Author Archive for Reference Recordings – Page 20
Five Stars for Hermitage Piano Trio’s Rachmaninoff from HRAudio!
HRAudio gives a 5-star rating to the performances and a 4.5-star rating to the sonics on the Hermitage Piano Trio‘s new Rachmaninoff recording: “ I put this new release in my player with much anticipation. The first thing that struck me was that it produced a sound reminding me of my old LPs before they got scratched and grey. A natural, non-glaring…sound. … Of course, sound is one thing, musical content quite another. But both should go…
Now Available from the Dallas Winds – Asphalt Cocktail: The Music of John Mackey!
All John Mackey and All Spectacular! Brilliant performances by THE DALLAS WINDS have been captured in superb audiophile sound by Reference Recordings’ award-winning engineering team: Keith O. Johnson and Sean Martin. ASPHALT COCKTAIL was crowd-funded by fans of Mackey and of the Dallas Winds. Their support made this unique, all-John Mackey release possible. The recording was made in Dallas Texas, in the Morton H. Meyerson Concert Center, one of the world’s greatest concert halls. Mackey is one of…
Hermitage Piano Trio’s Rachmaninoff is “Truly Splendid”
MusicWeb International’s Jim Westhead offers a thorough review of the Hermitage Piano Trio’s Rachmaninoff recording: “The Hermitage trio plays…beautifully, aided by the mellifluous recording. … Reference Recordings have long been renowned for their recorded sound quality – I have several of their CDs and can testify to their fidelity. Here, on this SACD, which I have listened to in stereo via an SACD player, the recording is truly splendid, with all three members of the…
InfoDad Reviews the “Splendid” Hermitage Piano Trio Rachmaninoff Recording
The InfoDad blog gives a top-rating to the Hermitage Piano Trio’s new Rachmaninoff recording: “The two [piano] trios receive absolutely splendid readings, filled with warmth and passion and presented in exceptionally full and elegant sound, on a new Reference Recordings SACD featuring the Hermitage Piano Trio. … the group’s impassioned, deeply involving beauty of phrasing and cooperation is worthy of trios that have been around far longer. … [Trio élégiaque No. 2 ] is a brooding,…
MusicWeb Reviews Jan Kraybill’s Orchestral Organ
MusicWeb International‘s Dan Morgan, who found Jan Kraybill’s Organ Polychrome “pure magic”, jumped at the chance to hear the Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant Organ again in The Orchestral Organ: “The Orchestral Organ builds on…broad, well-established foundations. And, in the best tradition, this programme is clearly designed to intrigue, entertain and, quite possibly, educate. There are some familiar transcriptions among the first recordings and a world premiere. … Kraybill [is] as beguiling as one could wish. ……
Now Available – Hermitage Piano Trio Plays Rachmaninoff!
Electrifying Piano Trio Performances in the great Russian musical tradition! The Hermitage Piano Trio is distinguished by its exuberant musicality, interpretative range, and sumptuous sound—attributes that Reference Recordings expects to be highly appealing to music lovers and audiophiles worldwide. Following a recent performance, The Washington Post raved that “more striking even than the individual virtuosity was the profound level of integration among the players, who showed a rare degree of ensemble from beginning to end.” Based…
Jan Kraybill is a Treasure
The Kansas City Star hails organist Jan Kraybill as “a local treasure” while reviewing her new recording, The Orchestral Organ: “The Orchestral Organ is a stunner. Imagine some of classical music’s most powerful orchestral works performed on Helzberg Hall’s Casavant organ. If you think that sounds good on paper, wait until you actually hear the recording. Kraybill, who is also the conservator of the Casavant organ, is a one-woman orchestra whose renditions of Wagner, Tchaikovsky,…
Nadia Shpachenko Presents The Poetry of Places Release Concert on June 18, 2019
June 18, 2019 at San Francisco’s Center for new Music, pianist Nadia Shpachenko presents works from her recording The Poetry of Places and more. Details What: The Poetry of Places Album Release Concert When: June 18, 2019 at 7:30pm Where: Center for New Music, 55 Taylor St, San Francisco, CA 94102 How: Tickets at CenterForNewMusic.com Program Harold Meltzer: “In Full Sail” for solo piano San Francisco Premiere Jack Van Zandt: “Sí an Bhrú” for piano…
Audiophile Audition Reviews the Thrilling Orchestral Organ Recording from Jan Kraybill
“Organist Jan Kraybill is up to the task of performing these transcriptions. She is a musical leader, performer, educator, organ consultant, and enthusiastic advocate for the power of music to change lives for the better… I listened to the 5.1 rendering of these tracks and the sound was thrilling. The organ is big and brawny, the performances are precise and committed, and Reference Recording has done their usual audiophile magic. The lower pipes of the…
MusicWeb Review for the Excellent Recording of Kurt Sander’ Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
John Quinn reviews the PaTRAM Institute Singers recording of Kurt Sander’s Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrystostom for MusicWeb International: “The performance is conducted by Peter Jermihov who, so far as I’m concerned, has excellent credentials when it comes to Orthodox church music… This is, I understand, the first complete musical setting of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom in English and it’s a considerable achievement. … The singers taking part are, I believe, all…
Positive Feedback’s David Robinson: You Must Not Miss Jan Kraybill’s “The Orchestral Organ”
Positive Feedback‘s David W. Robinson offers a rare album review for Jan Kraybill’s new recording, The Orchestral Organ: “While I don’t do music reviews on a regular basis, there are times when a particular album really strikes me, and I have to say something…usually brief, but definite. This is one of those times. … This is a wonderful collection of music. I was quite pleased by all of them, but can give a special tip…
Now Available: The Orchestral Organ
Sonic Splendor! Amazing organ performances give new dimensions to beloved orchestral favorites. In the 19th and early 20th century, organists of exceptional artistic skill developed organ transcriptions of orchestral music into a true art form. Each of the works on this disc is spectacular in its original form. To create The Orchestral Organ, we have chosen works of many different composers, adapted into organ transcriptions of the highest artistic order. These transcriptions are not intended for…
Kurt Sander’s Divine Liturgy is an “unprecedented phenomenon”
The Orthodox Arts Journal‘s Vladimir Morosan reviews the PaTRAM Institute Singers and Peter Jermihov’s Kurt Sander: The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom recording: “The results are nothing short of breathtaking! Attempts to describe music in words can never successfully convey what ultimately can only be expressed by musical sounds. Nonetheless, Kurt Sander’s new Divine Liturgy is a musical phenomenon that merits being written about if for no other reason than to entice you, as the reader…
The New York Times Profiles Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Live Series
The Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck perform at Lincoln Center on May 19, and the New York Times is previewing the performance with an in-depth look at their Pittsburgh Live! recording series! “Good barely covers it. All eight of the releases that the Pittsburgh forces have brought out on Reference Recordings, with the aid of microphone whizzes from Soundmirror, come with the highest of recommendations.… Four have received nominations for the Grammy for best orchestral performance. One,…
Reference Recordings Presents: Up Close and Personal!
Friday, May 10, 2019, Reference Recordings Presents: “Up Close & Personal”, a special showcase featuring our award-winning recording artists Fiona Boyes and Doug MacLeod as part of the Beale Street events schedule celebrating the 2019 Blues Music Awards Nominees! Details Date: Friday, May 10, 2019 Time: 4:30-6:00pm Location: Silky O’Sullivan’s – 183 Beale Street, Memphis, TN