Author Archive for Reference Recordings – Page 17
Pittsburgh Symphony an ArkivMusic Best of 2016
ArkivMusic.com names Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s Strauss: Elektra & Der Rosenkavalier their #2 recording of 2016! This ongoing series from orchestra and conductor goes from strength to strength. Another stunning album, one which should be an essential purchase for devotees of the composer. See the list on ArkivMusic.com Reference Recordings Amazon Native DSD
Making A Scene on Professin’ The Blues
Order Now Making A Scene reviews the new Fiona Boyes release, Professin’ The Blues: “Fiona Boyes has a new album release, Professin’ The Blues, and on it, she does just that. Produced by the legendary Professor Keith O. Johnson of Reference Records and recorded at Skywalker Sound studios in California, this is a perfect match of space, producer and artist. Also, Boyes is joined by two master musicians, drummer Jim Bott and bassist Danny Croy.…
Living Blues Reviews Professin’ The Blues
Order Now Living Blues Magazine reviews Fiona Boyes’ new Professin’ the Blues recording in their latest issue: “Fiona Boyes continues to make superlative music grounded in the various styles of the blues. … A master of audio engineering, [‘Prof’ Keith O.] Johnson creates a sound that is warm, present and balanced so that the instruments and vocals can be heard clearly and distinctly. Boyes uses four different guitars throughout the album’s 16 songs…and she coaxes…
Wuthering Heights an Opera News Top 10
Opera News released their Top 10 Opera Recordings of 2016, and coming in at #8 was the Florentine Opera and Milwaukee Symphony recording of Carlisle Floyd’s Wuthering Heights! “It contains some beautiful music that deserves to be heard, as evidenced by this world-premiere recording.” —Rebecca Paller Florentine Opera Company Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Joseph Mechavich, conductor The Florentine Opera Company® brings American opera composer Carlisle Floyd’s operatic masterpiece, based on the classic English novel by Emily…
Kansas City Saint-Saëns on Fanfare’s Want List
Fanfare critic Andrew Quint has named Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony’s Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 “Organ” to his 2016 year-end “Want List”: “San Francisco’s Reference Recordings, issuing musically worthy recordings in audiophile sound for more than three decades, continues its rewarding relationship with Michael Stern and the over-achieving Kansas City Symphony. This all-Saint-Saëns program is anchored by the well-worn “Organ” Symphony, played here with sure-footed metrical precision plus plenty of cinematic splendor. “Professor”…
ClassicsToday Reviews “Thrilling” Pittsburgh Symphony Recording
“This is juicy. I’m sure that many music lovers have wished that Strauss had made a suite from Elektra. It is, after all, one of his most exciting scores, as well as one of his most symphonically cogent. Well, here it is, courtesy of Manfred Honeck and Tomas Ille, and it’s a doozy. You get all of the major bits: Elektra’s opening monologue, the entry of Klytaemnestra, the recognition scene, the two murders, and of…
First Listen – Adam Schoenberg: American Symphony!
Coming January 2017 — Adam Schoenberg: American Symphony • Finding Rothko • Picture Studies featuring Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony! Enjoy a first listen on our SoundCloud Channel: Adam Schoenberg: American Symphony • Finding Rothko • Picture StudiesKansas City SymphonyMichael SternLabel: Reference Recordings RR-139Release Date: January 20, 2017
Pittsburgh Symphony On Fanfare Want Lists!
Three Fanfare Magazine critics have Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s recordings on their 2016 year-end “Want Lists”: Order Now Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 “Manfred Honeck’s Beethoven… helps you to recapture the shock of the new. There is nothing gimmicky or freakish about it, but I wasn’t 10 seconds into this SACD before I sat up and took notice. The booklet contains Honeck’s almost blow-by-blow description of both symphonies, and it is…
Coming in 2017!
In October, we spent time with Doug MacLeod at Skywalker gathering songs for his next RR release. Percussionist Oliver Brown, bassist Denny Croy, drummer Jimi Bott and singer/guitarist, Jesse MacLeod, Doug’s son, made musical magic! Coming mid-2017! Front (L-R): Oliver Brown, Doug MacLeod, Jimi Bott; Back (L-R): Denny Croy, Jesse MacLeod
New Pittsburgh Symphony Recording in Gramophone
Gramophone Magazine’s “High Fidelity” section used the new Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck Strauss: Elektra & Der Rosenkavalier as one of their December Test Discs! “This recording of Manfred Honeck’s suite from Strauss’s Elektra is a true demonstration-quality set, well up to the Reference label’s usual standards.”
Fiona Boyes Will Knock You Off Your Chair
Order Now “Out of Australia comes the devastating, gorgeous acoustic blues of Fiona Boyes, a women who has garnered countless Blues Foundation nominations and now confidently hits us between the ears with her new release, Professin’ the Blues, on the venerable Reference Recordings (“RR”) label.… Fiona’s “Professin’ is nothing short of a sonic spectacular from the Prof and the RR team.… Boyes’ music speaks in tough, switchblade sharp fashion (of craggy hard times in love…
GRAMMY Award Nomination Congratulations!
Producer Of The Year, Classical Nominees Marina A. Ledin, Victor Ledin (Moszkowski: From Foreign Lands) Blanton Alspaugh (Carlisle Floyd: Wuthering Heights)! Marina A. Ledin, Victor Ledin Congratulations to RR collaborators Marina A. Ledin and Victor Ledin. With multiple GRAMMY® Award nominations, the Ledins have produced and edited several of Reference Recordings’ recent releases, and will contintue in that capacity for the future. Following their nomination for last year’s GRAMMY® Awards with a portfolio of three…
New MusicWeb International Review for Pittsburgh Tchaikovsky/Dvořák
Brian Reinhart pens the third MusicWeb International review for Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 and Dvořák Rusalka Fantasy recording: “The Pittsburgh Symphony is one of the world’s great orchestras, here displaying rich, lush old-world strings which bring to mind conductor Manfred Honeck’s experience in Vienna. The brass section is thrillingly punchy and forward, as is the timpanist. Honeck has good ideas about the symphony, like occasionally dialing back the…
Celebrate December With Our Spotify Playlist!
Celebrate the start of December with our RR Christmas playlist on Spotify!
Fiona Boyes in Downbeat Magazine
Order Now Fiona Boyes Professin’ The Blues gets a four-star review in the January 2017 issue of Downbeat Magazine: “Fiona Boyes’… voice is a subtly remarkable instrument, combining her natural understanding of country blues with a finely judged sense of drama to produce music of emotional breadth. With offhand ease, she makes her acoustic, metal-body resonator and cigar-box guitars spring forward as commentators on cheating, rootlessness and other topics broached in the lyrics to 14…