Archive for News
The Train of Change
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…
Happy 25th Anniversary to EnjoyTheMusic.com!
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…
Now Available: “Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 & Leshnoff: Double Concerto” from the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck
Out Now WorldWide! Reference Recordings® proudly presents Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in an exquisite interpretation from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. It is coupled with a World Premiere recording of leading American composer Jonathan Leshnoff’s Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon, featuring the extraordinary talents of the Pittsburgh Symphony’s own Principal Clarinet Michael Rusinek and Principal Bassoon Nancy Goeres. This hybrid SACD release was recorded in beautiful and historic Heinz Hall, home of…
Pittsburgh Symphony Release Party on Friday, May 15
This Friday, May 15, at 8pm EDT, the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Friday Night Virtual Concert series, Extraordinary Measures, will feature a sneak peek at their new Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 and Leshnoff: Double Concerto recording! Register to get the Release Party link!
Doug MacLeod Wins 2020 Blues Music Award!
The Blues Music Awards hosted a virtual Blues Music Awards Show and Doug MacLeod was announced as the 2020 Acoustic Artist of the Year! The 2020 Blues Music Award was Doug’s 11th nomination and marks his fourth Blues Music Award in the past 5 years (2018 Acoustic Album of the Year, 2016 & 2017 Acoustic Artist of the Year)! Congratulations to Doug! Watch Doug’s Acceptance Speech from Home: Watch the awards ceremony: Doug MacLeod Recordings…
The Poetry of Places Wins 2020 GRAMMY® Award!
GRAMMY® Winner: Classical Compendium Reference Recordings would like to congratulate Nadia Shpachenko, producers Victor and Marina A. Ledin, and recording engineer Barry Werger-Gottesman on their 2020 GRAMMY® Award for Best Classical Compendium for The Poetry of Places! The Poetry of Places Nadia Shpachenko’s latest Reference Recordings release The Poetry of Places features World Premiere recordings of works for solo piano, for two pianos, percussion, electronics, voice, and toy piano in a fascinating mélange inspired by great architecture…
Doug MacLeod Nominated for 2020 Blues Music Award
The Blues Foundation announced its 2020 Blues Music Awards Nominees and Reference Recordings is excited to share that Doug MacLeod has been nominated for his 11th Blues Music Award with a 2020 nomination for Acoustic Blues Artist of the Year! Become a Blues Foundation Member and Vote Full Nomine List Doug MacLeod Recordings on Reference
Richmond Symphony’s Bates & Vaughan Williams is an Opera News Critic’s Choice
The Richmond Symphony and Chorus and Steven Smith’s Mason Bates: Children of Adam; Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem recording is a December Opera News Critic’s Choice! “Richmond Symphony’s new album pairs works by prominent contemporary composer Mason Bates and twentieth-century master Ralph Vaughan Williams. Brimming with vitality, the performances of the orchestra and the Richmond Symphony Chorus, led by conductor Steven Smith, deftly reflect the strength of both composers’ choral writing while establishing a connection between…
Pittsburgh and Manfred Honeck Win the Bruckner Society’s Recording of the Year!
The Bruckner Society of America has announced that the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 has received their award for Recording of the Year! “this new recording stands out clearly as among the finest we have heard. The Pittsburgh Symphony performs with a palpable level of commitment, which is conveyed with extraordinary clarity by the superb recording. Maestro Honeck’s interpretation of the Symphony is particularly compelling and musically rigorous,…
Pittsburgh Symphony’s Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 a MusicWeb International Recording of the Year
MusicWeb International Critic Nick Barnard names the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 a 2019 Recording of the Year! “Manfred Honeck is a consistently challenging and inspiring conductor. Certainly, his superb Pittsburgh players sound inspired. Deeply considered and superbly rendered this is a performance of visionary magnificence. Backed up by Reference’s state of the art recording.” —Nick Barnard, MusicWeb International See Nick Barnard’s original review from MusicWeb International RR Amazon iTunes Arkiv…
Kansas City Symphony’s Holst is a top Christmas Gift!
The Kansas City Star’s Patrick Neas published his list of “Classical gems sure to bring joy to the holiday season” and The Kansas City Symphony and Michael Stern’s Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool is at the top of his gift list! “The performance is as good as any you’re likely to hear, but this recording is a standout for the stunning sound captured by Keith O. ‘Professor’ Johnson, the legendary producer for Reference Recordings.…
Announcing Eleven 2020 GRAMMY® Nominations!
Reference Recordings is excited to announce eleven nominations across eight categories for the 2020 GRAMMY® Awards! The Orchestral Organ 2020 GRAMMY® Award Nominee: Best Immersive Audio Album Keith O. Johnson, immersive audio engineer; Keith O. Johnson, immersive audio mastering engineer; Marina A. Ledin & Victor Ledin, immersive audio producers (Jan Kraybill) Best Classical Instrumental Solo Jan Kraybill Producer of the Year, Classical Marina A. Ledin, Victor Ledin Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 2020 GRAMMY® Award Nominee:…
Pittsburgh Symphony’s Bruckner Symphony No. 9 is Nominated for 2020 Symphonic Music ICMA!
The International Classical Music Awards have nominated the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 recording for a 2020 Symphonic Music Award. The International Classical Music Awards 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…
Christmas With True Concord is Out Now!
True Concord Voices & Orchestra Present Holiday Musical Treasures, Newly Imagined! Eric Holtan, founder and conductor of True Concord Voices and Orchestra states: “Every December, True Concord presents its popular Lessons and Carols by Candlelight concerts in the Tucson area. Unique in the local milieu of seasonal offerings, the focus is on sacred Christmas carols. Even in their simplest form, carols evoke emotionally powerful memories of personal and family experiences that enrich and enliven annual holiday celebrations. With this…
Utah Symphony’s Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky – Lieutenant Kijé Suite is Out NOW!
Reference Recordings is proud to present the Utah Symphony conducted by Thierry Fischer, in grand new performances of Alexander Nevsky and the Lieutenant Kijé Suite, two of Prokofiev’s most brilliant and dramatic musical works. The music of Lieutenant Kijé was originally written as the score to the film of the same name, released in March 1934. It was Prokofiev’s first film music and his first commission. Prokofiev soon adapted it into the five-movement Lieutenant Kijé Suite, first performed in December 1934, and…