‘I doff my hat to these terrifically talented Texans’; that was my enthusiastic sign-off to this ensemble’s previous album, Shadow of Sirius, the latest of Naxos's Wind Band Classics. That series is particularly valuable, as it showcases the talents of American college groups. UTWE is high among them, so I was delighted to hear they would feature in this new disc from audiophile label Reference Recordings. In the past RR releases have certainly lived up to their name; indeed, Organ Polychrome impressed me so much that I made it one of my top picks for 2015.

The label’s in-house recordings – denoted by the album prefix RR – are masterminded by Keith O. Johnson. Something of a legend he uses both hand-made and carefully modified equipment to produce some of the most life-like recordings available today. The releases with the prefix FR are recorded by other production teams and licensed to Reference. Manfred Honeck’s Pittsburgh Beethoven 5 and 7 and Bruckner Fourth fall into that category. However, as good as those SoundMirror productions are they can’t beat a ‘Johnson Special’.

Now, back to the music. John Mackey, composer of the title piece Wine Dark Sea, came to my attention with his short but brilliantly plumed Kingfishers Catch Fire; that was one of the stand-out items on the Sirius album I mentioned earlier. As for Frank Ticheli he swum into my ken with An American Elegy, a deeply affecting response to the Columbine shootings in 1999. Landscapes, the collection from which it comes, is yet another of those Naxos Wind Band releases. I’ve also enjoyed The Shore, which finds the composer in confident choral mode.

Dan Welcher, whose Spumante opens with the popping of a cork, is new to me. This engaging piece, commissioned by the Boston Pops, is rather more subtle than its effervescent title might suggest. The arrangement is assured, the playing is crisp and the recording is immaculate. There are moments here that remind me of Leonard Bernstein’s overture to Candide; then again, Lenny looms so large in the history of 20th-century American music that he’s impossible to ignore. That said, Welcher casts the net wide, citing William Schuman, Samuel Barber and Walter Piston as his primary musical influences.

I’ve not encountered the music of Donald Grantham before, but his Louisiana-inspired J'ai été au bal (I went to the dance), with its artful use of Cajun tunes, is an ear-pricking, toe-tapping delight. The music’s panoply of colours and rhythms is superbly caught; even more astounding is the virtuosity of this band, whose stylish playing would put many a professional to shame. Would that we had such fine ensembles here in the UK; alas, the parlous state of music education in our schools seems to have extended to many of our universities as well. That's not to say there aren't any talented groups performing at this level, just that we don't have nearly enough of them.

Next up is Ticheli's clarinet concerto, with Eastman/Juilliard graduate and chamber-musician Nathan Williams as the soloist. The composer talks of his ‘playful allusions’ to the music of Gershwin, Copland and – of course – Bernstein, all of which are skilfully done. Williams is a lively and communicative player with a fine technique. He certainly impresses in the limpid loveliness of Song for Aaron, so redolent of Copland's signature pieces. As for the Bernstein riffs – with a nod towards West Side Story – they find composer, soloist and band at their deft and rhythmic best. There are some highly individual slips and slides here – all so confidently voiced – and the vigorous sign-off left me wanting more.

In his candid booklet notes John Mackey admits that he writes the music and his wife Abby comes up with the titles; that's a novel approach, but the wonderfully evocative results speak for themselves. Wine Dark Sea – a Jerry Junkin/UTWE commission – was to last 30 minutes, hence the decision to go for something both epic and programmatic; well, Homer’s Odyssey qualifies on both counts. The first movement, with its opening fanfares and thrilling echoes, certainly has the necessary boldness and sweep. The music’s compelling character – savor that snapping side-drum and Stygian bass one – is superbly realized in this very sophisticated recording. It’s a beguiling, velvet sound, just like the best of analogue but with an extraordinarily wide dynamic range.

Mackey’s score is most inventive, with much for the band to explore and execute, and I was struck by just how magnetic the outer movements are. Not only that, the music has muscle and sinew, its more rarefied moments complemented by passages of startling weight and trenchancy. By contrast the central movement, with its atmospheric harp part, is beautifully spun. The restless finale has undeniable tension, and the work builds to an emphatic close. Indeed, Wine Dark Sea is genuinely symphonic in its scope and impact; it's a fine piece, and it deserves to do well. As always the instrumental blend is faultless, there's passion aplenty, and the recording is first rate; really, what more could you possibly want?

Music of variety and substance, stylishly played; another Rolls-Royce recording from Reference.

– MusicWeb International (Dan Morgan)

Doug MacLeod is a unique, powerful guitarist with a rich and soulful voice, singing original songs based on his life and experiences. This is genuine original acoustic music at its very best!

Thirteen new Doug MacLeod originals highlight this richly detailed trio recording by Grammy®-winning engineer Keith Johnson, done at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, CA.

Doug uses four strikingly different guitars: three National Reso-Phonic instruments, including a 12-string, and his old Gibson C-100, the guitar he calls Lil Bit because each time he plays her a little bit more of her falls off.

Over 29 years, 19 studio albums, several live records, compilations, a blues guitar instructional DVD, and a
live performance DVD, Doug has consistently earned raves. His songs have been covered by many artists
including Albert King, Albert Collins, Joe Louis Walker, and Eva Cassidy.

Three-Way Mirror

Multi-GRAMMY® nominated pianist Nadia Shpachenko’s new release,"The Poetry of Places" features World Premiere recordings of works for solo piano, for two pianos , percussion, electronics, voice and toy piano in a fascinating mélange inspired by great architecture and places. The eight compositions monumentalize places so wildly diverse as the Copland House in Cortlandt, NY, The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Louis Kahn’s National Assembly Buildings in Bangladesh, Newgrange Ancient Temple in Ireland, and Frank Gehry’s House in Santa Monica. Included is a significant new work from Andrew Norman, "Frank’s House" , for two pianos and percussion, and another large work from Nina C. Young, "Kolokol", for two pianos and electronics (a ‘fantasy’ inspired by Russian Orthodox Church Bells). Six solo works, by Amy Beth Kirsten, Hannah Lash, James Matheson, Harold Meltzer, Lewis Spratlan, and Jack Van Zandt, were written specifically for this project, using very different approaches and sonic means in their responses to their chosen spaces.

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REVIEW:

This collection of eight new works, all receiving world premiere recordings, draws inspiration from significant architecture as well as place. Featuring a broad range of contemporary voices, it's a scintillating mix of daring sound, genuine beauty, and a commodity too often missing from the new music world: humor. The CD concludes, appropriately, with a chorus of Russian Orthodox bells (think of the Coronation Scene from Boris Godonov), created by pianos and electronic renditions of actual church bells—in this case, the Danilov Bells installed at Harvard University. It sounds like a celebration, as does the cumulative effect of this remarkably diverse and thoroughly engaging collection. Nadia Shpachenko is a great friend and champion of new music.

– Fanfare (Peter Burwasser)

Original interpretations and impressions of David Bowie s best music, written and performed by Mike Garson. For over three decades, Garson was associated with rock legend David Bowie as his keyboardist and creative collaborator. He also worked with Free Flight, Stan Getz, Mel Tormé, Thad Jones, and others. The computer graphics used on the cover and in the booklet are more examples of Garson s creativity. This Prof. Johnson HDCD recording was made in a fine concert hall, and has RR s signature Grammy-winning sonics.

Jan Kraybill- Sonic Splendor! Her amazing pipe organ performances give new dimensions to beloved orchestral favorites. In the 19th and early 20th century, organists of exceptional artistic skill developed organ transcriptions of orchestral music into a true art form. Each of the works on this disc is spectacular in its original form. To create "The Orchestral Organ", we have chosen works of many different composers, adapted into organ transcriptions of the highest artistic order. These transcriptions are not intended for comparison with, or replacement of, the original orchestral versions. In presenting them we are offering fascinating new dimensions for these compositions, whether familiar or new to the listener. Within the pieces are a variety of tone colors and compositional details that exhibit the remarkable abilities of organist Jan Kraybill, and showcase the spectacular Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant Organ at the Kauffman Center’s Helzberg Hall in Kansas City.

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REVIEWS:

Kraybill's performance has a nice balance of verve and control. The overall impression is of joy and pleasure in the music, which flows from her understanding and touch. Her selections allow her to explore various moods and emotions, which is always quite pleasant. The progression of the album shows a sound sense of movement.

– Poaitive Feedback (David W. Robinson)

The recorded sound is thrilling. The Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant 102-rank organ at the Kauffman Center’s Helzberg Hall is big and brawny, the performances precise and committed, and the label has done their usual audiophile magic. The lower pipes of the organ are very deep, and will test your system.

– Audaud.com (Audiophile Audition)

The Hot Club of San Francisco is a quintet of acoustic string virtuosos and one of the premier exponents of 'gypsy jazz' inspired by Django Reinhardt's HOT CLUB OF PARIS. This album includes special guest David Grisman, the world's best known mandolin player.

Clark Terry, one of the all-time great jazz trumpeters, starred with the big bands of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and The Tonight Show. Reference recorded these tracks live in 1995-96; now they have been re-mixed by "Prof." Johnson for fabulous new sound!

Serendipity

Rather than parachuting in any headline-catching international soloists, the Kansas City Symphony has enlisted its concertmaster and principal cello as protagonists in two of the Saint-Saëns works. Noah Geller is soloist in the Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, and he is joined by cellist Mark Gibbs in the once rarely heard but now almost ubiquitous La muse et le poète. Backed by airy orchestral textures, Geller exudes lyrical warmth and a perky rhythmic spirit in the first work, and in the second he uses the violin’s wily flights of fantasy to engage Gibbs’s poetic cello in an intimate dialogue.

Then comes the big beast of the programme, but, as always, the crucial test is not so much the volume of the organ but the way in which the orchestral context of the symphony as a whole is established. Here Michael Stern impressively injects impetus into the first section’s sinewy fabric, alert to instrumental colour and the contrapuntal discipline and intrigue of the writing. The organ, making its muted first entry in the Adagio, is a 5,548-pipe Casavant Frères instrument, an integral part of Kansas City’s Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts where the recording was made, as indeed is Jan Kraybill who plays it. Stern crafts a proper, stately Adagio but an Adagio with momentum and shapely contours, and he ignites real fire in the Allegro moderato of the symphony’s second part. When the tempo changes to presto, the piano’s arpeggios and scales are prominent enough to make their point without leaping out at you, just as the organ in the finale asserts its grandeur without overwhelming the orchestral palette.

Even in a competitive market, this version has a distinct edge.

– Geoffrey Norris, Gramophone

When it rains, it pours. This is the third recording of Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony in nearly as many months, and like the previous ones, it’s remarkably good. The Kansas City Symphony under Michael Stern withstands comparison to any of the competition. My only quibble with the interpretation comes in the first movement, where Stern’s concern for precision of rhythm, otherwise admirable, seems to preclude that last bit of intensity at the tops of those crescendos that propel the principal theme onward into the second subject.

Otherwise, this is an unusually vivacious and texturally transparent reading, recorded with welcome clarity in an acoustic that never permits detail to get obscured by excessive reverberation. The balance between organ and orchestra in the finale, even when everyone is blasting away, could not be more perfect. In the serene Adagio too, which flows with impressive poise, the soft tones of the organ add just the right touch of color to support the strings and solo woodwinds. In the scherzo, Stern keeps the rhythm taut, and he doesn’t drag out the quiet coda to the point where one’s patience begins to run thin. In the finale everyone really does pull out all of the stops, literally and figuratively, bringing the work to a thrilling conclusion.

The fillers are welcome, and not the usual stuff. Le muse et le poète is a rarely heard late tone poem with parts for solo violin and solo cello, more than ably taken by orchestra principals Noah Geller on violin and Mark Gibbs on cello. Geller also plays an excellent, sunny Introduction and Rondo capriccioso. And let’s not forget organist Jan Kraybill in the symphony. I do wish, though, that Reference Recordings had included a stop list in the booklet. The instrument has some interesting timbres and I would have liked to know what resources it calls upon to make them. Audiophiles will want to hear this for the superb sonics, but the musical values are just as strong..

– David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Festive music for the holiday season performed by an outstanding mixed chorus with pipe organ, harp, flute and bellringers! Recorded in the glorious cathedral acoustics of Saint Ignatius Church, San Francisco. "...Magical...the sound is impressively transparent." --Fanfare

Schoenberg says: “I have dreamt of having an orchestral disc of my music since first becoming a composer. This is an extraordinary gift, and I am thrilled to be sharing my music with all of you. The three pieces that you will soon experience embody my growth from student to professional composer. They each explore different styles, but my artistic voice remains consistent throughout.” Recently named one of the Top 10 most performed living classical composers by orchestras in the United States, Adam Schoenberg's music is 'invigorating' (Los Angeles Times), and full of 'mystery and sensuality' (The New York Times). This most recent season included performances and premieres at the Library of Congress, Kennedy Center, New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Hollywood Bowl." We are proud to present these new works, 2 of them commissioned by the Kansas City Symphony (American Symphony and Picture Studies). The collaboration between Schoenberg and Michael Stern is extraordinary. Schoenberg states: “He is the first conductor to champion my music. He understands it, embraces it, and gives it an emotional dimension that would otherwise not exist. I also must thank the musicians of the Kansas City Symphony. The Kansas City Symphony is the region’s only full-time professional symphony orchestra. Led by Music Director Michael Stern since 2005, the Symphony has experienced impressive artistic growth, garnering national and international acclaim. The orchestra’s 80 full-time musicians are area residents, and each season they reach more than a million people through their concerts, educational programs and community outreach performances. They also serve as the orchestra for the Lyric Opera and the Kansas City Ballet.

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

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

2018 Grammy Award Winner: Best Orchestral Performance; Best Engineered Album - Classical Division

Also available on Reference Recordings from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra: Strauss: Elektra & Der Rosenkavalier; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 - Dvorak: Rusalka Fantasy; Beethoven: Symphonies 5 & 7; Bruckner: Symphony No. 4; Dvorak: Symphony No 8 - Janacek: Jenufa Suite; Strauss: Don Juan, Death and Transfiguration, Till Eulenspiegel.

In his fascinating and scholarly music notes, Maestro Honeck gives us great insight into the history of both pieces, and describes how he conducts and interprets each. He reminds us that Joseph Stalin's Soviet government was offended by Shostakovich's previous works. Under threat of arrest or banishment to Siberia, Shostakovich devised a new, less-complex compositional style for the 5th Symphony, still full of irony and double meaning, to appease Stalin and appeal to the common people. The Adagio of Samuel Barber is his most performed work, and one of the most popular of all 20th Century orchestral works. It is beloved for its beautiful simplicity and emotion. Manfred Honeck describes Barber's 1967 a capella version for mixed choir using the ''Agnus Dei'' text, and tells us his own interpretaiton is inspired by this text. He says it is ''for me, without a doubt, the key to finding a deeper sense of this piece. Perhaps it is for this reason that the Adagio has enchanted and moved audiences around the world since its very first incarnation and has continued to do so in all subsequent versions born since.'' This release is the seventh in the highly acclaimed Pittsburgh Live! series of releases from Reference Recordings.

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REVIEW:

One might argue that the most recorded of Shostakovich’s symphonies hardly needs another reading, but that’s not taking into account the muscular approach that Manfred Honeck takes here, continuing his unbroken series of impressive recordings for the Reference label. Honeck concentrates more on the sheer elemental power of the piece, and this is music that responds well to that particular orientation. The fill-up, Barber’s Adagio, receives a particularly sensitive reading, although one could wish that Honeck might have chosen something Russian as accompaniment. Customarily exemplary audiophile sound enhances Honeck’s performance.

– Classical CD Source