Lesser and Paik make a serendipitous partnership in the survey of the Beethoven sonatas, with a wonderful supplementary visual record to commemorate the proceedings. 20 Aug 2010, 12:00 am

BEETHOVEN: The Complete Music for Cello and Piano = 12 Variations on a Theme from Handel’s Judas Maccabeus; 7 Variations in E-flat Major on Bei Maennern welch Liebe fuehlen from The Magic Flute; 12 Variations on Ein Maedchen oder Weibchen from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Op. 66; Sonata in F Major, Op. 5, No. 1; Sonata in G Minor, Op. 5, No. 2; Sonata in A Major, Op. 69; Sonata in C Major, Op. 102, No. 1; Sonata in D Major, Op. 102, No. 2 - Laurence Lesser, cello/Haesun Paik, piano - Bridge 9329A/C...

Hamilton de Holanda Quintet – Brasilianos 2 – Adventure Music CD + DVD 5 Aug 2010, 12:00 am

Hamilton de Holanda Quintet – Brasilianos 2 – Adventure Music AM 1055 – CD: 61:48; DVD (PCM stereo): 72:42 *****: If you haven’t had the pleasure of discovering Hamilton De Holanda and his quintet, “Brasilianos 2” is the perfect way to find out about what is happening to jazz in South America through one of the best musicians living and working in Brazil today. “Brasilianos 2” is also a flat-out stunning achievement and deserves a spot on every jazz enthusiast’s shelf. De Holanda is a virtuos...

SCHUBERT: Die Schone Mullerin – Barbara Hendricks, soprano/ Roland Pontinen, piano – Arte Verum 3 Aug 2010, 12:00 am

SCHUBERT: Die Schone Mullerin – Barbara Hendricks, soprano/ Roland Pontinen, piano – Arte Verum 008 (+ DVD of interviews and Winterreise selections), CD: 61:24 *** [Distr. by Allegro]: Hendricks fan that I am, I approached this disc with a little trepidation; I can’t think of one soprano offhand (though there are a few I am sure) that has tackled Schubert’s miller-girl obsessed wanderer. Hendricks admits in the notes that she avoided these pieces for years, even though her own love-affair wit...

“IK!” (I) - Nederlands Blazers Ensemble with guests and young composers, Live at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam New Years Day 2010 - CD + DVD NBE Live/Vara 1 Aug 2010, 12:00 am

“IK!” (I) - Nederlands Blazers Ensemble with guests and young composers, Live at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam New Years Day 2010 - CD + DVD NBE Live/Vara NBCCD025, CD: 76:45, DVD: 94:00 [Distr. by Allegro] ****: Fascinating, exciting and frustrating at the same time. Amsterdam is the home base for the most unbelievable mixes of classical, jazz, folk, electronic, pop, avant-garde, circus, early music - you name it. If I were a young musician again, that’s where I would be, even if it meant becom...

Curlew – A Beautiful Western Saddle/The Hardwood (2010) – (2 discs) DVD: 4:3 color, PCM Stereo – Cuneiform CD + DVD 19 Jul 2010, 12:00 am

Curlew – A Beautiful Western Saddle/The Hardwood (2010) – (2 discs) DVD: 4:3 color, PCM Stereo – Cuneiform 303/304, CD: 57:23, DVD: 134:72 ***1/2: (George Cartwright – alto and tenor saxophone; Tom Cora – cello; Ann Rupel – bass; Davey Williams – guitar, effects; Pippin Barnett – drums; Amy Denio – vocals) Cuneiform continues its reissue series with A Beautiful Western Saddle/The Hardwood, a two-disc CD/DVD package featuring Curlew, the New York City art-rock/experimental jazz outfit. The e...

Carole King and James Taylor – Live at the Troubadour (2010) - (2 discs) DVD & CD - Concord Music Group 14 Jul 2010, 12:00 am

Carole King and James Taylor – Live at the Troubadour (2010) - 2 discs - DVD:DTS 5.1, DD 2.0, 1.78:1 video for 16:9 display - Concord Music Group HRM-32053, CD: 63:46, DVD: 75:52 *****: (Carole King – vocals, piano; James Taylor – vocals, guitar; Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar – guitar; Leland Sklar – bass; Russell “Russ” Kunkel – drums) There is a sense of déjà vu and nostalgia to Carole King and James Taylor’s reunion performance CD/DVD, Live at the Troubadour. But that’s as it should be. The baby...

MILES DAVIS: Bitches Brew - 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition - (3 CDs + DVD of previously-unissued performance + double-LP replication) - Columbia Legacy 6 Jul 2010, 12:00 am

MILES DAVIS: Bitches Brew - 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition - (3 CDs + DVD of previously-unissued performance + double-LP replication) - Columbia Legacy 88697 70274 2, c. three hours *****: (Miles Davis, trumpet; Herbie Hancock, electric piano (left); Chick Corea, electric piano (right); Jack DeJohnette, drums; Bennie Maupin, bass clarinet; Wayne Shorter, soprano saxophone; John McLaughlin, guitar; Harvey Brooks, electric bass; et al.) This new release of “Bitches Brew” is a treat for th...

SHOSTAKOVICH: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 – Alexander Melnikov, piano – Harmonia mundi (2 CDs & DVD) 3 Jul 2010, 12:00 am

SHOSTAKOVICH: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 – Alexander Melnikov, piano – Harmonia mundi 902019 (2 CDs + Dual Disc CD/DVD, Interview with Alexander Melnikov), 2:31:15 ****: Most everyone is aware of the origin of these pieces; Shostakovich went to Leipzig in 1950 to attend the Bach Bicentennial competition, and he heard Tatiana Nikolaevna play the Well-Tempered Clavier. With those sounds fresh in his mind, only three and one-half months later this amazing two and one-half hour opus appeared. T...

OSVALDO GOLIJOV: La Pasion segun San Marcos – Soloists/Simon Bolivar Youth Orch./Maria Guinand; Robert Spano - DGG (CD + DVD) 8 Jun 2010, 12:00 am

OSVALDO GOLIJOV: La Pasion segun San Marcos – Biella da Costa (Latin-American soprano)/ Jessica Rivera (soprano)/ Reynaldo Gonzalez-Fernandez, Gioconda Cabrera, Manolo Mairena (Afro-Cuban vocalists)/ Alex Alvear (vocals)/ Schola Cantorum de Venezuela/ Orquesta la Pasion/ Members of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela/ Maria Guinand, conductor – DGG B0014008 (2 discs), CD: 84:32 *****: DVD: Same forces/ Robert Spano, conductor/ Filmed Live at the Holland Festival 2008, 89:37 ***1/2: ...

Cameron Live! DVD + CD = Works by BACH, CARPENTER, LISZT, SHOSTAKOVICH, SCHUBERT, VIERNE, WIDOR, DEBUSSY, MOSKOWSKI, SOUSA - Cameron Carpenter, organs - Telarc 27 May 2010, 12:00 am

Cameron Live! DVD + CD = CD Program: BACH: Toccata in F Sharp Major, Preludes and Fugues in B minor, E minor, A minor, D Major & G Major; Improvised candenza; CARPENTER: Serenade and Fugue on B.A.C.H.; DVD Program: SHOSTAKOVICH: Festive Overture; SCHUBERT: Erlkönig; CARPENTER: Three Intermezzi for Cinema Organ; Will o’ the Wisp; LISZT: Funerailles; Au bord d’une source;  MOSKOWSKI: Etincelles; VIERNE: Naïades; WIDOR: Toccata from Symphony No. 5 in F Major; SOUSA: The Stars and Stripes F...

Michael Treni Big Band - Turnaround - The Bell Production Co. 8 Mar 2010, 12:00 am

Michael Treni Big Band - Turnaround - The Bell Production Co. (2009) DualDisc set: DVD Video (16:9 color) + CD Audio [www.bellproductionco.com] ****: (Soloists incl. Jerry Bergonzi, tenor sax; Vinnie Cutro, trumpet; Frank Elmo, soprano sax; Dave Gibson, trombone; Gerry Niewood, alto sax; Charles Blenzig, piano) Big bands have had a big struggle the last few decades, and the current economic situation makes it even worse. Fans of big band should be thankful for the stream of good recordings tha...

The Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out - ABKCO 16 Nov 2009, 12:00 am

The Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out - ABKCO 02932 - (3 CDs + 1 DVD)  CD 1 - 47:40, CD 2: 18:25,  CD 3: 42:35, DVD (Dolby Stereo): 30:00  ****: (Mick Jagger, vocals; Keith Richards, rhythm guitar and backing vocals; Mick Taylor, lead, rhythm, and slide guitar; Bill Wyman, bass; Charlie Watts, drums, and Ian Stewart, piano) Long considered one of the greatest live rock albums ever released, The Rolling Stones' Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out has now been released in a three CD-one DVD-on...

Migration - Produced, composed, arranged, performed and programmed by Hamilton Sterling and Jimmy Haslip - Helikon Sound 14 Nov 2009, 12:00 am

Migration - Produced, composed, arranged, performed and programmed by Hamilton Sterling and Jimmy Haslip - Helikon Sound DualDisc 2005HE (One side DVD-V DD 5.1 surround + stereo PCM 48K/24bit; Other side DVD-Audio 5.1 48K/24bit, 50 min. [www.helikonsound.com] ***:Well, this is the second actual DualDisc we’re received for review lately, so the format has not been completely abandoned after all. This is an ambient, guitar and nature-sounds-based environmental-type collection of a half dozen track...

ALAN HOVHANESS: Janabar “Journey” Op. 81, Sinfonia Concertante for piano, trumpet, violin and strings; Talin Op. 93 Viola Concerto; Shambala - Concerto for violin, sitar and orchestra; Hovhaness interviewed - Soloists/Slovak Phil./Stur - OgreOgress 12 Nov 2009, 12:00 am

ALAN HOVHANESS: Janabar “Journey” Op. 81, Sinfonia Concertante for piano, trumpet, violin and strings; Talin Op. 93, Viola Concerto; Shambala Op. 228, Concerto for violin, sitar and orchestra; Hovhaness interviewed by Antony Hopkins - Christina Fong, violin/viola/ Gawrav Mazunder, sitar/ Paul Hersey, piano/ Michael Bowman, trumpet/Slovak Philharmonic/Rastislav Stur - OrgreOgress Productions (no #) actual DualDisc with Stereo-only DVD-Audio and CD sides, DVD-A: 126:00 (interview portion: 28:00); ...

Creedence Clearwater Revival - The Singles Collection - Fantasy - 2 CDs + DVD 9 Nov 2009, 12:00 am

Creedence Clearwater Revival - The Singles Collection - Fantasy Fan-31752, CD 1: 49:47/CD 2: 49:55/DVD: 13:13 **** [Distr. by Concord Group]: (John Fogerty: vocals, guitar; Tom Fogerty: guitar; Stu Cook: bass; Doug Clifford: drums) Creedence Clearwater Revival does not need any introduction since the band was a mainstay of AM radio from 1968 to 1972, was a popular stage act who barnstormed around the country and even performed at Woodstock, and are now ensconced as a large part of baby boomer c...

HAYDN: The Creation – Julia Kleiter, soprano/ Maximilian Schmitt, tenor/ Joahnnes Weisser, bass/ RIAS Chamber Choir/ Freiburg Baroque Orchestra/ Rene Jacobs, conductor – Harmonia mundi 4 Nov 2009, 12:00 am

HAYDN: The Creation – Julia Kleiter, soprano/ Maximilian Schmitt, tenor/ Joahnnes Weisser, bass/ RIAS Chamber Choir/ Freiburg Baroque Orchestra/ Rene Jacobs, conductor – Harmonia mundi 992039.40 (2 CDs + DVD “Creating the Creation”), 101:00 ****: I suppose I should have technically called this Die Schopfung as in the German version. Rene Jacobs again brings his considerable expertise to bear on this, perhaps Haydn’s finest choral work, modeled after the oratorios of Handel, and every bit as suc...

BEETHOVEN: Violin Sonatas (complete) – Isabelle Faust, violin/ Alexander Melnikov, piano – Harmonia mundi 30 Oct 2009, 12:00 am

BEETHOVEN: Violin Sonatas (complete) – Isabelle Faust, violin/ Alexander Melnikov, piano – Harmonia mundi 902025.27 (3 CDs + 1 CD/DVD DualDisc), 218:00 *****: When I heard the first few bars of the First Sonata I was a little put off; Faust uses as a basis for this recording a basically vibratoless tone, like a painter would a blank canvass. But then, after getting further into the movement, I realized that she was on to something. This is far from a no-vibrato program; in fact there is more vi...

Leonard Cohen - Leonard Cohen Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 - CD & DVD (1970/2009) 15 Oct 2009, 12:00 am

Leonard Cohen - Leonard Cohen Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 - CD & DVD (1970/2009) Columbia/CMV/Legacy 88697 57067 2 [Release date: Oct. 20, 09] Performers: Leonard Cohen: vocals, guitar; Charlie Daniels: electric bass, fiddle; Ron Cornelius: guitar; Elkin "Bubba" Fowler: bass, banjo; Corlynn Hanney, Susan Musmanno, Donna Washburn: backing vocals; Bob Johnston: organ, piano, guitar, harmonica Video: 16:9 color Audio (DVD): Dolby 5.1; PCM Stereo Length: CD: 79:46; DVD: 64:07 ...

ARNOLD SCHOENBERG: Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4; Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9 - The Smithsonian Chamber Players/Kenneth Slowik - Dorian Sono Luminus DVD + CD 17 Sep 2009, 12:00 am

ARNOLD SCHOENBERG: Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4; Chamber Symphony No. 1 Op. 9 - The Smithsonian Chamber Players/Kenneth Slowik - Dorian Sono Luminus DSL-90909 DVD + CD [Distr. by Naxos] ****: This is the perfect dual disc combination of a CD and DVD: a standard stereo CD of both Schoenberg works plus their complete performances on video with Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0 audio, combined with several extras on the DVD.  These include a documentary on Schoenberg, a tour of the Scho...

Resonance Big Band Plays Tribute to Oscar Peterson - Introducing Marian Petrescu, piano - Resonance Records 11 Sep 2009, 12:00 am

Resonance Big Band Plays Tribute to Oscar Peterson - Introducing Marian Petrescu, piano - Resonance Records CD + DVD RCD-1008, CD: 1.1 hrs. [Release date: May 12, 09] *****: A thoroughly remarkable big band album which offers a deeper experience than the usual collection of big band charts.  The band itself has too many members to list all here, but it includes such familiar names as Joe La Barbera on drums and Bill Reichenbach on trombones and tuba. Andreas Oberg, who has recorded a previ...

Bjork - Voltaic - 1 CD & 1 DVD, 2009 - Nonesuch Records 31 Jul 2009, 12:00 am

Bjork - Voltaic - 1 CD & 1 DVD, 2009 - Bjork: vocals; Mark Bell: beats and electronics; Damian Taylor: electronics, synthesisers; Jonas Sen: keyboards; Chris Corsano: drums and percussion; plus a 10-piece brass ensemble - Nonesuch Records 519648-2 - Video: 4:3 color; Audio: (DVD) DTS 5.1, Dolby 5.1, Dolby 2.0; Length: CD: 48 minutes; DVD: 71 minutes; Rating: **1/2: You really have to give Bjork and her handlers credit – they’ve marketed her impressively and to incredible excess. Just walk...

MOZART: Idomeneo (complete opera) – Richard Croft (Idomeneo)/ Bernarda Fink (Idamante)/ other soloists/ RIAS Chamber Choir/ Freiburg Baroque Orch./Rene Jacobs - Harmonia mundi (3 CDs + DVD) 16 Jul 2009, 12:00 am

MOZART: Idomeneo (complete opera) – Richard Croft (Idomeneo)/ Bernarda Fink (Idamante)/ Sunhae Im (Ilia)/ Alexandrina Pendatchanska (Elettra)/ Kenneth Tarver (Arbace)/ Nocolas Rivenq (Gran Sacerdote)/ Luca Tittoto (La Voce)/ RIAS Chamber Choir/ Freiburg Baroque Orchestra/ Rene Jacobs, conductor – Harmonia mundi 902036.38 (3 CDs + DVD)  DVD – "Idomeneo: A Message of Humanity," 45:00; CDs: 3:11:06 ****1/2: Idomeneo is a revolutionary opera. Not that it changed the course of opera...

KURTAG: Kafka Fragments – Tony Arnold, soprano/ Movses Pogossian, violin – Bridge CD + DVD 19 Jun 2009, 12:00 am

KURTAG: Kafka Fragments [TrackList below] – Tony Arnold, soprano/ Movses Pogossian, violin – Bridge CD + DVD 9270/B, 61:07 ****: Performers: Tony Arnold, soprano/ Movses Pogossian, violin Studio:  Bridge 9270/A, Komitas Recital Hall, Yerevan, Armenia [Distr. by Albany] Producer: David Starobin Video: 4:3 Color Audio: PCM Stereo Region Code: All regions Length: 1:15:52 Minutes; Live Concert and Master class Rating: ***1/2 This is actually a DVD/CD combo box packaged in a DVD-style c...

J. S. BACH: Complete Unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas; BRICE PAUSET: Contrapartita – David Grimal, violin – Naïve Ambrosie 3 Jun 2009, 12:00 am

J. S. BACH: Complete Unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas; BRICE PAUSET: Contrapartita – David Grimal, violin – Naïve Ambrosie AM 181 (2 CDs + 1 DVD), 151:03 ***[Distr. by Naxos]: Grimal uses a 1710 Stradivarius with metal strings, tuned to perfect fifths. I was frustrated at first; the first two sonatas and first partita sounded extraordinarily willful and capricious to me, with little rhyme or reason as to why the performer decided to take his particular path. I was lost—there simply seemed n...

Silvia Marcovici, Vol. I = Works of BEETHOVEN, TCHAIKOVSKY, SAINT-SAENS, LALO, BRUCH & BARTOK - Doremi 2 CDs + DVD 25 May 2009, 12:00 am

Silvia Marcovici, Vol. I = TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35; BRAHMS: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77; BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61; SAINT-SAENS: Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 61 DVD Program: LALO: Symphonie Espagnole in D Minor Op. 21; BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26; BARTOK: Violin Concerto No. 2 -- Silvia Marcovici, violin/SWR Sinfonieorchester, Freiburg/Cristian Mandeal (Tchaikovsky)/Suedfunk Sinfonieorchester, Stuttgart /Garcia Nava...