The Art of Dimitri Mitropoulus Vol. 2 contains these gems! NYPO: Tragic Symphony #6 in a (Mahler), Live Performance, 10 April, 1955, Carnegie Hall; Symphony #4 in f (Vaughan Williams), Live Performance, 5 April, 1953, Carnegie Hall; w. Dorothy Dow: Erwartung (Sch�nberg), Live Performance, 18 Nov., 1951, Carnegie Hall; w. Zino Francescatti: Symphonie Espagnole (Lalo), Live Performance, 3 April, 1955, Carnegie Hall; w. Pietro Scarpini: Piano Concerto #2 in g (Prokofiev), Live Performance, 7 Nov., 1954, Carnegie Hall; Mitropoulos (Pf.) & Cond. NBC S. O. : Piano Concerto #3 in C (Prokofiev); w. Carmine Coppola (Fl) & Mischa Mischakoff (Vln): Brandenburg Concerto #5 in D (Bach), both Live Performances, 16 Dec., 1945; Mitropoulos Cond. Strings of the NBC S. O., w. Astrid Varnay (S): String Quartet #2 in f-sharp (Sch�nberg), Live Performance, 13 Dec., 1945. (E. U.) 4-Music & Arts 1214. Transfers by Lani Spahr.

The music that Bohuslav Martinu wrote before the height of his career remains largely unknown and unperformed. This release aims to shine a new light on the compositions written during Martinu’s late teens and twenties. This release presents the world premiere recording of Martinu’s one act ballet, Stin (The Shadow). Conductor and pianist Ian Hobson conducts the Sinfonia da Camera for this release. He is joined by soprano Dorota Szczepanska, violinist Anna Maria Staskiewicz, and pianist Agnieszka Kopacka.

Classical Music

Classical Music

This CD is dedicated to early works by the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov: "Avant-garde is an attempt to break out of an enclosed space into a more open one. In the attempt to break out of this space, the fireworks of avant-garde artists are like the outbursts of the Romantics. In my first works, I made it my goal to achieve a lyrical atmosphere." As early as 1967, Silvestrov - who calls himself a "lyricist and poet in music" - formulated with these words his compositional Credo, which has remained unchanged throughout the years. The symphony for chamber orchestra "Spectrums" was originally created as music for the film "Kiev Frescoes" by the famous director Sergei Paradschanow - a project that could never be realized, however.

This is definitely a reference hi-res disc both because of the orchestral performance and the sound. If anybody still out there dares to say that regular CDs are just as good as a hi-res surround sound SACD all they have to do is listen to this disc with the appropriate equipment. Specifically they should go to the Finale of the 5th (T-4) and T-8, the Storm movement of the 6th - there are no words to accurately describe the feeling of being in the midst of orchestra as it were. A highly recommended disc, both for the sublime orchestral performance and more so for the glorious sound - a must have! (Audiophile Audition)

This outstanding 5-disc set presents the complete symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven performed by the Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Wojciech Rajski. The incentive for this series was for the whole of the symphonies to be available in Real Surround Sound. The project began in 2005 in Sopot, Poland, and ended when the ensemble performed the 9th symphony at St. John’s Church, Gdasnk, in the summer of 2015. Wojciech Rajski is known for his impeccable interpretation. He guides us through this exhaustive collection of ideas from one of the most famous composers, lacing the music with dazzling brilliance and sensitivity.

This the second volume in a series of the complete Beethoven symphonies being undertaken by the independent, Stuttgart-based company TACET. I found the first disc (of Symphonies 7 and 8) revelatory (see review at Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8 - Rajski), and this new coupling is no less exciting. The works are smaller in scale and scope, of course, but the performances of conductor Wojciech Rajski and his excellent Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra are no less lean, supple and punchy than in Volume 1. Rajski has the gift, surprisingly rare in Beethoven, of finding the tempo giusto", injecting the music with plenty of youthful vigour and spirit without pushing it uncomfortably into overdrive in an attempt to prove some spurious (and anyway largely self-evident) point about the dynamic, driving nature of Beethoven's composerly personality. Regular readers of this website will probably be aware that the distinctive thing about the TACET label is not, however, the quality of the performances (though these are very high quality indeed), but the way in which chief engineer and company owner Andreas Spreer presents the sonic information. Put briefly, Spreer makes full use of the two rear speakers - rather than, as with most multichannel classical recordings, mainly utilising them to fill out hall ambience, with most of the raw musical signal still emanating from the front speakers. Thus, for instance, in this present recording, first and second violins are located about halfway down your listening space, and divided left and right across the sonic spectrum, so that you can hear the often very important (and witty) interchanges between firsts and seconds much more clearly than in "normal" 5.1, 5.0 or 4.0 recordings, or in stereo. Lower strings are placed slightly further towards the rear, woodwinds more towards the front speakers. The two horns (plus timpani) are well towards the front, the two trumpets well towards the rear, both divided left and right antiphonally. This type of arrangement is what TACET calls "Real Surround Sound", in the sense, I guess, that the sound does really and genuinely surround you while you're listening. There are those who bridle at this kind of arrangement, dubbing it artificial or even gimmicky, and some of these critics have expressed their opinions forcefully elsewhere on this website. That's fine (though I suspect that in several cases at least they have never actually listened to a TACET product). My own opinion is that what I hear on this disc is neither "artificial" nor "gimmicky", but a beautifully integrated, uniquely transparent recording giving a special insight into the soundworld of these symphonies, how they work, the many interactions of instruments, and how they're put together in the composing process. I must stress that, despite the unprecedentedly high levels of detail available to the multichannel listener, the overwhelming effect of the recording is one of homogeneity and unity. There is assuredly much greater separation of instrumental strands and individual instruments than usual, but never at the expense of the overall sonic picture, which is unified and warmly enveloping, decidely not a collection of fascinating little titbits of spot-miked information patched together in a willy-nilly fashion. You are, as it were, "in media res", but in no sense in an oppressive or intimidating fashion. Quite the opposite - it's a warmly enveloping and inviting sound-picture, one that uniquely facilitates active engagement with and reaction to the music. The interplay between the different string parts in the finale of Symphony 1, and the rousing call and response sequence between horns and trumpets in the powerful development section of Symphony 2's opening movement, are but two examples among many of the special insights and enjoyments offered by TACET's multichannel presentation of this music. I'll conclude by saying that I've never enjoyed these symphonies more, heard more of the subtleties of what is going on in them instrumentally, or had a more intimate insight into Beethoven's creative thought processes in making them. Andreas Spreer is a uniquely imaginative, uniquely skilful "Tonmeister" who brings immense care and musicality to his recordings, and has already, in terms of the possibilities of multichannel sound for classical music, long since left the point at which most other companies have not yet even considered arriving. I am confident that in due course of time Spreer will be hailed as one of the key innovators in sound recording history, and bracketed with the likes of Walter Legge, John Culshaw, and Wilma Cozart Fine as a member of that small, exclusive band of pioneers who have moved the classical recording industry forward in a genuinely new, exciting direction." Terence Blain total playing time: 56'56

“This music is drawn from the interaction of the people playing it.” (Christian Wolff) “With the present recording, it is impossible to imagine it could be anyone but Malcolm Goldstein and Matthias Kaul playing, with their very personal vocabularies.” (Peter Niklas Wilson) This production received the quarterly German Record Critics' Award. At their first face-to-face encounter, at a milk bar in Frankfurt’s main train station, Goldstein and Kaul decided to play several concerts as a duo. Since then they have given many concerts in Germany and abroad. The focus of their collaboration is on improvisation or compositions that give the performers a great deal of free play. For more information on Matthias Kaul please visit his website: www.matthiaskaul.de

Essential Classics: Trumpet Concertos

The Isaac Stern Collection: The Trio Recordings, Vol. 1

Beethoven, L. Van: Symphony No. 5 / Piano Concerto No. 4

HARMONIEMUSIK - CASTIL-BLAZE,

Charles Neidich’s fastidiously cerebral account of the Clarinet Quintet is exemplary, while the Juilliard’s interpretations of the three string quartets are the stuff of charismatic greatness.

Pathological self-doubt consigned twenty Brahms quartets to oblivion between 1853 and 1873. At forty, still awed by Beethoven (‘you have no idea how it feels,’ he lamented, ‘continually hearing such a giant behind you’), he adjudged his Op. 51 works worthy of publication, though Beethoven’s spectral presence lingered until the completion of his First Symphony and Op. 67 quartet in 1876. Op. 51/1, its turbulent emotions repressed behind austere polyphonic formalism, receives assured playing from the Britten Quartet. Here, and throughout this set, its taut, incisive manner, juxtaposing athleticism, poignancy and physical stress, seems admirable. However, EMI’s recording is closely focused and fails to exploit the ambient potential of St George’s Church, Brandon Hill, Bristol.

The Juilliard Quartet, heard in the acoustically inviting Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in New York, has phenomenal empathy with the Brahmsian idiom; its accounts are more eloquently considered, passionately argued, and are imbued with an opulence which the Brittens never equal. Brahms’s personal maxim ‘Frei, aber einsam’ (‘Free, but solitary’), the dictum of his majestic A minor quartet, assumes lyrically imploring gravity here; first violinist Robert Mann, among the great quartet leaders of the century, has seldom sounded so beguiling.

Charles Neidich’s fastidiously cerebral account of the richest fruit of Brahms’s friendship with Meiningen clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld, the Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115, is exemplary. Neidich sounds aptly conservative beside Richard Stoltzman’s burgeoning RCA Victor performance with the Tokyo Quartet, while the Juilliard’s interpretations of the three string quartets are the stuff of charismatic greatness.

Performance: 5 (out of 5), Sound: 5 (out of 5)

-- Michael Jameson, BBC Music Magazine

Bernstein: Trouble in Tahiti & Facsimile

Prokofiev: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2

The composer’s own recordings are unsurpassed for their jazzy elan and sheer joy. The account with the New York Philharmonic, recorded in 1965, is wild, dramatic, and rhythmically charged, if a little rough around the edges. The young John Paul Bogart is absolutely sure of himself, just like the young David, and the playing of the New Yorkers is, as one would expect, perfectly idiomatic. – Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection, reviewing a previous release of this recording.

Bach: 3 Concertos for Flute

Track Listing
1. Bugya
2. Mizan Qa'im Wa-nisk
3. Twisya No. 3 Of The Nuba
4. Mizan D-dary
5. Mawwal Al-Istihlal
6. Mawwal On Tab' Al-Hiyaz Al-Kabir
7. Mawwal On Tab' Raml Al-Maya

Ibn Baya Ensemble: Eduardo Paniagua, Luis Delgado, Gloria Lergo, Mohamed El Arabi Serghimi, Omar Metioui.

THE TRIUMPH OF THE PIANO is a release from National Public Radio that briefly covers the history of piano music through music from "Bach to Bartok." With so many performances to select from for such a collection, it's no doubt that the choices are outstanding. Beginning with two pieces for the harpsichord by Couperin and Bach respectively, the piano takes over through pieces of the classical and romantic eras, and twentieth century, with something by almost every piano composer of importance.
The performer list is equally impressive on this intelligent collection: Emmanuel Ax, André Watts, Glenn Gould, and more. Particular standouts include Brahms' Intermezzo Op. 119 played by Rudolf Serkin in a 1979 recording, the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 from a 1961 recording by Robert Casadesus, and "Liebesbotschaft" by Schubert/Liszt played by Arcadi Volodos. In other words, this is not only a short history of the piano repertoire, but of pianists who have recorded as well. Aficionados of the piano will find this to be an invaluable recording in its unique collection of pieces, as well as its fantastic assembly of artistry on one disc.

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 & Marche slav

Harvey: Concerto Antico - Gray: Guitar Concerto

Track Listing
1. Hey, Pretty Baby
2. Seventh Avenue Express
3. Walking Slow Behind You
4. Mister Roberts' Roost
5. Don't You Want a Man Like Me
6. South
7. You Call Yourself a Jungle King (I Found Out You Ain't a Doggone Thing)
8. Sophisticated Swing
9. House Rent Boogie
10. Basie's Basement
11. Brand New Wagon

Personnel includes: Count Basie (piano); Jimmy Rushing (vocals); Preston Love, Rudy Rutherford, C.Q. Price, Earl Warren (alto saxophone); Paul Gonsalves, Buddy Tate (tenor saxophone); Jack Washington (baritone saxophone); Ed Lewis, Snooky Young, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Clark Terry, Jimmy Nottingham, Gerald Wilson (trumpet); Bill Johnson, Ted Donnelly, George Matthews, Eli Robinson, George Washington (trombone); Freddie Green (guitar); Walter Page (bass); Jo Jones, Butch Ballard (drums).

Recorded between January 3 and December 12, 1947.

But for the fact that it only has 11 tracks, this mid-priced compilation (not to be confused with the identically titled Bluebird collection covering Basie's early-'30s recordings with the Bennie Moten band) could easily get the highest rating. And this could be the place to start for any rock fans wondering what Basie was about, at least some of the time. This disc shows Basie and company (especially singer Jimmy Rushing) working in an R&B mode, doing such songs as Willie Dixon's "You Call Yourself the Jungle King (I Found Out You Ain't a Doggone Thing)," "Hey, Pretty Baby," "Brand New Wagon," and "Walking Slow Behind You." Rushing and the band sound like they're pushing toward Chess Records' turf. And the astonishing thing is that they pull it off -- if these records had sold in any serious number, Basie and Rushing might have had a whole second career in R&B, right up there with Big Joe Turner. There's a minimum of annotation, and not all of the sound is quite perfect -- amazingly, the 1991 remastered "Basie's Basement" featured here has a click or two in evidence, for which there's no excuse. But the sound quality everywhere else is pretty much beyond reproach, and there's also one number here, "Mister Roberts' Roost," a laidback instrumental prominently featuring Basie's piano, that's otherwise unavailable.

Dvorák: Symphony No. 6 in D Major, Scherzo capriccioso & Sui

Respighi: Pini di Roma & Feste romane