Sensible Sound articles from May 1998

Sensible Sound archives from May 1998

RAMBLINGS.
May 1, 1998... Welcome to Issue 69, an issue that features an accent on loudspeakers, with several reviews and a Sensible Choice listing that supersedes our previous listing from Issue 63. We have been busy pecking away at the pecking order! But those...

FORUM.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 1998... We're Hard to Hate Now you should clearly understand that I hate you! Every issue sends me into another frenzy as to whether or not to pop hard earned bucks for the latest $ensible recommendation or to buy more sounds. (Guess which wins?)....

Burn in, turn on, tune out ...(testing amplifiers)
May 1, 1998... Over the years there has been a desire on this reviewer's part to make a unique, "first time its been done" contribution to ascertaining the validity of differences in sound between two components via blind testing. Oh, I've done my share of...

Speaker Sound/Room Sound.
May 1, 1998... As anyone who has fooled with audio in a serious way will tell you, there is more to speaker sound than speakers. The listening room will influence the behavior of a pair of them (or, as would be the case with a surround sound installation, an...

STAFF PICKS.
May 1, 1998... In Issue 63 we published a "Staff Picks" compilation, following it up in Issues 65 and 67 with additions by contributors who a bit tardy in getting their lists together. Now that we have the staff up to speed, we have been able to assemble a...

Atlantic Technology System 250.1 Surround Sound System.(Evaluation)
May 1, 1998... Manufacturer: Atlantic Technology, 343 Vanderbilt Ave., Norwood, MA 02062; 617/ 762-6300 Package Price: $1,826 (not including stands) Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: Robert Thompson It seems as though every time you turn...

B&W DM305.(Evaluation)
May 1, 1998... Manufacturer: B&W Loudspeakers of America, 54 Concord St., North Reading MA 08164-2699; 508/664-2870 Price: $450/pair Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: Howard Ferstler The British speaker company B&W has earned a...

Coincident Speaker Technology Triumph Signature Series II.(Evaluation)
May 1, 1998... Manufacturer: Coincident Speaker Technology, 51 Miriam Cr., Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada L4B 2P8; 905/886-6728; e-mail: coincid@ican.net; website: http:// home.ican.net/~coincid/cstl.htm Price: $999/pair Source: Manufacturer loan ...

Legacy Studio.(Evaluation)
May 1, 1998... Manufacturer: Legacy Audio, 3021 Sangamon Avenue, Springfield, IL 62702; 800/283-4644 Price: $948/pair in a variety of wood veneers, $1,048 in rosewood Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewers: Karl W. Nehring and Bruce W. Vigon ...

NEAR 15M Series II.(Evaluation)
May 1, 1998... Manufacturer: New England Audio Resource, 12 Foss Road, Lewiston, ME 04240; 207/795-0609 Price: $799/pair Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: Karl W. Nehring The NEAR 15M Series II loudspeakers are small, monitor-type...

The $ensible Choice List: Speakers and Subwoofers.
May 1, 1998... Speakers are where it's at when it comes to audio, recordings are where it's at when it comes to music, and we just hope the rest of the stuff pretty much stays out of the way, which it pretty well does. Amplifiers sound largely the same. CD...

Louis Armstrong: Master of Jazz -- Live in Chicago, 1962 (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDCD 710).(Evaluation)(Review)
May 1, 1998... Louis Armstrong: Master of Jazz -- Live in Chicago, 1962 (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDCD 710) The folks at Mobile Fidelity pay their rent by releasing a lot of disposable pop, but then they redeem themselves with labors of love such as...

Sunpie Barnes: Loup Garou (Record Chebasco AVL94918).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Sunpie Barnes: Loup Garou (Record Chebasco AVL94918) Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes is an ex-NFL football player who now fronts a high-energy zydeco band that does an excellent job of blending zydeco, blues, and even a little jazz (their cover of...

Berlioz: Les Nuits D'ete and operatic arias Susan Graham/Orch. Of the Royal Opera House/John Nelson, cond. (Sony Classical SK 62730).(Brief Article)(Review)
May 1, 1998... Berlioz: Les Nuits D'ete and operatic arias Susan Graham/Orch. Of the Royal Opera House/John Nelson, cond. (Sony Classical SK 62730) The jump from zydeco to Berlioz is quite a leap, but there are common threads, such as the French language...

Arthur Blythe: Night Song (Clarity Recordings CCD-1016).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Arthur Blythe: Night Song (Clarity Recordings CCD-1016) I was first attracted to this disc because I had not heard anything for quite some time by alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe, an old favorite who has had several recordings recommended in...

David Chesky: Three Psalms for String Orchestra Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg/Stephen Somary, cond. (Chesky CD163).(Review)
May 1, 1998... David Chesky: Three Psalms for String Orchestra Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg/Stephen Somary, cond. (Chesky CD163) This was quite a surprise when it showed up: serious orchestral music by David Chesky. Yes, I knew this Chesky brother...

Getz/Gilberto #2 (Verve 314 519 800-2).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Getz/Gilberto #2 (Verve 314 519 800-2) Recorded live in Carnegie Hall in October, 1964, this CD presents tenor legend Stan Getz in two different settings: with his own quartet (featuring a young Gary Burton on vibes, Gene Chirico on bass,...

Holst: The Planets; Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra; Williams: Star Wars Suite, Close Encounters of the Third Kind Suite Los Angeles PO/Zubin Mehta, cond. (London 289 452 910-2).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Holst: The Planets; Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra; Williams: Star Wars Suite, Close Encounters of the Third Kind Suite Los Angeles PO/Zubin Mehta, cond. (London 289 452 910-2) This London two-CD set sells for the price of one CD, so I...

Mark Isham: Afterglow (Columbia CK 67929).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Mark Isham: Afterglow (Columbia CK 67929) A couple of weeks ago I chanced upon a used cassette of Rubisa Patrol's Desert Marauders and discovered to my delight that the music still sounded fresh and good after all these years. Mark Isham...

Denny Jiosa: Jazzberry Pie (Blue Orchid 2024-2).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Denny Jiosa: Jazzberry Pie (Blue Orchid 2024-2) Although it does make you wonder when you read the credits and find that guitarist Denny Jiosa not only took the lead not only in performing and writing all the songs on this CD, but also took...

Aaron Jay Kernis: Second Symphony, Musica Celestis, Invisible Mosaic III City of Birmingham SO/Hugh Wolff, cond. (Argo 448 900-2).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Aaron Jay Kernis: Second Symphony, Musica Celestis, Invisible Mosaic III City of Birmingham SO/Hugh Wolff, cond. (Argo 448 900-2) Although I believe I had heard Kernis's name mentioned before, probably on the radio, I cannot recall ever...

Kate MacKenzie: Age of Innocence (Red House Records RHR CD 91).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Kate MacKenzie: Age of Innocence (Red House Records RHR CD 91) Modern folk bluegrass fans will love this CD by Kate MacKenzie, who sings with an authoritative voice and is backed by some pretty nimble pickers. Those who have not heard much...

Susan McKeown: Bushes & Briars (Alula Records ALU-1008).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Susan McKeown: Bushes & Briars (Alula Records ALU-1008) This CD is somewhat in the general musical and sonic mold of an Enya CD, but less overblown, less New-Agey. Although McKeown's voice is at time awash in reverb, and there are some...

David Morgan: Hands of Time (Turnipseed Music TMCD.12).(Review)
May 1, 1998... David Morgan: Hands of Time (Turnipseed Music TMCD.12) Pianist David Morgan leads a trio also consisting of bassist Sean Drabitt and drummer Jason Marsalis in a live jazz set that was captured live to CD by Louisiana recording maven Don...

New York Voices: Sing the Songs of Paul Simon (RCA Victor 090926-68872-2).(Review)
May 1, 1998... New York Voices: Sing the Songs of Paul Simon (RCA Victor 090926-68872-2) I have a love/hate relationship with this disc. I love the music of Paul Simon, and I love the way this vocal quartet puts so much energy into their interpretations;...

Gerardo Nunez: Calima (Alula Records ALU-1007).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Gerardo Nunez: Calima (Alula Records ALU-1007) Having been soured on the genre by some Ottmar Liebert CDs, I did not look forward to auditioning another nuevo flamenco recording with any enthusiasm, but Calima proved to be a truly exciting...

Adam Rudolph's Moving Pictures: Contemplations (Meta Records 002).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Adam Rudolph's Moving Pictures: Contemplations (Meta Records 002) Those prone to judging a CD by its cover might take a look at this one and dismiss it without listening as New Age fluff -- but that would be a mistake. There is music of...

Webern: Boulez Conducts Webern III Christiane Oelze, sop./Gerald Finley, bass/BBC Singers/Berlin Philharmonic/Pierre Boulez, cond. (Deutsche Grammophon 447 765-2).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Webern: Boulez Conducts Webern III Christiane Oelze, sop./Gerald Finley, bass/BBC Singers/Berlin Philharmonic/Pierre Boulez, cond. (Deutsche Grammophon 447 765-2) If you have more than just a passing interest in classical music, then at...

The Home Theater Companion. Schirmer Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster MacMillan, New York, NY. 437 pp.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Ferstler, Howard. The Home Theater Companion. Schirmer Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster MacMillan, New York, NY. 437 pp. Those who have read HF's writings in these pages should know by now that he is technically adept, very thorough,...

Who Killed Classical Music? 1997. A Birch Lane Press Book, published by Carol Publishing Group, Secaucus, NJ. 455 pp.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Lebrecht, Norman. Who Killed Classical Music? 1997. A Birch Lane Press Book, published by Carol Publishing Group, Secaucus, NJ. 455 pp. Anyone with more than a passing interest in classical music will find Norman Lebrecht's Who Killed...

Blue: The Murder of Jazz. 1997. St. Martin's Press, New York, NY. 262 pp.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Nisenson, Eric. Blue: The Murder of Jazz. 1997. St. Martin's Press, New York, NY. 262 pp. An interesting complement to Norman Lebrecht's Who Killed Classical Music?, Eric Nisenson's Blue: The Murder of Jazz not only focuses on a different...

Double Double.(Review)
May 1, 1998... In our previous installment of Double Double, Tom Lyle and I independently compared two CD recordings of The Planets by Gustav Hoist, a recent recording by the London Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin on RCA Red Seal, and the...

Carousel Corner.(Review)
May 1, 1998... "Got a message for you, Rudy..." -- The Specials Rock, young as it is, has its share of circularity. Doo-wop, '60s BritPop, even -- shudder -- disco have enjoyed resurgences of popularity, revivals really, alternately praised and...

Charlie Parker: Yardbird Suite; Rhino 72260-2. (2-CD set).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Charlie Parker: Yardbird Suite; Rhino 72260-2. (2-CD set) In one of the various books to which I often refer, Len Lyons's A History of Jazz on Records, the author begins his section on Charlie Parker by noting that, "If you have never heard...

Dean, Billy: Fire in the Dark (with Lonnie Wilson, Glenn Worf, Biff Watson, and others). Recorded ca. 1993, at Emerald Sound Studios. Engineer: Bob Bullock. 36+ minutes. Liberty 98947.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Dean, Billy: Fire in the Dark (with Lonnie Wilson, Glenn Worf, Biff Watson, and others). Recorded ca. 1993, at Emerald Sound Studios. Engineer: Bob Bullock. 36+ minutes. Liberty 98947. While most C&W discs display less than ideal...

Dire Straits: On Every Street. Recorded ca. 1991, at Air Studios, London. Engineers: Bill Schnee and Chuck Ainlay. 60+ minutes. Warner 22680.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Dire Straits: On Every Street. Recorded ca. 1991, at Air Studios, London. Engineers: Bill Schnee and Chuck Ainlay. 60+ minutes. Warner 22680. Dire Straits has repeatedly turned out some remarkably decent technical work and this release is...

Fleck, Bela: Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Recorded ca. 1990, at Javalina Studios and Mixed and Groundstar Laboratories. Engineer: Bil VornDick. 48+ minutes. Warner 26124.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Fleck, Bela: Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Recorded ca. 1990, at Javalina Studios and Mixed and Groundstar Laboratories. Engineer: Bil VornDick. 48+ minutes. Warner 26124. While ostensibly a jazz release (that is how the Library of...

Gabriel Peter: Security (with Jerry Marotta, Tony Levin, Larry Fast, and others). Recorded ca. 1982, at "home," which I assume is Gabriel's residence or maybe his personal studio. Engineers: David Lord and Neil Perry, assisted by several others during the mixing. 45+ minutes. Geffen 2011.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Gabriel, Peter: Security (with Jerry Marotta, Tony Levin, Larry Fast, and others). Recorded ca. 1982, at "home," which I assume is Gabriel's residence or maybe his personal studio. Engineers: David Lord and Neil Perry, assisted by several...

Hart, Mickey: Mickey Hart's Mystery Box (with Debbie Charles, Julie Isaac, Jeff Sterling, Habib Faye, and others). Recorded ca. 1995, at Studio X, Sonoma County, California. Engineers: Mickey Hart and Tom Flye. 54+ minutes. Ryko 10338.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Hart, Mickey: Mickey Hart's Mystery Box (with Debbie Charles, Julie Isaac, Jeff Sterling, Habib Faye, and others). Recorded ca. 1995, at Studio X, Sonoma County, California. Engineers: Mickey Hart and Tom Flye. 54+ minutes. Ryko 10338. As...

Incoherent (with Ken Kantor, Matt Garfein, and Bob Hopkins). Recorded in 1996, at Kantor's home studio. Engineer: Ken Kantor. 48+ minutes. Anxious Hippy Music 6601.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Incoherent (with Ken Kantor, Matt Garfein, and Bob Hopkins). Recorded in 1996, at Kantor's home studio. Engineer: Ken Kantor. 48+ minutes. Anxious Hippy Music 6601. At first blush (and even after listening clear through the presentation),...

Raitt, Bonnie: Luck of the Draw (with assorted supporting players). Recorded 1991, at Ocean Way Recording and Capital Studios, Los Angeles. Engineer: Ed Cherney. 53+ minutes. Capital 16911.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Raitt, Bonnie: Luck of the Draw (with assorted supporting players). Recorded 1991, at Ocean Way Recording and Capital Studios, Los Angeles. Engineer: Ed Cherney. 53+ minutes. Capital 16911. Semi pop / country/blues music is usually not...

Absolute Heaven: Essential Choral Masterpieces. Robert Shaw, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Robert Shaw Festival Singers. Telarc CD-80458.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Absolute Heaven: Essential Choral Masterpieces. Robert Shaw, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Robert Shaw Festival Singers. Telarc CD-80458. For those listeners interested in excerpts of religious choral music, this collection is hard...

Johann Christian Bach: Berlin Harpsichord Concertos, Vol. 1. Anthony Halstead, Hanover Band. CPO 999 393-2.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Johann Christian Bach: Berlin Harpsichord Concertos, Vol. 1. Anthony Halstead, Hanover Band. CPO 999 393-2. If a record label can be said to have a distinctive "sound" of its own, and most labels can often be distinguished by their...

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1-6. Bruggen, Kuijkens, Bylsma, van Asperen; Leonhardt Ensemble. Sony Seon SB2K 62946.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Bach: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1-6. Bruggen, Kuijkens, Bylsma, van Asperen; Leonhardt Ensemble. Sony Seon SB2K 62946. This was one of the first Brandenburgs to use period instruments, and as its roster of performers demonstrates, it...

Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Romances. Gidon Kremer, violin; Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Teldec T2 74881.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Romances. Gidon Kremer, violin; Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Teldec T2 74881. It doesn't take more than a single sitting to realize that this is among the most commanding performances of...

Belafonte: Jump Up Calypso. DCC Compact Classics GZS-1115.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Betafonte: Jump Up Calypso. DCC Compact Classics GZS-1115. I didn't have either the original RCA Living Stereo LP or RCA's silver CD counterpart for comparison, but I did have RCA's digitally remastered Harry Belafonte: All Time Greatest...

The Big Picture: Music from Batman Forever, Mission Impossible, Apollo 13, Speed, Crimson Tide, Independence Day, Braveheart, Twister, Dragonheart, Stargate, Jumanji, and other films. Erich Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Telarc CD-80437.(Review)
May 1, 1998... The Big Picture: Music from Batman Forever, Mission Impossible, Apollo 13, Speed, Crimson Tide, Independence Day, Braveheart, Twister, Dragonheart, Stargate, Jumanji, and other films. Erich Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Telarc CD-80437....

Chicago Concertos: Piano Concertos by Rudolph Ganz and John La Montaine. Ramon Salvatore, piano; Paul Freeman, Chicago Sinfonietta and Slovak Radio Symphony. Cedille Records CDR 900000 028.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Chicago Concertos: Piano Concertos by Rudolph Ganz and John La Montaine. Ramon Salvatore, piano; Paul Freeman, Chicago Sinfonietta and Slovak Radio Symphony. Cedille Records CDR 900000 028. The two piano concertos represented here, Ganz's...

Copland: The Music of America. Erich Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Telarc CD-80339.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Copland: The Music of America. Erich Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Telarc CD-80339. Everything you always wanted to hear by Aaron Copland: His most popular music is all here -- Fanfare for the Common Man, Rodeo, Quiet City, Billy the...

Delius: Florida Suite; Koanga; Over the Hills and Far Away; Idylle Printemps; La Quadroone; Scherzo. David Lloyd-Jones, English Northern Philharmonia. Naxos 8.553535.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Delius: Florida Suite; Koanga; Over the Hills and Far Away; Idylle Printemps; La Quadroone; Scherzo. David Lloyd-Jones, English Northern Philharmonia. Naxos 8.553535. This disc promises to be the beginning of a fairly complete survey of...

Elvis Is Back! DCC Compact Classics GZS-1111.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Elvis Is Back! DCC Compact Classics GZS-1111. It's hard to tell just why DCC chose this particular Elvis album to remaster on gold. It's surely a case of sound over substance. Elvis Is Back!, recorded in 1960, of course marked Elvis's...

Gade and Hartmann: Et Folkesagn (A Folk Tale). Harry Damgaard, Danish Radio Sinfonietta. CPO 999 426-2 (2 discs).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Gade and Hartmann: Et Folkesagn (A Folk Tale). Harry Damgaard, Danish Radio Sinfonietta. CPO 999 426-2 (2 discs). If you like Grieg's incidental music to Peer Gynt, you will probably enjoy the Danish ballet, A Folk Tale. Although it...

La Harpe Royale. Andrew Lawrence-King, harp. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 05472 77373 2.(Review)
May 1, 1998... La Harpe Royale. Andrew Lawrence-King, harp. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 05472 77373 2. Harp City, dude! I thought I'd mention these two new discs because they represent the polar extremes of harp recordings. The first, La Harpe Royale, is...

The Art of Harp: International Harp Festival, Vol. I. EarthBeat! R272496.(Review)
May 1, 1998... The Art of Harp: International Harp Festival, Vol. I. EarthBeat! R272496. Harp City, dude! I thought I'd mention these two new discs because they represent the polar extremes of harp recordings. The first, La Harpe Royale, is gorgeously...

Haydn: String Quartets Opp. 71 and & 74, complete. Griller String Quartet. Vanguard SVC 62/63 (2-disc set).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Haydn: String Quartets Opp. 71 and & 74, complete. Griller String Quartet. Vanguard SVC 62/63 (2-disc set). Haydn continued to write string quartets for most of his composing life, and it is in this genre almost as much as in the symphonies...

Herrmann: Music from Great Film Classics. Bernard Herrmann conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Mobile Fidelity Ultradisc II UDCD 701.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Herrmann: Music from Great Film Classics. Bernard Herrmann conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Mobile Fidelity Ultradisc II UDCD 701. Korngold, Steiner, Waxman, Tiomkin, and Rozsa are names commonly associated with classic film...

Lajtha: Orchestral Works, Vol. 5. Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4; Suite No. 2. Nicolas Pasquet, Pecs Symphony Orchestra. Marco Polo 8.223671.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Lajtha: Orchestral Works, Vol. 5. Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4; Suite No. 2. Nicolas Pasquet, Pecs Symphony Orchestra. Marco Polo 8.223671. I'm not sure whether "Vol. 5" means that this is the fifth installment of music by 20th-century Hungarian...

Liberty: The American Revolution. Original soundtrack to the PBS television series. Sony 63216.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Liberty: The American Revolution. Original soundtrack to the PBS television series. Sony 63216. If you liked the music in Ken Burns's PBS documentary The Civil War, you'll probably also enjoy this collection of tunes from the Revolutionary...

The Limeliters: The Slightly Fabulous & Sing Out! Collectors' Choice Music CCMO24-2.(Review)
May 1, 1998... The Limeliters: The Slightly Fabulous & Sing Out! Collectors' Choice Music CCMO24-2. If you're an old Limeliters fan and wanted to hear the lads on CD, you've had to content yourself with RCA's remastering of their first concert album,...

Mahler: Das Klagende Lied. Marina Shaguch, soprano; Michelle DeYoung, mezzo; Thomas Moser, tenor; Sergei Leiferkus, baritone; Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony and Chorus. RCA 09026-68599-2.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Mahler: Das Klagende Lied. Marina Shaguch, soprano; Michelle DeYoung, mezzo; Thomas Moser, tenor; Sergei Leiferkus, baritone; Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony and Chorus. RCA 09026-68599-2. I had never heard Das Klagende Lied...

Mendelssohn: "Scotch" Symphony; Hebrides Overture. Peter Maag, London Symphony Orchestra. Classic Compact Discs CSCD 6191.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Mendelssohn: "Scotch" Symphony; Hebrides Overture. Peter Maag, London Symphony Orchestra. Classic Compact Discs CSCD 6191. Ever notice how the world just keeps getting better and better? The fall of Communism. The Ferrari F355. Sean...

Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 3 "Scottish" & 4 "Italian." Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Teldec 9031-72308-2.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 3 "Scottish" & 4 "Italian." Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Teldec 9031-72308-2. These are relaxed, easy-flowing interpretations recorded in a wider, more open acoustic than Teldec provided...

Palace of the Winds: The Piano at the Movies. Michael Chertock, piano. Telarc CD80477.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Palace of the Winds: The Piano at the Movies. Michael Chertock, piano. Telarc CD80477. I was reminded while listening to this album of George Winston's popular series of piano mood pieces for Windham Hill. There is the same serenity about...

Purcell: The Fairy Queen & The Prophetess, orchestral suites. Jordi Savall, Le Concert des Nations. Auvidis Fontalis ES 8583.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Purcell: The Fairy Queen & The Prophetess, orchestral suites. Jordi Savall, Le Concert des Nations. Auvidis Fontalis ES 8583. I enjoyed this disc more for the joy of Savall's conducting than for any precision of ensemble. Purcell's Fairy...

Rameau: Anacreon; Daphnis et Egle (suites for orchestra). Mary Terey-Smith, Capella Savaria. Naxos 8.553746.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Rameau: Anacreon; Daphnis et Egle (suites for orchestra). Mary Terey-Smith, Capella Savaria. Naxos 8.553746. As I have mentioned in these pages before, my benchmark for Rameau orchestral music on period instruments is the 1978 analogue...

Schubert: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 1. Auryn Quartett. CPO 999 409-2 (3-CD set).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Schubert: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 1. Auryn Quartett. CPO 999 409-2 (3-CD set). Volume One of CPO's new set of complete Schubert string quartets contains seven of the 15 works. CPO do not present the quartets in numerical order but...

Symphonic Rock: The British Invasion, Volume I. The London Symphony Orchestra with the Royal Choral Society. Telarc 80472.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Symphonic Rock: The British Invasion, Volume I. The London Symphony Orchestra with the Royal Choral Society. Telarc 80472. Has a pop treatment of classical music ever converted a diehard rocker to the other side? Think of "Classical Gas,"...

Symphonic Rock: American Classics. London Symphony Orchestra with the Royal Choral Society. Telarc CD-80476.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Symphonic Rock: American Classics. London Symphony Orchestra with the Royal Choral Society. Telarc CD-80476. I guess this kind of thing is selling. Why else would Telarc again subject innocent rock and pop tunes to the ravages of massive...

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5; Capriccio italien. Evgeny Svetlanov, USSR Symphony Orchestra. BMG/Melodiya 74321-37879-2.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5; Capriccio italien. Evgeny Svetlanov, USSR Symphony Orchestra. BMG/Melodiya 74321-37879-2. Fans of Russian conductor Evgeny Svetlanov will not be disappointed with his 1967 recording of the Fifth Symphony. As I...

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1; Nutcracker (excerpts). Emil Gilels, piano; Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra. RCA Living Stereo 09026-68530-2.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1; Nutcracker (excerpts). Emil Gilels, piano; Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra. RCA Living Stereo 09026-68530-2. The first time I heard this 1955 performance of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto I...

Verdi: La Forza del Destino. Galina Gorchakova, Gegam Grigorian, Nikolai Putilin; Valery Gerviev, Kirov Chorus and Orchestra, St. Petersburg. Philips 446 951-2 (3-disc set).(Review)
May 1, 1998... Verdi: La Forza del Destino. Galina Gorchakova, Gegam Grigorian, Nikolai Putilin; Valery Gerviev, Kirov Chorus and Orchestra, St. Petersburg. Philips 446 951-2 (3-disc set). The problem I have in trying to review any full-length opera is...

Wieniawski: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Faust Fantasy. Marat Bisengaliev, violin; Antoni Wit, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.553517.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Wieniawski: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Faust Fantasy. Marat Bisengaliev, violin; Antoni Wit, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.553517. My first remembrance of Wieniawski, the Second Concerto, I believe, was a '50s...

Wolf-Ferrarri: Sinfonia da camera.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Wolf-Ferrari: Sinfonia da camera; Strauss: Kaiser Waltz (arr. Schoenberg); Bloch: Four Episodes. MiNensemblet. Marco Polo 8.223868. Listening to a composition one has not heard before can sometimes be viewed with foreboding. No fears here,...

Works for Classical Accordion.(Review)
May 1, 1998... Works for Classical Accordion. Geir Dragsvoll, accordion; Lise-Lotte Nielsen, soprano; Soren Kaas Claesson, violin. Marco Polo 8.224028. If the phrase "classical accordion" seems like an oxymoron to you, you're not alone. I'm not really...