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…
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…
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…
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…
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‘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…
Order Now Audiophile Audition gives a four-star rating to the Roberto Moronn Pérez Andrés Segovia Archive Vol. 2 recording in a new review: “This is the second in a hopefully longer series of recordings featuring music written at the request of Andrés Segovia. … Roberto Morron Pérez is a wonderful guitar virtuoso, having studied in Spain, Italy and the U.K., and toured worldwide… The sound on this disc is marvellous, as one might expect from…
Audiophile Audition‘s Steven Ritter says Joel Fan’s Dances for Piano and Orchestra “is riveting stuff!” “Joel Fan seems to relish these pieces as he attacks them all as if living in another age—crisp, vitally engrossing pianism that will set your feet tapping and your vocal chords humming. The Northwest Sinfonia plays with expertise and rousing commitment in a recording of exceptional analog-ish warmth and sensitivity. This is truly fine stuff.” —Steven Ritter, Audiophile Audition Read…
Audiophile Audition‘s Robbie Gerson gives Doug MacLeod’s new Exactly Like This release four (out of five) stars in this latest review: “The material on ‘Exactly Like This‘ is very good. The recording environment by Reference Recordings is superlative. The live studio intimacy is enhanced significantly by the full sound of the 24-bit HDCD. The guitar resonates with natural vibration and echo. McLeod’s baritone reverberates with subtle prominence. Engineer Keith O. “Prof” Johnson” captures the essence…
Audiophile Audition‘s Steven Ritter asks, is the new Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck release “The best Bruckner Fourth ever recorded?” “There have been many fine recordings of this work, but none to my mind holds a candle to Karl Bohm’s 1973 Decca reading. I can honestly say that Honeck and the superb Pittsburghians have given us a performance in phenomenal—underline that—surround sound that launches this rendition to the absolute top of the pile. The…
Two RR releases land on the Audiophile Audition Best of 2014 list: Dvořák & Janáček “Interpretatively and sonically, this is one of the best releases of the Dvorak 8th I have ever heard.” —Steven Ritter Read the full review Mephisto & Co. “A 45 rpm 200-gram vinyl version of the orchestral favorites album which has been on the TAS Super Disc List since its CD release in 1998.” —John Sunier Read the full review See…
Audiophile Audition gives a four-star review for Robert Moore’s Outta My Soul: “Reference Recordings has expanded their Fresh series to include singer Robert Moore. With Southern gospel roots, Moore has developed a soulful, passionate delivery. … With the release of Outta My Soul , Moore has crafted an accessible, well-rounded musical statement. Drawing on his skills as a composer, singer and instrumentalist, this twelve-track, polished album combines accomplished session players with a seasoned band leader.…
Audiophile Audition calls Organ Polychrome “a colorful and sonically-impressive” recording in a new five-star review: “[Jan Kraybill’s] playing is expressive in the quieter portions and pulls out all the stops when hitting some of the big orchestral-imitation passages in these colorful pieces. Using the ProLogic IIx height setting on my mutichannel decoder produced an excellent soundfield with the disc, and my Oppo deck includes HDCD decoding, which is subtle but does make a slight improvement…
John Sunier gives our Mephisto & Co. Vinyl Re-issue a Five-Star rating on Audiophile Audition: “This is a collection of eight variously daemonically-influenced shorter orchestral favorites, ranging from not quite three minutes to twelve minutes. It got reviews calling it superb when it first came out in 1998 as a CD. Now Paul Stubbleine has remastered it and the double 45 rpm pair were pressed at QRP and they include a huge amount of notes…
Critic Steven Ritter says the new Pittsburgh Symphony recording is “Interpretatively and sonically, this is one of the best releases of the Dvorak 8th I have ever heard.” in a new Five-Star Review: “This album only confirms the fact that the Pittsburgh Symphony, always one of America’s greatest and most underrated orchestras, now tops the list in both interpretative finesse and recorded sound. … Phrasing is perfect; he lingers some places where others may not,…
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7; Bates: Resurrexit
Mark Donahue & John Newton, engineers; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)