Author Archive for Reference Recordings – Page 7
THREE Blues Music Awards Nominations!
The 39th Annual Blues Music Awards nominees were announced this morning (January 9, 2017) in Memphis, TN and Reference Recordings artists and albums have combined for THREE nominations! 39th Blues Music Award Nominees Acoustic Album of the Year: Break the Chain Acoustic Artist of the Year: Doug MacLeod Instrumentalist-Drums: Jimi Bott Vote Now Full Nominee Press Release Order Now Break The Chain In this release, his third album for Reference Recordings, Doug MacLeod continues to…
Classical-Modern Music Heartily Recommends Utah Symphony’s Mahler 8
“As much as I’ve appreciated Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 over time, I have connected only tangentially to it on a personal level. Until now. Thierry Fischer directs the Utah Symphony and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in a brand new recording. … Fischer and the Utah contingent meet the challenges and bring us a single-hearted reading that perhaps is less Wagnerian (a problem with some readings) than Mahlerian, less strictly giganticistic and more focused than some.…
American Record Guide Reviews Shostakovich and Barber
The January/February 2018 issue of American Record Guide features a new review for Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio for Strings recording: “Manfred Honeck has…drawn on Shostakovich’s life and experiences for his interpretation fo the Fifth. Honeck does not ‘rewrite’ the piece, but he does adapt interpretive points to what he believes the muic is saying or depicting. The result is one of the more interesting performances of the…
Break The Chain a Top Blues Release of 2017
Making A Scene released their “Top 50 Indie Blues Albums of 2017” and Doug MacLeod’s Break The Chain makes the list! “MacLeod has a rhythmic guitar style, a soulful voice and loves to tell a story usually via a narrative in which he builds rapport with his audience. His regular band mates Denny Croy, bass; and BMA award winner Jimi Bott, drums; are joined by percussionist Oliver Brown (who has worked with everyone from KC…
Four Stars for Shostakovich & Barber from BBC Magazine
Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck‘s Shostakovich/Barber receives ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ performance and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ recording ratings from BBC Music Magazine: “Manfred Honeck’s Shostakovich sounds magnificent. From intense pianissimos to the shrieking upper register and full bass thwack of a grand peroration…there’s faith in what can sometimes seem like a time-serving symphony. … the scherzo is writ huge, like Mahler on steroids, cellos and basses digging in at the start; the finale has all the trenchancy it needs… [the…
Tune in Blues Music Awards Announcement
The Blues Foundation with broadcast partner Ditty TV will announce the 39th Blues Music Awards nominees LIVE from Memphis on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 starting at 10am CST! Watch via Ditty TV or The Blues Foundation’s Facebook page and keep your fingers crossed for Doug MacLeod, his new Break The Chain album, and Fiona Boyes! RR Blues on Spotify
Utah Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony Receive Positive Feedback Award
We’re happy to be share that our latest recordings with the Utah and Pittsburgh Symphonies have been honored with a 2017 “Brutus Award” from audiophile magazine, Positive Feedback! “Reference Recordings has been a primo name among audiophile labels for many years now. I …was particularly struck by the Thierry Fischer/Utah Symphony/Mormon Tabernacle Choir Mahler 8. Recorded and mastered by the brilliant production and engineering team at Soundmirror, this SACD shines wonderfully. “My praise must be…
Pacifica Tribune Features Reference GRAMMY® Nominations
The Pacifica Tribune highlights our GRAMMY nominations: Often referenced as “the best seat in the house,” Reference Recordings (RR) is an independent classical, blues and jazz audiophile record label located in Pacifica’s Crespi Business Center. On January 28, 2018, members of the RR team will join other Grammy nominees at the 60th Grammy Awards airing live from New York City. RR is the recipient of four Grammy nominations – two records, two nominations each. “RR-139…
Shostakovich/Barber a MusicWeb Recording of the Year
Add MusicWeb International Recording of the Year to the growing list of accolades for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio recording! “I find this interpretation of a so familiar symphony to be as convincing as it is revelatory. The Pittsburgh Symphony show themselves to be in inspired and virtuosic form under conductor Manfred Honeck who makes unconventional but inspired interpretative choices. Reference Recordings provide a recording of superb…
Pittsburgh’s Shostakovich Makes the Forbes Best of 2017
Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony‘s Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio recording makes the Forbes Best Classical Recordings of 2017 list! “[Manfred Honeck] interprets – he even anthropomorphizes the music. It works! The music comes alive in uncanny ways. I’m wary of interpreting too much into composers and their works, especially Shostakovich. … Honeck’s profound empathizing with the music – equally obvious from his own, extensive liner notes – denotes a passionate, detail-happy, and…
Classical CD Choice Reviews Utah Symphony’s Impressive Mahler 8
Barry Forshaw reviews the new Utah Symphony and Thierry Fischer recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 on Classical CD Choice: “It will hardly come as a revelation to those who have been collecting earlier Reference Recordings discs of the great masterpieces of the orchestral repertoire that this new reading of Mahler’s monumental Eighth Symphony is so impressive. … it’s clear that both the musical and recording values are (as usual) firmly in place. The singing,…
Reference Recordings Holiday Sale!
Celebrate the holidays with a RR Holiday Sale! From today, Monday, December 11th, through Sunday, December 17, save 15% on our entire catalog (savings reflected in cart) — including our 2018 GRAMMY®-nominated recordings! For Christmas delivery, select First Class or Priority shipping at checkout. Save 15% on our 2018 GRAMMY® Nominees Nominated for: Best Engineered Album, Classical Best Orchestral Performance Nominated for: Best Engineered Album, Classical Best Contemporary Classical Composition Shop Now Shop Now Save…
We Wish You a meRRy Christmas!
Celebrate the season with our updated “RR Christmas” playlist on Spotify! Featuring tracks from Horns for the Holidays, Star of Wonder, Holidays & Epiphanies, and Arnold Overtures:
Jerry Junkin Talks Horns for the Holidays
The Dallas Winds are gearing up for their Christmas concert, and there are a few works you might recognize — Jerry Junkin explains: Horns for the Holidays An outstanding new release from America’s premier professional wind band! The Dallas Wind Symphony has a worldwide legion of followers and this is their first recording of holiday music. Horns for the Holidays showcases an exciting 12-track lineup including brilliant original arrangements of festive favorites with many first…
Manfred Honeck has the Pittsburgh Symphony in Fine Form
MusicWeb International critic, Michael Cookson, offers high praise for Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony‘s Barber: Adagio recording: “Samuel Barber’s renowned Adagio for Strings is his best-known work an arrangement for string orchestra from the second movement of his 1936 String Quartet, Op. 11. … In one of the finest performances I have heard, Honeck ensures the Adagio for Strings is played with an affecting vulnerability maintaining the emotional tension in the writing at an…