This selection is also available on Walking Frog (distribution) 265.
This selection is a High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) recording.

Farnon: Concert Works

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.
Recording information: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis Minnesota (01/18/1996-01/20/1996).

"This is the second two-channel SACD release from Reference Recordings, captured originally on analog tape masters using Prof. Keith Johnson’s custom focused-gap recorder, in January of 1996 in Minneapolis’ Orchestra Hall. The program is a good one, with eight examples of the fusion of opera and dance, which might also be regarded as similar to the several “opera without singing” albums that have been released over the years. While there are some big hits such as Salome’s Dance, and Samson and Delilah’s Bacchanale which closes out the disc, many of the selections are just as exotic and less well known...these compilation discs are superb hi-res demo material and would be especially of interest to those SACD fans whose systems are strictly two-channel."

-- John Sunier, Audiophile Audition

DELIBES Sylvia: Suite. Coppélia: Suite • Martin West, cond; San Francisco Ballet O • REFERENCE RECORDINGS 125 (73: 06)


Reference Recordings has always been a company with impeccable audiophile credentials. It is therefore hardly surprising that it has rerecorded a substantial number of Mercury’s most famous sonic showpieces (including Ottorino Respighi’s Church Windows, Aaron Copland’s Third Symphony, and H. Owen Reed’s La Fiesta Mexicana ). Now, Keith Johnson and the excellent Reference Recordings team are entering the world of ballet with an ambitious recording of extended suites from Léo Delibes’s Sylvia and Coppélia . With recordings led by Antal Doráti, who was arguably the greatest ballet specialist ever, Mercury had a formidable reputation in this area. Doráti’s complete Tchaikovsky ballets are justly legendary in the recording and ballet fields. Unfortunately, only his second version of The Nutcracker is available in stereo. Mercury’s complete Sylvia (conducted by Anatole Fistoulari with the London Symphony Orchestra) and Coppélia (with Doráti conducting the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra) are equally good from a sonic and performance standpoint. So, aside from the fact that the Mercurys are complete and these are extended suites, Doráti and Fistoulari establish the performance standard that Martin West and the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra must meet.


The difference in the performances is immediately apparent from the beginning of Sylvia ’s prelude. Fistoulari is more expansive and West is decidedly smaller in scale. The fact that the imposing Sylvia prelude is almost immediately followed by the popular and exciting “Les Chassereuses” with its flamboyant horn calls is a definite weakness in the structure of the suite, as opposed to the complete ballet. Again, Fistoulari is more explosively exuberant. West does hold his own in the massive final apotheosis, aided by the always-formidable Reference Recordings bass drum. West is uniformly excellent in Coppélia , but Doráti’s rhythmic precision and intensity with very fast tempos produce an electrifying musical experience that is not likely to be matched. In comparison, West (and everyone else) sounds relatively sedate, almost flaccid. On the other hand, no one could probably dance to some of Doráti’s tempos, and the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra sounds more polished than the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (especially the coarse brass). That is not the case with the London Symphony Orchestra in Sylvia. West is not as exciting as Doráti and Fistoulari, but there is plenty of beautiful music-making here. Doráti and Fistoulari are more symphonic as they push tempos to the extreme, and West is more suitable for the dance. That makes it your call in an audio CD with no dancers. I prefer the Mercurys.


From a purely sonic standpoint, the Reference Recordings and Mercury CDs are both excellent, but qualitatively very different. The Mercurys are much hotter on the high end (some would call them inappropriately bright). Johnson tilts the sonic spectrum to the low midrange and bass. The Reference Recordings bass drum has massive impact, but some (not me) will probably say that it is too prominent in relation to the rest of the orchestra. The Reference strings are silky sweet, and I have never heard a triangle reproduced with such clarity and focus. The famous saxophone solo in the “Barcarole” must be heard to be believed. The instrumental texture is amazing as the soloist is shamelessly spotlighted in contrast to the Mercury player, who clearly blends with the rest of the orchestra. Both recordings have plenty of fine inner detail. This CD was recorded at Skywalker Sound.


Ultimately, your choice may come down to whether you prefer the suites or the complete ballets. These suites are very good, but they do omit a lot of excellent music. The complete ballets as conducted by Doráti and Fistoulari make it very clear why even Tchaikovsky was intimidated by these scores. Still, you are not likely to hear a better-recorded performance of these extended suites. The best solution for lovers of this music will probably be to get this recording and the Mercury complete ballets.


FANFARE: Arthur Lintgen

The pieces on this album are world premieres, commissioned for the Utah Symphony’s 75th anniversary. The works on this album are from composers Augusta Read Thomas, Nico Muhly, and Andrew Norman. The Utah Symphony became widely recognized as a leading ensemble after its inception in 1940. The symphony is under the direction of Thierry Fischer.

Reviews:

This excellent release presents three inviting, evocative new works commissioned and recorded to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Utah Symphony. Each piece is a unique, virtuosic essay for the ensemble, and Thierry Fischer leads his players with confidence through a daunting program, captured in stunning sound.

This is essential listening for fans of new American orchestral music. The triptych gives a fascinating cross-section of current trends, and Reference Recordings’ “Fresh!” moniker is an incredibly accurate description of the results. The notes on the pieces are by the composers themselves, and it is interesting to see how the prose and musical writing mirror each other. Full personnel listing of the wonderful Utah Symphony is included. Recorded sound is demonstration quality. Highly recommended!

– Concerto.net (Marcus Karl Maroney)

Dawn to Dust' is the apt title of this new release on the Reference Recordings Fresh! label of works commissioned from three leading American contemporary composers by the Utah Symphony as part of the orchestra's 75th anniversary celebrations during the 2015/2016 season. All three works here receive their world premier recordings in scrupulously prepared performances conducted by Thierry Fischer, the orchestra's Music Director.

As is to be expected from this audiophile label, the sound quality is awesome. The wide dynamic range of the recording allows both the subtlest string pianissimos and the loudest percussive climaxes to be reproduced with equal fidelity – every instrument clearly identified within a soundstage that possesses convincing width and depth. Though recorded live, audience noise is inaudible and applause has also been excised.

Exemplary notes on these compositions written by their respective composers complete this stimulating release.

– HRAudio.net (Graham Williams)

This work is dedicated to the memory of those who died in the wake of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. And in tribute to the American Soldier - past, present and future.
This selection is a HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital) recording.

For piano lovers, this CD is like an ice cream sundae, with hot fudge drizzle, Spanish peanuts, a ribbon of cream, and a booze-soaked cherry on top. It’s pure pleasure, first note to last, with a generous heaping of sugar ... There’s even a Wedding Cake.

Pianist Joel Fan has assembled seven short works for piano and orchestra, which you’ll never hear in concert since we have an unwritten rule that only full-sized concertos are allowed. The works range from Weber and Chopin to the musical scenes of Mexico and New Orleans.

Chopin is represented by his Krakowiak, and Weber by a polonaise which was later orchestrated by Liszt. Camille Saint-Saëns is here, too, bringing his “Wedding Cake”, which half the internet calls a Caprice-Valse and the other half calls a Valse-Caprice. Reference Recordings uses both titles.

By now you’ve probably heard of Louis Moreau Gottschalk, the Creole genius who mixed up Chopin with the sounds and folk styles of North and South America (Hyperion ~ Naxos 8.559320 ~ Naxos 8.559036). Some of his works evoke spirituals, banjos and wild bar-room dances. He’s a clear precursor to jazz. Here he contributes a Grand Tarantelle for piano and orchestra, echoing back to an older tradition and form. There are tambourines, rich faux-Italian tunes and pianistic virtuosity aplenty.

Gabriel Pierné, the French conductor-composer whose concerto was recorded a few years ago by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, here contributes a short ballet for piano and orchestra. This piece was written at age 21, long before its author conducted the world premieres of The Firebird and Daphnis et Chloé, and long before he wrote his masterwork, Cydalise. The Fantaisie-Ballet starts with a cadenza, then settles into a series of dances which are a whole pastry shop of delicious morsels. The last is an Italian tarantella with pounding timpani and tambourine. You’ll detect influences of Saint-Saëns, for sure — think the Third Concerto — and maybe the ballets of Fauré.

Even if you’re feeling like a music history buff for knowing about Gottschalk, you might, like me, be stumped by Ricardo Castro Herrera and Charles Wakefield Cadman. Here are two very obscure names. Castro was a Mexican native whose fame in his native country and beyond could have been greater if he hadn’t died of pneumonia at age 43. The waltz here is a real charmer, in the French tradition, with no trace of Mexican roots.

Cadman, by contrast, is almost over-eager to get as much local colour as possible out of his evocation of New Orleans. It’s noisy fun, although I must say that when this composer finds a good tune, he’s all too eager to use it as much as possible.

Pianist Joel Fan, who presumably herded this program together, plays it all with aplomb. He has the light touch, wit and fleet fingers necessary to keep these treats as sweet and bubbly as possible. He’s ably backed up by the Northwest Sinfonietta, a chamber orchestra based in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, although in bigger, more dramatic pieces, like the Pierné or Gottschalk Tarantella, you have to wonder what a full-sized, top-flight orchestra could do.

Throw in excellent notes from Reference Recordings and Fan’s obvious enthusiasm and you have yourself a heck of a deal. This is not a profound disc but it’s a great dessert. Dig in and don’t count the calories.

– MusicWeb International (Brian Reinhart)

Dallas Wind Symphony Sampler

The recording of "Casa Guidi" on this album won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. This selection is a HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital) recording.

" . . .Argento, who has extensive experience writing opera, is a master of scene setting and grateful writing for the voice. He is also a great orchestrator and like his obvious mentor here, Strauss, leaves nothing to be desired in his touching and flawless expressions of these warm and intimate texts. If you love Strauss opera and want it in English with a little Carlisle Floyd thrown in, you will want this, especially in this gleaming performance with Ms Von Stade at her peak and this wonderful orchestra captured in radiant sound . . ."

" . . . Argento's Capriccio for clarinet and orchestra (1985) takes the titles of its three movements from piano pieces from Rossini's Sins of My Old Age . . . this is a charming, classically sculpted concerto filled with diverting melody, absorbing argument and congenial civilization. This major contribution to the clarinet repertoire is given a performance that will set the standard for years to come."

" . . . [an] essential release, which offers a compelling portrait of one of our most persuasive American romantics."

- GIMBEL, American Record Guide, Jan/Feb 2004 issue

BIZET Symphony No. 1 in C. Jeux d’enfants. Variations chromatiques (arr. Weingartner) • Martin West, cond; San Francisco Ballet O • REFERENCE 131 (75:27)


While we rightly lament the deaths of Mozart and Schubert, which came much too early, let us also save a few tears for Georges Bizet, who died at age 36 shortly after having composed what is, arguably, the most popular opera ever written, a piece that was admired by such disparate musical figures as Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner. He also left behind him such charming pieces as Jeux d’enfants , the L’Arlesienne incidental music, the Symphony in C, and The Pearl Fishers. Jeux d’enfants , a suite of 12 brief pieces, was originally composed for piano, four hands. To simplify my task, I’ll give the names in sequence since I will be referring to them again: 1) “L’Escarpolette” (The Swing), 2) “La Toupie” (The Top), 3) “La Poupée” (The Doll), 4) “Les Chevaux de bois” (Hobby Horses), 5) “Le Volant” (The Shuttlecock), 6) “Trompette et Tambour” (Trumpet and Drum), 7) “Les Bulles de savon” (Soap Bubbles), 8) “Les Quatre Coins” (Puss in the Corner), 9) “Colin-Maillard” (Blind Man’s Bluff), 10) “Saute-Mouton” (Leap Frog), 11) “Petit Mari, petite femme” (Little Husband, Little Wife), 12) “Le Bal” (The Ball). Bizet later orchestrated numbers 2, 3, 6, 11, and 12 and named the result the Petite Suite.


Given the ballet origins of this collection, a little history might be appropriate. In 1932, Leonide Massine choreographed Jeux d’enfants for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, using the five pieces Bizet orchestrated with the rest orchestrated by (I’m guessing here) Sigfrid Karg-Elert. Unfortunately Massine’s autobiography only mentions the sets by Joan Miró—perhaps the name of the orchestrator did not interest him. Antal Doráti did not conduct the opening night, but I assume that as a conductor for the company he was familiar with the arrangement. In 1937, presumably with the limited space of 78s in mind, he recorded 10 of the pieces with the London Symphony Orchestra, omitting numbers 7 and 10, changing the order of two pieces, and making a cut in number one. Though he was quite capable of doing his own arrangements, I am assuming that the five non-Bizet orchestrations were by Karg-Elert. Later, Jeux d’enfants was choreographed by George Balanchine (2–8) and Francisco Moncion (9–12) with number one serving as an Overture. One reference book says the non-Bizet pieces were “orchestrated by an unidentified English composer.” Could it have been Roy Douglas? Still later, Balanchine used only numbers 6, 3, 11, and 12 for a pas de deux called The Steadfast Tin Soldier.


Several conductors have recorded the Petite Suite, but I guess this is the first recording of a complete orchestrated Jeux d’enfants . On this recording, in addition to the Petite Suite excerpts, the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra performs five orchestrations by Roy Douglas and two ( L’Escarpolette and La Volant ) by Hershey Kay. Whereas Doráti had to concern himself with fitting the music onto 78 sides and sometimes rushed the tempos, Martin West uses the time available to him and the result is moderate, danceable tempos—I particularly like his relaxed way with “Trompette et Tambour.” Throughout, he allows the music’s simple charm to come through.


I suppose most people are aware of the fact that Bizet’s Symphony in C is a student work, written in 1855 when he was merely 17. Bizet apparently forgot about it, and it did not receive its official premiere until 80 years later when Felix Weingartner led a performance in Basel, Switzerland. Later the music was the basis of one of George Balanchine’s signature ballets, Le Palais de Cristal , eventually simply called Symphony in C . I don’t think I’ve ever heard a recording that does the last movement repeat, but it is used in the choreographed version and West does it. He also does the first movement exposition repeat, which isn’t used in the ballet. Perhaps hearing the piece done by ballet orchestras (usually conducted by Robert Irving) is responsible for my affection for this performance, which is so pleasant and danceable. It is most definitely my favorite recording of the nine that I own (for the record, Ansermet, Beecham, Delacôte, Munch, Pons, Saraste, Stokowski 1 and 2, West) but I wonder if many people will favor it since everyone else takes it faster and skips some of the repeats.


Given that Felix Weingartner was the first conductor to lead a performance of the Symphony, it’s not inappropriate to complete the CD with his orchestration of Bizet’s Variations chromatiques , originally composed for piano in 1868. I imagine that Bizet’s piano music, other than Jeux d’enfants , hardly gets played at all. He wrote very little of it and, while Weingartner’s orchestration adds a welcome element of color and power, the piece still doesn’t exactly fly. Bizet’s biographer, Winton Dean, wrote, “It seems probable that, though he loved to play genuine keyboard music … his greatest interest in the piano lay in its power beneath his fingers to evoke the different colors of the orchestra….His original music for the piano suffers from a double disadvantage: it is too clumsy to reward the concert pianist and too difficult for the moderate amateur.” Even if one discounts the Variations chromatiques (and some may like it more than I do), that still leaves the CD with an hour of delightful music and music-making. It’s beautifully recorded, too.


FANFARE: James Miller

This selection is also available on Walking Frog (distribution) 267.
This selection is a High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) recording.

2 CDs for the Price of 1!

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

"There are many Baroque samplers out there, but none so beautifully recorded as this. Originally released in the 1980s to the great delight of American audiophiles, these two discs have now been remastered using HDCD technology. The interpretations are stylish and the recording is simply glorious: detailed, airy and warm." --Andrew Farach-Colton

"The ten players of Tafelmusik produce a beautiful sonority, somewhat lush-sounding to ears attuned to current period performance. At the very least, this CD delivers a classy easy-listening experience. The Helicon Ensemble's playing is both impeccable and exciting, and Fuller's imaginative continuo is a plus. Here, too, the recording is gorgeous, illuminating to great effect the left-right lead violins featured throughout." --Wayne Donnelly, LISTENER

"A Mercedes-limo bargain given the musical contents, impeccable presentaion, and sheer luxury of Ref/Rec’s HDCD sound. Go buy, if you haven’t the originals –or even if you have." –Roger Dettmer, classicalcdreview.com

GRAMMY-nominated, BAFTA-winning composer Austin Wintory created this orchestral score for this single player role-playing tactical game, currently available on PC and Mac. The soundtrack score features the Dallas Winds, recorded by GRAMMY-winning engineer Keith O. Johnson and the Reference Recordings team at the Meyerson Center in Dallas, TX. The Banner Saga is the first-ever video game soundtrack recording from independent audiophile label Reference Recordings, on it's FRESH! From RR series.

Authoritative first recordings of important works by England's greatest living composer. 1993 GRAMMY® Nominee for Best Engineered Classical Recording. A hi-fi favorite!

"The recording quality on this CD is of stunning immediacy serving the music rather than the reverse. The project is a happy stroke of genius from Reference, the late Christopher Palmer (how we feel his absence!) and, of course, from the composer. Musical values clearly swept the board in all project decisions... Warmly recommended for any collection of Arnold and any collector of British music. This is not a shelf item but one which cries out to be played."
- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International

"A stunning release, by any standard." --Fanfare

Reference Recordings is proud to present this album of superb performances by The University of Texas Wind Ensemble, conducted by Artistic Director Jerry Junkin. Four outstanding contemporary composers are represented on this album. The title piece by ADAM SCHOENBERG: Migration- Symphony No. 2 for Wind Ensemble, is the World Premiere recording of this important new work. The album contains two additional World Premieres: The Eyes of the World Are Upon You by JENNIFER JOLLEY, and Intrada 1631 (after Juan Pérez Bocanegra) by STEPHEN MONTAGUE. Lastly, we are honored to include the premiere of a new wind ensemble transcription of JOHN CORIGLIANO’s Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble, with clarinet soloist Jonathan Gunn.

REVIEW:

The recording is beautifully produced and the sound is excellent. The recording begins with the bold and brassy chords of Adam Schoenberg’s Migration, a 5-movement composition that chronicles the emotional journey immigrants often make as they leave their homeland and make the arduous trek to a new home. Schoenberg has written a work of considerable complexity, combining textures of different keys, rhythms, and meters.

Corigliano’s Clarinet Concerto is a work of intimacy and creative brilliance, played here by Jonathan Gunn, associate principal clarinet of the Cincinnati Symphony. Working through the Messiaen-like bird song in the first movement with great assurity and ease, Gunn’s performance is of the highest quality. His ability to play the most difficult technical passages at the softest volumes is impressive. Another highlight is the clarinet and violin duet in the Elegy, where the soloists play with tender poignancy as the ensemble offers delicate support. The wind ensemble parts are often as challenging as the solo writing, and the group plays their role with professionalism and understanding.

Montague’s Intrada 1631 was inspired by a concert of early South American liturgical music. Among the works was a 17th Century Catholic chant written in Quechua, the native language of the Incas. Montague employs the 20-measure chant as the basis for an expanded processional, complete with ritualistic drums and ceremonial brass. The work forms an appropriate, dignified finale to an exceptionally fine recording of wind music.

-- American Record Guide