Living Blues released their Top 50 Blues Albums for 2017 and Doug MacLeod’s Blues Music Awards-nominated album, Break The Chain, comes in at #48! “Like all good blues storytellers, Doug MacLeod sings and speaks the truth. Indeed, the blues as a medium of truth telling appears throughout his latest release, Break the Chain. In the liner notes, MacLeod reveals that his son, Jesse, who plays guitar on the disc, was diagnosed with spindle cell melanoma…
Thierry Fischer impresses The Bay Area Reporter‘s Philip Campbell while leading London’s Royal Philharmonic on a six-concert West Coast tour: “Fischer, who is music director of the Utah Symphony, has shown a personal taste for orchestral richness and dynamic contrasts… His Reference Recordings HDCD of Mahler’s mighty Eighth, with the Utah Symphony and Mormon Tabernacle Choir… proves an overwhelmingly grand and beautiful listening experience. Fischer hasn’t just kept his eye on the past either, commissioning…
The Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s GRAMMY® Awards celebrations continue — below is a list of the latest news, reviews, and interviews from around the globe: WESA Pittsburgh Interview with PSO President Melia Tourangeau Manfred Honeck Live reaction video on Sunday night! WQED Interview with Manfred Honeck Radio Vorarlberg (Austria) Interview with Maestro Honeck Vorarlberg Online (Austria) feature – From Vienna to Pittsburgh CBS Pittsburgh Celebrates Pittsburgh Tribune-Review celebrations Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Manfred Honeck, Music…
Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s “Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber Adagio” recording wins TWO 2018 GRAMMY® Awards for Best Orchestral Performance AND Best Engineered, Classical! Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Manfred Honeck, Music Director Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 and Barber Adagio for Strings Order Now Reference Recordings proudly presents these two beloved works in definitive interpretations from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, in superb audiophile sound. This release is the seventh in the…
Manfred Honeck has been named the 2018 International Classical Music Awards Artist of the Year! 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 broadcasters represents countries from Turkey to Russia, including most European nations in between. Congratulations…
Doug MacLeod, whose latest Blues Music Award-nominated recording’s title-track, Break The Chain, highlights Doug’s own story of “breaking the chain” of abuse, will join The International Blues Challenge’s Keynote Panel on “Addiction, Abuse, and the Blues” this Friday, January 19, 2018 in Memphis, TN: Keynote Panel of The International Blues Challenge: AAB: Addiction, Abuse, and the Blues The IBC Keynote Panel will explore the often hidden and shame-filled topics of addiction, abuse, and their relationship…
ClassicsToday.com is forgoing the usual “Best of” lists for 2017 to begin a new, annual “Artists You Can Trust” list featuring their top ten currently active performers “whose body of work sustains the highest level of consistency and musical excellence.” We’re happy to announce, that FRESH! From RR artist Manfred Honeck has made this inaugural list! Find the full list and their entire archive of Manfred Honeck recording reviews at ClassicsToday.com. Manfred Honeck Recordings on…
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…
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…
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
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…