In June 2021, a group of Blues music industry professionals including music critics, journalists, festival promoters, music venue managers, producers, musicians and other Blues music industry professionals nominated the best in Blues music in twelve categories. We are excited to share that Fiona Boyes was nominated for Female Artist of the Year and her Blues In My Heart album was nominated for the Historical/Vintage Recording of the year! Fan voting for the award is open…
Textura Magazine reviews the Kansas City Symphony and Michael Stern’s recording of Barber, Sibelius, and Scriabin One Movement Symphonies: “While each piece satisfies for different reasons, the fact that each can be experienced as a singular statement without pause is an appealing quality common to all. That they’re all performed by the Kansas City Symphony under the expert guidance of conductor Michael Stern also does much to recommend the release, as does its acoustically resonant…
Gary Lemco gives a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review to Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony’s One Movement Symphonies recording on Audiophile Audition: “The Kansas City Symphony brass prove especially resonant in their dark coloration… The Kansas City Symphony lushly blends the powerful [Barber] Finale, sustaining the Romantic ethos of the material, weaving all three tunes together and concluding with a jubilant, energetic thrust of youthful confidence. … The sense of improvisational freedom fused with a volcanic…
Rafael de Acha reviews Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony’s One Movement Symphonies recording for All About the Arts: “Leading the peerless musicians of the Kansas City Symphony, Michael Stern delivers an extraordinary reading of Barber’s work. … [Sibelius’ Symphony No. 7] is brief and unflagging in its tensile intensity, ever underpinned by inspired, disciplined playing from the members of the Kansas City Symphony, with Michael Stern at its helm. … Again, [in Scriabin’s…
Remy Franck gives four stars to the new release of José Serebrier: Last Tango Before Sunrise on Pizzicato Magazine: “The earliest work is the Piano Sonata of 1957, influenced by Latin American rhythms… and played powerfully and with verve by Nadia Shpachenko. The most recent piece is the title track Last Tango Before Sunrise from 2018, and just like the other dance movements on this CD, it offers inspiredly composed music with distinctive melodies and…
The Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Beethoven Symphony No. 9 gets a five-star rave from Audiophile Audition: “This disc should come with a warning label. Why? Because it is easily the most intense Ninth I have ever heard. This is not a criticism, only a fact. … The wonderful last movement gives us a truly joyful and energetic flow of consolation and satisfaction, jam-packed with intensity and far, far away from the “joyful,…
The April issue of BBC Music Magazine features a Five-Star Review for the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Beethoven Symphony No. 9: “an impressive account of this huge work that seems bent on marking itself as the unassailable definition of ‘monumental’. In terms of sound and precision, the performance is meticulous, immaculate and even. That’s not to say that Honeck doesn’t occasionally play a little loose. … Honeck choreographs the gradual build of…
MusicWeb International names the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra’s recording of Jonathan Leshnoff: Piano Concerto; Symphony No. 3 with Joyce Yang and Stephen Powell a February 2021 Recording of the Month! “Both are world-premiere recordings, the symphony set down a week after its premiere performance in 2016, while the Concerto was recorded live at its premiere in November 2019, and both are treated to excellent orchestral playing, as well as superb sonics from Reference Recordings –…
Don’t miss this incredible look at Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Manfred Honeck and New York Times critic David Allen! See it on nytimes.com “Manfred Honeck is one of today’s leading Beethoven conductors. As music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, he has created notably exciting recordings of the Third, Fifth and Seventh Symphonies. Now he and the orchestra, founded 125 years ago this month, are releasing their interpretation of the mighty Ninth. What makes Honeck’s approach so…
Phil Muse reviews The Kansas City Symphony, Michael Stern, Stephen Powell, and Joyce Yang’s recording of Leshnoff: Symphony No. 3; Piano Concerto in the Atlanta Audio Society‘s December Newsletter: “Once again, an exploration of the music of American composer Jonathan Leshnoff proves rewarding. … What makes this composer so distinguishable from his contemporaries is easy to divine: it is the concentrated emotion, the lyricism, cohesive construction, and economy of his music. In the last-cited, Leshnoff…
The 2021 GRAMMY® Award Nominations were announced today and Reference Recordings releases appeared on four nominations! 2021 GRAMMY® Nominations for RR releases: Best Opera Recording Carlisle Floyd: Prince Of Players — William Boggs, conductor; Keith Phares & Kate Royal; Blanton Alspaugh, producer (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; Florentine Opera Chorus) Best Contemporary Classical Composition Carlisle Floyd: Prince Of Players — Carlisle Floyd, composer (William Boggs, Kate Royal, Keith Phares, Florentine Opera Chorus & Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra) Producer of the Year, Classical…
The first review is in for the Kansas City Symphony, Michael Stern, Stephen Powell, and Joyce Yang’s Leshnoff World Premiere Recordings! “Thanks to various CD’s released by Reference Recordings, I have become an admirer of the music of American composer Jonathan Leshnoff. … The impressive lineup of soloists and the sterling work of the Kansas musicians numbers immense artistic rewards in this treasure of a recording, impeccably engineered and produced by Dirk Sobatka of Soundmirror. ……
The song “The Train of Change” was being born around 2007 in Costa da Caparica Portugal, before President Obama was elected. During this European tour I saw hope, love, joy, and a vision of peace just about everywhere I went. President Obama served two terms and this song slowly drifted from my awareness. Then with the killing of George Floyd, I saw America rise up and say ‘Enough Is Enough’! I watched as so many…
Gramophone Magazine reviews the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 & Leshnoff: Double Concerto in the September 2020 issue: “Manfred Honeck… [in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4] conveys a strong sense of structural integrity while simultaneously portraying the unfolding drama in vivid colours. … the playing itself is exquisite. In the Scherzo, Honeck is meticulous in his observance of piano and pianissimo markings, while the finale packs a wallop. Indeed, the symphony’s final moments are…
Reference Recordings offers EnjoyTheMusic.com a hearty congratulations on their 25th Anniversary! In honor of the occasion, they’ve invited our own Marcia Martin an opportunity to write about the history of the Reference Recordings label. See it (and wish them congrats) at enjoythemusic.com. Thank you for the opportunity to write about our label for Enjoy the Music.com. First, hearty congratulations on your 25th anniversary, a real milestone! For so many years, Enjoy the Music.com has presented well-written, impartial information…