Disc Reviews Index

Reviews published on Audiophile Audition since May 20, 2013:

SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

• GORDON GETTY: Usher House – Christian Elsner, Tenor/Etienne Dupuis, bari./Phillip Ens, Bass/Lisa Delan, sop./Orquesta Gulbenkian/Lawrence Foster – Pentatone
• “Spring Sounds, Spring Seas” = JAMES NYORAKU SCHLEFER: Haru No Umi Redux; Shakuhachi Concerto; DARON HAGEN: Koto Concerto: Genji – James N. Schlefer, shakuhachi/ Yumi Kurosawa, 20-string koto/ Orch. of the Swan/ Kenneth Woods & David Curtis – MSR Classics
• LEOS JANACEK: Glagolitic Mass (Missa Solemnis) (Orig. Version); Taras Bulba – Rhapsody for Orchestra – Radio Sym. Orch./ Mark Janowski; Soloists/Radio Choir Berlin (in Mass) – PentaTone
• Erasmus of Rotterdam: Praise of Folly – La Capella Reial de Catalunya/ Hesperion XXI/ Jordi Savall, viola da gamba & dir. – Alia Vox (6 discs)
• MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde – Alice Coote, mezzo/ Burkhard Fritz, bar./ Netherlands Philharmonic Orch./ Marc Albrecht – Pentatone Classics
• * BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 2 – Orch. de la Suisse Romande/ Marek Janowski – Pentatone Classics
• “Ecstatic Drumbeat – Works for Percussion and Chinese Orchestra” by YIU-KWONG CHUNG, KEIKO ABE; NEBOJŜA JOVAN ŽIVKOVIĆ & TOSHIRO MAYUZUMI – Evelyn Glennie, percussion/Taipei Chinese Orch./En Shao & Yiu-Kwong Chung – BIS
• “Strings Attached” = Works of BRAHMS & SCHUMANN arranged by Geert van Keulen for Arno Piters, clarinet & members of Royal Concertgebouw – Challenge
• DEBUSSY: Preludes, Books I – II – Walter Gieseking, piano – Pristine Audio (plus comparison of CD, SACD & 48/24 FLAC files)
• Hans Olav Gorset and Friends: Popular Music in Eighteenth Century Norway – Nodebog – 2L (audio-only Blu-ray + SACD)
• ROSSINI: Complete Overtures Vol. 1 [TrackList follows] – Prague Sinfonia Orch. & Philharmonic Choir/ Christian Benda – Naxos (audio-only Blu-ray + CD)
• Mosh Pit – One Piano, Four Hands [TrackList follows] – Zofo – Sono Luminus (audio-only Blu-ray + CD)
• MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition – Transcribed for pipe organ – Calvin Hampton – HDTT
• ATTERBERG: “Orchestral Works, Volume 1” = ‘Dollar Symphony’; En värmlandsrapsodi; Suite No. 3; Symphony No. 4 – Gothenburg Sym. Orch. /Neeme Järvi – Chandos
• BACH: Violin Concertos in A Minor & E Major; Concerto for Two Violins in d – Yehudi Menuhin, v./ Robert Masters Ch. Orch./ Christian Ferras, v. /Festival Ch. Orch. (in 1043)/ Menuhin – EMI/ Hi-Q Records
• Rolling Stones – Hot Rocks 1964-1971 – London Records (1971)/ Abkco Records – vinyl
• Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed – London Records (1969)/ABKCO Records – vinyl
• The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet – London Records (1968)/ ABKCO Records – vinyl
• MENDELSSOHN: Piano Trio in D Minor; Piano Trio in C Minor – Trio Alba – Audiomax
• WEBER: Der Freischütz (complete opera) – Soloists/ London Sym. Orch. and Chorus/ Colin Davis – LSO Live (2 discs)
• BRUCKNER: Mass No. 3 in f – Soloists/ Rundfunkchor Berlin/ Orch. de la Suisse Romande/ Marek Janowski – Pentatone
• “Nostalgia: Lyrical Finnish Music for Strings” = Works of SIBELIUS, MARIKANTO, JARNEFELT, KLAMI, others – Ostrobothnian Ch. Orch. – Alba
• Nina Simone – Little Girl Blue – Bethlehem Records/ Pure Pleasure Records – vinyl
• VIVALDI: Dixit Dominus; In furore iustissimae irae; HANDEL: Dixit Dominus; – Lucy Crowe, sop./ La Nuova Musica/ David Bates – Harmonia mundi

Component Reviews

• Pioneer SE-DIR800C Digital Wireless Surround Headphones

Special Features

Classical CD Reviews

• MOZART: In-Between = Sym. No. 23; Jeunehomme Piano Concerto No. 9, 3 other works; SCHULER: Inbetween for String Q. & Orch. – Zazzo/Ch. Orch. of Geneva/ David Greilsammer – Sony Classical
• The Soviet Experience = Vol. III – SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartets 9, 10, 11, 12; WEINBERG: String Quartet No. 6 – Pacifica Q. – Cedille
• SCHMITT: Complete Original Works for Piano Duet, Vol. 3 = Marche du 163 R.I.; Feuillets de voyage, Books I – II; Musiques foraines – The Ivencia Duo – Grand Piano
• HAYDN: Piano Concertos No. 3 in F, No. 4 in G, No. 11 in D – Marc-André Hamelin, p./ Les Violons du Roy/ Bernard Labadie – Hyperion
• PAUL CHIHARA, Vol. 2 = Concerto Piccolo (for four violas); Viola Concerto (in one movement); Redwood (for viola and percussion); Sonata for Viola and Piano – Bridge
  MICHAEL DALMAN COLINA: Baba Yaga, Fantasia for Violin & Orchestra;The Unbearable Lightness of Being; Quinta Del Sordo: Symphonic Poem for Orchestra; Isles of Shoals Concerto for Flute & Orch. – Fleur de Son Classics
• Il Divino: The Lute Music of Francesco da Milano – Paul O’Dette, lute – Harmonia mundi
• VIVIAN ADELBERG RUDOW, “Sound Portraits” = Orchestral, Chamber and Electro-Acoustical music – London Philharmonic Orch./ Jeffrey Silberschlag/ Orch. of St. John’s/ Ronald Mutchnik/ various soloists/ Vivian Adelberg Rudow, electronics – MSR Classics
• Wild Songs = STEVE HEITZEG: Wild Songs; Three Graces for Hildur; Loveblessing; Is Everybody Else Alright?; LORI LAITMAN: Four Emily Dickinson Songs – Polly Butler Cornelius, sop./ Victoria Fischer Faw, piano; Heather Barrington & Patti Cudd, percussion – Innova
• MOERAN: Cello Concerto; Serenade in G; Lonely Waters; Whythorne’s Shadow Guy Johnston, cello/ Rebekah Coffey, sop./ Ulster Orch./ JoAnn Falletta – Naxos
• BACH: Concertos = Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major, BWV 1042; Concerto in D Major, BWV 1053; Vioiln Concerto in A Minor, BWV 1041; Concerto in C Minor, BWV 1060 – Viktoria Mullova, v./ Accademia Bizantina/ Ottavio Dantone – Onyx
• “The Edge of Light” = OLIVIER MESSIAEN: Preludes, Pièce pour piano et quatour à cordes; KAIJA SAARIAHO: Prelude, Ballade, Je sens un deuxième cœur – Gloria Cheng, p./Calder Q. – Harmonia mundi
• KHACHATURIAN: Concerto-Rhapsody in B-flat minor; Sonata-Monologue; LYAPUNOV: Violin Concerto in D minor – Hideko Udagawa, v./ Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Alan Buribayev – Signum Classics
• DOHNÁNYI: “The Complete Solo Piano Music, Vol. 2” = Four Piano Pieces; Variations and Fugue on a Theme of EG; Humoreques; Valeses nobles after Schubert – Martin Roscoe, p. – Hyperion
• GIRARD: Eloge de la folie (In Praise of Folly); Les Noces d’Orphée (The Marriage of Orpheus); L’Effroi de la nuit froide; (Fear of the cold night); Le Circle de la vie (The Circle of Life) – trio – Naxos
• Handel’s Finest Arias for Bass Voice – Christopher Purves, bass/ Arcangelo/ Jonathan Cohen – Hyperion
• The Valley Sings: Choral Music by Composers of the Hudson Valley – Kairos—A Consort of Singers/ Edward Lundergan – MSR Classics
• “Dances of Eternity” = HANS BAKKER: Canzona L’altra Persona, Canzona II: Tribute to the Sun; ANTHONY IANNACCONE: Dancing on Vesuvius; MICHAEL J. EVANS: Into the Woods; MARGARET FAIRLIE-KENNEDY: Summer Solstice; MARK DAL PORTO: Song of Eternity – Moravian Philharmonic Orch./ Jan Kuĉera, & Petr Vronsky, conductors/Moravian Philharmonic Ch. Players/ St. Petersburg State Sym. Orch./Vladimir Lande – Navona
• Opera Fantaisie — BELLINI: Norma: Theme and Variations; TCHAIKOVSKY: Eugene Onegin: Fantasia; BIZET: Carmen: Paraphrase; MEHUL: Je Suis Encore dans mon Printemps: Variations; GOUNOD: Faust: Fantasia; OFFENBACH: Les Contes d’Hoffmann: Fantasia; DONIZETTI: Lucia di Lammermoor: Fantasia – Emmanuel Ceysson, harp – Naïve
• ROTA: Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano; Improvviso in D Minor for Violin and Piano; Toccata for Bassoon and Piano; Sonata in D Major for Clarinet and Piano; Fantasia in G Major – Goran Gojevic, clar./ Mary Kenedi, p./ Lynn Kuo, v./ Winona Zelnka, cello/ Michael Sweeney, bassoon – Naxos
• True North Harp Duo [TrackList follows] – Lynne Aspnes & John Wickey – Soundset Recordings
  Minimal Harp [TrackList follows] – Floraleda Sacchi, concert harp – Decca
• “Vivaldi Con Moto” = VIVALDI: Violin Concerto in E Minor; Violin Concerto in C Major; Concerto in D Major; Concerto in F Major; Concerto in E-flat Major; Concerto in D Minor – Giuliano Carmignola, v. /Accademia Bizantina /Ottavio Dantone – DGG
• WEINBERG: Complete Piano Works 4 — Piano Sonata No. 3; Piano Sonata No. 5; Two Fugues; Piano Sonata No. 6 – Allison Brewster Franzetti, p. – Grand Piano
• Daniel Hope, “Spheres” = Daniel Hope, violin/various soloists /Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin/ Rundfunkchor Berlin/Simon Halsey – DGG
• “Perceptions” = KYLE PETER ROTOLO: String Quartet No. 1, ’Macchiato’; QUINN DIZON: Awakening; AMELIA S. KAPLAN: Insolence; KEVIN McCARTER: Above the Clouds; JASON BARABBA: Rhetorical Devices; THOMAS L. READ: Capricci – New England String Q./var. soloists and ensembles – Navona
• HANDEL: Arrangements for Guitar = Sonata in a, Op. 1/4; Suite No. 8 in D; Suite No. 7 in d – Robert Gruca, guitar – MSR Classics
• GESUALDO: Sacrae Cantiones (Book 2) –Vocalconsort Berlin/ James Wood – Harmonia mundi
• GERSHWIN: Porgy & Bess Selections; Lullaby for String Quartet; KERN: All the Things You Are; The Way You Look Tonight; Bill; The Song is You; Smoke Gets in Your Eyes; Once in a Blue Moon – Joan Enric Lluna, clar./ Alexander String Q.– Foghorn Classics
• “Journeys” — TCHAIKOVSKY: Souvenir de Florence; SCHOENBERG: Transfigured NIght – Emerson String Q. & guests – Sony Classical
• LISZT: Christus (Oratorio, trans. Liszt) – Nicolas Horvath, piano – Edition Hortus
• “Conrad Tao: Voyages” — MONK: Railroad; RACHMANINOV: 5 Preludes; TAO: Vestiges; Iridescence; RAVEL: Gaspard de la Nuit – Conrad Tao, p. – EMI Classics
• DURUFLE: Requiem (organ version); POULENC: Praises of St. Anthony of Padua; MESSIAEN: O Sacrum convivium – Patricia Fernandez, mezzo-sop./ Michel Bouvard, organ/ Les Elements/ Joel Suhubiette – Hortus
• HERMANN SUTER: Symphony in D Minor; WERNER WEHRLI: ‘Chilbizite’ for Orchestra – Aargauer Sym. Orch./ Douglas Bostock – Musiques Suisses
• GABRIEL JACKSON: The Voice of the Bard; Now I have known, O Lord; Missa Triueriensis; O Doctor optime; Thomas, Jewel of Canterbury; Sanctum est verum lumen; Angeli, archangeli; A ship with unfurled sails; Aeterna caeli Gloria; Ave regina caelorum – Kaspars Zemitis, electric guitar (Ave regina caelorum)/ The State Choir Latvija/ Maris Sirmais – Hyperion
• Benjamin Britten: Choral and Organ Music – Luke Bond, organist/ Truro Cathedral Choir/ Christopher Gray – Regent
• BRAHMS: String Quartet in A Minor; Clarinet Quintet in B Minor – Sharon Kam, clarinet/ Jerusalem Q. – Harmonia mundi
• “PROKOFIEV: The War Sonatas 6, 7 and 8” = Piano Sonata No. 6 in A, Op. 82; Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat, Op. 83; Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-flat, Op. 84 – Denis Kozhukhin, piano – Onyx
• “Cross Connection” = HENRY WOLKING: Gone Playin’; The Old Gypsy; JAMES SCOTT BALENTINE: Dùn Èideann Blogh – Moravian Philharmonic Orch./Robert Walzel, clarinet/Eric Stomberg, bassoon/Moravian Phil. String Q.– Navona Records
• BEETHOVEN: A Single Breath = Piano Sonata No. 30 in E Major; Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major; Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor – Beth Levin, p. – Navona Records
• LERA AUERBACH: Celloquy = 24 Preludes for violoncello and piano; Sonata; Postlude – Ani Aznavoorian, cello/Lera Auerbach, p. – Cedille
• Simone Dinnerstein and Tift Merritt – Night – Sony Classical
• BYRD: The Great Service; Praise our Lord, all ye Gentiles; Unto the hills mine eyes I lift; Make ye joy to God all the earth; Turn our captivity, O Lord; This day Christ was born – The Cardinall’s Musick/ Andrew Carwood – Hyperion
• BRITTEN: The Sacred Choral Music = Hymn to St. Cecelia; A Wedding Anthem; Whoso dwelleth; Te Deum in C; Jubilate Deo in E-flat; Hymn to St. Peter; A Ceremony of Carols; Rejoice in the Lamb; Festival Te Deum; Venite exultemus; Jubilate Deo in C; A Hymn to the Virgin; Missa Brevis in D; A Hymn of St. Columba; Prayer I; Prayer II; Antiphon – Choir of New College Oxford/ Edward Higginbottom – Novum
• Conductus 1: Music & Poetry from Thirteenth Century France – John Potter, Christopher O’Gorman, Rogers Covey-Crump, tenors – Hyperion
• BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-flat Major; Piano Sonata No. 14 “Moonlight”; Fantasy in g minor; Piano Sonata No. 24 in F Sharp Major – Jonathan Biss, p. – Onyx
• BRITTEN: Cello Symphony; Cello Sonata in C; Solo Cello Suites 1 – 3; Tema ‘Sacher’ – Alban Gerhardt, cello/ Steven Osborne, p./ BBC Scottish Sym. Orch./ Andrew Manze – Hyperion (2 CDs)
• RACHMANINOV: The Piano Concertos (complete); Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini – Valentina Lusitsa, piano/ London Sym. Orch./ Michael Francis – Decca
• ANTHONY PICCOLO: “Imaginary Symphony & other tales” – Imaginary Symphony No.1; Sonata for Cello Solo; Fever Time; Flûtes de suite; Fanfare-Sonatina for 4 horns – Moravian Philharmonic Orch./Campanella Children’s Ch./Petr Vronsky/Hamelin Children’s Ch./Anthony Piccolo, cond./various soloists – Navona
• JOSEPH BALTHASAR HOCHREITHER: Requiem; Missa Jubilus sacer – Soloists/ St. Florianer Sängerknaben/ Ars Antiqua Austria/ Gunar Letzbor – Pan Classics
• ELGAR: The Apostles – Hallé Orchestra/ Hallé Choir and YouthChoir/soloists/ Sir Mark Elder – Hallé Records (2 CDs)
• JĀNIS MEDIŅŠ: 24 Dainas – Jonathan Powell, piano – Toccata Classics
• HANS GÁL: Symphony No. 2 in F; SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 4 in D Minor – Orch. of the Swan /Kenneth Woods – Avie
• “Rite” = STRAVINSKY: The Rite of Spring; Petrouchka (piano transcriptions) – Jon Kimura Parker, p. – self
• DEBUSSY: Préludes (Orch. by Peter Breiner) – Royal Scottish Nat. Orch./ Jun Märkl – Naxos

Classical Reissue Reviews

• STRAVINSKY: His First Recordings = The Rite of Spring; The Firebird—Suite – Walther Straram Concerts Orch./ Igor Stravinsky – Pristine Audio
• RACHMANINOFF: “The Welte Mignon Mystery Vol. XX” = Morceaux de fantasie; Piano Sonata in B-flat minor; Preludes 1 – 6 Op. 23 & Preludes 5 & 12 Op. 32 – Interpretations on the Welte by Hofmann, Horowitz, Borovsky, Igumnov, Maurina, Pintel, Pouishnoff, Roessel and Strecker – Tacet
• Conductor Evgeny Svetlanov = BEETHOVEN: Leonore Overture No. 3; HAYDN: Symphony in G Major “Military”; TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony in B Minor, “Manfred” – Berlin Philharmonic Orch./ Svetlanov – Testament
• BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, “Eroica”; Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major – New Queen’s Hall Orch./ Sir Henry Wood/ Halle Orch./ Sir Hamilton Harty – Pristine Audio
• SCHUMANN: Cello Concerto in A Minor; BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 1 – Jacqueline du Pre, cello/ Bruno Leonardo Gelber, p./ Berlin Radio-Sym.Orch./ Gerd Albrecht – Audite
• SCHOECK: Violin Concerto “Quasi una fantasia”; GLAZUNOV: Violin Concerto in A Minor – Ursala Bagdasarjanz, v./ Radiochestra Lugano/ Francesco d’Avalos /Leopoldo Casella – Gallo
• CHOPIN: 14 Waltzes; 24 Preludes; Sonata No. 2, “Funeral March”; 12 Etudes, Op. 10 & Op. 25; Trois nouvelles etudes – Robert Lortat, p. – Doremi (2 CDs)
• Renaissance Radio – The Tallis Scholars/ Peter Phillips [TrackList follows] – Gimell (2 CDs)
• DEBUSSY plays DEBUSSY; RAVEL plays RAVEL = DEBUSSY: Children’s Corner; Wind on the Plain; Minstrels; La soiree dans Grenade; Le Plus que Lente; D’un cahier d’esquisses; RAVEL: Sonatine; Noble and Sentimental Waltzes – Claude Debussy, p./ Maurice Ravel, p. – Melodiya
• REGER: Mozart Variations & other works – Concertgebouw, Berlin Philharmonic & other orchestras – Guild (2 CDs)
• MAHLER: Symphony No. 4 in G Major; DUKAS: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – Sena Jurinac, sop./ Vienna Sym. Orch./ Karl Rankl – Guild
• 40 Tracks For 40 Years – Delos’ 40th Anniversary Celebration – [TrackList & performers follows] Delos (3 CDs)

DVD & Blu-ray Reviews

• Broadway Musicals – A Jewish Legacy (2012)
• STRAVINSKY: The Firebird; The Rite of Spring; DEBUSSY: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, cond. by Paavo Järvi, Blu-ray (2012)
• My Neighbor Totoro, Blu-ray (1988/2013)
  Howl’s Moving Castle, Blu-ray (2004/2013)
• A Good Day To Die Hard, Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy (2013)
• MAHLER: Symphony No. 4 cond. by Chailly, Blu-ray (2013)
• Oz the Great and Powerful 3D, Blu-ray (2013)
• Rolling Stones – Crossfire Hurricane, Blu-ray (2013)
• French Masterworks – Russian Emigrés in Paris: 1923-28 (2013)
• Big Joy – The Adventures of James Broughton (2013)
• Frank Zappa – A Token of His Extreme (1974/2013)
• Cloud Atlas (Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy) (2012/2013)
• Cleopatra (50th Anniversary Digibook), Blu-ray (1963/2013)
• Grant Geissman Quintet – There and Back Again (2004)
• MAHLER: Complete Symphonies 1 – 10; etc. – Royal Concertgebouw Orch. (various conductors), Blu-ray (2013, 11 discs)
• Last Shop Standing – The Rise, Fall And Rebirth Of The Independent Record Shop (2013)

DualDisc Reviews

• GORDON GETTY: Usher House – Christian Elsner, Tenor/Etienne Dupuis, bari./Phillip Ens, Bass/Lisa Delan, sop./Orquesta Gulbenkian/Lawrence Foster – Pentatone
• “Spring Sounds, Spring Seas” = JAMES NYORAKU SCHLEFER: Haru No Umi Redux; Shakuhachi Concerto; DARON HAGEN: Koto Concerto: Genji – James N. Schlefer, shakuhachi/ Yumi Kurosawa, 20-string koto/ Orch. of the Swan/ Kenneth Woods & David Curtis – MSR Classics
• MOZART: In-Between = Sym. No. 23; Jeunehomme Piano Concerto No. 9, 3 other works; SCHULER: Inbetween for String Q. & Orch. – Zazzo/Ch. Orch. of Geneva/ David Greilsammer – Sony Classical
• Pierre Swärd Organ Jazz ‘N Soul Group – Slow But Fast – Prophone
• The Soviet Experience = Vol. III – SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartets 9, 10, 11, 12; WEINBERG: String Quartet No. 6 – Pacifica Q. – Cedille
• Audio News for June 18, 2013
• Bill Frisell – Big Sur – Okeh
• Broadway Musicals – A Jewish Legacy (2012)
• STRAVINSKY: The Firebird; The Rite of Spring; DEBUSSY: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, cond. by Paavo Järvi, Blu-ray (2012)
• LEOS JANACEK: Glagolitic Mass (Missa Solemnis) (Orig. Version); Taras Bulba – Rhapsody for Orchestra – Radio Sym. Orch./ Mark Janowski; Soloists/Radio Choir Berlin (in Mass) – PentaTone
• STRAVINSKY: His First Recordings = The Rite of Spring; The Firebird—Suite – Walther Straram Concerts Orch./ Igor Stravinsky – Pristine Audio
• SCHMITT: Complete Original Works for Piano Duet, Vol. 3 = Marche du 163 R.I.; Feuillets de voyage, Books I – II; Musiques foraines – The Ivencia Duo – Grand Piano
• Harris Eisenstadt and September Trio – The Destructive Element – Clean Feed
• My Neighbor Totoro, Blu-ray (1988/2013)
  Howl’s Moving Castle, Blu-ray (2004/2013)
• RACHMANINOFF: “The Welte Mignon Mystery Vol. XX” = Morceaux de fantasie; Piano Sonata in B-flat minor; Preludes 1 – 6 Op. 23 & Preludes 5 & 12 Op. 32 – Interpretations on the Welte by Hofmann, Horowitz, Borovsky, Igumnov, Maurina, Pintel, Pouishnoff, Roessel and Strecker – Tacet
• A Good Day To Die Hard, Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy (2013)
• Conductor Evgeny Svetlanov = BEETHOVEN: Leonore Overture No. 3; HAYDN: Symphony in G Major “Military”; TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony in B Minor, “Manfred” – Berlin Philharmonic Orch./ Svetlanov – Testament
• Erasmus of Rotterdam: Praise of Folly – La Capella Reial de Catalunya/ Hesperion XXI/ Jordi Savall, viola da gamba & dir. – Alia Vox (6 discs)
• Curtis Hasselbring – Number Stations – Cuneiform RUNE
• HAYDN: Piano Concertos No. 3 in F, No. 4 in G, No. 11 in D – Marc-André Hamelin, p./ Les Violons du Roy/ Bernard Labadie – Hyperion
• PAUL CHIHARA, Vol. 2 = Concerto Piccolo (for four violas); Viola Concerto (in one movement); Redwood (for viola and percussion); Sonata for Viola and Piano – Bridge
  MICHAEL DALMAN COLINA: Baba Yaga, Fantasia for Violin & Orchestra;The Unbearable Lightness of Being; Quinta Del Sordo: Symphonic Poem for Orchestra; Isles of Shoals Concerto for Flute & Orch. – Fleur de Son Classics
• VIVIAN ADELBERG RUDOW, “Sound Portraits” = Orchestral, Chamber and Electro-Acoustical music – London Philharmonic Orch./ Jeffrey Silberschlag/ Orch. of St. John’s/ Ronald Mutchnik/ various soloists/ Vivian Adelberg Rudow, electronics – MSR Classics
• Il Divino: The Lute Music of Francesco da Milano – Paul O’Dette, lute – Harmonia mundi
• BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, “Eroica”; Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major – New Queen’s Hall Orch./ Sir Henry Wood/ Halle Orch./ Sir Hamilton Harty – Pristine Audio
• The World According to Andy Bey – High Note Records
• Wild Songs = STEVE HEITZEG: Wild Songs; Three Graces for Hildur; Loveblessing; Is Everybody Else Alright?; LORI LAITMAN: Four Emily Dickinson Songs – Polly Butler Cornelius, sop./ Victoria Fischer Faw, piano; Heather Barrington & Patti Cudd, percussion – Innova
• MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde – Alice Coote, mezzo/ Burkhard Fritz, bar./ Netherlands Philharmonic Orch./ Marc Albrecht – Pentatone Classics
• MOERAN: Cello Concerto; Serenade in G; Lonely Waters; Whythorne’s Shadow Guy Johnston, cello/ Rebekah Coffey, sop./ Ulster Orch./ JoAnn Falletta – Naxos
• Audio News for June 14, 2013
• BACH: Concertos = Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major, BWV 1042; Concerto in D Major, BWV 1053; Vioiln Concerto in A Minor, BWV 1041; Concerto in C Minor, BWV 1060 – Viktoria Mullova, v./ Accademia Bizantina/ Ottavio Dantone – Onyx
• * BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 2 – Orch. de la Suisse Romande/ Marek Janowski – Pentatone Classics
• “The Edge of Light” = OLIVIER MESSIAEN: Preludes, Pièce pour piano et quatour à cordes; KAIJA SAARIAHO: Prelude, Ballade, Je sens un deuxième cœur – Gloria Cheng, p./Calder Q. – Harmonia mundi
• KHACHATURIAN: Concerto-Rhapsody in B-flat minor; Sonata-Monologue; LYAPUNOV: Violin Concerto in D minor – Hideko Udagawa, v./ Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Alan Buribayev – Signum Classics
• DOHNÁNYI: “The Complete Solo Piano Music, Vol. 2” = Four Piano Pieces; Variations and Fugue on a Theme of EG; Humoreques; Valeses nobles after Schubert – Martin Roscoe, p. – Hyperion
• MAHLER: Symphony No. 4 cond. by Chailly, Blu-ray (2013)
• GIRARD: Eloge de la folie (In Praise of Folly); Les Noces d’Orphée (The Marriage of Orpheus); L’Effroi de la nuit froide; (Fear of the cold night); Le Circle de la vie (The Circle of Life) – trio – Naxos
• “Ecstatic Drumbeat – Works for Percussion and Chinese Orchestra” by YIU-KWONG CHUNG, KEIKO ABE; NEBOJŜA JOVAN ŽIVKOVIĆ & TOSHIRO MAYUZUMI – Evelyn Glennie, percussion/Taipei Chinese Orch./En Shao & Yiu-Kwong Chung – BIS
• “Strings Attached” = Works of BRAHMS & SCHUMANN arranged by Geert van Keulen for Arno Piters, clarinet & members of Royal Concertgebouw – Challenge
• Oz the Great and Powerful 3D, Blu-ray (2013)
• Frank Wess – Magic 101 – IPO Recordings
• Handel’s Finest Arias for Bass Voice – Christopher Purves, bass/ Arcangelo/ Jonathan Cohen – Hyperion
• DEBUSSY: Preludes, Books I – II – Walter Gieseking, piano – Pristine Audio (plus comparison of CD, SACD & 48/24 FLAC files)
• Bob Mover – My Heart Tells Me – Motema Music (2 CDs)
• The Valley Sings: Choral Music by Composers of the Hudson Valley – Kairos—A Consort of Singers/ Edward Lundergan – MSR Classics
• Audio News for June 11, 2013
• “Dances of Eternity” = HANS BAKKER: Canzona L’altra Persona, Canzona II: Tribute to the Sun; ANTHONY IANNACCONE: Dancing on Vesuvius; MICHAEL J. EVANS: Into the Woods; MARGARET FAIRLIE-KENNEDY: Summer Solstice; MARK DAL PORTO: Song of Eternity – Moravian Philharmonic Orch./ Jan Kuĉera, & Petr Vronsky, conductors/Moravian Philharmonic Ch. Players/ St. Petersburg State Sym. Orch./Vladimir Lande – Navona
• SCHUMANN: Cello Concerto in A Minor; BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 1 – Jacqueline du Pre, cello/ Bruno Leonardo Gelber, p./ Berlin Radio-Sym.Orch./ Gerd Albrecht – Audite
• Rolling Stones – Crossfire Hurricane, Blu-ray (2013)
• Hans Olav Gorset and Friends: Popular Music in Eighteenth Century Norway – Nodebog – 2L (audio-only Blu-ray + SACD)
• SCHOECK: Violin Concerto “Quasi una fantasia”; GLAZUNOV: Violin Concerto in A Minor – Ursala Bagdasarjanz, v./ Radiochestra Lugano/ Francesco d’Avalos /Leopoldo Casella – Gallo
• Alex Cline – For People in Sorrow – Cryptogramophone (CD + DVD)
• Opera Fantaisie — BELLINI: Norma: Theme and Variations; TCHAIKOVSKY: Eugene Onegin: Fantasia; BIZET: Carmen: Paraphrase; MEHUL: Je Suis Encore dans mon Printemps: Variations; GOUNOD: Faust: Fantasia; OFFENBACH: Les Contes d’Hoffmann: Fantasia; DONIZETTI: Lucia di Lammermoor: Fantasia – Emmanuel Ceysson, harp – Naïve
• Luke Celenza – Back & Forth – Qualità Productions
• French Masterworks – Russian Emigrés in Paris: 1923-28 (2013)
• ROTA: Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano; Improvviso in D Minor for Violin and Piano; Toccata for Bassoon and Piano; Sonata in D Major for Clarinet and Piano; Fantasia in G Major – Goran Gojevic, clar./ Mary Kenedi, p./ Lynn Kuo, v./ Winona Zelnka, cello/ Michael Sweeney, bassoon – Naxos
• True North Harp Duo [TrackList follows] – Lynne Aspnes & John Wickey – Soundset Recordings
  Minimal Harp [TrackList follows] – Floraleda Sacchi, concert harp – Decca
• Michel Camilo, piano – What’s Up? – Okeh
  Florian Ross – Front Room Songs (Duets for Piano & Hammond Organ) – Fuhrwerk Musik
• ROSSINI: Complete Overtures Vol. 1 [TrackList follows] – Prague Sinfonia Orch. & Philharmonic Choir/ Christian Benda – Naxos (audio-only Blu-ray + CD)
• Audio News for June 7, 2013
• “Vivaldi Con Moto” = VIVALDI: Violin Concerto in E Minor; Violin Concerto in C Major; Concerto in D Major; Concerto in F Major; Concerto in E-flat Major; Concerto in D Minor – Giuliano Carmignola, v. /Accademia Bizantina /Ottavio Dantone – DGG
• Bill Harris – The Bill Harris Quintet – This Time the Dream’s on Me – Pensativa Music
• Mosh Pit – One Piano, Four Hands [TrackList follows] – Zofo – Sono Luminus (audio-only Blu-ray + CD)
• WEINBERG: Complete Piano Works 4 — Piano Sonata No. 3; Piano Sonata No. 5; Two Fugues; Piano Sonata No. 6 – Allison Brewster Franzetti, p. – Grand Piano
• Big Joy – The Adventures of James Broughton (2013)
• MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition – Transcribed for pipe organ – Calvin Hampton – HDTT
• ATTERBERG: “Orchestral Works, Volume 1” = ‘Dollar Symphony’; En värmlandsrapsodi; Suite No. 3; Symphony No. 4 – Gothenburg Sym. Orch. /Neeme Järvi – Chandos
• BACH: Violin Concertos in A Minor & E Major; Concerto for Two Violins in d – Yehudi Menuhin, v./ Robert Masters Ch. Orch./ Christian Ferras, v. /Festival Ch. Orch. (in 1043)/ Menuhin – EMI/ Hi-Q Records
• Daniel Hope, “Spheres” = Daniel Hope, violin/various soloists /Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin/ Rundfunkchor Berlin/Simon Halsey – DGG
• “Perceptions” = KYLE PETER ROTOLO: String Quartet No. 1, ’Macchiato’; QUINN DIZON: Awakening; AMELIA S. KAPLAN: Insolence; KEVIN McCARTER: Above the Clouds; JASON BARABBA: Rhetorical Devices; THOMAS L. READ: Capricci – New England String Q./var. soloists and ensembles – Navona
• Rolling Stones – Hot Rocks 1964-1971 – London Records (1971)/ Abkco Records – vinyl
• HANDEL: Arrangements for Guitar = Sonata in a, Op. 1/4; Suite No. 8 in D; Suite No. 7 in d – Robert Gruca, guitar – MSR Classics
• The Verve Jazz Ensemble – It’s About Time
• Pioneer SE-DIR800C Digital Wireless Surround Headphones
• Frank Zappa – A Token of His Extreme (1974/2013)
• Audio News for June 4, 2013
• GESUALDO: Sacrae Cantiones (Book 2) –Vocalconsort Berlin/ James Wood – Harmonia mundi
• GERSHWIN: Porgy & Bess Selections; Lullaby for String Quartet; KERN: All the Things You Are; The Way You Look Tonight; Bill; The Song is You; Smoke Gets in Your Eyes; Once in a Blue Moon – Joan Enric Lluna, clar./ Alexander String Q.– Foghorn Classics
• “Journeys” — TCHAIKOVSKY: Souvenir de Florence; SCHOENBERG: Transfigured NIght – Emerson String Q. & guests – Sony Classical
• “Conrad Tao: Voyages” — MONK: Railroad; RACHMANINOV: 5 Preludes; TAO: Vestiges; Iridescence; RAVEL: Gaspard de la Nuit – Conrad Tao, p. – EMI Classics
• LISZT: Christus (Oratorio, trans. Liszt) – Nicolas Horvath, piano – Edition Hortus
• Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed – London Records (1969)/ABKCO Records – vinyl
• The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet – London Records (1968)/ ABKCO Records – vinyl
• CHOPIN: 14 Waltzes; 24 Preludes; Sonata No. 2, “Funeral March”; 12 Etudes, Op. 10 & Op. 25; Trois nouvelles etudes – Robert Lortat, p. – Doremi (2 CDs)
• DURUFLE: Requiem (organ version); POULENC: Praises of St. Anthony of Padua; MESSIAEN: O Sacrum convivium – Patricia Fernandez, mezzo-sop./ Michel Bouvard, organ/ Les Elements/ Joel Suhubiette – Hortus
• Soft Machine Legacy – Burden of Proof – MoonJune
• Cloud Atlas (Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy) (2012/2013)
• Cleopatra (50th Anniversary Digibook), Blu-ray (1963/2013)
• Home Page for June 2013
• Audio News for May 31, 2013
• Editorial for June 2013
• Byron Janis, piano – The Complete RCA Album Collection = Works of BEETHOVEN, SCHUBERT, CHOPIN, GERSHWIN, BRAHMS, SCHUMANN, RACHMANINOV, MUSSORGSKY, J. STRAUSS, LISZT & GROFE – with Chicago, Boston, Hugo Winterhalter orchestras – RCA (11 CDs + 1 DVD)
• HERMANN SUTER: Symphony in D Minor; WERNER WEHRLI: ‘Chilbizite’ for Orchestra – Aargauer Sym. Orch./ Douglas Bostock – Musiques Suisses
• Renaissance Radio – The Tallis Scholars/ Peter Phillips [TrackList follows] – Gimell (2 CDs)
• MENDELSSOHN: Piano Trio in D Minor; Piano Trio in C Minor – Trio Alba – Audiomax
• DEBUSSY plays DEBUSSY; RAVEL plays RAVEL = DEBUSSY: Children’s Corner; Wind on the Plain; Minstrels; La soiree dans Grenade; Le Plus que Lente; D’un cahier d’esquisses; RAVEL: Sonatine; Noble and Sentimental Waltzes – Claude Debussy, p./ Maurice Ravel, p. – Melodiya
• The Moody Blues – Threshold of a Dream – Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 (2013)
  The Moody Blues – Live at Montreux 1991
• GABRIEL JACKSON: The Voice of the Bard; Now I have known, O Lord; Missa Triueriensis; O Doctor optime; Thomas, Jewel of Canterbury; Sanctum est verum lumen; Angeli, archangeli; A ship with unfurled sails; Aeterna caeli Gloria; Ave regina caelorum – Kaspars Zemitis, electric guitar (Ave regina caelorum)/ The State Choir Latvija/ Maris Sirmais – Hyperion
• Benjamin Britten: Choral and Organ Music – Luke Bond, organist/ Truro Cathedral Choir/ Christopher Gray – Regent
• BRAHMS: String Quartet in A Minor; Clarinet Quintet in B Minor – Sharon Kam, clarinet/ Jerusalem Q. – Harmonia mundi
• “PROKOFIEV: The War Sonatas 6, 7 and 8” = Piano Sonata No. 6 in A, Op. 82; Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat, Op. 83; Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-flat, Op. 84 – Denis Kozhukhin, piano – Onyx

Pop/Rock/World CD Reviews

• Soft Machine Legacy – Burden of Proof – MoonJune

Jazz CD Reviews

• Pierre Swärd Organ Jazz ‘N Soul Group – Slow But Fast – Prophone
• Bill Frisell – Big Sur – Okeh
• Harris Eisenstadt and September Trio – The Destructive Element – Clean Feed
• Curtis Hasselbring – Number Stations – Cuneiform RUNE
• The World According to Andy Bey – High Note Records
• Frank Wess – Magic 101 – IPO Recordings
• Bob Mover – My Heart Tells Me – Motema Music (2 CDs)
• Luke Celenza – Back & Forth – Qualità Productions
• Michel Camilo, piano – What’s Up? – Okeh
  Florian Ross – Front Room Songs (Duets for Piano & Hammond Organ) – Fuhrwerk Musik
• Bill Harris – The Bill Harris Quintet – This Time the Dream’s on Me – Pensativa Music
• The Verve Jazz Ensemble – It’s About Time
• Michael Feinstein – Change Of Heart – The Songs Of André Previn – Telarc
• Gilad Hekselman – This Just In – Jazz Village
• Mac Gollehon — La Fama – American Showplace Music
• Dave Lalama – The Dave Lalama Big Band – The Hofstra Project
• Joshua Kwassman – Songs of the Brother Spirit – Songs of the Brother Spirit True Revolution/ Squareast

See more reviews in the archives