Respighi: Church Windows, P. 150 & Poema autunnale, P. 146

Nadia Shapachenko’s latest release, ‘Quotations & Homages’ features world premiere recordings of works for solo piano, for piano and electronics, for speaking pianist, for piano with extended techniques, and collaborative works for six pianists inspired by a variety of earlier composers and works. These fascinating new pieces come from eight notable modern composers: Tom Flaherty, Missy Mazzoli, Vera Ivanova, James Matheson, Nick Norton, Adam Borecki, Daniel Felsenfeld, and Peter Yates. Pianist Nadia Shpachenko-Gottesman has performed extensively in solo recitals and with orchestras in major venues across North America, Europe, and Asia. Described by critics as a “truly inspiring and brilliant pianist… spellbinding in sensitivity and mastery of technique,” Nadia enjoys bringing into the world things that are out of the box- powerful pieces that often possess unusual sonic qualities of instrumentation. Her previous album on Reference Recordings, ‘Woman at the New Piano,’ was nominated for Grammy Awards in three categories: Best Classical Compendium; Best Chamber Music/ Small Ensemble Performance, and as a part of the body of work in the Producer of the Year, Classical nomination for Marina A. Ledin and Victor Ledin.

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

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

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

The Dallas Wind Symphony and the Jim Cullum Jazz Band team up on a new world premiere sonic spectacular! Composer Frank Ticheli’s works have become standards in concert band repertoire, and Playing With Fire weaves in enthusiastic playing by the famed Jim Cullum Jazz Band. All wind music and traditional jazz enthusiasts should have these knockout performances, conducted by Jerry Junkin. Recorded in the Meyerson Symphony Center, the great music is perfectly captured by Reference Recordings’ world-renowned team of engineer Keith Johnson and producer Tam Henderson.

The late Stephen Paulus (“a bright, fluent inventor with a ready lyric gift” – New Yorker) was prolific composer of over 500 works. He wrote for orchestra, chorus, chamber ensembles, solo voice, keyboard and opera. His as uniquely American music, represented on over fifty recordings, was characterized as “irresistible in kinetic energy and haunting in lyrical design” by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, while The New York Times praised him for “melodic patterns that are fresh and familiar at the same time” and scoring that is “invariably expert and exceptionally imaginative in textures and use of instruments.” Far In The Heavens comprises recently composed and previously unrecorded works by Stephen Paulus, including two works commissioned and premiered by True Concord Voices & Orchestra: The Incomprehensible for their fifth anniversary season in 2009, and in 2011 Prayers and Remembrances for the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 tragedy. Mr. Paulus supervised the recording in Tucson, AZ just weeks before suffering a major stroke from which he never recovered, passing away in October 2014 after being in a coma for more than a year at age 65.

The last Reference Recordings release to come my was Organ Odyssey, which showcased the Fisk Op. 100 of Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas. In general such up-to-date instruments show how capable modern concert organs can be; stable, sophisticated and subtle they certainly make a change from the untamed roar of the Cavaillé-Colls upon which the French composer-organists experimented with such success. That said, some examples of the venerable Aristide’s organ-building skills – that in the Church of St François-de-Sales, Lyon, for instance – can deliver the most refined sounds imaginable. Jan Lehtola’s Widor disc – one of my Recordings of the Year for 2013 – is ample proof of that.

The Allegro from Widor’s Organ Symphony No. 6 headlines this new album, which features Kansas City's Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant (2011). At the console of this magnificent 102-rank instrument is Jan Kraybill, who tackles Widor’s daunting structures with aplomb. Even at this early stage the organ’s tonal subtlety and range of colours are very much in evidence; whether Kraybill’s dissembling quietly or sallying forth her playing is always tasteful and proportionate. As for the recorded sound, so often the killer in collections such as this, it’s both full and forensic, with a phenomenal reach. These tummy-wobbling pedals, all the more thrilling for being judiciously used, will satisfy even the most jaded of organistas.

Goodness, this is a very promising start; after all that heat and heft Florent Schmitt’s Prière is a quiet oasis of pure loveliness. Small it may be, but it’s so gracefully formed. Jehan Alain’s two dances inspired by Agni Yavishta, the Hindu god of fire, are a perfect foil for what’s gone before. Kraybill teases out all the music’s sinuous rhythms and exotic flavours, and seasons the dish – lightly – with those stunning pedals. Joseph Bonnet’s Variations de Concert, a most accomplished Op. 1, is another well-chosen piece, for it demonstrates both the intimacy and agility of this fine instrument.

There’s nothing at all flashy or distracting about Kraybill’s performances; and what a pleasure that is, given the self-aggrandising showmanship one usually associates with such recitals. It’s not just the playing, for the clean, unfussy acoustic and the perfectly judged recording add immeasurably to one’s enjoyment of the music. And it just gets better. Maurice Duruflê’s elusive, Ariel-like Scherzo is a delight; Kraybill’s apt registrations and general keyboard wizardry turns her into something of a Prospero figure, very much in command of all that she surveys. This confluence of artistic and technical talents makes the Scherzo an ideal taster for those who wish to try before they buy.

Marcel Dupré is represented here by his youthfully conceived G minor Prélude et Fugue. Given his flamboyance as both a composer and a performer Duprê’s writing here seems remarkably restrained. Don’t be fooled, for the filigreed detail of the first part and the firm direction of the second confirm this as the work of a real pro. As always Kraybill gets the scale just right, so the work’s fugal pomp never sounds empty or overbearing. A quiet bravo is in order here, as it is after Franck’s Pièce héroïque. The latter's an organ staple that, like so many of its ilk, is apt to stale with repetition. Kraybill really freshens it up with her lithe, transparent playing; indeed, her finely shaped and projected account of the piece reminds me of Hans-Eberhard Roß, whose three-volume traversal of Franck’s organ music is mandatory listening for all Franckophiles.

As with Organ Polychrome those Roß recordings, played on a 1998 Goll, revitalise familiar repertoire in all sorts of ways. Throw in sympathetic engineering and the results are truly remarkable. That’s certainly true of Felix Guilmant’s Caprice in B flat, which at times appears to mimic the chug and honk of a fairground organ. This may suggest a degree of roughness, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Kraybill's playing is always refined, and she brings out the music’s inner voices with ease and good humour. This is my favourite track; the music scampers to a delicious, seat-pinning finale that left me grinning like a village idiot.

Louis Vierne’s mellifluous Prélude, the first part of a work he wrote for his US concert tour in 1927, gets a buoyant outing here; the dark-toned Caprice balances grace and gravitas and the Intermezzo, with its ‘Boo!’ ending, is spookily done. What better way to end this marvellous recital than with Eugène Gigout’s Grand-Choeur dialogué? Grand it most certainly is; the recording’s fine sense of depth and breadth ensures the antiphonal character of the piece is conveyed with ear-pricking realism. And the joy that peals forth in the final seconds is a perfect metaphor for this recital as a whole; a triumph for all concerned.

Only once before have I encountered an organ recording worthy of the term 'a perfect storm’, and that was the Fuga/Kiviniemi Lakeuden Ristin urut; I didn’t think that would be supplanted any time soon, and now it has. The skill and good judgement of both organists is beyond question, as are the recording talents of Mika Koivusalo (Fuga) and Keith O. Johnson and his team (Reference Recordings). Frankly, these two albums blow all others into the proverbial weeds.

In the face of such overwhelming excellence it pains me to bring up the vexed question of booklets or, more precisely, the lack of them. I was annoyed to discover that this and other RR downloads are being sold without any documentation. In a recent article for MusicWeb International I pointed out why this is unacceptable and urged the offending labels/distributors to address the issue without delay. A cross Tweet elicited a booklet in this case, but that’s not the way it should be done. RR's omission is all the more regrettable as the Organ Polychrome booklet is beautifully presented – it’s a model of common sense and clarity – and Kraybill’s succinct notes are a pleasure to read.

Pure magic; my store of enchanted objects has just increased by one.

– M usicWeb International (Dan Morgan)

Includes work(s) for organ by various composers. Soloist: Mary Preston.

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

Miraculous Metamorphoses is Reference Recordings’ fourth release with the Kansas City Symphony, the region’s standard setter for musical excellence and its only full-time professional symphony orchestra. Led by Music Director Michael Stern since 2005, the 80 full-time member Symphony has experienced impressive artistic growth, garnering national and international acclaim. The three orchestra-challenging 20th century masterpieces on this SACD, by Hindemith, Prokofiev and Bartók, offer a wealth of symphonic color, drama and thrills.

" The Menotti was premiered by Efrem Zimbalist on 5/6 December 1952 with the Philadelphia conducted by Ormandy. It is an aristocratically romantic work with not a hint of over-the-top romance...The romanticism is flowingly done by Ricci..If you like romantic violin concertos (Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Barber, Ivanovs, Karlowicz) you are seriously missing out if you do not hear this. A classic of the twentieth century. The technical side is lovingly handled by Reference Recordings who clearly relished Ricci's mesmerically detailed approach... The musical and technical quality is however undeniable. This will be the connoisseurs' recording of choice in years to come. A sleeper in relation to the Barber and an enduring hit in the case of the unfairly neglected Menotti." - MusicWeb International

" Any new recording of Menotti’s 1952 Violin Concerto...will not escape comparison to the classic recording with Ruggiero Ricci, Keith Clark, and the Pacific Symphony Orchestra" - FANFARE

All tracks have been digitally mastered using 24-bit technology.

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

"Fennell catches cool dance rhythms, delicate neatness, and British propriety very nicely. The Dallas Wind Symphony and the engineering are terrific, and Fennell's liner notes are literate, informative and personal." -- Gil French, CITY (Rochester, NY)

"Perhaps most remarkable is the absolute rightness of his tempo choices: One can't imagine one of these marches going even the slightest bit slower or faster. The Dallas ensemble plays superbly and the sound is phenomenal. We get the immediacuy and visceral excitement of Fennell's Mercury recordings, the weight and atmosphere of the Cleveland Symphonic Wind performances on Telarc, plus a level of detail and ease of presentation that's state-of-the-art." -- Andrew Quint, THE ABSOLUTE SOUND

Dick Hyman's approach to solo piano is both rich in tradition and deeply personal, an odyssey into the wellsprings of American music. Ranging through a repertoire of well-known standards and sometimes obscure delights, Hyman brings a wealth of piano techniques, infectious swing, and a knack for sometimes extravagant variations, including a version of "Just You, Just Me" that ranges from classic stride playing to interpolated soul jazz. Among the little-heard pieces are "Odeon," a 1905 composition by Brazilian Ernesto Nazareth that adds a Latin touch to a ragtime foundation, and James P. Johnson's exuberant "Carolina Shout." Hyman's version of the traditional ballad "Shenandoah" is especially inspired, a lovely rolling improvisation that presses its consonant harmonies toward the resonating world of minimalism. Recorded on a nine-foot Boesendorfer concert grand, this recital is both an audiophile's and piano lover's delight. --Stuart Broomer