Archive for Review – Page 38
Culture Spot LA Reviews Pittsburgh Symphony Strauss
Pittsburgh Symphony conductor Manfred Honeck is guest-conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic this weekend, and West-coasters are taking note of his new Strauss recording: “These works have never suffered for lack of recordings. Thus, a new recording must offer something innovative, and Honeck and the PSO certainly accomplish that. Not only are the performances outstanding, but Honeck has really plumbed the depth of each piece for all of its power, grace and pathos, and he offers…
Elgar/Vaughan Williams Review in MusicWeb International
John Quinn of MusicWeb International reflects on his introduction to the Kansas City Symphony in our Elgar & Vaughan Williams recording: “This is my first encounter with the Kansas City Symphony…it is clear that under Stern’s leadership they have been presenting very enticing seasons for several years now. … These seem to be exciting days for the music lovers of Kansas City “…engineer Keith O. Johnson has presented these performances in exceptionally fine sound. In…
SA-CD.net reviews new Strauss Recording
SA-CD.net reviewer Graham Williams gives the new Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Strauss recording a 4.5/5 for Performance and a 4.5/5 for Sonics: “the conductor’s … admiration for these works is self-evident from the incandescent playing that he elicits from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. “The work’s slow sections possess a dreamy sensuousness that emphasises the lustrous quality of the Pittsburgh Symphony’s playing … This broadness of approach extends to the delivery of the famous horn passage (from…
Audiophile Audition Reviews Kansas City Symphony LP
Audiophile Audition has a new review for our new Reference Mastercuts LP of the Kansas City Symphony’s Elgar and Vaughan Williams recording: “This version of Elgar’s familiar “Greensleeves” variations may be the best one on recordings—absolutely spell-binding… “The work’s concluding “Finale” brings the variations to a tumultuous close, and since Reference stays away from the center label a good distance and there is only around 14 minutes maximum per side, fidelity is astounding. “…this 200-gram…
Capital Public Radio Features New Strauss Recording
Capital Public Radio’s morning host Kent Teeters reviews the new Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra recording, Strauss in his segment below. Jump to the 8-minute mark for his discussion of the piece Don Juan and listen to an excerpt from the work: Order Strauss Today!
Audiophilia Weighs in on new Strauss CD
Audiophilia Magazine has their review of our new Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra recording Strauss, and agree that it’s an audiophile must-have! “…with Don Juan having a sweep and sense of virility that is infectious and Till Eulenspiegel portrayed very successfully as a lusty lad out to do no harm but paying the ultimate price for his jokes. The orchestra’s soloists are exemplary here (horns, Eb clarinet and concertmaster, in particular). As an ensemble, the Pittsburgh Symphony…
ClassicalNet Raves over new Pittsburgh Symphony Strauss CD
“Let’s be very clear here; this is what Strauss should sound like.” —Brian Wigman, ClassicalNet Classical.net has a pre-release review of our first Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra recording, Strauss, and it’s quite the rave! “Now that the Pittsburgh Symphony has signed on with this pioneering label, let us hope they get some more exposure … because they are clearly one of the very best orchestras in the world right now.… “…with absolutely radiant brass playing and…
TAS Tabs RR Releases as “Hidden Treasures”
The Absolute Sound 2014 High-End Audio Buyer’s Guide was just published and includes a feature in which writers list their recommended ‘obscure’ music and encourage readers to go find it. Two RR Minnesota Orchestra recordings were selected in this “Ten Little-Known But Great-Sounding Recordings” list! Mephisto & Co., Minnesota Orchestra “…it gets my vote as the single best sounding RR CD. The centerpiece of the collection is Malcolm Arnold’s Tam O’ Shanter Overture, here in…
Audiophile Audition Gives Roberto Moronn Perez Four Stars
Audiophile Audition gives four stars to FRESH! From Reference Recordings release Andrés Segovia Archive, Vol. 1 featuring guitarist Roberto Moronn Pérez: “Andrés Segovia is regarded as the savior of the classical guitar and its literature…These are mostly short, rather quiet, guitar pieces by six Spanish composers: Aregui, Sanjuan, Cassado, Donostia, Pahissa and Mompou…Spanish-born Perez is an accomplished guitarist…The outstanding recording was made in 2010 in the acoustics of the Holy Trinity Church in Weston, Hertfordshire…
The Arts Desk Reviews Bizet
Graham Rickson of theartsdesk.com has a great new review for our San Francisco Ballet Orchestra Bizet release: “So it makes perfect sense for a crack ballet orchestra to record the work and Martin West’s San Francisco Ballet forces play the work beautifully; this disc oozes frothy joie de vivre. Musically there’s little to surprise, but the symphony does it what it does with swaggering confidence and bucketloads of brio. It’s a work which will raise…
Atlanta Examiner Reviews Doug MacLeod There’s A Time
The “Atlanta Live Music Examiner” reviews a host of new Blues releases on Examiner.com, including our latest Doug MacLeod release, There’s A Time: “With a soothing guitar and soulful voice, McLeod effortlessly rolls through a collection of original tunes that is pleasant to the ear.… From the opening track…there is something familiar about this record. I swear I had heard many of these tunes before but they are all McLeod originals. He plays and sings…
Dance Commentary Reviews New Bizet Recording
Noted Bay Area dance critic, Heather Desaulniers, offered a wonderful review of our first San Francisco Ballet Orchestra recording (Delibes), and has just published a new review for the latest Bizet recording on her Dance Commentary blog: “Thanks to Reference Recordings, Bay Area balletomanes can visit the ballet anytime they wish, even in the off-season. Their most recent release features three scores by Georges Bizet – Symphony in C, Jeux d’Enfants and Variations Chromatiques –…
SA-CD net reviews Elgar/Vaughan Williams SACD
SA-CD.net has a review of next month’s new SACD release of our latest Kansas City Symphony recording: “Those who, like me, already have the superb CD/HDCD of this disc will discover an even greater depth of sound and stunning realism from this 5.1 channel hybrid SACD release…the surround channels have been used purely to capture the warm ambience of the recording venue – Community of Christ Auditorium, Independence, Missouri. “The delightful illustrations in the accompanying…
KUHA FM Houston Reviews San Francisco Ballet Orchestra Bizet Recording
Houston’s 91.7 KUHA FM has a new review from their music librarian Chris Hathaway for our new Bizet recording featuring the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. “Martin West continues to show his conductorial prowess, and proves that his orchestra is a first-rate ensemble, with this handsome all-Bizet disc. …Balance and pacing are the key to handling this symphony, and West does not fall short of these. The slow movement, full of balance problems — notably, the…
Classical Candor Celebrates Bizet Release
John J. Puccio of Classical Candor calls our newest San Francisco Ballet Orchestra Bizet release a “delight” and a “special occasion”: “Thus, it is a delight to welcome this latest RR entry into the catalogue, the music of French composer Georges Bizet (1838-1875), performed by Martin West and the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. … [West] brings the light, delicate touch of the ballet conductor with him, always exercising a spring in his step, a lilt…