Author Archive for Reference Recordings
Between Somewhere and Goodbye “Outshines the Dark”
Beautiful review for Doug MacLeod’s Between Somewhere and Goodbye from Huntsville, Alabama’s WLRH FM/WJAB FM Radio’s Dave Gallaher: “With much gratitude I opened the CD of Between Somewhere and Goodbye — first noticing that packaging this good is an extinct luxury in contemporary blues recordings in this first quarter of the 21st century. Choosing to open this radio feature with the mysterious mysticism of I Ain’t No Stranger (a glistening addition to Doug’s “ain’t no” songs) may be asking…
Gramophone Recommends Minnesota Orchestra’s Belkis, Queen of Sheba
The July 2025 issue of Gramophone Magazine features an exploration of Ottorino Respighi’s Belkis, Queen of Sheba in the “For the Record” column: “One of Respighi’s most ambitious stage works, it was composed to a scenario by Claudio Guastalla for an enormous orchestra including a huge percussion section, offstage brass, chorus, vocal soloists and a narrator who tells the legendary story in verse. … “Eiji Oue restored the correct ordering in his splended Minnesota Orchestra…
Fanfare Declares Roberto Moronn Pérez’s Grand Finale “Not To Be Missed”!
“Something special happens when musicology comes to vibrant life. Such is the case here: guitarist Roberto Moronn Pérez has released three previous albums concentrating on unknown (or barely known) music from the Segovia Archive. Here, he presents better-known works and, where possible, uses the manuscripts found among Segovia’s papers. … Tansman’s award-winning 1950 Cavatina is no occasional work… Segovia recorded Cavatina along with the final Danza Pomposa, which was added in 1952… I actually prefer Moronn Pérez to Segovia here;…
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 & Bates: Resurrexit Wins 2025 GRAMMY® Award!
2025 GRAMMY® Award Winner – Best Engineered, Classical Bruckner: Symphony No. 7; Bates: Resurrexit Mark Donahue & John Newton, engineers; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) REFERENCE RECORDINGS® proudly presents Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7, in a new interpretation from conductor Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. It is coupled with the first recording of Mason Bates’ Resurrexit, which was composed in 2018 on a commission from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the sixtieth birthday…
Pittsburgh Symphony’s Bruckner Symphony No. 7 and Bates: Resurrexit an ICMA Symphonic Music Nominee
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s Bruckner Symphony No. 7 and Bates: Resurrexit recording has been nominated for the 2025 International Classical Music Awards in the Symphonic Music category! See the full list at icma–info.com Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 & Bates: Resurrexit REFERENCE RECORDINGS® proudly presents Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7, in a new interpretation from conductor Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. It is coupled with the first recording of Mason Bates’ Resurrexit, which was composed in 2018…
2025 GRAMMY® Nominees!
We are thrilled to share three nominations for the 2025 GRAMMY® Awards! Congratulations to all involved in these two fantastic recordings. Best Engineered Album, Classical Bruckner: Symphony No. 7; Bates: Resurrexit Mark Donahue & John Newton, engineers; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) Producer of the Year, Classical Dirk Sobotka: Bates: Resurrexit (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) Best Choral Performance “A Dream So Bright – Choral Music of Jake Runestad” Eric…
Sonograma Rave Review for Handel’s Jephtha
“David Portillo is presented with charisma, self-confident, with a spectacular vocal dexterity in the role of Jephtha. We would like to highlight the countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, who was very strong, and the brilliant soprano Lauren Snouffer as Iphis, who gave an equally impressive reading. We were surprised by the expressive singing of Clara Osowski as Storgè. Finally, we liked the pure voice of Neal Davies, bass-baritone playing Zebul, and the vocal presence of Katelyn…
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 & Bates Resurrexit in The New York Times
The New York Times‘ “5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now” column features Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 & Bates Resurrexit recording: “simply excellent… the effect in practice is magical… Even more than in his terrifying account of the Bruckner’s Ninth, you get the sense that he holds the composer in awe. And it’s difficult not to feel a similar reverence for the players of the Pittsburgh…
Gramophone Praises Kansas City Symphony’s Brahms Reimagined Orchestrations
Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony’s Brahms Reimagined Orchestrations recording receives a strong recommendation from Gramophone Magazine in the August 2024 issue: “Listening to these polished performances, I marvel that the Kansas City Symphony was founded as recently as 1981. Kudos, then, to Michael Stern, who’s stepping down as music director after 19 seasons, for helping to make the KCS a worthwhile destination on the musical map. Indeed, given Reference Recording’s crystalline sound (courtesy…
David Hurwitz Reviews Kansas City Symphony’s Brahms Reimagined Orchestrations
Thank you to ClassicsToday.com’s David Hurwitz for this wonderful recommendation of the Kansas City Symphony and Michael Stern’s Brahms Reimagined Orchestrations recording!
Celebrate Earth Day with Jake Runestad’s Earth Symphony
In celebration of Earth Day 2024 on April 22nd, we are offering an early opportunity to pre-order our upcoming release with True Concord Voices & Orchestra featuring Jake Runestad’s “Earth Symphony”. Earth Symphony is part of their album with director Eric Holtan and pianist Jeffrey Biegel, A Dream So Bright: Choral Music of Jake Runestad, which will be released on FRESH! From Reference Recordings this July. As part of the Earth Day celebrations, you can…
Classical Candor Celebrates Our Bruckner Symphony No. 9 Catalog
With Bruckner’s 200th Anniversary celebrations underway, Classical Candor critic Karl Nehring has a double-feature on our two recordings of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra and Stanisław Skrowaczewski: “Honeck and his orchestra deliver a powerful performance that indeed offers glimpses both of the divine and of the existential abyss. The recording was pulled together from live performances by the engineering team from Soundmirror, the recording firm…
Wishing Dick Hyman A Happy 97th Birthday!
Join us in wishing the Jazz Master pianist, organist, arranger, music director, and composer Dick Hyman a happy 97th birthday today! We’re celebrating with a 20% off sale on our entire catalog of his recordings throughout his birthday weekend! Dick Hyman Throughout a busy musical career that got underway in the early ’50s, Dick Hyman has functioned as pianist, organist, arranger, music director, and composer. His versatility in all of these areas has resulted in…
Atlanta Audio Club Reviews Spanish Impressions
Phil Muse reviews the Hermitage Piano Trio’s Spanish Impressions recording in the Spring issue of Atlanta Audio: “Two years ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing the CD by the Hermitage Piano Trio of Rachmaninoff’s two Trios élégiaque and a transcription of his Vocalise. As their debut CD, it made a fine calling card for these Russian ex-patriots now living and performing in the United States, by name: Mischa Keylin, violin; Sergey Antonov, cello; and…
Fanfare RAVE review for Schubert by Candlelight
Fanfare’s January/February 2024 issue features a rave review for Sergei Kvitko’s Schubert by Candlelight recording: “For every dozen pianists who record Schubert’s evergreen Moments musicaux and Impromptus, there is rarely one who plays with the presence and artistic maturity of Sergei Kvitko. There are stretches of this live recital from Madrid in 2022 when Kvitko’s depth of expression evoked echoes of classic Schubert pianists on the order of Edwin Fischer and Artur Schnabel. It isn’t surprising that…