Sensible Sound articles from November 1998

Sensible Sound archives from November 1998

RAMBLINGS.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Welcome to Issue #72, an issue unlike any other we have ever published. For this issue, I asked the entire reviewing staff to submit articles about their favorite recordings; to my delight, nearly the entire staff responded, and I believe that...

FORUM.(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 1998... Big Piano, Little Mistake Greetings from Reference Recordings. We are pleased that Gregory Koster used our recording Nojima Plays Liszt (RR-25) in his review of the Marantz 67SE CD player in Issue #71. However, his comment that a...

How to Evaluate CD Players -- and How NOT to Enhance Their Performance.
November 1, 1998... Assuming that you have read Part I of this series on CD players (Issue 71) and now know what really matters in player performance, I'll introduce you to some techniques for testing players in order to assess their tracking and error correction...

Recordings, Speakers and Compatibility: Part One.
November 1, 1998... Unless they are headphone aficionados, most informed audio enthusiasts consider speakers and speaker/room interactions to be the most important variables in sound reproduction. Indeed, I'm of that mind, myself. However, it is important to...

Lexicon DC-1 Digital Controller/LDD-1 Dolby Digital Demodulator.
November 1, 1998... Manufacturer: Lexicon, Inc., 3 Oak Park, Bedford, MA 01730-1441; 781/280-0300 Price: DC-1, $4,995 (as tested, see text); LDD-1, $700 Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: Howard Ferstler One of the most interesting things about...

Yamaha DSP-A1.(surround processor/amplifier combination)(Evaluation)
November 1, 1998... Manufacturer: Yamaha Electronics Corporation, 6660 Orangethorpe Avenue, Buena Park, CA 90620; 800/4-YAMAHA Price: $2,600 (black) or $2,800 (silver/metallic) Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: Howard Ferstler As I noted in my...

Home Theater Musings.(Evaluation)
November 1, 1998... Dolby home theater sound is clearly well established and reasonably successful, Dolby Digital especially so. DTS (Digital Theater Sound) is still the new kid on the block, but the arrival of DTS receivers from Sherwood and Yamaha suggest that...

Sound Dynamics RTS-3 Loudspeakers.(Evaluation)
November 1, 1998... Manufacturer: Sound Dynamics: A division of Audio Products International, 3641 McNicoll Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada MIX 1G5; 416/321-1800 Price: $280/pair in black ash (as tested) Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer:...

Sound Dynamics RTS-9.(loudspeaker)(Evaluation)
November 1, 1998... Manufacturer: Sound Dynamics: A division of Audio Products International, 3641 McNicoll Ave., Scarborough, Ontario, Canada MIX 1G5; 416/321-1800 Price: $700/pair in black ash (as tested) Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: Steven...

Our Favorite Things: Recordings.(Review)
November 1, 1998... I thought it would be interesting to ask our staff to share their thoughts about their favorite recordings. I specified no set format, telling the staff that they could submit anything from a list to a full-blown article. The response I...

Bach: Art of the Fugue The Keller Quartet (ECM New Series 78118-21652-2); Lassus The Hilliard Ensemble (ECM New Series 78118-21658-2).(Evaluation)(Review)
November 1, 1998... Bach: Art of the Fugue The Keller Quartet (ECM New Series 78118-21652-2); Lassus The Hilliard Ensemble (ECM New Series 78118-21658-2) Let me mention quickly these two new releases from ECM's New Series, which have just recently arrived and...

Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson: The Timekeepers (JVC JVCXR 0206-2).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson: The Timekeepers (JVC JVCXR 0206-2) Recorded in 1978, this is tasty stuff. Basie and Peterson bring contrasting piano styles to bear on this straightforward music, ably supported by the rock-solid rhythm...

The Byrds: Mr. Tambourine Man (Columbia/Legacy CK 64845), Turn! Turn! Turn! (CK 64846), Fifth Dimension (CK 64847), Sweetheart of the Rodeo (CK 65150), The Notorious Byrd Brothers (CK 65151) Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde (CK 65113), Ballad of Easy Rider (CK 65114).(Review)
November 1, 1998... The Byrds: Mr. Tambourine Man (Columbia/Legacy CK 64845), Turn! Turn! Turn! (CK 64846), Fifth Dimension (CK 64847), Sweetheart of the Rodeo (CK 65150), The Notorious Byrd Brothers (CK 65151) Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde (CK 65113), Ballad of Easy...

Coteau: Highly Seasoned Cajun Music (Rounder CD 6078).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Coteau: Highly Seasoned Cajun Music (Rounder CD 6078) I'm not quite sure how to describe this music -- "Beausoleil meets the Allman Brothers meets the Grateful Dead" might be a good start -- but "highly seasoned Cajun music" seems like a...

Miles Davis: Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis 1969-1974 (Columbia CK 67909).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Miles Davis: Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis 1969-1974 (Columbia CK 67909) This CD is subtitled "reconstruction and mix translation by Bill Laswell," and what Laswell has done is to take original tapes from the Columbia vaults --...

Dohnanyi: Symphony No. 1 London Phil Orch./Leon Botstein (Telarc CD-80511).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Dohnanyi: Symphony No. 1 London Phil Orch./Leon Botstein (Telarc CD-80511) Hungarian composer Ernst Von Dohnanyi 1877-1960) is probably most widely known today for his Variations on a Nursery Rhyme and for being the grandfather of...

A Tribute to Grant Green (Evidence ECD 22211-2).(Review)
November 1, 1998... A Tribute to Grant Green (Evidence ECD 22211-2) This is a straightforward recording of some straightforward jazz trio music featuring several guitarists (Greg Green, Peter Bernstein, Ed Cherry, Russell Malone, Dave Stryker, and Mark...

Luther Kent and Trick Bag: Live (ReneGade Records Renrec CD 012).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Luther Kent and Trick Bag: Live (ReneGade Records Renrec CD 012) Up from New Orleans comes another dynamite recording job from Don Turnipseed, but not on his label. This is a dynamite live session of horn-driven blues featuring the...

Mahler: Symphony No. 6 Atlanta SO/Yoel Levi (Telarc CD-80444).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Mahler: Symphony No. 6 Atlanta SO/Yoel Levi (Telarc CD-80444) This is overall a very good performance in state-of-the-art sound, but for some reason, Levi opts to take a big cut in the first movement by leaving out a repeat. This omission...

Gustav Mahler/Uri Caine: Urlicht/Primal Light (Winter & Winter W&W 910 004-2).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Gustav Mahler/Uri Caine: Urlicht/Primal Light (Winter & Winter W&W 910 004-2) This CD begins with the opening trumpet notes from the Mahler 5th, then plunges into a postmodern Klezmer-like jazz idiom that both infuriates and captivates....

Linda Ronstadt: Greatest Hits, Volume Two (DCC Compact Classics GZS-1128).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Linda Ronstadt: Greatest Hits, Volume Two (DCC Compact Classics GZS-1128) For Linda Ronstadt fans, the release of this disc in such an impeccably mastered edition will be cause for celebration; for the rest of us, the crystal-clear sound...

Valentin Silvestrov: Dedication (for violin and orchestra) Gidon Kremer/Munich Phil/Roman Kofman, Post Scriptum Gidon Kremer/ Vadim Sacharov (Teldec 4509-99206-2).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Valentin Silvestrov: Dedication (for violin and orchestra) Gidon Kremer / Munich Phil/Roman Kofman, Post Scriptum Gidon Kremer/ Vadim Sacharov (Teldec 4509-99206-2) Valentin Silvestrov's Co. 1937) Dedication is not quite a violin concerto:...

Lonnie Smith Trio: Purple Haze (Tribute to Jimi Hendrix) (Musicmasters Jazz 01612-65135-2).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Lonnie Smith Trio: Purple Haze (Tribute to Jimi Hendrix) (Musicmasters Jazz 01612-65135-2) Although this CD was released as recently as 1995, you may have trouble finding it: I picked up my copy for three bucks (half off the mark-down...

Bennie Wallace (AudioQuest Music AQ-CD1051).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Bennie Wallace (AudioQuest Music AQ-CD1051) Saxophonist Bennie Wallace has made a career out of playing standard songs with a twist, but here he stays pretty well close to the melody, with support from pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Eddie...

Ernie Watts: Classic Moods (JVC JVCXR-0054-2).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Ernie Watts: Classic Moods (JVC JVCXR-0054-2) Having been really disappointed by a few of Ernie Watts's earlier JVC releases, I was not prepared to like this one, but after the first few bars of the first cut, "In a Sentimental Mood," I...

Webern: Langsamer Satz fur Streichquartette/Shostakovich: String Qt. #8 Burian: String Qt. #4 (ECM New Series ECM 1629).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Webern: Langsamer Satz fur Streichquartette/Shostakovich: String Qt. #8 Burian: String Qt. #4 (ECM New Series ECM 1629) String quartet fans will relish this new release from ECM. Although the Shostakovich 8th is one of the most...

Kenny Werner Trio: A Delicate Balance (RCA Victor 74321-51694-2).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Kenny Werner Trio: A Delicate Balance (RCA Victor 74321-51694-2) Pianist Kenny Werner is supported on this trio date by two jazz stalwarts, Dave Holland on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Actually, it was the presence of the latter two...

World Saxophone Quartet: Selim Sivad: A Tribute to Miles Davis (Justin Time JUST 119-2).(Review)
November 1, 1998... World Saxophone Quartet: Selim Sivad: A Tribute to Miles Davis (Justin Time JUST 119-2) The sound of the World Saxophone Quartet (Hamiet Bluiett, baritone sax and contra-alto clarinet; David Murray, tenor sax and bass clarinet; Oliver...

Double Double.(sound recordings)(Review)
November 1, 1998... Long-time readers know the drill by now: in Double Double, Tom Lyle and I compare two recordings of the same piece without consulting with each other except for choosing which recordings we plan to compare for each issue. Oddly enough, this...

Carousel Corner.(Review)
November 1, 1998... The trouble with the "newgrass" generation is that they don't know their place. Just when you think they're safely pigeonholed, they stage a breakout, determined to further blur the lines among genres. Bluegrass/newgrass aficionados know well...

Erratum.(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... Erratum: The Flying Burrito Brothers' first album, with all the tunes mentioned in No. 70, was The Gilded Palace of Sin (LP on A&M, CD on Edsel). The eponymous The Flying Burritos Brothers was their third -- after the departure of G ram Parsons...

Scoping Software: Piano, Harp, and Harpsichord.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Bach, Johann Sebastian: Bach for Harpsichord. (Including the French Suite Number 6.) Albert Fuller, harpsichord. Recorded in 1992, at the Presbyterian Church, Rye, New York. Engineer: Keith Johnson. 55+ minutes. Reference Recordings RR-51CD....

Adam: Le Toreador. Sumi Jo, John Aler, Michel Trempont; Richard Bonynge, Orchestra of Welsh National Opera. London 289 455 66-42.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Adam: Le Toreador. Sumi Jo, John Aler, Michel Trempont; Richard Bonynge, Orchestra of Welsh National Opera. London 289 455 66-42. This little one-disc comic opera is reminiscent of much of Adolphe Adam's ballets: it's light, frothy,...

Arnold: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4. Andrew Penny, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. Naxos 8.553739.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Arnold: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4. Andrew Penny, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. Naxos 8.553739. Born in 1921, Sir Malcolm Arnold continued to write symphonic music until 1990, when he abruptly stopped, saying he "had done enough." All...

Bach: Saint Matthew Passion. Teresa Stich-Randall, Hilde Rossl-Majdan, Waldmar Kmentt, Walter Berry; Mogens Woldike, Chamber Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera and Vienna Chamber Choirs. Vanguard Classics SVC 85-87 (3-disc set).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Bach: Saint Matthew Passion. Teresa Stich-Randall, Hilde Rossl-Majdan, Waldmar Kmentt, Walter Berry; Mogens Woldike, Chamber Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera and Vienna Chamber Choirs. Vanguard Classics SVC 85-87 (3-disc set). From...

Bach: Orchestral Suites Nos. 1-4. Andrew Parrott, Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra. EMI 7 54653-2 (2-disc set).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Bach: Orchestral Suites Nos. 1-4. Andrew Parrott, Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra. EMI 7 54653-2 (2-disc set). These performances are light, energetic, and rhythmically alive, as we might expect from Andrew Parrott, even playing with...

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 "Eroica"; An Elizabethan Suite. Sir John Barbirolli, BBC Symphony Orchestra. Dutton Laboratories CDSJB 1008.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 "Eroica"; An Elizabethan Suite. Sir John Barbirolli, BBC Symphony Orchestra. Dutton Laboratories CDSJB 1008. I did not get to hear this recording when it was first released in 1967, and by the time I heard good...

Berlioz: Romeo and Juliet. John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique. Philips 2289 454 454-2 (2-disc set).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Berlioz: Romeo and Juliet. John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique. Philips 2289 454 454-2 (2-disc set). It was just last year that Philips released Sir Colin Davis's remake of Romeo and Juliet with...

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique; Lelio excerpts. Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony and Chorus. RCA 09026-68930-2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique; Lelio excerpts. Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony and Chorus. RCA 09026-68930-2. Rule of thumb: never trust an album that features the conductor's face on the cover. Not to imply such here, but...

Blackwood Plays Blackwood. Easley Blackwood, piano. Cedille Records CDR 900000 038.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Blackwood Plays Blackwood. Easley Blackwood, piano. Cedille Records CDR 900000 038. Easley Blackwood's music, although modem, is easily accessible. The piano works on this disc are firmly rooted in traditional Romanticism and sound like...

Brahms: Hungarian Dances (complete). Mario Rossi, Vienna State Opera Orchestra. Omega Classics OCD 1023.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Brahms: Hungarian Dances (complete). Mario Rossi, Vienna State Opera Orchestra. Omega Classics OCD 1023. Up close, crystal-clear, 1955 monaural sound, with nary a trace of noise. This is one of the best remasterings of older material I have...

Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1; Scottish Fantasy. Akiko Suwanai, violin; Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Philips 454 180-2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1; Scottish Fantasy. Akiko Suwanai, violin; Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Philips 454 180-2. There have been so many new young violinists introduced in the last few years, I have been...

Camelot. Richard Burton; Julie Andrews. Sony Classical/Columbia/Legacy SK 60542. My Fair Lady. Rex Harrison; Julie Andrews. Sony Classical/Columbia/Legacy SK 60539.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Camelot. Richard Burton; Julie Andrews. Sony Classical/Columbia/Legacy SK 60542. My Fair Lady. Rex Harrison; Julie Andrews. Sony Classical/Columbia/Legacy SK 60539. Sony have reissued a number of their old Columbia musicals, newly...

Chant. The Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos. Mobile Fidelity Ultradisc II UDCD 725.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Chant. The Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos. Mobile Fidelity Ultradisc II UDCD 725. I studiously avoided this disc a few years ago during the Great Chant Phenomenon. Gregorian Chant has been around for over a thousand years, and...

Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1; four Nocturnes; Ballade No. 1; Polonaise No. 6. Maurizio Pollini, piano; Paul Kletzki, Philharmonia Orchestra. EMI Classics 7243 5 66221 2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1; four Nocturnes; Ballade No. 1; Polonaise No. 6. Maurizio Pollini, piano; Paul Kletzki, Philharmonia Orchestra. EMI Classics 7243 5 66221 2. Although I hear no sonic improvement in this reissue of Pollini's...

Chip Davis's Day Parts: Romance II. American Gramaphone AG 107-2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Chip Davis's Day Parts: Romance II. American Gramaphone AG 107-2. Both of these discs represent something new and worthy of note. In the first instance, Chip Davis's Romance II is the first album from American Gramaphone that I've been...

Nat "King" Cole: The Very Thought of You. DCC Compact Classics GZS-1119.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Nat "King" Cole: The Very Thought of You. DCC Compact Classics GZS-1119. Both of these discs represent something new and worthy of note. In the first instance, Chip Davis's Romance II is the first album from American Gramaphone that I've...

Deep Purple: Made in Japan. DCC Compact Classics GZS-1120.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Deep Purple: Made in Japan. DCC Compact Classics GZS-1120. Coming directly after engineer Steve Hoffman's stunning remasterings of Roy Orbison and Elvis, this 24 kt. Deep Purple gold disc comes as a distinct disappointment. There are some...

Dvorak: The Late Symphonies (Nos. 7, 8, 9); Legends. Witold Rowicki, London Symphony Orchestra; Raymond Leppard, London Philharmonic Orchestra. Philips Duo 456 327-2 (2-disc set).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Dvorak: The Late Symphonies (Nos. 7, 8, 9); Legends. Witold Rowicki, London Symphony Orchestra; Raymond Leppard, London Philharmonic Orchestra. Philips Duo 456 327-2 (2-disc set). It's puzzling why Philips chose to reissue these late Dvorak...

Duke Ellington: Jazz Party in Stereo. Mobile Fidelity Ultradisc II UDCD 719.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Duke Ellington: Jazz Party in Stereo. Mobile Fidelity Ultradisc II UDCD 719. This 1959 live recording features not only Ellington and his orchestra but Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Rushing, and Jimmy Jones. That's a formidable...

The French Touch. Dukas: Sorcerer's Apprentice; Saint-Saens: Omphales Spinning Wheel; Ravel: Mother Goose; Franck: Le chasseur maudit. Charles Munch, Boston Symphony Orchestra. RCA Living Stereo 09026-68978-2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... The French Touch. Dukas: Sorcerer's Apprentice; Saint-Saens: Omphales Spinning Wheel; Ravel: Mother Goose; Franck: Le chasseur maudit. Charles Munch, Boston Symphony Orchestra. RCA Living Stereo 09026-68978-2. Not that you really need...

Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue; piano transcriptions. Earl Wild, piano; Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra. Ivory Classics 70702.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue; piano transcriptions. Earl Wild, piano; Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra. Ivory Classics 70702. Historical recordings don't usually interest me unless they have something pretty impressive to offer, and the...

Angela Gheorghiu: My World. Songs from Around the Globe. Angela Gheorghiu, soprano; Malcolm Martineau, piano. London 289 458 360-2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Angela Gheorghiu: My World. Songs from Around the Globe. Angela Gheorghiu, soprano; Malcolm Martineau, piano. London 289 458 360-2. If you cherish the human voice, Ms. Gheorghiu has a good one. The plan of this recital is for the soprano to...

Glazunov: Violin Concerto in A minor; Kabalevsky: Violin Concerto in C major; Tchaikovsky: Souvenir d'un lieu cher. Gil Shaham, violin; Mikhail Pletnev, Russian National Orchestra. DG 289 457 064-2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Glazunov: Violin Concerto in A minor; Kabalevsky: Violin Concerto in C major; Tchaikovsky: Souvenir d'un lieu cher. Gil Shaham, violin; Mikhail Pletnev, Russian National Orchestra. DG 289 457 064-2. These works are such lightweight fluff...

Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks, original version; Concertos in F major and D major; Passacaille; Occasional Suite in D major. Trevor Pinnock, the English Concert. DG Archiv 453 451-2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks, original version; Concertos in F major and D major; Passacaille; Occasional Suite in D major. Trevor Pinnock, the English Concert. DG Archiv 453 451-2. In the mid-1980s, Trevor Pinnock and his English...

Haydn: Complete Piano Trios. Beaux Arts Trip. Philips 454 098-2 (9-disc set).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Haydn: Complete Piano Trios. Beaux Arts Trip. Philips 454 098-2 (9-disc set). I don't suppose any of Haydn's works can be said to have been entirely neglected, but certainly there were relatively few recordings of the Piano Trios until the...

Haydn: Cello Concertos in C & D; Sinfonia Concertante. Steven Isserlis, cello; Sir Roger Norrington, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. RCA 09026-68578-2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Haydn: Cello Concertos in C & D; Sinfonia Concertante. Steven Isserlis, cello; Sir Roger Norrington, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. RCA 09026-68578-2. This disc is a pleasure on several accounts. First, because it contains appealing and...

Hear My Prayer: English Romantic Choral Music. Vaughan Williams: Mass in G Minor; Stanford: Three Motets; Parry: Songs of Farewell. His Majestie's Clerkes, Anne Heider, director. Cedille Records 90000 036.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Hear My Prayer: English Romantic Choral Music. Vaughan Williams: Mass in G Minor; Stanford: Three Motets; Parry: Songs of Farewell. His Majestie's Clerkes, Anne Heider, director. Cedille Records 90000 036. I often find choral recordings...

The Last Dance: Music for a Vanishing Era. I Salonisti. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 05472 77377 2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... The Last Dance: Music for a Vanishing Era. I Salonisti. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 05472 77377 2. "Romantic," "nostalgic," "sentimental," "melancholy," and "haunting" are words that come to mind when listening to these short pieces of...

Ottmar Liebert: Leaning into the Night. Sony SK 63105.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Ottmar Liebert: Leaning into the Night. Sony SK 63105. Flamenco meets New Age. It was guitarist Ottmar Liebert's stated intention to produce "a very romantic album," and he certainly succeeds in creating atmospheric mood music, mixing in...

Mahler: Symphony No. 5. Daniele Gatti, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Conifer Classics 75605 51318-2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Mahler: Symphony No. 5. Daniele Gatti, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Conifer Classics 75605 51318-2. Daniele Gatti is a rising star in the classical world, but from my listening to his Mahler Fifth, he is not yet in the league of great...

Mendelssohn and Sibelius Violin Concertos. Sarah Chang, violin; Mariss Jansons, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. EMI CDC 7243 5 56418 2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Mendelssohn and Sibelius Violin Concertos. Sarah Chang, violin; Mariss Jansons, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. EMI CDC 7243 5 56418 2. This disc is a good example of how hard it is to sell classical music these days. Both interpretations...

Menotti: The Medium. Patrice Michaels Bedi, Joyce Castle; Lawrence Rapchak, Ensemble of Chicago Opera Theater. Cedille Records CDR 900000 034.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Menotti: The Medium. Patrice Michaels Bedi, Joyce Castle; Lawrence Rapchak, Ensemble of Chicago Opera Theater. Cedille Records CDR 900000 034. Modern opera doesn't usually appeal to me, but Gian Carlo Menotti's The Medium (1945) is oddly...

Musical Book of Hours. Alexander Blachly, Pomerium. DG Archiv 289 457 586-2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Musical Book of Hours. Alexander Blachly, Pomerium. DG Archiv 289 457 586-2. "Books of Hours" were devotional volumes produced in the 13th to 16th centuries to bring Medieval Christianity to life for its European readers. Thousands of...

Offenbach: Gaite Parisienne; Rossini/Respighi: La Boutizue Fantasque. Arthur Fiedler, Boston Pops Orchestra. RCA Living Stereo 09026-68570-2 (24K gold edition).(Review)
November 1, 1998... Offenbach: Gaite Parisienne; Rossini/Respighi: La Boutizue Fantasque. Arthur Fiedler, Boston Pops Orchestra. RCA Living Stereo 09026-68570-2 (24K gold edition). It is no secret that RCA's remastered Living Stereo series from the late '50s...

Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible. Liubov Sokolova, Nikolai Putilin, soloists; Chorus of the Kirov Opera; Valery Gergiev, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Philips 289 456 645-2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible. Liubov Sokolova, Nikolai Putilin, soloists; Chorus of the Kirov Opera; Valery Gergiev, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Philips 289 456 645-2. Ivan the Terrible may not consistently match the quality of...

Respighi: Pines, Fountains, and Festivals of Rome. Daniele Gatti, Orchestra Dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Conifer 75605 51292-2.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Respighi: Pines, Fountains, and Festivals of Rome. Daniele Gatti, Orchestra Dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Conifer 75605 51292-2. Amid formidable competition from the likes of Reiner (RCA), Muti (EMI), and Dutoit (London),...