Author Archive for Reference Recordings – Page 6
Textura Reviews Utah Symphony’s Mahler Symphony No. 8
Canada’s Textura magazine reviews the Thierry Fischer, Utah Symphony, and Mormon Tabernacle Choir recording of Mahler: Symphony No. 8: “How valuable is this recording? Great indeed, considering how modest in number are those available of the eighth and relatedly how rarely it’s performed. In both cases, the reasons have nothing to do with the work’s artistic merit, which is substantial; it’s simply that performances, whether it be for a live presentation or for a recording,…
Blues Music Magazine Celebrates Doug MacLeod and Break The Chain
The January 2018 issue of Blues Music Magazine is out and available online, sporting a front cover, and five pages devoted Doug MacLeod and his Break The Chain recording: “A knock and a quick response: the green door of the home in a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C. cracks open and bluesman Doug MacLeod pokes his head and shoulders out and into this sunny October afternoon, answering for his host, radio blues broadcaster Bill Wax.…
Doug MacLeod Break The Chain Nominated for Independent Music Awards
The Music Resource Group announced the Nominees in The 16th annual Independent Music Awards (The IMAs), and Doug MacLeod’s Break The Chain is nominated for Blues Album of the Year! Winners will be announced March 31st at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. See the full list of nominees at IndependentMusicAwards.com and vote for Doug in the Fan selections! Break the Chain In this release, his third album for Reference…
Gramophone Reviews the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Shostakovich and Barber Recording
Gramophone Magazine has a new review for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber Adagio for Strings recording in the February 2018 issue: “Manfred Honeck seems intent on wringing every last drop of drama from the symphony in this live recording. He seizes upon the first movement’s stark juxtapositions. Rhythms in the jagged opening phrases are razor-sharp and urgently dispatched … then the pace eases as the mood becomes more…
Break The Chain a Living Blues Top Album of 2017
Living Blues released their Top 50 Blues Albums for 2017 and Doug MacLeod’s Blues Music Awards-nominated album, Break The Chain, comes in at #48! “Like all good blues storytellers, Doug MacLeod sings and speaks the truth. Indeed, the blues as a medium of truth telling appears throughout his latest release, Break the Chain. In the liner notes, MacLeod reveals that his son, Jesse, who plays guitar on the disc, was diagnosed with spindle cell melanoma…
Thierry Fischer Leads Royal Philharmonic in San Francisco
Thierry Fischer impresses The Bay Area Reporter‘s Philip Campbell while leading London’s Royal Philharmonic on a six-concert West Coast tour: “Fischer, who is music director of the Utah Symphony, has shown a personal taste for orchestral richness and dynamic contrasts… His Reference Recordings HDCD of Mahler’s mighty Eighth, with the Utah Symphony and Mormon Tabernacle Choir… proves an overwhelmingly grand and beautiful listening experience. Fischer hasn’t just kept his eye on the past either, commissioning…
Pittsburgh Symphony GRAMMY Celebration Roundup
The Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s GRAMMY® Awards celebrations continue — below is a list of the latest news, reviews, and interviews from around the globe: WESA Pittsburgh Interview with PSO President Melia Tourangeau Manfred Honeck Live reaction video on Sunday night! WQED Interview with Manfred Honeck Radio Vorarlberg (Austria) Interview with Maestro Honeck Vorarlberg Online (Austria) feature – From Vienna to Pittsburgh CBS Pittsburgh Celebrates Pittsburgh Tribune-Review celebrations Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Manfred Honeck, Music…
And the GRAMMY Goes To…
Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s “Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber Adagio” recording wins TWO 2018 GRAMMY® Awards for Best Orchestral Performance AND Best Engineered, Classical! Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Manfred Honeck, Music Director Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 and Barber Adagio for Strings Order Now Reference Recordings proudly presents these two beloved works in definitive interpretations from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, in superb audiophile sound. This release is the seventh in the…
Gramophone Reviews Utah Symphony Mahler 8
Thierry Fischer, the Utah Symphony, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir‘s Mahler: Symphony No. 8 recording gets a rave review in Gramophone Magazine: “The Utah Symphony were the first American orchestra to record a complete Mahler cycle. Under Thierry Fischer, Utah’s music director since 2009, they have mounted another Mahler cycle in celebration of the orchestra’s 75th anniversary.…And a lovely thing it is. Thierry Fischer is clearly a Mahlerian to contend with, full of ideas and…
NativeDSD review for Pittsburgh Symphony’s Shostakovich
John Huxhold and Eric Meyer review the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck Shostakovich/Barber recording in the new NativeDSD reviews blog, “Call For Reviewers”: “Manfred Honeck is making a name for himself and his Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for his carefully considered and nuanced approach to the music of Richard Strauss and, in this case, the Shostakovich 5th. The high, quiet strings in the first movement float serenely above a low bass; the second movement is slower…
Manfred Honeck Wins 2018 Artist of the Year ICMA!
Manfred Honeck has been named the 2018 International Classical Music Awards Artist of the Year! The ICMA – having taken the place of the Cannes Classical Awards (later known as MIDEM) – first awarded prizes in 2011, and has since taken its place as the leading pan-European competition for excellence in classical recording. Its jury of 16 distinguished classical critics and broadcasters represents countries from Turkey to Russia, including most European nations in between. Congratulations…
Thierry Fischer joins WCLV Ideastream
WCLV Classical hosts Utah Symphony’s Thierry Fischer to talk about Mahler Symphony No. 8. Listen on-demand at wclv.ideastream.org. https://ideastream-production.s3.amazonaws.com/audio/2018/01/180107%20Thierry%20Fischer.mp3 Order Now Mahler Symphony No. 8 The Utah Symphony is one of America’s major symphony orchestras and a leading cultural organization in the Intermountain West. It is recognized internationally for its distinctive performances, commitment to music education programs, history and recording legacy. Here they join with the internationally-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir to present a thrilling…
Doug MacLeod Joins International Blues Challenge Keynote Panel
Doug MacLeod, whose latest Blues Music Award-nominated recording’s title-track, Break The Chain, highlights Doug’s own story of “breaking the chain” of abuse, will join The International Blues Challenge’s Keynote Panel on “Addiction, Abuse, and the Blues” this Friday, January 19, 2018 in Memphis, TN: Keynote Panel of The International Blues Challenge: AAB: Addiction, Abuse, and the Blues The IBC Keynote Panel will explore the often hidden and shame-filled topics of addiction, abuse, and their relationship…
You Can Trust Manfred Honeck!
ClassicsToday.com is forgoing the usual “Best of” lists for 2017 to begin a new, annual “Artists You Can Trust” list featuring their top ten currently active performers “whose body of work sustains the highest level of consistency and musical excellence.” We’re happy to announce, that FRESH! From RR artist Manfred Honeck has made this inaugural list! Find the full list and their entire archive of Manfred Honeck recording reviews at ClassicsToday.com. Manfred Honeck Recordings on…
Thierry Fischer Talks Mahler Symphony 8 on WQED
Thierry Fischer talks about his new Mahler Symphony No. 8 recording with the Utah Symphony and a potential visit to Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh on WQED’s Voice of the Arts: https://www.wqed.org/podcasts/voice_of_the_arts/2017/thiery_fisher_171212_podcast.mp3 Order Now Mahler Symphony No. 8 The Utah Symphony is one of America’s major symphony orchestras and a leading cultural organization in the Intermountain West. It is recognized internationally for its distinctive performances, commitment to music education programs, history and recording legacy. Here…