Archive for Audiophile audition
Five Stars For Pittsburgh Symphony’s Tchaikovsky & Leshnoff
Audiophile Audition gives ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 and Leshnoff: Double Concerto: “any new recording needs to have something different going for it, as there have been so many fabulous offerings over the last 60 years. I am pleased to report—and this is hardly new—that the Pittsburghians have accomplished just that. … Honeck, always at pains to justify his interpretative schema, does just that again…
Five Star Audiophile Audition Review for Kansas City’s Holst!
Audiophile Audition gives five stars to Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony’s Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool! “The soundstage is magnificent—very wide, and perhaps the deepest recording I have ever heard.… I felt as though I was really hearing the orchestra in its natural estate, and when the oboe solos, it sounds as if it is more distant in the ensemble. Time and time again, the distance factor figured into the listening experience in…
Four Stars for the Richmond Symphony’s Mason Bates and Vaughan Williams Recording
Audiophile Audition critic Steven Ritter gives a Four-Star Review to the Richmond Symphony and Chorus and Steven Smith’s Mason Bates: Children of Adam; Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem recording: “Bates shows a fine grasp of the orchestral idiom, and even more importantly, the choral, with an integrated and highly individual sound that transfers from text to text in a seamlessly smooth manner. Hearing this makes me want to hear more from this young composer, who…
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…
Audiophile Audition Gives Four Stars to A QSF Journey
Audiophile Audition gives four stars to Quartet San Francisco’s new recording, A QSF Journey: “…is this stuff on this recording any good? The answer is a resounding “yes”. This is not Beethoven or Bartok, so don’t expect that. It is entertainment, though at a very high level, and the music itself is ingratiating and relaxing, the latter in the sense of pleasurable, not sleep-inducing. We get a wide variety of compositions and arrangements, from Gershwin…
Five Star Audiophile Audition Review for Pittsburgh Symphony’s Beethoven and Strauss Recording
Audiophile Audition‘s Steven Ritter gives ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Beethoven: Symphony No. 3; Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 recording: “Soundmirror’s five omnidirectional DPA 4006 microphones have once again been perfectly placed in Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall, with an orchestra that seems on the top of its game and a conductor who is proving one of the most thoughtful, energetic, and unique talents currently on the American scene. … Honeck, while not at…
Adam Schoenberg Gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ From Audiophile Audition
Order Now Audiophile Audition gives ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for “American music by [Adam] Schoenberg wonderfully recorded and performed” by the Kansas City Symphony! “[Adam] Schoenberg has had a productive relationship with the Kansas City Symphony and conductor Michael Stern, so the disc contains some early works by Schoenberg and a work commissioned by the KCS. Schoenberg’s works are increasingly being played by American Symphony Orchestras. He has a unique voice, and audiences seem to be connecting to…
San Francisco Ballet Orchestra’s Moszkowski Gets Four Stars From Audiophile Audition
“These are memorable and melodious orchestral compositions which, especially in their full orchestra versions, seem much more than mere salon pieces from the 19th century. The opening Torch Dance is based on a tradition at some German weddings in a certain area of a dance with torches featured. The From Foreign Lands is a nearly half-hour suite which has been a San Francisco Ballet performance. This ballet orchestra is one of the leading ones in…
Wuthering Heights is Audiophile Audition’s Multichannel Disc of the Month
Audiophile Audition names the Florentine Opera Company’s Wuthering Heights recording their Multichannel Disc of the Month in a five-star review: “Floyd, now 90 and still writing operas (!), served as artistic advisor for this Florentine Opera premiere recording, made in January 2015 at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, in Brookfield, Wisconsin. It is superb in every way, from Reference’s magnificent sonic capture to the excellence of all members of the cast. Florentine…
Audiophile Audition reviews Dawn to Dust!
Audiophile Audition gives Utah Symphony’s Dawn To Dust recording four stars calling it a “Notable contemporary music from Utah in a lovely recording.” “Dawn To Dust contains live recordings of three significant and interesting works by leading composers Augusta Read Thomas, Nico Muhly, and Andrew Norman.… The first work on the disc is a lovely and dynamic contemporary ballet for orchestra by Ms. Thomas, called EOS – Goddess of the Dawn. It has a rich…
Five Stars for Far In the Heavens from Audiophile Audition
True Concord Voices and Orchestra’s Far In The Heavens: Choral Works of Stephen Paulus gets a five-star rating from Audiophile Audition’s Steven Ritter: “I had just finished reviewing this disc when the news came that it had garnered two 2016 Grammy Awards (Nominations), for Best Classical Compendium and Best Classical Composition (Prayers and Remembrances). Often the Grammys, and certainly the Pulitzers, get things horribly wrong, but I must say that this recording, possessing a virginal…
Five Stars for Pittsburgh Symphony’s Beethoven
Audiophile Audition gives Manfred Honeck and The Pittsburgh Symphony’s Beethoven: Symphony Nos. 5 & 7 a Five Star Review: “Pittsburgh is still the best kept secret among American orchestras, easily as good as any other ensemble active on the national scene, and this recording proves it. Even with a formidable Beethoven tradition in play, and with equally formidable competition in the catalog, this release, with its illuminating and brilliant surround sound, takes pride of place…
Utah Symphony’s Mahler a “Stunning SACD”
Audiophile Audition‘s Steven Ritter gives a four-star review to the Utah Symphony’s Mahler: Symphony No. 1 “Titan” recording before its official release tomorrow (9/11/15): “This recording celebrates 75 years of superb orchestral work from the Utah Symphony and it is nice to see them back on record. It’s also nice to see an SACD from that bastion of audio excellence, Reference Recordings… Young conductor Thierry Fischer also proves himself a fine Mahlerian…this is a very…
Audiophile Audition Gives Tempo do Brasil Five Stars
Steven Ritter gives Marc Regnier’s Tempo do Brasil recording five stars in Audiophile Audition magazine: “[Marc Regnier’s] carefully selected recital works in favor of chamber ecstasies that are just not heard that often in this sort of music. …for a quality classical experience the multi-instrumental soiree is enlightening as well as enlivening. Considering Regnier’s gorgeous tone and flexible technique, equally present in his guest’s fingers as well, we come away with a refreshing splash on…
Audiophile Audition Reviews Kansas City Symphony Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3
Audiophile Audition‘s Mel Martin reviews the new Michael Stern and Kansas City Symphony recording of Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3: “It’s a gigantic work, with organ, a large orchestra and two pianos. For years it’s been a favorite demonstration disc for audiophiles, and no wonder with it’s aggressive playing and wide dynamics.… Reference Recordings has long been a leader in high quality releases, so this is no ordinary recording. …The Organ Symphony was quite spectacular sounding…this…