Executive producer: Jim Mulally. When you hear this trio play Sibelius, you'll understand why the Sibelius family granted Petteri, Juho and Samuli use of the composer's name. Jean Sibelius' piano trios were important to him personally. He wrote them in his youth, during the summers he vacationed with his brother Christian and sister Linda on various islands in Houtskar, the Finnish archipelago off the southwest coast of Finland. Sibelius wrote Korppoo Trio on Korrpoo Island where the composer (violin), Linda (piano) and Christian (cello) played it on 'rainy days' at the family's summer house. - Bob Attiyeh, producer 'Sibelius gave us his monumental Korppoo Trio in D Major (JS 209) in 1887. We can hear the magnificent mature Sibelius peeking out through this work. Sibelius wrote Korppoo Trio in three sophisticated and dramatic movements... Korppoo opens with a good-humored celebration of the Beauty of Nature and includes a thoughtful Fugue in the development section which demonstrates his growing power as a composer. Next comes a Fantasia, improvisational and painterly in nature, with frequent tempo changes and mood swings, ending with passages of natural serenity that remind me of bird song. Sibelius reveals his fun sense of humor in the final Rondo, which he writes without allowing himself to be inhibited by traditions of the 'approved' classical tradition.' - Juho Pohjonen

FIRE & FANCY

Executive producer: Jim Mulally. When you hear this trio play Sibelius, you'll understand why the Sibelius family granted Petteri, Juho and Samuli use of the composer's name. Jean Sibelius' piano trios were important to him personally. He wrote them in his youth, during the summers he vacationed with his brother Christian and sister Linda on various islands in Houtskar, the Finnish archipelago off the southwest coast of Finland. Sibelius wrote Korppoo Trio on Korrpoo Island where the composer (violin), Linda (piano) and Christian (cello) played it on 'rainy days' at the family's summer house. - Bob Attiyeh, producer 'Sibelius gave us his monumental Korppoo Trio in D Major (JS 209) in 1887. We can hear the magnificent mature Sibelius peeking out through this work. Sibelius wrote Korppoo Trio in three sophisticated and dramatic movements... Korppoo opens with a good-humored celebration of the Beauty of Nature and includes a thoughtful Fugue in the development section which demonstrates his growing power as a composer. Next comes a Fantasia, improvisational and painterly in nature, with frequent tempo changes and mood swings, ending with passages of natural serenity that remind me of bird song. Sibelius reveals his fun sense of humor in the final Rondo, which he writes without allowing himself to be inhibited by traditions of the 'approved' classical tradition.' - Juho Pohjonen

FIRE & FANCY

YOUNG BEETHOVEN: STRING TRIO IN C MINOR

Vibrant mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and Colburn Orchestra bring you an album to play again and again offering something fresh each time. If You Love For Beauty, showcases Metropolitan Opera and GRAMMY� Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, and The Colburn Orchestra conducted by Yehuda Gilad. Sasha Cooke pairs seamlessly with the Colburn Orchestra presenting John Adams' Doctor Atomic, Handel, and Mahler. Maestro Yehuda Gilad conducts with his famously engaging, sensitive flair. Metropolitan Opera mezzo soprano Sasha Cooke's debut recording, celebrating Sasha in her early prime, won the coveted Audio Oasis Award and received high praise in Opera News. It is a dream come true that Yarlung were able to bring Sasha and this orchestra together for the concert and recording. These orchestra musicians, all members of the Colburn Conservatory conducted by Music Director Yehuda Gilad, enrich our lives in Los Angeles. Maestro Gilad elicits sensitive and lyrical interpretations of the repertoire. Recorded in Zipper Hall at The Colburn School, February 5-7, 2012.

In Music for Pieces of Wood, Joe Beribak, sitting in the center of a semicircle, begins to strike the first pattern. Joe will maintain this pattern, unflinchingly, for the entire duration of the piece. Katy, Jessica, Derek and Eddie contribute all of the sinuous and minimalist variation which they weave into filaments of sound and rhythm as if all five musicians were one person. Smoke & Mirrors takes us on many journeys in this album. These are refreshingly fully-developed works, each very different from the others, each with its own story. As a whole, these pieces illustrate the breadth of contemporary classical music written for percussionists, as well as the flexibility and virtuosity of Smoke & Mirrors. World class and sophisticated as this ensemble is, these musicians retain and communicate the sheer joy we experienced when banging pots and pans as two-, and three-year olds. Do you remember your own pleasure making a racket as a kid? Smoke & Mirrors: Katalin La Favre, Jessica Cameron, Joe Beribak, Edward Hong and Derek Tywoniuk have never forgotten it.

Martin Chalifour is Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and is a professor at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. Chalifour is a frequent guest at several summer music festivals. Maintaining close ties with his native Quebec, he has returned there often to teach and perform as soloist with various Canadian orchestras.

Classical Music

Yuko Mabuchi moved to the United States from her native Japan only recently, but when she plays American jazz she speaks the language perfectly. We love Yuko’s sense of rhythm and melody, and her improvising feels like she was born in Detroit or New York City. Her technique reminds one of some of Yuko’s music idols like Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock and Monty Alexander. But beyond her talent for traditional jazz, one can also hear flavors of American R&B, Hip-Hop and Blues, which Yuko loved as a teenager. This album’s associate producer and Yarlung special advisor Billy Mitchell describes Yuko’s playing as “funky from the heart,” and he means that as an enormous compliment. Yuko was born in Fukui, on the west coast of Japan, north of Kyoto. She studied classical music and the piano starting at age four, and continued her studies at the AN Music School in Kyoto, where she was a jazz piano student of Kunihiro Kameda. Yarlung first heard the Yuko Mabuchi Trio at Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood and offered to record their debut album the next day. This live concert recording session took place in Cammilleri Hall, the same concert venue designed by Yasuhisa Toyota, where Yarlung recorded Sophisticated Lady jazz quartet in 2014. Jazz pianist and educator Billy Mitchell served as associate producer.

Vanish is the engaging and highly innovative follow-up to Yarlung's original and equally compelling Smoke & Mirrors release, presenting a wide tapestry of rhythms and harmonics skillfully arrayed across a broad and deep soundstage. There's an immediacy, clarity, and transparency to this modern classical percussion recording that seemingly brings the performers to your living room.' -Jim Hannon, Publisher, the Absolute Sound, November 2013.

Swiss cellist Rosselet plays two different cellos in this recording. A modern cello, which he plays in the pieces by Berio, Ligeti and Dutilleux, made about 130 years ago by a student of Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. For the Bach suites, he choses a Baroque era period instrument, with no peg, lighter sound post, gut strings and a Baroque bow.

More jazz records should be like Sophisticated Lady Quartet-relaxed yet focused, tradition-based yet modern, elegant yet conveying a sure sense of swing. The recording is so pure that you almost feel as if you're eavesdropping on four musicians who seem completely in their element while performing, in a one-take environment, a set that's evenly split between previously rehearsed arrangements and performances where they had one chance to turn a composition into a memorable piece of music. No splicing or editing here-just a live-in-the-studio recording where the mood, playing and sonics are so solid that that jazz lovers will wish that the mostly-classical label Yarlung wandered over to this side of the street more often. -Jeff Wilson, The Absolute Sound The Sophisticated Lady Jazz Quartet's debut recording should be of great interest to fans of forward-looking straight ahead jazz. Each of the four musicians is excellent both as soloists and in ensembles, the music that they perform ranges from melodic versions of standards to lyrical originals and freer explorations, and their subtle playing keeps one guessing. This CD is well worth exploring and I certainly recommend it. -Scott Yanow, Los Angeles Jazz Scene Look out Brubeck, Sophisticated Lady's remarkable debut should perhaps be re-titled TAKE ONE. Why? Each tune was captured in one take! The 60 minute CD also celebrates Yarlung's audiophile venture into JAZZ with a splatter of Chet Baker's seductive, kicked-back Californication daubed with a drizzle of Miles at his mellowest. No matter how busy your day, an evening spin through this one will definitely move your mood. -David Thomson, Record Collector News

Music director Robert Istad writes: "Tarik O'Regan's music captured my attention when I heard a live performance of "The Ecstasies Above" in 2007. His music grabbed me with it's rhythmic audacity, harmonic daring and unique wit. Tarik became our composer in residence at Pacific Chorale shortly after I was appointed Artistic Director, and this recording shares some fruits of our collaboration, including that auspicious "Ecstasies Above", one brand new commission ("Facing West") and three world premiere recordings including "All Things Common." Our concert took place in Samueli Theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts on May 18th, 2019. We reset the hall and held our recording sessions on the evening of May 20th and the afternoon of May 21st. As before when my Cal State Fullerton University Singers recorded with Yarlung, our producer Bob Attiyeh asked that Pacific Chorale and I prepare each piece (or each movement of the longest work) carefully enough so we could record it successfully in one take. We succeeded! The performance you hear is real. This is not surgically stitched together from many takes. Some of the tracks on this album are the only take we recorded, and others we performed multiple times until we had the flavor and execution that Tarik and Bob and I wanted. We worked hard to capture the sound Tarik had in his mind when writing these works, and to reflect accurately what I hear when conducting Pacific Chorale singers. Yarlung used one stereo microphone (an AKG C24 which used to belong to Frank Sinatra. With such minimalist recording techniques, there is nowhere to hide. But the results, when we succeed, are worth the extra effort. I hope you agree."

In 1965, when I was 12 years old, my mother bought me a recording of the Vivaldi 'Cello Concerto in E Minor and the Pieces en Concert by Couperin. I was especially excited by this LP because I was learning the Vivaldi concerto at the time. The artist on this recording was the great French 'cellist, Pierre Fournier, accompanied by Karl Munchinger and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. I still have this record, and I treasure it. One year later, I heard Fournier in person for the first time. He performed the Dvorak 'Cello Concerto with Zubin Mehta conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It was an evening I'll never forget, and one that changed my life forever. I remember the sheer beauty of Fournier's sound, his profound respect for the music, and the depth of his musical expression. In 1973, I had the privilege of playing for him in Phoenix, Arizona, and was thrilled that he made it possible for me to study with him. I went to Geneva, Switzerland for master classes the following summer, and thus began a long and cherished relationship with this great artist. I worked on virtually all the standard repertoire with him, including the Martinu, Vivaldi, Couperin on this album. I dedicated my 2006 concert tour to Fournier in honor of his centennial. I chose works either written for him or closely associated with him. In addition to the recitals, we also performed the Martinu Concerto No. 1 with Paul Freeman and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. As I traveled around Europe and the United States doing these programs, I met so many musicians who remembered Fournier with the greatest of admiration. Over and over I heard colleagues say, "If I had to choose just one 'cellist to listen to, it would be Fournier." There is no greater tribute. - John Walz Notes by Roger Lebow: Bohuslav Martinu deserves his rightful place in our standard concert repertoire. On the strength of his six masterful symphonies alone (all works of his full maturity, and all readily available in multiple recordings on CD) we should embrace him as one of the leading composers of the Twentieth Century. His style is a distinctive, original amalgam of Czech nationalism, French Post-Impressionism, and the emancipated rhythmic vitality of Stravinsky. This music sounds fresh today, and we can immediately identify it as Martinu. The two pieces for 'cello on this album serve an excellent introduction to the composer's music. Martinu wrote prolifically for the instrument: three sonatas, two large concerti, two additional concerti with chamber forces, several other concertante works, and a gaggle of smaller pieces, many of them infrequently performed on these shores. In the first incarnation Martinu's first 'cello concerto, the composer scored the work as a concerto grosso with accompaniment of seven winds, piano and strings. He began this early version in Czechoslovakia and completed it in Paris in 1930. Gaspar Cassad�, to whom Martinu dedicated the work, played the premiere in 1931. In August of 1939 Martinu rewrote the piece for full orchestra, entrusting the first performance to Pierre Fournier.

Showcasing Metropolitan Opera and GRAMMY® Award-winning mezzo-soprano Cooke, and the Colburn Orchestra led by Gilad. The recording includes Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder, the aria ‘Am I in Your Light?’ from Doctor Atomic by John Adams, Chausson’s sweeping Poème de l'amour et de la mer, all with full orchestra, and two Handel arias, ‘Scherza infida’ and ‘Ombra mai fu’ performed with chamber orchestra. The members of the Colburn Orchestra create a distinct orchestral sound (a great one), and Maestro Gilad elicits sensitive and lyrical interpretations of the repertoire. This recording won the Audio Oasis Award even before it was released at THE SHOW in Newport, 2012.

Internationally recognized organist Jung-A Lee performs an intimate recital on the great Walt Disney Concert Hall organ as a gift to Simon Woods (the new CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic) and as a token of appreciation in honor of the orchestra's 100th Anniversary season. Jung-A's infectious and delightful sense of humor infuses her musical performance and repertoire choices. Jung-A Lee has performed in Europe, North America, and Asia as organist, pianist and conductor. She currently serves as organist at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach. In addition, she teaches at Biola University and Vanguard University. Lee is also the Artist-in-Residence for Pacific Chorale which is directed by Maestros John Alexander and Robert Istad. In 2009 she founded Music Mission International in order to promote organ music. She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance from Boston University, and earned her Master of Music from Yale University with a full scholarship.

GRAMMY� Award winning Yarlung Records celebrates it's 10th Anniversary and continues to bring fresh musicians to the classical music world using minimalist audiophile recording techniques to deliver sound as close to living performance as possible, engineering these albums in concert halls famous for their acoustics such as Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Yarlung uses analog tape and high resolution digital media for CDs made with special alloys, high resolution digital downloads, and 180 Gram vinyl LPs, mastered by Steve Hoffman and Bernie Grundman. The label's philosophy is to present the music like a clean window, which does not distract from the beautiful "view" on the other side. Among it's greatest successes featured on this compilation was Antonio Lysy at The Broad: Music from Argentina, which won the label's first GRAMMY Award and was ranked in The Absolute Sound as one of the 40 Best recordings of all time.

Classical Music

“From the nobility of Europe, to the petit bourgeoisie reading Thonoit’s Arbeau’s Orchesographie, to the already pregnant bride in Brueghel’s The Peasant Wedding, everybody danced their way through the rituals of life…. Their music, like their dance, reflected a delicate balance between the restraints of culture and convention, and ingenious flourishes of improvisation….”

– Adam Gilbert

Bach’s cantata BWV 199 begins “My heart swims in blood/The results of my sins/Transform me into a monster,” and ends, “And through my grief and pain/No longer am I excluded/From His bliss or His heart.” Serious, pious, introspective stuff, indeed, and this recording, in superb sound, features the lamented Lorraine Hunt Lieberson performing the cantata live in Los Angeles in 2003.

The disc’s brief playing time (the cantata takes just 28 minutes) should not put you off: there is a lifetime of great and deep music-making here. Lieberson’s flawless tone, utterly even and capable of a dozen shades of dynamics and colors, along with her almost uncanny ability to convey feelings as rich as those expressed here, turns this half hour into an almost intimate experience, as if one were hearing the confession of a dear friend or a dear soul. Her simplicity is epic, to coin an oxymoron; she can drive one to tears. I’m unaccustomed to gushing like this, and my connection with devout anything, let alone Christianity, is less than tenuous, but I was stunned by the beauty of the singing, playing, and sincerity and so will you be. It’s like listening to the truth.

A quick, sharp performance of Bach’s Fourth Brandenburg serves as a curtain-raiser. The solo violin (Margaret Batjer is the leader and soloist) takes a wild ride in the last movement, and throughout, the performance is brilliant and exhilarating.

-- Robert Levine, ClassicToday.com

Classical Music

Classical Music

Joining TIPA musicians on this album are monks of Nechung Monastery, singing special pujas (prayers) unique to this specific monastery. The album opens with a blessing of the environment recorded in the Nechung monastery, and a Losar prayer for the New Year. Tibetan wind instruments, human skull rattes and Tibetan long horns accompany them in vigor. (Yarlung)