonderful adventures in Wonderland; and spellbound by the action in Prokofiev's classic Peter and the Wolf. \"Peter Rabbit's beautiful and magical garden of dreams will transport every adult straight back to their childhood. \" (The Stage - The Tales of Beatrix Potter) \"One of the very best seasonal treats for children and adults alike, the Royal Ballet's Nutcracker is a handsome, magical, thoroughly traditional rendering of ETA Hoffmann's immortal if deeply strange story.\" (Sunday Express - The Nutcracker) \"What a treat this is - such an imaginative treatment of a favourite story. There are extraordinary, eccentric sets and special effects; colourful, larger-than-life, argumentative characters and extraordinary costumes. Lauren Cuthbertson, as Alice, is excellent, her every movement suggesting the actions and emotions of this curious, spirited pre-adolescent... Christopher Wheeldon's choreography is very imaginative and fitting for every character.\" (Musicweb International - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) \"... Matthew Hart's Peter and the Wolf is one of the most beguiling children's ballets around. \" (The Daily Telegraph - Peter and the Wolf)","brand":"Opus Arte","offers":[{"title":"Blu-Ray","offer_id":46012840313066,"sku":"809478072171","price":53.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3601296.jpg?v=1778298302"},{"product_id":"telemann-complete-trio-sonatas-with-recorder-viol-095115081723","title":"Telemann: Complete Trio Sonatas with Recorder \u0026 Viol","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe specialist early-music ensemble Da Camera marks the 250th anniversary of Telemann’s death with this unique recording of original trio sonatas involving recorder and viol. These are among the greatest pieces Telemann ever composed. As he wrote in 1740: ‘how could I possibly remember everything I composed for strings and winds? I particularly devoted myself to the composing of trios… People even flattered me as having done my best work here.’ The musicians of Da Camera heartily agree. The ingenuity and variety of music, structures, and instrumental ensemble, combined with fascinating notes by the recorder player Emma Murphy, make this album a must-have for everyone, from Telemann’s many enthusiasts to those curious about early music.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012894871786,"sku":"095115081723","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3740095.jpg?v=1778261204"},{"product_id":"mozart-le-nozze-di-figaro-mattei-oelze-126060","title":"Mozart: Le Nozze Di Figaro \/ Mattei, Oelze, Grant Murphy, Cambreling","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eMOZART \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eLe nozze di Figaro \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"EXTRAS12\"\u003e\u0026amp; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Sylvain Cambreling, cond; Peter Mattei (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eCount Almaviva\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Lorenzo Regazzo (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eFigaro\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Heidi Grant Murphy (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eSusanna\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Christine Schäfer (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eCherubino\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Roland Bracht (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eDr. Bartolo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Burkhard Ulrich (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eDon Basilio\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Helene Schneiderman (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eMarcellina\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Eberhard Francesco Lorenz (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eDon Curzio\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Cassandra Berthon (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eBarbarina\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Jürg Kienberger (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eRecitativist\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e); Op National de Paris O \u0026amp; Ch \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e OPUS ARTE 6004 (2 DVDs: 250:00 + 59:43) Live: Paris 2006 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"EXTRAS12\"\u003e\u0026amp;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Bonus: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eA Day of Real Madness, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003edocumentary by Reiner E. Moritz \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis splendid performance of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eLe nozze di Figaro \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewas originally issued on DVD in 2006, and is here making its reappearance in Opus Arte’s “Essential Opera Collection.” As in the case of the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eRigoletto \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003efrom 2001, reviewed elsewhere, this designation is well deserved. Since this disc was fully reviewed by Christopher Williams in these pages when it was first released, I won’t retread the excellent detail of his review but only make some observations of my own. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFirst, the production by Christoph Marthaler is whimsical and truly funny. Back in the 1980s, I complained bitterly of Peter Sellars’s ridiculous updating and setting of this opera in a New York penthouse (like the Trump Tower) because so much of what was in the libretto—not only the stage directions, which for better or worse are very explicit because this was based on a play that had equally specific instructions, but also in the words of the recitatives and arias—was either ignored or completely contradicted by his almost consistently asinine setting. Marthaler has set nearly the entire opera in front of a marriage bureau, which has a certain relationship to the subtext of the opera (it is, after all, about marriage, fidelity, and whether or not one should ever marry for convenience or just for love), but even here there are moments, such as the riotous conclusion of act II or the final scene which is supposed to take place in the garden outside the Count’s abode, that just don’t work. Marthaler, in collaboration with conductor Cambreling, has come up with an amusing alternative to playing the secco recitatives on a harpsichord. They have invented a character called the “Recitativist,” a comedian-musician (Jürg Kienberger) who whimsically plays the recitative accompaniment on any number of instruments, including (at one point) a balloon with air escaping from it and, at another, by tooting on beer bottles that he drinks from to continually lower their pitch, sometimes humming along with them. This creates a very funny diversion to these otherwise dull moments, which is fortunate since Cambreling insisted on keeping all of them because they realized that this is where the real drama takes place, that the arias are just moments of reflection that stop the action. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs an overall production I much preferred David McVicar's contemporary staging given at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. Here, the opera was updated to 1830s post-Revolution France where “the inexorable unraveling of an old order has produced acute feelings of loss.” More to the point, the costumes are closer to the era of Beaumarchais’s play and the stage settings equally funny due to McVicar's sharp wit. The differences lie in the quality of the casts and of the recorded sound. In the Royal Opera video (Opus Arte 990), we are given strong vocal and acting performances by Erwin Schrott (Figaro), Miah Persson (Susanna), the Count (Gerald Finley), and Don Basilio (Philip Langridge). Dorothea Röschmann’s Countess is extremely well acted, but she doesn’t have the steadiest or most beautiful voice for the role, and the singing of our Cherubino (Rinat Shaham), Dr. Bartolo (Jonathan Veira), and Marcellina (Graciela Araya) is substandard. The recorded sound, however, is terrific, the microphone picking up orchestra and soloists with crisp, lifelike fidelity. In this Paris production, every single role from top to bottom is sung splendidly. Williams had a niggling complaint about the fact that Christine Schäfer, the Cherubino, is a soprano, and thus does not add variety to the ensembles but sounds a bit too much like the Susanna and Countess. This is true, but except for the very low notes in “Voi che sapete,” Schäfer sings and acts brilliantly, really looking like an adolescent, sex-drawn boy. My complaints about the cast here are small, mostly of baritone Regazzo as an almost consistently scowling, over-macho Figaro with a gorgeous voice but almost no inflection in his use of it, and of soprano Heidi Grant Murphy as Susanna, who sings beautifully but looks rather dowdy, something like Angela Lansbury in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eMurder, She Wrote. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMore to the point, the sound recording and mix by Radio France is not consistently clear. The microphones seem to be a little high or a bit away from both soloists and orchestra, with the result that everyone sounds a little reverberant most of the time. Once in a while, the principals walk right under the microphone—it seems to have been set up a little to stage left of center—and then sound marvelous, but at moments the sonics are a little off. This is a shame, as Cambreling conducts here a shade better than Antonio Pappano on the Royal Opera DVD, the differences being in the Countess’s two arias. Having played these pieces for a soprano friend of mine many years ago, I can assure you that they are written in cut time, 2\/2, and so are not to be performed as slowly as they so often are. Pappano, then, conducts them in the conventional way which is wrong; Cambreling at a brisker pace which is right. Christiane Oelze cannot match Röschmann as an actress, thus her overall presentation (visual as well as aural) is not as strong, but strictly from a singing perspective Oelse’s voice is radiant and exquisite (I have previously described her as having a voice of pure crystal) whereas Röschmann’s is plain-sounding and a bit fluttery. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhat makes Marthaler’s conception work is his zany, Marx Brothers-style sense of humor, which (thankfully) is tasteful and never overdone. In brief, this is a great singing and conducting performance set to a clever but not always convincing stage production. An opera like Rossini’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eLa pietra del paragone \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ebenefits from this kind of surreal zaniness because it isn’t really a stage plot that one takes the least bit seriously, but Beaumarchais’s comedy of manners, though requiring some good slapstick moments, needs a bit more structure in order to make sense of it. Therefore I recommend this DVD for its many good points while still preferring the Royal Opera version as a visual representation of the work. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Lynn René Bayley \u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Opus Arte","offers":[{"title":"DVD","offer_id":46012937961706,"sku":"809478060048","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2335583.jpg?v=1778298588"},{"product_id":"donizetti-lelisir-damore-don-pasquale-le-convenienze-198277","title":"Donizetti: L'Elisir d'Amore, Don Pasquale, Le Convenienze ed Inconvenienze Teatrali","description":"Three Donizetti masterpieces in a limited edition box set of internationally acclaimed productions. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e L’ELISIR D’AMORE: Heidi Grant Murphy, Paul Groves, Ambrogio Maestri, Laurent Naouri, Orchestre et Chœurs de l’Opéra national de Paris \/ Conductor Edward Gardner Stage production Laurent Pelly - HD recording: Opéra national de Paris (2006)\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e • 133 MINS | SUBTITLES: ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN. SPANISH | AUDIO: 2.0 PCM, 5.1 DOLBY DIGITAL, 5.1 DTS | 1 DVD9 16:9\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"well worth catching for Kurzak and Gavanelli alone. And there's plenty in the production to impress visually and much to enjoy as a series of stylishly assembled tableaux.\" Hugo Shirley\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e DON PASQUALE: Patrizia Ciofi, Simone Alaimo, Norman Shankle, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Chœur du Grand Théâtre de Genève \/ Conductor Evelino Pidò Stage production Daniel Slater - HD recording: Grand Théâtre de Genève (2007)\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e • 127 MINS | SUBTITLES: ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, SPANISH | AUDIO: 2.0 PCM, 5.1 DOLBY DIGITAL, 5.1 DTS | 1 DVD9 16:9\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"Donizetti’s final comic masterpiece demands velocity, pathos and above all wit. This Don Pasquale from Geneva has them all, and with Evelino Pidò conducting in the pit it bubbles with excitement...Patrizia Ciofi’s Norina is a joy. Looking like the Hollywood comic actress Aline McMahon (Ginger Rogers’s gold-digging friend in Top Hat), this is a benchmark performance\" DVD CHOICE, BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE [BAC033]\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e LE CONVENIENZE ED INCONVENIENZE TEATRALI (VIVA LA MAMMA): Jessica Pratt, Vincenzo Taormina, Simon Bailey, Christian Senn, Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia del Teatro alla Scala \/ Conductor Marco Guidarini Stage production Antonio Albanese - HD recording: Teatro alla Scala (2009)\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e • 114 MINS | SUBTITLES: ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, SPANISH | AUDIO: 2.0 PCM, 5.1 DOLBY DIGITAL | 1 DVD9 16:9\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 'Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali' was inspired by two comedies written by Antonio Simone Sografi between 1794 and 1816. It follows the theatrical tradition of Goldoni, Gozzi and Metastasio, and subjects the bad habits of the operatic world to biting and sardonic criticism.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BelAir Classiques","offers":[{"title":"DVD","offer_id":46013056942314,"sku":"3760115306073","price":35.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2580244_c0f11654-8aad-42f0-b882-e071b939824f.jpg?v=1778321220"},{"product_id":"contemporary-voices-pacifica-quartet-292375","title":"Contemporary Voices \/ Pacifica Quartet","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of the 2020 GRAMMY Award for Best Small Ensemble\/Chamber Music Performance!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet performs works by three Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary composers: Shulamit Ran, Jennifer Higdon, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. Written for the Pacifica and receiving its world-premiere recording, Ran’s Glitter, Doom, Shards, Memory — String Quartet No. 3 is a moving tribute to painter Felix Nussbaum, who perished in Auschwitz in 1944. Higdon’s Voices, dedicated to the Pacifica, evokes explosive energy, otherworldly calm, and spiritual serenity. In Zwilich’s Quintet for Alto Saxophone and String Quartet, a lusciously singing saxophone shares the spotlight with virtuosic string playing. The Pacifica, quartet in-residence at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, partner with their IU colleague, renowned classical saxophonist Otis Murphy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis disc exemplifies many aspects of how contemporary music should be presented so it can shine: superb recording standards, expert annotation, and performances of a standard up there with the likes of the Arditti Quartet. This showcase of three Pulitzer-winning composers is utterly remarkable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e– Fanfare\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cedille","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013084336362,"sku":"735131919623","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3826192-2575551_4f994cbd-faa9-4492-9ce4-d45f9a0d0935.jpg?v=1778245325"},{"product_id":"lancino-requiem","title":"Lancino: Requiem","description":"Thierry Lancino' vast Requiem is a challenging and eloquent contemplation on human mortality which the composer describes as 'both an epic fresco and sacred ceremony'. in a paradox which brings the Christian into dialogue with the Pagan, Lancino presents.","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013299491050,"sku":"747313277179","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1908234.jpg?v=1778323827"},{"product_id":"humperdinck-hansel-and-gretel-delfs-mentzer-et-107373","title":"Humperdinck: Hansel And Gretel \/ Delfs, Mentzer, Et Al","description":"\u003cp\u003eIf it's Hansel-in-English you're looking for, this set clearly is your choice...Here we get a lovely pair of kids in Suzanne Mentzer and Heidi Grant Murphy, their voices so utterly un-alike that the listening experience is vivid for that alone--but besides that, their interplay is credible and they both make wonderful sounds. Mentzer's dark-hued mezzo is suitably boyish, while Murphy's little-girl tone is charming. Judith Forst, hardly in the first bloom of her career, is a vicious Witch, smacking her lips and exuding spite and malice--and her diction is quite good too, unlike Murphy's, just to offer one comparison. Janice Taylor's portrayal of the mother is very fine, but her tone is wobbly; Robert Orth is a sympathetic, burly father; and Anna Christy's double-duty as Sandman and Dew Fairy is impressive.  Conductor Andreas Delfs favors slowish tempos, bringing out the rich, symphonic aspects of the score and always making clear that Humperdinck was heavily influenced by Wagner. The Milwaukee Orchestra is excellent, with playing both atmospheric and grand from the brass section in this live performance (no audience is discernible). I guess it's nice to hear the opera in English even if much of it can't be understood, but--not to pick nits--why would a child say toil\" when he can say \"work\"? The sound is better than good--rich and colorful.\"    --Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Avie Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013343662314,"sku":"822252005028","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/693800.jpg?v=1778189431"},{"product_id":"ashton-les-patineurs-divertissements-scenes-de-ballet-65856","title":"Ashton: Les Patineurs, Divertissements, Scenes De Ballet \/ Royal Opera House Ballet","description":"\u003cspan\u003eAn all-Ashton DVD is a treat, for apart from several full-length ballets we have been lacking examples of the choreographer’s work in shorter pieces. \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eLes Patineurs\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e is a hardy classic, dating from 1937, and makes a wonderful introduction to the work of one of the major choreographers of the 20th century. Meyerbeer’s catchy music inspires Ashton not only in the \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003epas de deux\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e with its fan lifts, but also the male solo, which is as virtuoso as can be. The dancers maintain a skating step throughout, but it is the variety of which Ashton is master that continues to astound us. The dueling girls who try to outdo one another offer further examples of virtuosity, which make us wonder at the qualities of the dancers of 75 years ago. Today, with Stephen McRae as the Blue Boy and Sarah Lamb and Rupert Pennefeather as the Lovers, we can still sense the excitement of balletgoers of an earlier epoch. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eScènes de Ballet\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e is a postwar creation that has never achieved the widespread currency of \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003ePatineurs\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, yet remains a signal piece in Ashton’s oeuvre, much as \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eSymphonic Variations,\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e of which we desperately need documentation. A lead couple is supported by four men and a corps of women, and the choreographer continually astounds us with the patterns he weaves. His response to Stravinsky is perhaps not as direct as that of Balanchine, but then Mr. B never gave us his version of this “dancy” work. It is nonetheless fascinating to watch the Ashtonian sensibility at work, while Miyako Yoshida and Ivan Putrov show off both the music and the choreography. Ashton’s delicate references to such classics as the Rose Adagio from \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eSleeping Beauty\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e cannot be missed. André Beaurepaire’s sets and costumes are the only things that appear dated in what is otherwise a major contribution to the repertoire of the Royal Ballet. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThe divertissements show Ashton’s craftsmanship in the “Awakening” \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003epas de deux\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e from \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eSleeping Beauty\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e with the ravishing Darcey Bussell and Jonathan Cope; two excerpts from a wartime ballet created for American Ballet Theatre; \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eDevil’s Holiday\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, especially the man’s solo eloquently danced by Viacheslav Samodurov; and three \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003epièces d’occasion\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e: a duet to the Méditation from Massenet’s \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eThaïs\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e (Mara Galeazzi and Thiago Soares), \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eFive Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e (Tamara Rojo), and the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eVoices of Spring pas de deux\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e (Leanne Benjamin and Carlos Acosta). The Brahms is the most interesting of the lot as Ashton had seen Duncan when he was a young man, and later created his own work for Lynn Seymour. 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This release reflects their shared commitment to laissez les bon temps rouler- let the good times roll!","brand":"Revels Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46026304618730,"sku":"738871201621","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3485084.jpg?v=1778297368"},{"product_id":"the-division-flute-emma-murphy-et-al-73569","title":"The Division Flute \/ Emma Murphy, Et Al","description":"\u003cp\u003eDescribed by the London music publisher as 'Very Improveing and Delightful to all lovers of that instrument' The first Part of the Division Flute was originally issued for the Baroque treble recorder in 1705. Murphy's love of the recorder inspired her to record some of the best known recorder music, as well as some of the most neglected, from a collection that has never been fully recorded before. 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