Sensible Sound articles from September 2004

Sensible Sound archives from September 2004

Ramblings.(Editorial)
September 1, 2004... Welcome to Issue 101, which features quite a variety of attractions. Not only are there some reviews of some interesting equipment and plenty of our usual music reviews, but there are also some show reports and a sneak preview of an exciting...

Search for it ...(Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2004... I used to wonder where does one find the CDs recommended in your magazine, for most of them cannot be found in Borders or Tower. Well, I found the answer, arkivmusic.com. They seem to have all the available recordings. I think they should...

... Then just buy it.(Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2004... A local retailer received a world premiere of Jennifer Higdon's Concerto for Orchestra and City Scape (Telarc SACD 60620). At a cost of $18.50 I was afraid to buy unknown music. A call to Telarc was of little help. Oh well, I purchased it....

Straits of the arts.
September 1, 2004... Occasionally, there occurs a seemingly random, serendipitous confluence of events, the meaning of each quite accidentally expanding on the other. On June 9 it was reported that Clear Channel Communications, the nation's single largest...

A skeptical interlude.(Skeptimania)(Column)
September 1, 2004... The header for this column has always been "Skeptimania," meaning that your writer is inclined to be suspicious about a lot of things relating to audio, particularly when it comes to hyperbolic high-end audio claims and products. Unfortunately,...

Thinking outside the box: our man in New York covers the Home Entertainment 2004 Show.(Show Report)
September 1, 2004... This is the fifth Home Entertainment Show that I've covered, and I'm happy to report that speaker design keeps getting better. Each time I audition 4050 speakers, and give you both my impressions as the show went along and my conclusions now...

Sneak preview: NHT Xd DSP-corrected Loudspeaker.(Components)
September 1, 2004... For as long as Hi Fi has existed we have put an amplifier in one corner of the room and connected it through a pair of cables to a speaker with multiple drivers. The signal is steered to each driver by the crossover network. How many things are...

Hsu Research Ventriloquist VT-12 system/STF-1 subwoofer.(Product/Service Evaluation)
September 1, 2004... Manufacturer: Hsu Research, 3106 E. La Palma Avenue, #D, Anaheim, CA 92806; 800/554-0150; hsuresearch.com Price: $498 (includes four VT254 front/rear satellites, one VT641 center-front satellite, one VT251 center-back satellite, and STF-1...

M&K model B1600 loudspeakers.(Product/Service Evaluation)
September 1, 2004... Manufacturer: Miller & Kreisel Sound, Inc., 9351 Deering Ave., Chatsworth, CA 91311-5858 Price: $998/pair Source: Manufacturer Loan Reviewer: James T. Frane Big sound from a mighty midget speaker: That begins to describe the...

Magnum Dynalab MD100 analog FM tuner.(Product/Service Evaluation)
September 1, 2004... Manufacturer: Magnum Dynalab c/o Trans American, 2775 Broadway, Buffalo, NY 14227-1043 Source: Manufacturer Loan Price: $1,500 Reviewer: James T. Frane Many people enjoy listening to FM radio in both their vehicles and...

MartinLogan Clarity electrostatic/dynamic hybrid loudspeaker.(Product/Service Evaluation)
September 1, 2004... Manufacturer: MartinLogan, 2101 Delaware St., Lawrence, KS 66046; 785/749-0133; www.martinlogan.com Price: $2,695 (special finishes available at extra cost) Source: Manufacturer Loan Reviewer: Tom Lyle The Clarity is...

John Abercrombie: Selected Recordings.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... John Abercrombie: Selected Recordings (ECM :rarum XIV, B0001793-02) Last November I saw guitarist John Abercrombie on stage as he performed with Charles Lloyd's quintet. With his thin, graying hair, black suit, and slightly hunched-over...

Albeniz: Iberia.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Albeniz: Iberia (Arranged for three guitars by Christophe Dejour) Trio Campanella (Naxos 8.557064) Over the years I have enjoyed recordings of this enchanting music featuring solo piano and orchestral transcriptions. Now we have a...

The Bo-Keys: the Royal Sessions.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... The Bo-Keys: The Royal Sessions (Yellow Dog Records YDR 1061) When I first got this CD I was really pumped up, and the first few times I played it, I was pretty darn excited. The story is a great one--an ofay bass player brining back...

Jack DeJohnette: Selected Recordings.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Jack DeJohnette: Selected Recordings (ECM :rarum XII, B0001797-02) There are songs that haunt you your whole life. One of those for me has been "Silver Hollow" by Jack DeJohnette's New Direction band, which appears on this compilation of...

Portrait of Bill Evans.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Portrait of Bill Evans (VICJ-61171) This tribute to the lyrical legend features pianists Eliane Elias, Gave Grusin, Herbie Hancock, Bob James, and Brad Mehldau, backed up in various combinations by Richard Bona, Marc Johnson on bass and...

Michael Hersch: Chamber Music.(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Michael Hersch: Chamber Music Michael Hersch, piano/Matthew Hunter, viola/David Riniker, cello/String Soloists of the Berlin Philharmonic (Vanguard Classics ATM-CD-1240) Michael Hersch (b. 1971) is a young American composer who is just...

Kancheli: Diplipito; Valse Boston.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Kancheli: Diplipito; Valse Boston Thomas Demenga, cello/Derek Lee Ragin, countertenor/ Dennis Russell Davies, piano/Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra/Denis Russell Davies, con& (ECM New Series 1773 472 0822) Over the years I have recommended...

Pat Metheny: Selected Recordings.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Pat Metheny: Selected Recordings (ECM :rarum IX, B0001800-2) Can it really have been 20 years since Pat Metheny left ECM? The music compiled here still sounds as fresh and exciting as it did when I first started listening to Pat Metheny...

Enrico Rava: Easy Living.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Enrico Rava: Easy Living (ECM 1760 B000222002) Veteran trumpeter Enrico Rava leads a quintet with Gianluca Petrella on trombone, Stefano Bollani on piano, Rosario Bonaccorso on bass, and Roberto Gatto on drums. The combination of trumpet...

Eberhard Weber: Selected Recording.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Eberhard Weber: Selected Recordings (ECM :rarum XVIII, B0001804-2) I had almost forgotten how enjoyable the music of bassist Eberhard Weber is until I listened to this compilation, which includes more than 70 minutes of gently tuneful,...

Double double.(The Music)
September 1, 2004... This time around, Tom and I thought it would be fun to compare two recordings of music that was originally written for ballet but has gained fame in concert halls and some notable recordings, Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev. The Telarc label...

Carousel corner.(The Music)
September 1, 2004... We had the opportunity earlier this summer to see Bonnie Raitt and her band and Richard Thompson perform live at Wolf Trap in Northern Virginia. Raitt, now all of 55, sang with throaty conviction, touching on emotional regions that elude the...

Reissue roundup.
September 1, 2004... Shortcake Rides Tall Again! Bill Berry (born 9/15/1930, died 11/13/2002) was one of the most underrated cornet/trumpet players of the latter part of the 20th century. Despite his relatively meager recorded output though (All Music Guide on...

Tom Nousaine's musical adventures (continued).
September 1, 2004... Instead of giving our Editor a list of favorite recordings last time I gave a list of the most recent pop/rock/blues concerts I had attended. The not-so-well-hidden sub agenda was to encourage folks to get out and hear the music as often as...

Scoping software.(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Bach, J.S.: Six Suites for Solo Cello. Sergei Istomin, cello. Recorded in 1997, at Saint John's Anglican Church, Elora, Ontario. Engineer: probably Clive Allen. 131+ minutes (2-disc set). Analekta 3114. To paraphrase information contained...

Bach: the Complete Orchestral Suites.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Bach: The Complete Orchestral Suites. Martin Pearlman, Boston Baroque Orchestra. Telarc CD-80619. After raving ecstatically about the Boston Baroque's period instruments' version of Handel's Water Music not long before, I couldn't wait to...

Ballets Russes. Russian Dances and Ballets.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Ballets Russes. Russian Dances and Ballets. Paavo Jarvi; Marinsky Choir, St. Petersburg; Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Virgin Classics 7243-5-45609-2. One cannot help thinking of Neeme Jarvi and Paavo Berglund when hearing the...

Beethoven: Symphony No. 7.(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Beethoven: Symphony No. 7. Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra. JVC JMCXR-0006. I hadn't heard this performance in so long I'd forgotten it even existed. But when I heard it again in this JVC audiophile remaster, it all came back. How...

Beethoven: Triple Concerto; Schumann: Piano Concerto.(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Beethoven: Triple Concerto; Schumann: Piano Concerto. Martha Argerich, piano; Renaud Capucon, violin; Mischa Maisky, cello. Alexandre Rabinovitch-Barakovsky, Orchestra della Svizzera italiana. EMI 7243-5-57773-2. I really, really dislike...

Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4; "Haydn" Variations; Alto Rhapsody; Academic and Tragic Overtures.(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4; "Haydn" Variations; Alto Rhapsody; Academic and Tragic Overtures. Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra. EMI 7243 5 62760 2 8 (3-disc set). Two prefacing comments: (1) I am not the biggest fan of the Brahms...

Chopin: Waltzes; Impromptus.(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Chopin: Waltzes; Impromptus. Arthur Rubinstein. RCA 82876-59422-2. When discussing the great pianists of the twentieth century, no one could fail to mention the name of Arthur Rubinstein. Indeed, for many piano enthusiasts, Rubinstein might...

Dvorak: Cello Concerto; Strauss: Don Quixote.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Dvorak: Cello Concerto; Strauss: Don Quixote. Mischa Maisky, cello; Zubin Mehta, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. DG B00002054-02. This live recording of Dvorak and Strauss with Maisky, Mehta, and the Berlin Philharmonic from 2002 strikes me...

Grieg: Piano Concerto; Symphonic Dances; In Autumn Overture.(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Grieg: Piano Concerto; Symphonic Dances; In Autumn Overture. Havard Gimse, piano; Bjarte Engeset, Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Naxos 8.557279. Naxos continues to offer good value for the classical buyer's dollar, as this album of...

Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 99-104.(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 99-104. Sir Thomas Beecham, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. EMI 7243 5 85513-2 (2-disc set). Time was, you couldn't mention the late Haydn symphonies without mentioning Sir Thomas Beecham. The symphonies were among his...

Khachaturian: Masquerade Suite; Kabalevsky: the Comedians.(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Khachaturian: Masquerade Suite; Kabalevsky: The Comedians. Kiril Kondrashin, RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra. JVC JM-XR24014. I've heard quite a few of the JVC remasterings now, and this is the first one that I have never had in my...

Mahler: Symphony No. 3.(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Mahler: Symphony No. 3. Benjamin Zander, Philharmonia Orchestra. Telarc 3CD-80599. This is as enjoyable a performance of Mahler's Third, his "nature" symphony, as any I've heard, and it's as realistically recorded as any around. In a...

Leopold Mozart: Symphonies.(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Leopold Mozart: Symphonies. Michi Gaigg, L'Orfeo Barockorchester. CPO 999 942-2. Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) was so obviously overshadowed by his son that a person hardly recognizes anything by the father anymore, save the occasional...

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; Night on Bald Mountain; Khovanshchina; Borodin: in the Steppes of Central Asia.(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; Night on Bald Mountain; Khovanshchina; Borodin: In the Steppes of Central Asia. Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Mobile Fidelity UDSACD 4004. As you know, Mussorgsky wrote his Pictures at...

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; Night on Bare Mountain; Boris Godunov Symphonic Synthesis; Entr' acte to Khovanshchina.
September 1, 2004... Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; Night on Bare Mountain; Boris Godunov Symphonic Synthesis; Entr' acte to Khovanshchina. Symphonic transcriptions by Leopold Stokowski. Oliver Knussen, the Cleveland Orchestra. DG B0002123-02. Most of...

Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2. Krystian Zimerman, piano; Seiji Ozawa, Boston Symphony Orchestra. DG B0001858-2. Rachmaninov once said, "I write down on paper the music I hear within me, as naturally as possible. I am a Russian...

Sousa: Marches.(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Sousa: Marches. Lt. Col G.A.C. Hoskins, Band of HM Royal Marines. EMI 7243 5 85535-2 (2-disc set). The remarkable thing about this two-disc set is that it contains forty-three Sousa marches. That's about one-third of the March King's total...

Tchaikovsky: Capriccio italien; Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio espagnol.(Sound Recording Review)
September 1, 2004... Tchaikovsky: Capriccio italien; Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio espagnol. Kiril Kondrashin, RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra. JVC JM-XR24013. In issue No. 99, Apr/May 04, a reader takes JVC to task for what he considers the unnecessarily high...