REFERENCE RECORDINGS� proudly presents the beloved Requiem of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in a very special interpretation. Academy Award� and Golden Globe� winning film and Broadway star F. Murray Abraham joins Manfred Honeck, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and the Westminster Choir for Honeck's dramatic conception of "Requiem: Mozart's Death in Words and Music." This album was recorded live in 2023 in beautiful and historic Heinz Hall, home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, in superb audiophile sound.

Reference Recordings presents our second collaboration with the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra, in a spectacular live recording of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5. This is the composition that inspired legendary classical producer Vic Muenzer's career in music. About this new album Mr. Muenzer writes: "Once again, we bring you the dream team of the beautiful acoustics of Walk Festival Hall, the unparalleled musicians of the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, and the unrivaled present-day Mahlerian conductor, Sir Donald Runnicles."

Ukrainian and American Music for Piano Duo, performed by Ukrainian artists Anastasiia Larchikova and Mykhailo Diordiiev. These two young pianists perform a splendid program of half Ukrainian/half American compositions, all contemporary and all very accessible. On the American side the album has John Corigliano's "Gazebo Dances", Ricky Ian Gordon's "Ring-A-Ding-Ding", and a world premiere recording of Lowell Liebermann's "Romance, Etude and Chorale, Op. 134". This is the centerpiece of the album, and it is a stunning work that was commissioned by Steinway as a wedding present to Lang Lang. The Ukrainian music features "Carpathian Song" by Zoltan Almashi, composer, cellist and winner of the Lev Revultsky Prize in 2003; "Three Extravagant Dances" by the late Myroslav Skoryk, who was awarded the titles "The People's Artist" and "Hero of Ukraine", and whose music contains stylistic traits from Ukrainian folk music; and lastly "Ru-um-bambar" by Bohdan Sehin, who studied with M. Skoryk and whose music is highly textured, with Eastern European expressiveness. Proceeds from this album will be donated to Ukraine humanitarian aid organizations.

Reference Recordings proudly presents our 6th release with the outstanding, multi-Blues Music Award winner Doug MacLeod. Internationally acclaimed for his original songwriting, warm, soulful vocals, guitar wizardry and witty storytelling, Doug teamed with producer Andreas Werner and engineer Joe Funderburk in Nashville's Creative Workshop studio for "Between Somewhere and Goodbye". Supported by Nashville notables, drummer Lynn Willaims, Mark T. Jordon on piano, Wurlitzer electric piano and B3 organ, and bassist Paul Ossola plus the vocal harmonies of The Shoals Sisters: Cindy Richardson Walker, Marie Tomlinson Lewey and Carla Russell, Doug offers up a collection of eleven of his compositions presented in both solo and ensemble settings.

Saxophonist Anton Schwartz brings music for the serious jazz lover, but is also fun and accessible to all. With classic holiday songs and compelling arrangements, this is a perfect stocking stuffer for any music lover!. Anton Jazz.2004.

Anton Schwartz (tenor sax) Peter Bernstein (guitar) Taylor Eigsti (piano) John Shifflett (acoustic bass) Tim Bulkley (drums) Produced by Bud Spangler and Anton Schwartz. Recording and Mixing Engineer: Dan Feiszli. Mastering engineer: Paul Stubblebine. 'Radiant Blue' had a long run on the US jazz radio charts, peaking at number four and earning a JazzWeek cover story. 'Much like Chris Potter, Anton Schwartz is a nice and unassuming guy to talk to, yet both turn into modern day tenor titans as soon as they put the mouthpiece between their lips... There's a lot to like here with sharp arrangements and crisp straight ahead playing that seems to hit all the right notes.' - Tad Hendrickson, JazzWeek Magazine '... this is a first-class audiophile product.' - John Henry, Audiophile Audition 'Anton Schwartz and his sidemen are deadly serious about their fun... they are all adept at staying in the pocket while stretching it. As for Schwartz, he has a classic clear-throated tenor sound and kicks like a mule. His zeal to communicate is fervent yet sophisticated... Radiant Blue could make an excellent introduction to jazz for someone on the outside looking for a way in.' - Thomas Conrad, Jazz Times Magazine 'This is grade 'A' 'all-killer-no-filler'... The five musicians are virtuosos, endowed with temperance, eschewing gratuity for the greater good of the music... Schwartz' compositions are engaging and sophisticated... these are truly unique musicians of the highest order.' - Jan-Mikael Erakare, Abstract Logix 'Schwartz blows with a warm, fluid tone, and great economy... his decisions all sound right... This ensemble shines.... The music bins are full of bluesy jazz albums; this one brims with optimism and intelligence.' - Ed Kopp, JAZZIZ Magazine The liner notes from the CD: THE BLUES IS A FEELING THE BLUES IS A FORM The blues is a feeling. The blues is a form. Two statements about music. You've likely heard the first one at some point, but perhaps not the second. So I'd like to explain a bit. Music is nothing without feeling, and nowhere is this more true than in blues music. Blues greats such as Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and B.B. King have been masters at conveying emotion, and they passed down as their legacy an emotional vocabulary of musical riffs, stylings, phrases and techniques that form the vernacular of blues music. But no less a part of their legacy is a contribution of a different nature: the blues *form*. In poetry, a sonnet is distinguished by it's form - a particular fourteen-line structure. So, too, much of blues music conforms to a particular structure - a distinct sequence of chords twelve measures in length. That structure has come to permeate popular music far beyond the genre of blues. 'Rock Around the Clock' is, structurally, a perfect blues. So is the theme from *Batman*. And Charlie Parker's 'Now's The Time.' But none of these would be called blues music. So when jazz musicians say, 'let's play a blues,' what they are proposing is not a song with a certain feeling, but a song with a certain structure. Radiant Blue is a collection of ten blueses - which is to say, ten songs based on the blues form. To be sure, there are stylistic elements of the blues in many of the songs (check out 'Sneaking Suspicion' and 'Blues for Now'). But most of the music is not particularly bluesy. The grooves run a wide gamut, from fast straight ahead jazz to New Orleans to Afro-Samba to feel-good South African to angular funk. _Radiant Blue_ is a CD of blueses, but it is not a blues CD any more than The Who's rock opera, *Tommy*, is an opera CD. If you're familiar with music theory, you'll know that I've taken many liberties with the blues form throughout the CD. But my hope is that, regardless of your musical knowledge, with a few listenings of the CD you will be able to 'squint your ears' and make out the shape of a blues, in the same way you might recognize an old friend at a distance by just their silhouette and their walk. For jazz musicians, the blues form is such a friend. - Anton Schwartz, June, 2006, Oakland.

Flash Mob

When Music Calls

The followup to Schwartz's acclaimed debut album, 'When Music Calls'. 'The Slow Lane' is 70 minutes of dynamic, acoustic jazz! 'Schwartz savors the implications of each note, allowing the listener to delight in the endless melodies created by his stirri.Independient.2005.

The fourth and final volume in this important series! This new album showcases guitarist Roberto Moronn Perez performing works that are fundamental milestones of the guitar repertoire of the 20th century. Included are works by Alexandre Tansman, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Hans Haug, Joan Manen and Federico Mompou. These works were also performed by Segovia himself during his lifetime. The genesis for this unique series is a collection of pieces recovered in May 2001 at Segovia's archive in Spain. All pieces in the archive were dedicated to Segovia or commissioned by him, involving composers from eight countries. This new album was recorded in the lovely acoustics of Holy Trinity Church, Weston, Hertfordshire, U.K. It was produced, recorded, edited and mastered by the outstanding U.K. engineer John Taylor.

The six suites for solo cello are frequently considered to be Bach’s greatest masterpieces and are a pinnacle of the Baroque cello repertory. This new album of Bach’s complete Cello Suites has the unique feature of being performed using two different historic cellos, one of them being a rare five-string instrument from the 17th century, which is used on Suite 6.

Cellist William Skeen is one of the world’s premiere Baroque cellists. He serves as Principal Cellist with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Voices of Music, and was Principal Cellist of the American Bach Soloists for nearly two decades. Mr. Skeen taught Baroque cello and viola da gamba at the University of Southern California for two decades. Mr. Skeen has received two GRAMMY® nominations for previous albums. He continues to perform regularly with major orchestras and Baroque groups around the world.

This new release of the Six Cello Suites was beautifully recorded by famed multi-GRAMMY®-winning engineer Leslie Ann Jones at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, California. It was mastered by RR's own multi-GRAMMY®-nominated engineer, Sean Royce Martin. The album was produced by the outstanding San Francisco-based Lolly Lewis, who in recent years has been particularly focused on period instrument performance and has produced six albums with the New Esterházy Quartet.

30th Anniversary Sampler

A splendid sampler disc of acclaimed performances in spectacular audiophile sound. Selections are drawn from the Reference Recordings catalog.

"Stunning audiophile sonics...the clarity, transparency, and firm definition of individual orchestral timbres are unequaled in my listening experience." - Lawrence A. Johnson, Fanfare

"Everything fairly brims over with vitality and brilliance, and the sound quality is quite exceptional." - Richard Freed, WETA Radio

"An outstanding Chadwick disc...Be prepared to be blown away." - Fanfare

"Recording of the Month" (Mozart Concertos) - Stereophile

"An important addition to the Janacek discography" - American Record Guide

This is juicy. I’m sure that many music lovers have wished that Strauss had made a suite from Elektra. It is, after all, one of his most exciting scores, as well as one of his most symphonically cogent. Well, here it is, courtesy of Manfred Honeck and Tomas Ille, and it’s a doozy. You get all of the major bits: Elektra’s opening monologue, the entry of Klytaemnestra, the recognition scene, the two murders, and of course the final dance of death. It lasts 33 minutes, or a bit more than a quarter of the entire opera, which makes it the same length as Also sprach Zarathustra or one of the larger tone poems.

The piece is remarkably cogent. It plays continuously, and Honeck/Ille felt no obligation to stick slavishly to the order of events in the opera. Rather, they have contrived an effective sequence of violent and more lyrical episodes, with remarkably seamless transitions. The entrance of Klytaemnestra, for example, does not spill over into her actual opening lines (sound clip). Strauss’ original works well in the theater where the change of focus from the orchestra to the singer explains the sudden break in texture; here, however, the music flows on without a break. Honeck explains that he has also reduced the orchestra slightly to make the suite more playable by normal-sized orchestras, but you’d hardly know it. There is absolutely no reason why this arrangement should not become a repertory item forthwith–only it would be hard to imagine a performance played more brilliantly than this one.

The Rosenkavalier Suite is the standard one, by Artur Rodzinsky, and it too sounds glorious on this smashingly recorded disc. Coupling the two works makes great sense: you get Strauss at his most expressionistic, and then Strauss in all of his schmaltzy, neoclassical splendor. Although the sound and style are quite different between the two works, Strauss’ fingerprints are always in evidence. I don’t need to say anything more: if a disc like this is not self-recommending, then I don’t know what is.

– ClassicsToday (David Hurwitz)

This selection is HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital) recording.