http://www.audaud.com DVD Reviews, CD Reviews, SACD Reviews - Audiophile Audition en-us http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6052 European Union Standardizes Cell Phone Chargers - Digital Europe, a trade group representing manufacturers of mobile devices, got some of the biggest names in the industry (over 90% of European sales) to sign an agreement to standardize on a universal charger for all such devices. Their next step is working on a charger for laptops as well. The E.U. previously standardized AC plugs and speaker connections on audio components.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we had similar standards in the U.S.? How... 07/03/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6050 The Boondock Saints, Blu-ray (1999)Starring: Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco, Billy Connolly Directed by: Troy Duffy Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Video: 2.35:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 1080p HD Audio: English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Lossless Audio Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish Special Features: Audio commentary track with director Troy Duffy; audio commentary track with actor Billy Connolly; theatrical and extended movie versions; seven... 07/01/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6049 Welcome to Adobe GoLive 6 Our July drawing/giveaway is for one of the enhanced double-CD packages from Columbia/Legacy of The 50th Anniversary Editions of three great jazz classics: Dave Brubeck's Time Out, Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain, or Charles Mingus' Mungus Ah Um.  All three were landmark recorded jazz statements of 1959 - jazz's greatest year - and the Brubeck set comes with an exclusive DVD video of Dave, including a piano lesson. Six Audiophile Audition readers who ... 07/01/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6048 Ooma Voice-Over-IP System Now at Radio Shack - The Radio Shack chain now handles the ooma system phone device that operates with existing home phones and a broadband connection.  It consists of an ooma Hub to connect to the Internet plus ooma Scout, which extends the system to additional phone jacks. The basic hardware bundle is $250 and there are optional higher levels of service offering advanced telephony features for the system. The basic ooma system allows free calls anywhere in the U.... 07/01/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6047 The Celtic Viol = Airs and Dances by O’Carolan, Simon Fraser, Niel Gow, James Macpheson, William Marshall, and traditional Irish and Scottish – Jordi Savall, Treble Viols/ Andrew Lawrence-King, Irish Harp and Psalterium – AliaVox Multichannel SACD AVSA 9865, 75:53 ***** [Distr. by Harmonia mundi]: Jordi Savall has finally turned his mind to Scottish and Celtic music which he first encountered in 1975, and has become increasingly enamored of ever since. Please bear in mind that this is not music... 06/30/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6046 HAYDN: The Creation (in German) – Sally Matthew (Gabriel, Eva)/ Ian Bostridge (Uriel)/ Dietrich Henschel (Raphael, Adam)/ London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus/ Colin Davis, conductor – LSO Live Multichannel SACD 0628 (2 discs), 102:49 ***** [Distr. by Harmonia mundi]: Because of Haydn’s two earlier visits to London in the 1790s, and his exposure to Handelian oratorios, we have, providentially, this masterly work of the same genre that really has no predecessors in the composer’s catalog. 40 yea... 06/30/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6045 Michael Rabin Collection, Vol. 2 = BRAHMS: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 77; PROKOFIEV: Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63; WIENIAWSKI: Violin Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp Major, Op. 14; First Movement (second performance)/BRUCH: Violin Concert in G Minor, Op. 26; MOHAUPT: Violin Concerto; CRESTON: Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 78; BACH: Double Concerto in D Minor: first movement; MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto in E Minor: third movement; MASSENET: Elegie; BRAHMS: Contemplation; KREISLER: Caprice Vien... 06/30/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6044 Clara Haskil, piano = MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 19 in F Major, K. 459; Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466 (two performances); SCHUMANN: Bunte Blaetter, Op. 99: 3 Pieces; Albumblatter; Abegg Variations, Op. 1; BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58 - Clara Haskil, piano/RIAS Symphony Orchestra/ Ferenc Fricsay/Dean Dixon (Beethoven) Audite 23.421 (2 CDs) 71:57; 61:42 mono [Distr. by Albany] ****: Recordings from the studio and the concert hall 1953-1954 by the inimitable Clara... 06/30/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6043 Jon Balke & Amina Alaoui - Siwan - ECM 2042, 1 hour [Release date: June 30, 09] ****:(Amina Alaoui, vocals; Jon Hassell, trumpet & electronics; Kheir Eddine M’Kachiche, violin; Jon Balke, keyboards & conductor; Helge Norbakken percussion; Pedram Khavar Zamini, zarb; Baroque Soloists/Bjarte Eike, violin & leader) While clearly in the world music/jazz area, this Jon Balke release seems so strongly world music that I thought it should be in this area. The Arabic poems are adaptatio... 06/30/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6042 Scotty Barnhart - Say It Plain - DIG 137, 1.1 hours *****:(Scotty Barnhart, trumpet; guest trumpeters: Clark Terry (tr. 12), Wynton Marsalis (tr.7); pianists: Ellis Marsalis, Marcus Roberts, Lindsey Sarjeant, Bill Peterson, Bruce Barth; Jamie Davis, vocal (tr. 9); others) We seem to be getting in a number of jazz releases packed with guest artists; it does add more interest and variety to albums.  In addition to the bevy of trumpeters and pianists, this one adds both recording and editing ... 06/30/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6041 Joey Peró - “Resonance” (self-published, no #), 52.7 minutes ****:(Joey Peró, trumpet; Adam Nussbaum, drums; Andy Snitzer, tenor sax; Artie Reynolds, bass guitar; Bill Moring, upright bass; Paul Livant, guitar; Peter Rish, piano; Ralph Rolle, drums; Robert Walker, clarinet; Roger Rosenberg, baritone sax; Stephanie Cummins, cello; guest vocalists: Freddy Cole, Daryl Sherman, Phoebe Snow, Jack Antonoff) Young Peró is a virtuoso trumpeter, trained at Julliard, who played at Obama’s inauguration. H... 06/30/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6040 VINCENT D’INDY: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2 = Symphony No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 57; Tableaux de voyage, Op. 36; Karadec, Op. 34 - Iceland Symphony Orchestra/Rumon Gamba - Chandos CHAN 10514, 72:52 [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Almost forgotten except for the “singular success” of his 1886 Symphony on a French Mountain Air, Op. 25, Vincent D’Indy (1851-1931) remained an active composer, musicologist, educator, and conductor, despite the paucity of performances of his remaining oeuvre. Dimitri Mitropoul... 06/29/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6039 Three Violinists play BACH = Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, BWV 1041; Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major, BWV 1042; Double Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1043; Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C Minor, BWV 1060 - Devy Erlih, violin (A Minor and D Minor)/Henri Merckel, violin (E Major and D Minor)/Reinhold Barchet, violin/Kurt Kalmus, oboe/The Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra/Kurt Redel Opus Kura OPK 7043, 67:49 [Distrib. by Albany] ****:
 Taken from a Ducretet Thomson LP, these transfers, c. mid-1... 06/29/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6038 RUED LANGGAARD: Messis - Flemming Dreisig, Copenhagen Cathedral Organ - DaCapo multichannel SACDs (2 discs) 6.220528-29, 56:4, 68:56 ***** [Distr. by Naxos]:Rued Langgaard (1893-1952) was something of a musical teenage delinquent in Denmark’s musical scene; for some years his music languished nearly forgotten until it was reassessed in the 1960s. No one has done more to rehabilitate Langgaard than Bengt Viinholt Nielsen, author of the fine essay accompanying this release. Messis, which means ... 06/29/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6037 Inside Man, Blu-ray (2006/2009) Starring: Denzel Washington, Clive Own, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer, Willem Dafoe, Chiwetel Ejiofor Director: Spike Lee Studio: Universal Pictures Video: 2:35:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 16:9 1080p HD Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; French, German, Castilian, Spanish, L.A. Spanish (!), Japanese, Korean, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Traditional Mandarin, Greek Subtitles: English SDH; French, German, Castilian, Spanish, L.A. Spani... 06/28/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6036 Fricsay: Music Transfigured - Remembering Ferenc Fricsay--Une vie trop breve Director: Gerald Caillet Studio: Medici Arts DVD 3078528 [Distrib. by Naxos] Video: 4:3 Black&White and Color Audio: German PCM Stereo Subtitles: English Length: 51 minutes; Bonus tracks - ROSSINI: La Scala di seta Overture; BEETHOVEN: Leonore Overture No. 3 (23 minutes) Rating: **** From beneath the stage, the late Hungarian conductor Ferenc Fricsay (1914-1963) emerges, smiles congenially to his ensemble,... 06/28/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6035 HANDEL: Sonatas for Recorder and Harpsichord – Heiko ter Schegget, recorder/ Zvi Meniker, harpsichord – MDG Multichannel SACD 905 1564-6, 63:45 ****: [Distr. by Koch] Early in his career, Handel, under the not-too stringent requirements of his patrons, and well before his fecund period of opera writing began, wrote a lot instrumental music. These works are perhaps the most “German” of his entire career, offering him a chance to glory in the strictest counterpoint and richest environment for emb... 06/28/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6034 MOZART: Piano Concertos No. 5 in D, KV 175; No. 8 in C, KV 246; No. 23 in A, KV 488 – Christian Zacharias, piano/ Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne – MDG Multichannel SACD 940 1562-6, 66:23 ****: [Distr. by Koch] We have now reached Volume 5 of MDG’s estimable series of Mozart piano concertos with Christian Zacharias, the first such SACD series to my knowledge [there is a so-so bargain boxed set on Brilliant Classics...Ed.], and a highly worthy effort. There is some backtracking to the early concer... 06/28/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6033 Woodstock - 3 Days of Peace and Music - 40th-Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition - Director’s Cut, Blu-ray (1969/2009) Director: Michael Wadleigh Performers: Joan Baez, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Canned Heat, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joe Cocker, Country Joe McDonald and The Fish, Crosby Stills & Nash, Grateful Dead, Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Mountain, Santana, John Sebastian, Sha Na Na, Sly & The Family Stone, Ten Years Aft... 06/28/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6032 Mordecai Shehori plays SCHUMANN and LISZT--The Poet and the Visionary = SCHUMANN: Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18; Widmung (arr. Liszt); Sonata in G Minor, Op. 22; LISZT: Harmonies du Soir; Saint Francis of Assisi's Sermon of the Birds; Ballade No. 2 - Mordecai Shehori, piano Cembal d’amour CD 135, 68:37 [Distrib. by Qualiton] ****: The recital at Alice Tully Hall (8 June 1995), devoted to Schumann and Liszt, featured Mordecai Shehori’s attempting to project the dualisms that pervade these two Rom... 06/27/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6030 GOUE: Troisieme Quatour; Sonate pour violon et piano - Quatour Loewenguth/Alfred Loewenguth, violin/Francoise Doreau, piano Azur Classical AZC 081, 45:27 mono [Distrib. by recitalmedia.com] ****: Emile Goue (1904-1946) studied with Charles Koechlin and received considerable support from Albert Roussel. From having auditioned his Third Quartet (1945), I discern a post-Romantic voice heavily indebted to the formalism of Franck and D‘Indy, with modal inclinations and strong, melodic aspirations... 06/27/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6029 ARENSKY: Violin Concerto in A minor; TANEYEV: Suite de concert - Ilya Gringolts, violin/ BBC Scottish Sym. Orch./ Ilan Volkov, conductor - Hyperion CDA67642, 60:18 **** [Distr. by Harmonia mundi]: Hyperion's illustrious series showcasing the Romantic Violin Concerto continues with the juxtaposition of two Russian works, each written by a composer with a close connection to Tchaikovsky and each one dedicated - as Tchaikovsky's own violin concerto had been - to the masterful violinist and teacher... 06/27/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6028 "The Thrill of the Chase" = BACH: Toccata and Fugue in D minor; Prelude and Fugue in D; Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor; Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C; Fantasia and Fugue in G minor – Florence Mustric, organ – MSR 1271, 65:23 ***1/2: This is volume 2 of Mustric’s series on the Rudolph von Beckerath organ at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cleveland. This versatile instrument is approaching the refurbishing stage, and these recordings are designed to show off the pre-restorat... 06/27/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6027 SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 1 in D; No. 3 in D; No. 7 (8) in b minor – Bamberg Symphony/ Jonathan Nott, conductor – Tudor multichannel SACD 7141, 79:07 ****1/2 [Distr. by Naxos]: This is the concluding SACD of Jonathan Nott’s path breaking first surround sound edition of the complete Schubert Symphonies. As you can see by the header, they are using (as did Harnoncourt) the revised numbering system so that the famous “Unfinished” becomes No. 7. Well, we will see if that catches on. The revisions to D... 06/27/2009 http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6026 JACOB GADE: Jealousy - Suites, Tangos and Waltzes = Jalousie; Leda and the Swan; Suite D’Amour; Rhapsodietta; Romanesca (Tango); Wedding at Himmelpind - Rustic Suite; Valse Capriccio; Copenhagen Life Waltz; Douces Secrets - Valse Lente - Odense Symphony Orchestra/Matthias Aeschbacher - DaCapo multichannel SACD 6.220509, 66:42 [Distr. by Naxos] *****: Danish composer and violinist Gade, who lived until 1963, is immortalized by his catchy tango Jealousy - which 78 rpm recording by the Boston Pops... 06/27/2009