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TIME 2 GROOVE
SHANACHIE
CD
$17.49
Apr 25, 2025
Smooth Urban Jazz superstar Kim Waters has sold over three million albums in his more than 20 years of touring and recording. Loved by R&B and Jazz fans alike, his crossover appeal, scores of Smooth Jazz #1 radio hits and dynamic performances have placed him among the elite in his field. Time 2 Groove is overflowing with heartfelt melodies and infectious grooves. Highlights include the driving collaboration with Chris "Big Dog" Davis, "Sax You Up," Kim's loving tribute to his twin daughters Kimberly and Kayla, "Their Smile," Kim's inspired re-imagining of The Isley Brothers classic, "I Once Had Your Love," and more!
L'Amour et la Mort
MDG
SACD
$24.99
Feb 06, 2026
Mezzo-soprano Hermine May and pianist Manuel Lange invite you into Wagner's world of Tristan and Isolde where insatiable yearnings are awakened, passions heightened and where the fervent desire to transcend reality finds supreme love beyond death in Liebestod.
BLUE NOTE PLAYS RAY CHARLES / VARIOUS
BLUE NOTE RECORDS
CD
$14.49
Feb 01, 2005
Tracks include "That's Where It's At" by Lou Rawls and Ray Charles, "I Got a Woman" by Jimmy McGriff, "What Would I Do Without You" by Stanley Turrentine, "This Little Girl of mine" by Grant Green, "Ain't That Love" by Bill Henderson and Jimmy smith, and "(Night Time Is) the Right Time" by Freddie Roach.
Michael Ellison: A triptych of transcultural operas
Metier
CD
$25.99
Jun 19, 2026
In June 2026, Metier proudly presents composer Michael Ellison's ground-breaking set of Three Transcultural Operas: Mevlana (Say I am you), Deniz Kustu (The Sea Crossed Fisherman), and bozlak opera Binbogalar Efsanesi (Legend of a Thousand Bulls), all performed with the Hezarfen Ensemble, the leading Turkish contemporary music ensemble co-founded by Michael Ellison. Ellison spent ten years working in Istanbul and has imbued these operas with an unprecedented level of integration of Turkish culture, music, and traditional instruments, seamlessly blending them with contemporary music in a unique and personal idiom. Ellison's is a music of singing melody, colour, and contrast, evocative atmosphere, and emotional breadth and has been described as "beautifully crafted, robust, and absorbing" by the American Record Guide. A new, 2026 High Resolution edition of Mevlana (originally released in 2014 on Metier) joins the newly recorded performances of Deniz Kustu and Binbogalar Efsanesi to bring together a first complete triptych of operas. Alongside the audio recordings, Metier will release the complete digital video productions of Deniz Kustu and Binbogalar Efsanesi operas recorded at the Istanbul Music Festival. Mevlana (Say I am You) was the first opera to include Turkish instruments and vocal styles, blended here with Western operatic tradition and based on the poetry of Rumi, the historic mystic. This hypnotic work dramatically traces the story of the transformation of Jelaluddin Rumi (Mevlâna) from ordinary scholar to ecstatic mystic at the hands of wandering dervish Shams-i Tabriz and features the dynamic vocal ensemble VocaalLAB Nederland with the Hezarfen Ensemble. Ellison's second and third operas are compelling tales that resonate with the global challenges of today, both adapted from novels by Yasar Kemal and directed for stage by Simon Jones. Powerful and dramatic, Deniz Kustu (The Sea Crossed Fisherman) tells the tragic tale of village-loner Selim and orphaned street-child Zeynel, integrating traditional Turkish instruments, contemporary elements, and Western opera singers. It's shocking events and environmental repercussions reflect our own current concerns. The opera also celebrates Istanbul, it's seas and marine life, contrasting the real and fantastical seascape of the Bosphorus with the dizzying, teeming metropolis of Istanbul and one small fishing village. "The Sea-Crossed Fisherman is an arresting picture of Istanbul, from it's glittering dawns to it's seething underbelly, and Kemal's... lyrical prose is a good fit for the American composer Michael Ellison... " -James Imam, Opera Magazine. Powerful and moving, Binbogalar Efsanesi (Legend of a Thousand Bulls) is based on the masterpiece novel by Yasar Kemal about the decline and disappearance of the last nomads in Turkey, as their millennia-old pastoral way of life is destroyed. The culmination of an 8-year European Research Council project, "Beyond East and West," Binbogalar Efsanesi is a unique work, sung in Turkish and integrates the dramatic, virtuoso style of traditional bozlak Anatolian folk music voices with contemporary language. Hale Tetik, of Andante Magazine, wrote: "The love, sorrow, grief, and rebellion, emanating from the voice of bozlak singer Fatma Aydogan, were engraved in our hearts." Michael Ellison has been commissioned and performed by major orchestras and festivals across Europe and the US, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Variances, Radio France, Grenoble Festival, New York Youth Symphony, Siemens Foundation, amongst many others. He was principal investigator on the European Research Council project Beyond East and West: Developing and Documenting an Evolving Transcultural Musical Practice (2015-2023) and the PI of the AHRC-Istanbul Development Agency supported project Transtraditional Istanbul. He teaches composition at the University of Bristol, England.
Sorabji: 100 Transcendental Studies Vol 1 - Nos 1-25 / Fredrik Ullen
BIS
CD
$21.99
Jan 01, 2006
SORABJI 100 Transcendental Studies: Nos. 1?25 ? Fredrik Ullén (pn) ? BIS CD-1373 (71:11)
?Our highest insights must?and should?sound like follies and sometimes like crimes when they are heard without permission by those who are not predisposed and predestined for them? Nietzsche notes in Beyond Good and Evil , 30. Yes?and like drunkenness, mania, delirium, ferocity, black magic, malice?seduction, if one is a composer of startling originality. Fredrik Ullén herewith joins the small band of ?predisposed and predestined? pianistic supermen who have opened the adytum on Sorabji?s hermetic soundscapes?Marc-André Hamelin, John Ogdon, Geoffrey Douglas Madge, Michael Habermann, Kevin Bowyer, Jonathan Powell?casting up fragments of his stupendous, visionary ?uvre compellingly before us. For Hamelin, that?s true in a practical sense as well?Ullén thanks him, with Simon Abrahams and Alexander Abercrobie, for editing the Studies because ?Sorabji?s manuscripts, while calligraphically beautiful, are in general not readable enough to be useful for the performer.?
This first installment of the 100 Transcendental Studies , composed over 1940?44, suggests a more or less systematically pithy inventory of oddments comprising the Sorabji manner and its technical means, most playing a minute or two, the longest just under six. If music is, in an essential sense, for musicians, and the pleasure non-musicians derive from it a happy consequence, this relation of music to a putative audience is raised to a power in Sorabji: Busoni remarked to Bernard van Dieren?composers Sorabji admired intensely and lovingly eulogized??We must make the texture of our music such that no amateur can touch it.? The ?texture? of Sorabji?s music is such that even the well-trained professional may suffocate in it. The point is not that Sorabji is difficult to play and we?re obliged to applaud those who can bring his pieces off, but that his fantastication is such that few listeners possess the apperceptive mass?the background of associations and perceptions with which his music is in dialogue?to grasp it. For instance, the way Sorabji simply sidestepped the ?Tonal oder Atonal? obsession of his time with the sovereign caress of 10 fingers on a keyboard demonstrates that there is a richly substantial world elsewhere. Sorabji?s music does, indeed, possess sensuous appeal?cheek-by-jowl with intentionally rebarbative imprecations. Ullén?s indispensable annotations prompt the ear:
4. (Scriabinesco) Soave e con tenerezza nostalgica is an arabesque and a loving meditation on Scriabin?s B major étude, Op. 8, No. 4. There are some interesting polymetric experiments in the later section.
6. (untitled) The 100 Transcendental Studies contain études in parallel lines for each possible interval. This is the first one in seconds with rich use of 3:4 polyrhythms. A scintillating will-o?-the-wisp étude in the romantic tradition.
9. Staccato e leggiero . A remarkably modern piece for its time. Both hands play staccato chords, first in perfect asynchrony, later on with irregular alternations between the hands. Frequently Sorabji has one hand play only on white keys and the other only on black keys, a device used much later by, for example, György Ligeti.
20. Con fantasia . One of Sorabji?s refined, mysterious nocturnes . . .
22. Leggiero volante e presto assai . The piece explores an interesting new device for pianistic fireworks: glissandi on chords. A quick hazardous piece that passes by leaving you wondering what really happened.
For those of a logical or mathematical bent, the philosopher Kenneth Derus glosses Sorabji with an exploration of the metaphysics of memory reminiscent of Alfred North Whitehead at his most punctilious. And that?s to say that if you?ve read this far, you are either a Sorabji insider?to whom this will be sine qua non ?or a candidate for initiation. Sound is closely detailed and immediate?uncramped?with neither ambience nor reverberance.
FANFARE: Adrian Corleonis
Notorious RBG in Song / Michaels, Kuang-Hao Huang
Cedille
CD
$9.99
$19.99
Save 50%
Jun 08, 2018
Soprano Patrice Michaels, “a formidable interpretative talent” (The New Yorker), and collaborative pianist extraordinaire Kuang-Hao Huang offer Notorious RBG in Song, an album of world-premiere recordings saluting the life and work of legal pioneer Ruth Bader Ginsburg in celebration of her completion of 25 years on the United States Supreme Court. Ginsburg, a longtime crusader for equal rights, has become a pop culture icon known as “Notorious RBG.”
Michaels, a vocalist of “spectacular and diverse gifts” (Journal of Singing) is also a gifted composer. Her nine-song cycle, ‘The Long View’, illuminates key aspects of Justice Ginsburg’s personal and professional life through letters, remembrances, conversations, and even Court opinions. The album concludes with songs by American composer Stacy Garrop, winner of many prestigious awards and commissions; JUNO Award-winning Canadian composer Vivian Fung; prolific art-song composer Lori Laitman; and an aria from Derrick Wang’s new comic opera, Scalia/Ginsburg.
American composer Stacy Garrop, recipient of many prestigious awards and commissions, based her deeply moving “My Dearest Ruth” on the farewell love letter the Justice’s husband, Georgetown University law professor Martin Ginsburg, wrote shortly before his death in 2010. The aria “You are Searching in Vain for a Bright-Line Solution,” from Derrick Wang’s opera Scalia/Ginsburg, which captured widespread media attention, crystallizes Justice Ginsburg’s views on interpreting the U.S. Constitution. JUNO Award-winning Canadian composer Vivian Fung’s humorous “Pot Roast à la RBG” provides directions for preparing the beef dish, using Justice Ginsburg’s own words as related in the text by daughter Jane Ginsburg. Prolific art-song composer Lori Laitman’s setting of the Emily Dickinson poem “Wider than the Sky” wasn’t written with Ginsburg in mind, but it was performed at her 80th birthday celebration because it perfectly embodied her intellectual breadth.
REVIEW:
This is a difficult production to review, not just because Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has become such a significant figure in modern American life, but because the range of her achievements—whether as a jurist or as a wife, mother, opera maven, attorney, professional colleague and feminist icon—resists purely musical treatment. That’s not a reason to hesitate in offering her this lovingly produced tribute. Like RBG herself, who responded to the notion that women had no place in the legal profession by going ahead and doing it anyway, Cedille General Manager Jim Ginsburg (her son) and singer Patrice Michaels (her daughter-in-law) have taken the plunge with evident gusto.
The main item here is The Longview, an imposing portrait of RBG in nine songs composed by Michaels for voice and piano in an attractive, post-modern tonal idiom. There are vivid and beautiful numbers here, especially the central Anita’s Story, a wonderful tale of the power of Ginsburg’s words to change a life; but for many listeners the main interest will lie in the eighth song’s quotations of Ginsburg’s own legal opinions. Imagine setting this to music to get an idea of what Michaels is up to: “I have said before and reiterate here that only an ostrich could regard the supposedly neutral alternatives as race unconscious.” What results from this effort is not so much a conventional song cycle as a theater piece—I could readily imagine it staged, particularly as Michaels, whose voice is hardly conventionally beautiful but whose intelligent artistry is beyond question, performs it here.
The remainder of the program consists of four songs by four different composers, all inspired by RBG’s life and legend. Vivian Fung’s “Pot Roast à la RBG” is the most amusing; Stacy Garrop’s “My Dearest Ruth”, a love letter written by husband Martin Ginsburg from his death bed, is the most touching. I suspect that more than a few tears were shed both here and elsewhere during this project. Through it all, Michaels receives ideally sensitive support from pianist Kuang-Hao Huang, while Cedille’s engineering, as usual, is first class. The final impression that emerges is a portrait of a family as much as of an individual—a very remarkable family indeed. I suspect that RBG may regard this as her greatest achievement of all.
– ClassicsToday.com (David Hurwitz)
From Windsor with Love / The Queen's Six
Signum Classics
CD
$19.99
Feb 11, 2022
The Queen's Six return to Signum with a new album of romantic pop song arrangements. Conceived with US producer TJ Armand, the album of new a cappalla arrangements sets traditional classics such as Bob Dylan’s "Make you feel my love," and Young and Heyman’s "When I fall in love," next to more unusual songs such as Huey Lewis and the News’ "The Power of Love," and Limahl’s "Never Ending Story." Based at Windsor Castle, the members of The Queen's Six make up half of the Lay Clerks of St George's Chapel, whose homes lie within the Castle walls.
The Chapel Choir, which consists of boy trebles and twelve professional adult singers, performs some eight services a week, as well as at private and state occasions, often before the Royal Family. In 2018, their duties with the Chapel Choir included singing for the wedding of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. In 2021, three members of the group’s voices were raised at the funeral for His Royal Highness Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh. Their repertoire extends far beyond the reach of the choir stalls: from austere early chant, florid Renaissance polyphony, lewd madrigals, and haunting folk songs, to upbeat jazz and pop arrangements.
MONK ALONE: COMP COLUMBIA SOLO STUDIO RECORDINGS
MUSIC ON CD
CD
$19.49
Jul 24, 2020
CD reissue. Monk is among the most moving piano players ever to stroke the keys. His masterful use of silence and surprise forces you to become entwined in the melody, to enter the song. Step into the world of master artist Thelonious Monk, and embrace the melody and mystique that was his to command. One would expect marvelous renditions of "'Round Midnight" and "Ruby My Dear", and Monk delivers. Equally precious are the performances of lesser-known original gems such as Introspection and "Ask Me Now", and the bravura renditions of standard-bearers such as "I'm Confessin' That I Love You", "Dinah", and the immortal ballad "Body and Soul". As Picasso was to painting, Monk was to jazz. Truly one-of-a-kind.
IN CONCERT AT THE OLD MILL INN
SACKVILLE RECORDS
CD
$15.70
Aug 18, 2009
A solo concert from December 2007 at the Old Mill Inn in Toronto by virtuoso pianist Dick Hyman. Hyman has played with legends Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker and Red Norvo, he has scored Woody Allen films and made in depth tributes to Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke and Duke Ellington. 12 tracks: Ain't Misbehavin', I Can't Get Started, Stompin' at the Savoy, Have a Heart, Honeysuckle Rose, All the Things You Are, Undecided, Blackbird, Christopher Columbus, Ocean Languor, Pass It Along, the Man I Love.
BASS ON TOP
VINYL PASSION
Vinyl
$21.49
Aug 30, 2019
Paul Chambers Jr. (1935-1969) was a jazz double bassist who was the anchor for trumpeter Miles Davis for eight years. Chambers' contribution on "Kind Of Blue" is considered to be some of the most rhythmically and harmonically supportive bass playing in the history of jazz. Chambers' masterpiece 'Bass On Top' opens with "Yesterdays" which has some of the most beautiful bowed bass you can hear, with a sensitive but subtle support from Kenny Burrell, Hank Jones, and Art Taylor. "Dear Old Stockholm" is a another great beauty. (Also recorded on Davis' 'Round Midnight', with a great Paul Chambers solo). "I'm Confessin' That I Love You" is essential Paul alone for four minutes of pure beauty.
Hynes: Fields / Third Coast Percussion
Cedille
CD
$19.99
Oct 11, 2019
A 2020 double GRAMMY nominee, for both Best Small Ensemble/Chamber Music Performance and Best Engineered Album!
Grammy Award-winning, Chicago-based percussion quartet Third Coast Percussion teams up with influential, genre-defying multi-instrumentalist, record producer, songwriter, singer, and composer Devonté Hynes (aka Blood Orange) for an album of imaginative, evocative instrumental music created as the live soundtrack for choreography by the adventurous Hubbard Street Dance Chicago company. The album’s three works, all world-premiere recordings, represent Hynes’s debut on disc as a classical composer. In Perfectly Voiceless, Philip Glass-style minimalism gives way to a catchy pop melody. There Was Nothing blends synthesizer sounds with bowed mallet percussion instruments and moments of meditative lyricism recall the music of Lou Harrison. The expressive harmonies within the gauzy textures of For All Its Fury point to Hynes’ love of Debussy. Third Coast arranged Hynes’ music for its immense collection of diverse instruments and performed them on stage with the Hubbard Street dancers in Chicago and on tour. The Los Angeles Times praised Hynes’ “lush score” and Third Coast’s ability to summon “otherworldly sounds from a multitude of idiophones, drums and other devices.” Chicago’s New City Stage applauded Third Coast’s “extraordinary performance” and “ceaseless river of sound.”
REVIEW:
Third Coast Percussion grabs onto the Ambient Minimalism of the music of composer Devonte Hynes on the recent album Fields (Cedille CDR 90000 192), which creates universes of sound primarily out of mallet interlockings and ambient electronics. If New Music could remind you of some album track in Prog Rock, this could qualify for its cosmicality and spacey directedness.
This is New Music for people who may not much like New Music, or for those unfamiliar with such things. It is primarily good music beyond category.
I fully recommend this one for all progressive folks, for those who do not mind or even welcome a bit of groove and New Music fans who are open to the new in whatever form our artists see fit, regardless of preconceptions. Minimalists will also take heart I suspect. For this is very good indeed.
– Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review
LITTLE GIRL BLUE
ESSENTIAL JAZZ CLASS
CD
$13.08
Sep 20, 2024
Limited Edtion - Includes 16-page booklet. Little Girl Blue was Nina Simone's debut album and first studio recording ever. Recorded when she was 25 years old, it was a tremendous success and led to a fabulous career that would produce more than 80 studio sessions. It contains such perennial classics as "I Loves You Porgy" and "My Baby Just Cares for Me". THE COMPLETE ALBUM + 9 BONUS TRACKS - CD EDITION - 20 TRACKS - TT: 74:26 - LIMITED EDITION - INCLUDES 16-PAGE BOOKLET
JAZZ MONEY
CANDID
Vinyl
$31.54
Jun 21, 2024
JAZZ MONEY, the debut album from multiinstrumentalist, composer, and producer Zacchae'Us Paul is an irreverent, fresh take on "America's classical music" that speaks to the 24 year old artist's deep-beyond-his-years understanding of Black music and the African diaspora. Paul stretches and bends jazz sounds around the Atlanta hip-hop he grew up with, the gospel sounds and philosophies that have long shaped his music making, and the Caribbean rhythms he learned studying in Puerto Rico. He has created a wholly personal sound that is youthful, and thoughtful all at once. "When you listen to this album, listen to it again," Paul says. "A lot of the songs have multiple meanings, and I'd love for people to have different perspectives on them." Made with a cast of improvising upstarts and veterans that includes the album's executive producer, Terri Lyne Carrington, fellow Atlanta native and Candid recording artist Morgan Guerin and Paul's fiancee and star vocalist Melanie Charles, Jazz Money is jazz music for this, and future, generations.
CLUB ZANZIBAR BROADCASTS - LIVE FROM NY, 1945
GOOD TIME
CD
$13.99
Jan 24, 2025
The summer of 1945 marked a key moment in Calloway's career, as he performed at Cafe Zanzibar, a jazz hotspot in New York City. The broadcasts from this period capture the essence of Calloway's artistry, featuring beloved classics and innovative arrangements. His renditions of tracks like "St. Louis Blues" and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby" showcase his flair for breathing new life into familiar material while pushing jazz's boundaries.
The Soviet Experience, Vol. 2 / Pacifica Quartet
Cedille
CD
$19.99
Mar 27, 2012
SHOSTAKOVICH String Quartets: Nos. 1–4. PROKOFIEV String Quartet No. 2 • Pacifica Qrt • ÇEDILLE 30 (2 CDs: 129:17)
Sooner or later, most contributors to this journal are bound to receive letters from disgruntled readers and the occasional colleague complaining about what they perceive to be an unfairly negative review, or even an unfairly positive one. But I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever been chided by a colleague as I was by Peter J. Rabinowitz in Fanfare 35:4 for submitting an enthusiastic review that wasn’t enthusiastic enough. In a second-opinion follow-up to my review of Volume 1 of the Pacifica Quartet’s new Shostakovich cycle, Rabinowitz took exception to my “Goldilocks” analogy in which I stated that the Pacifica’s performances struck me as “j-u-s-t right.”
Although I never got to review the Pacifica’s complete Mendelssohn quartets, they showed up on a couple of Want Lists, and in a number of reviews of Mendelssohn quartet recordings by other ensembles, I’ve repeatedly singled out the Pacifica’s version as equaling, if not surpassing, the Emerson’s set. So, as a rejoinder to Rabinowitz, let me just say for the record that I agree with him that the Pacifica’s Shostakovich is not “middle of the road,” and by “j-u-s-t right” I didn’t mean to imply that the ensemble’s performances straddled the fence or clung to the median strip running down the center of the highway. There is no better string quartet on the scene today than the Pacifica. In terms of technical precision and keenness of musical insight, the Pacifica is the true inheritor of the Emerson’s crown and, in warmth of tone and emotional responsiveness, I often find the Pacifica superior to the Emerson.
That said, there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that once the Pacifica has completed its Shostakovich cycle it will be among the top two or three to have, those others being the aforesaid Emerson and what some consider to be the definitive Fitzwilliam. With this release of Volume 2, the Pacifica has now crossed the ocean more than halfway. Eight of the 15 quartets have now been committed to disc—Nos. 5–8 in Volume 1, and now Nos. 1–4 here. And as in the previous volume, the MO is to include another roughly contemporaneous string quartet by another Russian composer. In Volume 1 it was Miaskovsky; here it’s Prokofiev.
Shostakovich’s quartets span a period of 36 years; the first was written in 1938, the last in 1974. The four quartets heard here are the composer’s earliest, though in the overall chronology of his works, you could say that he got a relatively late start in the quartet-writing business. He’d already written his first five symphonies by 1937, before his first quartet was even a twinkle in his ear.
As he is quoted in Shostakovich: A Life Remembered , it was the composer’s intention to write 24 quartets following a cyclic progression of major and minor keys. Unlike Bach, however, who proceeded through the keys by semitone, or Chopin, who in his 24 preludes proceeded via the Circle of Fifths, Shostakovich adopted a unique scheme of his own. He proceeds—at least in the 15 quartets he managed to write—more or less by submediants (by sixths). The first six quartets, all in major, follow the pattern. C, A, F, D, B?, G—A being a sixth above C, F being a sixth above A, and so on. But then something goes askew with the plan. No. 7 should have been in E?, but instead Shostakovich throws a monkeywrench into the works by giving us a quartet in F?-Minor. No. 8 returns to the pattern with C Minor, which would have been the submediant of No. 7 if No. 7 had followed the plan and been in E?. Another deviation comes with No. 10, which is also in the “wrong” key from what it should be, but the pattern resumes once again with No. 11.
In a fascinating analysis of the quartets (quartets.de/index.html), one Ian Strachan explains that “the insertion of F?-Minor and the effective rotation of E? sharp major [ sic ] and C minor were done so that quartet number nine would be written in E?-Major and quartet number 16 in B Major. By doing so Shostakovich would ensure that his initials (DSCH) were used as the keys in quartets whose number are a perfect square (D Major: quartet number four or 2 squared; S, in the German notation or E?-Major in the English: quartet number nine or 3 squared; C Major: quartet number one or 1 squared; and H or B Major in the English notation as quartet number 16, or 4 squared). So it seems that Shostakovich, a tonal composer who delighted in keeping detailed numerical records of football scores, indulged in numerical as well as musical ciphers.”
In a way, I suppose, this tends to reinforce something I’ve said before about Shostakovich’s quartets, not that they’re all alike, but that there’s a prevailing sense of continuity in the musical discourse that makes them seem like one cogent and coherent conversation from beginning to end, which, of course, could be advanced as an argument for listening to them in order. Still, the above bit of clever mathematical manipulation presumes the existence of a 16th which was never written, as well as the continuation of the pattern all the way through to a nonexistent final 24th quartet. You’ve got to love stuff like this; it can be so earnest in its pursuit of the Delphic. Or, as the oracle once said, “Pi are square, cake are round.”
Nonetheless, I would urge you to visit the website because it goes way beyond the tortured math I’ve touched on here. It also provides a detailed history, description, and analysis of every single quartet.
The First Quartet, for the most part, is a bouncy, one might almost say joyful, thing. The coruscating harmonies, rhythmic ostinatos, and pervasive gloom we often associate with Shostakovich’s music are saved for the later quartets.
The austerity and menace begin to creep in as early as the Second Quartet. The Soviet victory over Hitler’s army was near in the early fall of 1944 when Shostakovich composed the work, practically in the same breath as his famous E-Minor Piano Trio, but he wasn’t in a celebratory mood. There’s a Russianness or East European Jewishness to the melodic and harmonic material, which often sounds like it’s derived from folk songs and klezmer dances soured and bent out of shape by Shostakovich’s parodying techniques.
Superficially, the Third Quartet (1946) bears some resemblance to the First Quartet in its opening swagger and jaunty Haydnesque character, but it’s a cheerfulness colored by disappointment and disillusion. The piece was written on the eve that ushered in the dark days of the Zhdanov denouncement and the targeting of Soviet artists and intellectuals. Shostakovich’s state of mind is reflected in the fact that the Third Quartet is the only work he wrote during this year.
The Fourth Quartet (1949) ran into resistance for other reasons and of a different sort. Characterized as another of his “Jewish” works—though not Jewish, Shostakovich was drawn to Jewish musical and cultural themes throughout his life—the Fourth Quartet appeared at exactly the time that the Cold War was heating up, anti-Semitism was once again on the rise (if it had ever abated), and Stalin was gleefully engaged in another round of persecution and purges. The horror is made manifest in the leering danse macabre of the concluding Allegretto, one of the standout movements in the entire quartet cycle.
For Prokofiev the string quartet plays a far less central role in his output; he wrote only two, the first in 1930, and the second, included in the present set, in 1941. Writing string quartets was not a particularly self-motivated or self-fulfilling effort for him, and this, his second go at the medium, was apparently not even his idea. Having been sent to a Soviet outpost presumed safe from Germany’s invading forces, Prokofiev was encouraged to write a string quartet based on the Kabardino-Balkar folk themes common to the North Caucasus region to which he and other artists had been evacuated. He seems to have warmed to the idea, producing a fine example of abstract music inspired by authentic folk elements.
In every single movement of Shostakovich’s quartets and in the Prokofiev, the Pacifica Quartet penetrates to the very heart and soul of the music. What stands out—matters of technical precision and ensemble blending and balance are givens—is the way in which the players probe for and reveal amazing details even in passages that, superficially, may seem to present relatively flat surfaces unlikely to yield much in the way of dimensionality, such as the Adagio of the Third Quartet. But under inspection of the Pacifica’s microscope, the music displays a topography filled with hidden peaks and valleys. It’s this intellectual curiosity to explore, wedded to largesse of emotional expressivity that makes these performances special.
I hope Rabinowitz takes this to be the fervently enthusiastic recommendation intended.
FANFARE: Jerry Dubins
Sooner or later, most contributors to this journal are bound to receive letters from disgruntled readers and the occasional colleague complaining about what they perceive to be an unfairly negative review, or even an unfairly positive one. But I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever been chided by a colleague as I was by Peter J. Rabinowitz in Fanfare 35:4 for submitting an enthusiastic review that wasn’t enthusiastic enough. In a second-opinion follow-up to my review of Volume 1 of the Pacifica Quartet’s new Shostakovich cycle, Rabinowitz took exception to my “Goldilocks” analogy in which I stated that the Pacifica’s performances struck me as “j-u-s-t right.”
Although I never got to review the Pacifica’s complete Mendelssohn quartets, they showed up on a couple of Want Lists, and in a number of reviews of Mendelssohn quartet recordings by other ensembles, I’ve repeatedly singled out the Pacifica’s version as equaling, if not surpassing, the Emerson’s set. So, as a rejoinder to Rabinowitz, let me just say for the record that I agree with him that the Pacifica’s Shostakovich is not “middle of the road,” and by “j-u-s-t right” I didn’t mean to imply that the ensemble’s performances straddled the fence or clung to the median strip running down the center of the highway. There is no better string quartet on the scene today than the Pacifica. In terms of technical precision and keenness of musical insight, the Pacifica is the true inheritor of the Emerson’s crown and, in warmth of tone and emotional responsiveness, I often find the Pacifica superior to the Emerson.
That said, there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that once the Pacifica has completed its Shostakovich cycle it will be among the top two or three to have, those others being the aforesaid Emerson and what some consider to be the definitive Fitzwilliam. With this release of Volume 2, the Pacifica has now crossed the ocean more than halfway. Eight of the 15 quartets have now been committed to disc—Nos. 5–8 in Volume 1, and now Nos. 1–4 here. And as in the previous volume, the MO is to include another roughly contemporaneous string quartet by another Russian composer. In Volume 1 it was Miaskovsky; here it’s Prokofiev.
Shostakovich’s quartets span a period of 36 years; the first was written in 1938, the last in 1974. The four quartets heard here are the composer’s earliest, though in the overall chronology of his works, you could say that he got a relatively late start in the quartet-writing business. He’d already written his first five symphonies by 1937, before his first quartet was even a twinkle in his ear.
As he is quoted in Shostakovich: A Life Remembered , it was the composer’s intention to write 24 quartets following a cyclic progression of major and minor keys. Unlike Bach, however, who proceeded through the keys by semitone, or Chopin, who in his 24 preludes proceeded via the Circle of Fifths, Shostakovich adopted a unique scheme of his own. He proceeds—at least in the 15 quartets he managed to write—more or less by submediants (by sixths). The first six quartets, all in major, follow the pattern. C, A, F, D, B?, G—A being a sixth above C, F being a sixth above A, and so on. But then something goes askew with the plan. No. 7 should have been in E?, but instead Shostakovich throws a monkeywrench into the works by giving us a quartet in F?-Minor. No. 8 returns to the pattern with C Minor, which would have been the submediant of No. 7 if No. 7 had followed the plan and been in E?. Another deviation comes with No. 10, which is also in the “wrong” key from what it should be, but the pattern resumes once again with No. 11.
In a fascinating analysis of the quartets (quartets.de/index.html), one Ian Strachan explains that “the insertion of F?-Minor and the effective rotation of E? sharp major [ sic ] and C minor were done so that quartet number nine would be written in E?-Major and quartet number 16 in B Major. By doing so Shostakovich would ensure that his initials (DSCH) were used as the keys in quartets whose number are a perfect square (D Major: quartet number four or 2 squared; S, in the German notation or E?-Major in the English: quartet number nine or 3 squared; C Major: quartet number one or 1 squared; and H or B Major in the English notation as quartet number 16, or 4 squared). So it seems that Shostakovich, a tonal composer who delighted in keeping detailed numerical records of football scores, indulged in numerical as well as musical ciphers.”
In a way, I suppose, this tends to reinforce something I’ve said before about Shostakovich’s quartets, not that they’re all alike, but that there’s a prevailing sense of continuity in the musical discourse that makes them seem like one cogent and coherent conversation from beginning to end, which, of course, could be advanced as an argument for listening to them in order. Still, the above bit of clever mathematical manipulation presumes the existence of a 16th which was never written, as well as the continuation of the pattern all the way through to a nonexistent final 24th quartet. You’ve got to love stuff like this; it can be so earnest in its pursuit of the Delphic. Or, as the oracle once said, “Pi are square, cake are round.”
Nonetheless, I would urge you to visit the website because it goes way beyond the tortured math I’ve touched on here. It also provides a detailed history, description, and analysis of every single quartet.
The First Quartet, for the most part, is a bouncy, one might almost say joyful, thing. The coruscating harmonies, rhythmic ostinatos, and pervasive gloom we often associate with Shostakovich’s music are saved for the later quartets.
The austerity and menace begin to creep in as early as the Second Quartet. The Soviet victory over Hitler’s army was near in the early fall of 1944 when Shostakovich composed the work, practically in the same breath as his famous E-Minor Piano Trio, but he wasn’t in a celebratory mood. There’s a Russianness or East European Jewishness to the melodic and harmonic material, which often sounds like it’s derived from folk songs and klezmer dances soured and bent out of shape by Shostakovich’s parodying techniques.
Superficially, the Third Quartet (1946) bears some resemblance to the First Quartet in its opening swagger and jaunty Haydnesque character, but it’s a cheerfulness colored by disappointment and disillusion. The piece was written on the eve that ushered in the dark days of the Zhdanov denouncement and the targeting of Soviet artists and intellectuals. Shostakovich’s state of mind is reflected in the fact that the Third Quartet is the only work he wrote during this year.
The Fourth Quartet (1949) ran into resistance for other reasons and of a different sort. Characterized as another of his “Jewish” works—though not Jewish, Shostakovich was drawn to Jewish musical and cultural themes throughout his life—the Fourth Quartet appeared at exactly the time that the Cold War was heating up, anti-Semitism was once again on the rise (if it had ever abated), and Stalin was gleefully engaged in another round of persecution and purges. The horror is made manifest in the leering danse macabre of the concluding Allegretto, one of the standout movements in the entire quartet cycle.
For Prokofiev the string quartet plays a far less central role in his output; he wrote only two, the first in 1930, and the second, included in the present set, in 1941. Writing string quartets was not a particularly self-motivated or self-fulfilling effort for him, and this, his second go at the medium, was apparently not even his idea. Having been sent to a Soviet outpost presumed safe from Germany’s invading forces, Prokofiev was encouraged to write a string quartet based on the Kabardino-Balkar folk themes common to the North Caucasus region to which he and other artists had been evacuated. He seems to have warmed to the idea, producing a fine example of abstract music inspired by authentic folk elements.
In every single movement of Shostakovich’s quartets and in the Prokofiev, the Pacifica Quartet penetrates to the very heart and soul of the music. What stands out—matters of technical precision and ensemble blending and balance are givens—is the way in which the players probe for and reveal amazing details even in passages that, superficially, may seem to present relatively flat surfaces unlikely to yield much in the way of dimensionality, such as the Adagio of the Third Quartet. But under inspection of the Pacifica’s microscope, the music displays a topography filled with hidden peaks and valleys. It’s this intellectual curiosity to explore, wedded to largesse of emotional expressivity that makes these performances special.
I hope Rabinowitz takes this to be the fervently enthusiastic recommendation intended.
FANFARE: Jerry Dubins
ANNIE LAURIE COLLECTION 1945-62
ACROBAT
CD
$20.63
Apr 01, 2022
Annie Laurie was an R&B, blues and sophisticated jazz and pop singer born in Atlanta, Ga., in 1924, who came to prominence in 1947 with her debut hit "Since I Fell For You", and over the next 15 years recorded and released material which brought her several more successes in both pop and R&B charts, recording for much of the early era of her career with a trio and band led by pianist and songwriter Paul Gayten. At the start of her career she recorded at Cosimo Matassa's legendary J&M Studios in New Orleans, which gave her work from those years a distinctive Crescent City sound. This excellent- value 51-track 2-CD set comprises comprising most of the A & B sides of her releases on the Cosmo, de Luxe, Regal, Okeh, Savoy and Ritz labels from this era, including performances with the bands of Paul Gayten and Danny Kessler, as she rode the waves of the upheavals in the market occasioned by the advent of rock 'n' roll to take her hit-making career into the 1960s. It features all her career pop and R&B chart entries, including the R&B No. 3 hits "Since I Fell For You" and "It Hurts To Be In Love", and her other Top 10 hits "Cuttin' Out" and "I'll Never Be Free". She was a highly versatile vocal stylist, equally at home with upbeat jump blues material, grooving R&B songs, and smoothly polished jazz-flavoured pop, and this collection provides a varied and entertaining showcase for her distinctive talent
COLLECTION: 1947-62
ACROBAT
CD
$21.04
Jul 07, 2017
Pee Wee Crayton was a blues guitarist, singer and songwriter who was one of the leading figures of the West Coast blues school during the post-war decades. He was one of several blues artists who made the move from Texas to California in the Depression, and inevitably he became an associate of the pioneer of the West Coast style T-Bone Walker, but although Crayton was undoubtedly influenced by him, he developed a highly distinctive sound, playing in an aggressive style which encompassed some daring technical innovations, as well as having a somewhat contrasting smooth vocal style. Over the years, he recorded for a number of labels, scoring his biggest successes in his early years with the Modern label, as he reached the R&B Top 5 with "Blues After Hours", "Texas Hop" and "I Love You So". Other notable recordings were done later with the Imperial and Vee-Jay labels, as he sought to re-establish his chart presence in a changing market for blues as rock 'n' roll invaded the R&B charts. This great value 55-track 2-CD set primarily comprises A and B sides recorded during this period for the 4 Star, Gru-V Tone, Modern, Aladdin, RIH, Hollywood, Imperial, Post, Vee-Jay, Fox, Jamie, Guyden and Smash labels plus selected from his 1960 LP on the Modern subsidiary Crown. As such it's a solid representation of his output across his primary recording career, and an entertaining introduction to the work of an artist who has not had the recognition he deserves.
CONSECRATION 1
MUSIC ON VINYL
Vinyl
$44.49
Sep 19, 2025
Consecration I is a posthumous live album by the legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans. The recordings were captured during Evans' final performances at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco between August 31 and September 7, 1980. Consecration 1 showcases Evans' signature introspective style, blending lyrical phrasing with intricate harmonic progressions. The album features Evans alongside bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe LaBarbera, forming a trio that delivered deeply expressive interpretations of jazz standards and original compositions. Tracks like 'You and the Night And the Music', 'Emily', and 'Someday My Prince Will Come' highlight Evans' delicate touch and masterful improvisation. LISTEN: https://youtu. Be/mRX8EYhrH-0 * 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL * CLASSIC JAZZ ALBUM RECORDED LIVE AT JAZZ CLUB KEYSTONE CORNER, 1980, SAN FRANCISCO, USA * FEATURING 'EMILY', 'YOU AND THE NIGHT' AND THE MUSIC AND SOMEDAY MY PRINCE WILL COME' Track listing: Side A 1. You And The Night And The Music 2. Emily 3. The Two Lonely People 4. I Do It For Your Love Side B 1. Re: Person I Knew 2. Polka Dots And Moonbeams 3. Knit For Mary 4. Someday My Prince Will Come
Pictures of America / Dessay
Sony Masterworks
CD
$6.49
$12.98
Save 50%
Jan 13, 2017
The first album of Natalie Dessay for Sony Classical is a journey through music (Great American Song Book, Broadway & Jazz) and art (Edward Hopper) - This is not a classical album. "I was delighted to once again work with Claire Gibault, who now leads her own chamber orchestra, the Paris Mozart Orchestra, more than twenty years after she first accompanied my Mozart performance at the start of my career as a classical singer. It all started with a couple of Edward Hopper paintings that inspired the beautiful stories of poet Claude Esteban, which Graciane Finzi in turn illustrated with her delicate and inventive music. Claire asked me to tell the story of these "melologues". For my part, I selected ten other paintings that inspired me to choose a range of songs from what's known as the "Great American Songbook".
I asked five incredible musicians to arrange them for the Paris Mozart Orchestra, thereby building a bridge between classical music, jazz, and musicals. I then worked to develop a new voice—a deeper and more intimate sound that would whisper into the listener's ear. It was a voice I had to learn to control, like a small, secretive wild animal. I wanted to open things up with "On A Clear Day", which serves as an introduction, and a promise. Next comes a self-deprecating and low-pitched version of "I Feel Pretty" in quintuple time that leads naturally into "I Am A Fool To Want You", a song about someone who is ready to do anything and everything to win over a lost love. "Send In The Clowns" marks the disenchantment of people whose paths cross, but never at the right time. Hope lies just beyond the next bend in the road with "Detour Ahead" followed by "Something's Coming…Maybe Tonight". Next is "Autour de minuit" based on the beautiful poem by Claude Nougaro, which rings with the promise of a brighter tomorrow and of luck that might finally go our way. But the memory of our beloved refuses to fade, and every night we find ourselves back at the counter of a café that echoes with happy memories with "I Keep Going Back To Joe's", except that now it's just us at the bar as we listen to "In My Solitude". It's times like these that make us want to settle down with "A Place You Want To Call Home", but in the end, as "The Two Lonely People" asks, won't we always wind up alone even when we think we have a special someone? What do we have left, then, if not show business? As "There's No Business Like Show Business" tells us, isn't the world just a stage filled? Enjoy your journey through music and paintings with these "Pictures of America"."
-----
REVIEW:
Dessay sounds in great form and uses every trick in the book. She takes aspects of a Streisand-inspired technique. Taking the cover off the voice mid-note and opening the tone right out to its full; or whittling it down to a sexy, Julie London whisper.
– Opera Now
I asked five incredible musicians to arrange them for the Paris Mozart Orchestra, thereby building a bridge between classical music, jazz, and musicals. I then worked to develop a new voice—a deeper and more intimate sound that would whisper into the listener's ear. It was a voice I had to learn to control, like a small, secretive wild animal. I wanted to open things up with "On A Clear Day", which serves as an introduction, and a promise. Next comes a self-deprecating and low-pitched version of "I Feel Pretty" in quintuple time that leads naturally into "I Am A Fool To Want You", a song about someone who is ready to do anything and everything to win over a lost love. "Send In The Clowns" marks the disenchantment of people whose paths cross, but never at the right time. Hope lies just beyond the next bend in the road with "Detour Ahead" followed by "Something's Coming…Maybe Tonight". Next is "Autour de minuit" based on the beautiful poem by Claude Nougaro, which rings with the promise of a brighter tomorrow and of luck that might finally go our way. But the memory of our beloved refuses to fade, and every night we find ourselves back at the counter of a café that echoes with happy memories with "I Keep Going Back To Joe's", except that now it's just us at the bar as we listen to "In My Solitude". It's times like these that make us want to settle down with "A Place You Want To Call Home", but in the end, as "The Two Lonely People" asks, won't we always wind up alone even when we think we have a special someone? What do we have left, then, if not show business? As "There's No Business Like Show Business" tells us, isn't the world just a stage filled? Enjoy your journey through music and paintings with these "Pictures of America"."
-----
REVIEW:
Dessay sounds in great form and uses every trick in the book. She takes aspects of a Streisand-inspired technique. Taking the cover off the voice mid-note and opening the tone right out to its full; or whittling it down to a sexy, Julie London whisper.
– Opera Now
OTIS BLUE: OTIS REDDING SINGS SOUL
ATLANTIC
Vinyl
$29.96
Feb 03, 2023
Crystal Clear Vinyl LP pressing. By 1965, Otis Redding was already a force to be reckoned with, well on his way to earning his King of Soul® title. Then, he released this collection, which is absolutely foundational to any soul vinyl collection. This album includes Otis' soul-searing lament "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)," a cover of The Rolling Stone's "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" that is wholly original, the world's introduction to "Respect" before Aretha made it her own, and Otis' perfect versions of "My Girl," "Wonderful World," and "A Change Is Gonna Come", standards like "Rock Me Baby" and spirituals like "Down in the Valley."
Arise my love - Music for the Break of Day
Coro
CD
$18.99
Jan 23, 2026
Spanning 500 years from the exquisite simplicity of Thomas Tallis' perfect miniature O nata lux through Britten's jubilant Festival Te Deum to Cheryl Frances-Hoad's majestic O come let us sing unto the Lord, this album celebrates the hope and anticipation that comes with the beginning of a new day. Arise my love perfectly complements Magdalen's first album on CORO, Peace I leave with you, which celebrates music written for the end of the day.
TIMES ARE CHANGING
RUF
CD
$11.93
May 10, 2019
Dangerous" - that's the word Luther Allison came up with to describe his son's guitar playing. At the age of 32, Bernard Allison combines the fiery influences of his father and others of that generation (like Freddy King and Albert Collins) with blues rockers like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, while capturing an aggressive, no-holds-barred sound all his own. 1st singles: "I Can't Get You Out Of My Mind" and "The Way Love Was Meant To Be.
Bizet: Carmen / Jordan, Von Otter, Glyndebourne Festival
Opus Arte
DVD
$23.99
Oct 29, 2013
Georges Bizet
CARMEN
Moralès – Hans Voschezang
Micaëla – Lisa Milne
Don José – Marcus Haddock
Zuniga – Jonathan Best
Carmen – Anne Sofie von Otter
Frasquita – Marty Hegarty
Mercédès – Christine Rice
Lillas Pastia – Anthony Wise
Escamillo – Laurent Naouri
Le Dancaïre – Quentin Hayes
Le Remendado – Colin Judson
Le Guide – Franck Lopez
Stoke Brunswick School Children’s Chorus
(chorus master: East Grinstead)
Glyndebourne Chorus
(chorus master: Tecwyn Evans)
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Philippe Jordan, conductor
David McVicar, stage director
Michael Vale, set designer
Sue Blane, costume designer
Paule Constable, lighting designer
Andrew George, choreographer
Nicholas Hall, fight director
Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes, Sussex, 17 August 2002
Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis
- Cast gallery
- Costume design
- How to fight on stage
- Choreographing Carmen
- The music of Carmen
- The Gardens of Glyndebourne
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Running time: 220 mins
No. of DVDs: 2
R E V I E W:
Carmen can justifiably lay claim to be the world’s most popular opera. As director David McVicar points out in one of the revealing documentary extras on this excellent BBC release, it ‘is probably the first musical, with hit tune after hit tune’. He’s right, but as his own thought-provoking production makes amply clear, it is so much more than that, having deep psychological layers that he teases out very effectively. He has (rightly in my opinion) opted for a colourful, naturalistic production, with costumes and sets all conveying the correct period and general feel; no stylised or ‘concept’ nonsense to distract the viewer. This leaves him clear to get the cast to really act and get under the skin of the complex characters that inhabit the work. This makes for a riveting dramatic experience, with the many famous melodies and set pieces all in proper context. There is an erotic charge running through many of the exchanges of the principals, and McVicar sees sexual frustration as the key to many of these characters’ problems. This may have led to raised eyebrows at Glyndebourne, but it does make a lot of sense, given the ultimate events of the tragedy. He also opts to include the original spoken dialogue rather than the spurious recitatives, another aspect that works remarkably well. It fleshes the story out properly instead of holding up the action until the next big tune, as one might suspect it would.
So full marks for not messing with Bizet’s general instructions too much. Praise must also be heaped on the London Philharmonic, who respond magnificently to the flamboyant young maestro, Philippe Jordan (any relation to Armin, I wonder?). His energy and physical intensity, which is visibly there for all to see in the hectic, brilliant prelude (where he resembles Escamillo!), communicates through to the orchestra at every turn, and Bizet’s wonderful scoring is heard in all its glory. One could cite numerous examples, but hear particularly the characterful wind solos of the Act 2 Entr’acte, or the beautifully weighted brass chords that punctuate the famous ‘Toreador Song’, helping one to appreciate the harmony afresh. It really is a superb aural-only experience, the Gallic lightness making one understand why Richard Strauss once advised young composers learning orchestration to study Bizet’s scores, not Wagner’s.
So the reported controversy surrounding this production appears to be wholly related to the central casting. Here we have one of the world’s finest mezzos seemingly cast against type. Anne Sofie von Otter herself admits that she may not be everyone’s idea of the ideal Carmen – "too tall, Nordic and cool", as she puts it, and remembering great Carmens of the past (Berganza, de los Angeles, Price, Migenes etc.) she does have a point. All I can say is that she seemed to me wholly convincing, sporting a blazing auburn wig to help with the gypsy look (plus Sue Blane’s magnificent costumes) and acting and singing with such conviction that criticism was all but silenced. McVicar and von Otter have obviously worked on other aspects of the character, and rather than the smouldering wildcat, we get a more mature portrayal of a woman who can, as the director has it "eat men whole – and laugh while she’s doing it". She is a woman desperately seeking love, a free spirit that simply needs the right partner. This really does make the final tragedy all the more poignant, because we really believe that she has at last found the right person in Escamillo, but, as the cards tell her, fate has something else in store for her. The famous routines are all superbly choreographed, and she raises a laugh from the audience as she manages the second verse of her ‘Seguidilla’ while lighting a cigar, quite a feat!
Her Don José, American tenor Marcus Haddock, also gives a multi-layered portrayal, and his character probably develops more than any other. He constantly reminds us that this is a man hiding many demons, not least the fact that he killed a man in a duel, so we begin to realise early on what he is capable of. There is also the shadow of his mother, who we learn wanted him to become a priest (all this is in the invaluable spoken dialogue), so he is an unstable individual. His beautifully sung ‘Flower Song’ is not just a showstopper, but tinged with all the psychological baggage of a haunted man. The final confrontation with Carmen is riveting, with the fatal stabbing ghastly but not in the least melodramatic. This is believable verismo.
As Escamillo, Laurent Naouri is also encouraged to act with some subtlety, to enjoy his big moments but give us some character insight. Thus his oft-heard ‘Toreador Song’ is punctuated by glances towards Carmen, who responds with knowing eye contact (obviously the camera close-up helps here), and an immediate chemistry is established. His is less a testosterone-fuelled macho man than a virile counterpart to Carmen herself; one can actually believe they would have made a satisfied couple.
The Micaëlla, Lisa Milne, is a touch matronly for me, but I suppose we have to believe in her as the saintly sister figure, and while I miss some of the fragility of others in this part, she sings beautifully and makes a good contrast to Carmen. All the smaller parts are taken with real relish, and I particularly liked Jonathan Best’s Zuniga. Costumes, as mentioned, are stunning, with the stage for the final act dominated by black and a symbolic blood red. The dancing is a delight, sexy and energetic, and stage designs (by Michael Vale) atmospheric yet practical.
The extras on the double DVD set are worth having. There are revealing interviews with director and principals, as well as substantial individual features on music, costume, choreography and stage fighting. There is an illustrated synopsis, cast gallery and a ten-minute feature on the famous Glyndebourne garden. Having loaded the discs with the extras, the booklet is devoted to a specially commissioned reworking of the Carmen libretto by Jeanette Winterson, entitled ‘The World Beyond’, a moving and worthwhile updating of the basic story.
Whether you want to fork out for two full price discs may depend totally on your idea of the casting of the eponymous heroine. When this was broadcast last year, some of my colleagues thought von Otter so wrong they couldn’t watch it through to the end. While I accept she may not be what is expected visually, I think it is short-sighted to not see the whole package. Carmen does dominate, but there is an awful lot going on around her, and David McVicar has managed quite the most intelligent, believable opera production I’ve seen for some time. This is ensemble directing at its best. With von Otter (and everyone else, for that matter) in absolutely superb voice, accompanied by gloriously inspired orchestral playing, this is a musical and visual feast. Sue Judd’s subtle camera work helps the television experience. The BBC packaging is first rate, making an altogether outstanding record of a thrilling event.
-- Tony Haywood, MusicWeb International
, Reviewing original release, Opus Arte 868
CARMEN
Moralès – Hans Voschezang
Micaëla – Lisa Milne
Don José – Marcus Haddock
Zuniga – Jonathan Best
Carmen – Anne Sofie von Otter
Frasquita – Marty Hegarty
Mercédès – Christine Rice
Lillas Pastia – Anthony Wise
Escamillo – Laurent Naouri
Le Dancaïre – Quentin Hayes
Le Remendado – Colin Judson
Le Guide – Franck Lopez
Stoke Brunswick School Children’s Chorus
(chorus master: East Grinstead)
Glyndebourne Chorus
(chorus master: Tecwyn Evans)
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Philippe Jordan, conductor
David McVicar, stage director
Michael Vale, set designer
Sue Blane, costume designer
Paule Constable, lighting designer
Andrew George, choreographer
Nicholas Hall, fight director
Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes, Sussex, 17 August 2002
Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis
- Cast gallery
- Costume design
- How to fight on stage
- Choreographing Carmen
- The music of Carmen
- The Gardens of Glyndebourne
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Running time: 220 mins
No. of DVDs: 2
R E V I E W:
Carmen can justifiably lay claim to be the world’s most popular opera. As director David McVicar points out in one of the revealing documentary extras on this excellent BBC release, it ‘is probably the first musical, with hit tune after hit tune’. He’s right, but as his own thought-provoking production makes amply clear, it is so much more than that, having deep psychological layers that he teases out very effectively. He has (rightly in my opinion) opted for a colourful, naturalistic production, with costumes and sets all conveying the correct period and general feel; no stylised or ‘concept’ nonsense to distract the viewer. This leaves him clear to get the cast to really act and get under the skin of the complex characters that inhabit the work. This makes for a riveting dramatic experience, with the many famous melodies and set pieces all in proper context. There is an erotic charge running through many of the exchanges of the principals, and McVicar sees sexual frustration as the key to many of these characters’ problems. This may have led to raised eyebrows at Glyndebourne, but it does make a lot of sense, given the ultimate events of the tragedy. He also opts to include the original spoken dialogue rather than the spurious recitatives, another aspect that works remarkably well. It fleshes the story out properly instead of holding up the action until the next big tune, as one might suspect it would.
So full marks for not messing with Bizet’s general instructions too much. Praise must also be heaped on the London Philharmonic, who respond magnificently to the flamboyant young maestro, Philippe Jordan (any relation to Armin, I wonder?). His energy and physical intensity, which is visibly there for all to see in the hectic, brilliant prelude (where he resembles Escamillo!), communicates through to the orchestra at every turn, and Bizet’s wonderful scoring is heard in all its glory. One could cite numerous examples, but hear particularly the characterful wind solos of the Act 2 Entr’acte, or the beautifully weighted brass chords that punctuate the famous ‘Toreador Song’, helping one to appreciate the harmony afresh. It really is a superb aural-only experience, the Gallic lightness making one understand why Richard Strauss once advised young composers learning orchestration to study Bizet’s scores, not Wagner’s.
So the reported controversy surrounding this production appears to be wholly related to the central casting. Here we have one of the world’s finest mezzos seemingly cast against type. Anne Sofie von Otter herself admits that she may not be everyone’s idea of the ideal Carmen – "too tall, Nordic and cool", as she puts it, and remembering great Carmens of the past (Berganza, de los Angeles, Price, Migenes etc.) she does have a point. All I can say is that she seemed to me wholly convincing, sporting a blazing auburn wig to help with the gypsy look (plus Sue Blane’s magnificent costumes) and acting and singing with such conviction that criticism was all but silenced. McVicar and von Otter have obviously worked on other aspects of the character, and rather than the smouldering wildcat, we get a more mature portrayal of a woman who can, as the director has it "eat men whole – and laugh while she’s doing it". She is a woman desperately seeking love, a free spirit that simply needs the right partner. This really does make the final tragedy all the more poignant, because we really believe that she has at last found the right person in Escamillo, but, as the cards tell her, fate has something else in store for her. The famous routines are all superbly choreographed, and she raises a laugh from the audience as she manages the second verse of her ‘Seguidilla’ while lighting a cigar, quite a feat!
Her Don José, American tenor Marcus Haddock, also gives a multi-layered portrayal, and his character probably develops more than any other. He constantly reminds us that this is a man hiding many demons, not least the fact that he killed a man in a duel, so we begin to realise early on what he is capable of. There is also the shadow of his mother, who we learn wanted him to become a priest (all this is in the invaluable spoken dialogue), so he is an unstable individual. His beautifully sung ‘Flower Song’ is not just a showstopper, but tinged with all the psychological baggage of a haunted man. The final confrontation with Carmen is riveting, with the fatal stabbing ghastly but not in the least melodramatic. This is believable verismo.
As Escamillo, Laurent Naouri is also encouraged to act with some subtlety, to enjoy his big moments but give us some character insight. Thus his oft-heard ‘Toreador Song’ is punctuated by glances towards Carmen, who responds with knowing eye contact (obviously the camera close-up helps here), and an immediate chemistry is established. His is less a testosterone-fuelled macho man than a virile counterpart to Carmen herself; one can actually believe they would have made a satisfied couple.
The Micaëlla, Lisa Milne, is a touch matronly for me, but I suppose we have to believe in her as the saintly sister figure, and while I miss some of the fragility of others in this part, she sings beautifully and makes a good contrast to Carmen. All the smaller parts are taken with real relish, and I particularly liked Jonathan Best’s Zuniga. Costumes, as mentioned, are stunning, with the stage for the final act dominated by black and a symbolic blood red. The dancing is a delight, sexy and energetic, and stage designs (by Michael Vale) atmospheric yet practical.
The extras on the double DVD set are worth having. There are revealing interviews with director and principals, as well as substantial individual features on music, costume, choreography and stage fighting. There is an illustrated synopsis, cast gallery and a ten-minute feature on the famous Glyndebourne garden. Having loaded the discs with the extras, the booklet is devoted to a specially commissioned reworking of the Carmen libretto by Jeanette Winterson, entitled ‘The World Beyond’, a moving and worthwhile updating of the basic story.
Whether you want to fork out for two full price discs may depend totally on your idea of the casting of the eponymous heroine. When this was broadcast last year, some of my colleagues thought von Otter so wrong they couldn’t watch it through to the end. While I accept she may not be what is expected visually, I think it is short-sighted to not see the whole package. Carmen does dominate, but there is an awful lot going on around her, and David McVicar has managed quite the most intelligent, believable opera production I’ve seen for some time. This is ensemble directing at its best. With von Otter (and everyone else, for that matter) in absolutely superb voice, accompanied by gloriously inspired orchestral playing, this is a musical and visual feast. Sue Judd’s subtle camera work helps the television experience. The BBC packaging is first rate, making an altogether outstanding record of a thrilling event.
-- Tony Haywood, MusicWeb International
, Reviewing original release, Opus Arte 868
Tyberg: Symphony No 2, Piano Sonata No 2 / Bidini, Falletta, Buffalo
Naxos
CD
$19.99
Aug 27, 2013
TYBERG Symphony No. 2. Piano Sonata No. 21 • 1Fabio Bidini (pn); JoAnn Falletta, cond; Buffalo PO • NAXOS 8.572822 (74: 47)
I defy the average educated listener not to call out the name of Anton Bruckner within seconds of the start of Marcel Tyberg’s Second Symphony. The cut of the melodies, the rhythms, the sectional construction, and the scoring are utterly characteristic of the Viennese master—who died in 1896, three years after Tyberg was born. Most curious. That impression continues throughout the first movement, and off and on (but mostly on) throughout the entire symphony. Indeed, the thing that is least Brucknerian about Tyberg’s symphony, which was composed in 1927, is that it is barely 42 minutes long. (To be fair, there’s a bit of Korngold as the symphony reaches its conclusion.) In other words, Tyberg concludes his movements just when Bruckner would have been getting his second wind. I am astonished that Bruckner’s name does not come up once in the entirety of Edward Yadzinski’s booklet note. Perhaps he thought mentioning it would have been the epitome of obviousness. I’m not really suggesting that Tyberg’s Second is on a par with Bruckner’s symphonies—at times it sounds a little awkwardly put together, and too terse—but it is a fascinating, fascinating near miss, and really very enjoyable, and if this disc doesn’t get wide exposure, at least because Tyberg’s unknown symphony is so doggedly familiar (!), then there is no justice in the world. Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic play the heck out of it, by the way, and Naxos’s engineering is lustrous.
The Piano Sonata No. 2 is no less fine. Bruckner wrote no piano sonatas, I believe, but Brahms completed three of them, and there are times when Tyberg’s sturdy, 33-minute sonata sounds as if it is aiming to be “Brahms’s Fourth.” The hyper-masculine opening gesture, for example, and the feminine response that it receives, would hardly be out of place in Brahms. Other influences appear in this sonata, however, including, strangely enough, Szymanowski. Again, call this music derivative if you like, but there’s no escaping that Tyberg’s lack of innovation is not dull but really rather delightful, given the attractiveness of the material. Pianist Bidini makes a very good case for it, playing it with plenty of romantic temperament, and with steely wrists and fingers.
I missed Naxos’s earlier Tyberg release (8.572236) in which his Third Symphony is paired with his Piano Trio. Jerry Dubins and Robert Markow both welcomed it strongly; in fact, it made the latter reviewer’s Want List in 2011. There also was a feature article in Fanfare 34: 2 in which Falletta discussed Tyberg. To make a long story short, Tyberg, who had a Jewish relative several generations back, was a victim of the Nazis and died in 1944. He spent his young years in Vienna, but around the time of the Second Symphony, he relocated to what today is part of Italy. Shortly before his deportation, he entrusted his music manuscripts to a friend, and they were passed on to that friend’s son, who ended up in Buffalo. After spending years trying to interest various conductors in Tyberg’s scores, he finally attracted Falletta’s attention. She recognized the music’s worth, and if a Tyberg revival is in the works, we can thank her, and the efforts of the Marcel Tyberg Musical Legacy Fund of the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies in Buffalo.
Knowing that I have a tendency to be excitable, I don’t want to overdo my praise for this music or for this release, but glorioski, this is enjoyable stuff.
FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle
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Marcel Tyberg’s Second Symphony sounds a bit like Bruckner for people who hate Bruckner. It features thematic material uncannily similar to Tyberg’s Austrian predecessor, only married to a more traditional, pithy approach to form. It lasts just 42 minutes, and so in comparison confirms Bruckner’s own originality, or incompetence, depending on your perspective. There’s nothing here that might make you sit up and say, “Aha, that must be Tyberg,” but it is beautifully scored, well-made music nonetheless. The Adagio is particularly lovely, basically diatonic in harmony, but with tunes that never go exactly where you expect them to. Had Tyberg survived the Second World War and written more in this vein, we might go so far as to call it “personal”.
The Piano Sonata No. 2 dwells squarely in the world of Beethoven and Brahms, but again with remarkable success. It’s a large work in four movements, and even more than in the symphony the centerpiece is an Adagio drawn on a very large scale. The finale, so often the Achilles’ heel in Romantic music, is actually the shortest movement, but full of contrast and quite satisfying, thus revealing that Tyberg’s classical sympathies go beyond mere imitation.
The sonata is very well played by Fabio Bidini, a pianist who takes its challenges in stride and shapes each movement quite effectively. As in the previous release in this series, JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic take charge of the orchestral component, offering a performance of the symphony full of character and conviction. The Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies in Buffalo sponsored this recording through its Marcel Tyberg Musical Legacy Fund. That such a thing even exists is just one of those facts that makes you feel good about life, as does Tyberg’s music. Go for it.
-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
SANTIAGO BROOKLYN SANTIAGO
ZOHO MUSIC
CD
$16.21
Aug 11, 2023
The Santiago Big Band & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra - Santiago Brooklyn Santiago. O'Farrill, the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra pair up with Cuban pianist Marcos Fernandez and Cuba's Santiago Big Band in a historic collaboaration. Santiago, Cuba, is a place where folks know their local culture, lore, and history. A place where buildings have etched brick detailing and names like "Casa Lescay". A place where the arts are beloved, and the Corneta China leads throngs of revelers. A place where young filmmakers, dancers, musicians, writers also begin their careers. A place where your soul is fed by knowledge, community and maduros. Santiago is where I met the Master musician Marcos Fernandez (also known as El Brujo Del Tumbao), at his home. He had a piano and we immediately started playing for each other, together and in a round robin frenzy of pure music bonding. He also gave me a reading with the shells and told me stuff about myself that you could not possibly know unless you were me. Often Santiago is called "the real Cuba". This is probably because it is closer to Cuba's African roots than Havana. The music here is profound and profoundly loved. This is the home of Son, and the practitioners are the originators. La Familia Varela, El Quarteto de Saxofon de Juan Chacon, La Conga de Los Hoyas, these are profoundly gifted, deeply rooted musicians with a command of the most authentic of Cuban musical languages. Rumba, Guaganco, Comparsa, Son, Cha Cha, Mambo, Timba, it's all here and in it's greatest expression. These are the waters in which Marcos swims and in which he excels even beyond what one could expect from a people that excel in all things artistic. This record began as a phone conversation between Marcos and I in which we were looking for ways to collaborate, not an easy thing for two people who play the same instrument. Marcos and I shared musicians from of each of our groups and a true collaboration was given birth. Marcos and his musicians recorded in Santiago and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra recorded in their homes. Guest soloists from each group played on each other's recordings and finally after many months a unique recording was produced. Arturo O'Farrill
