Archive for Audiophilia
The Complete Beethoven Piano Concertos Reviewed in Audiophilia
Anthony Kershaw offers an in-depth review of Garrick Ohlsson, Sir Donald Runnicles, and the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra’s recordings of The Complete Beethoven Piano Concertos in the Audiophilia Magazine: “I’m not sure whose idea it was to record this repertoire, but one of the US’s most interesting pianists with a fine conductor and a superb orchestra made up of top professional players from the US and further afield in an idyllic summer setting, sounds…
Audiophilia Names Break The Chain an Album of the Year
Audiophilia Magazine has released their 2017 Recordings of the Year and Doug MacLeod’s Break The Chain makes the cut: Order Now “Break the Chain does not do musically what the title implies. We have brilliant consistency. Here, you’ll find eleven songs and a ‘holler’ (story). Audiophiles will especially like the spoken voice track as they are so difficult to get right on recordings. … As the Reference team was together in Marin County’s Skywalker Studios,…
Audiophilia Review for Break The Chain
Order Now “Break the Chain does not do musically what the title implies. We have brilliant consistency. Here, you’ll find eleven songs and a ‘holler’ (story). Audiophiles will especially like the spoken voice track as they are so difficult to get right on recordings. … As the Reference team was together in Marin County’s Skywalker Studios, including recording engineer marvel Prof. Keith O. Johnson and diva dynamo producer, Jan Mancuso, the sound on all twelve…
Fiona Boyes “Professin’ the Blues” is a “Gem”
Order Now “Australian singer/songwriter/guitarist Fiona Boyes is an earthy force of nature. Her gravelly vocal timbre is straight out of the red dirt of the Outback. No swishy Blues affectation, here. You’ll be getting as honest a voice as you’ve heard in a long time. ‘So bloody refreshing’, as the Aussies might say. … It seems to be a project that each Reference stakeholder got behind. It’s a gem, musically and technically. … Boyes has…
Audiophilia Highly Reccomends Moszkowski From Foreign Lands
“First off, Moszkowski’s music is delightful. Expertly composed and beautifully arranged for full symphony orchestra. If you like orchestral music with both froth and depth, then this CD’s repertoire is for you. … Percussion is highlighted throughout the CD and the section is spectacularly recorded by Reference. Sure, the loud is good, but the micro dynamics of the cymbals, castanets and bass drum are just brilliant. … As a first class ballet orchestra, the players…
Utah Symphony Mahler “Another Stunner”
Audiophilia Magazine’s Anthony Kershaw hails the Utah Symphony’s Mahler recording as a “stunner”: “The orchestra sounds good in all departments, with some soloists highlighted to outstanding effect. … Fischer and his musicians are so musical in this potboiler of a symphony — together, they make the ‘Star Trek’ opening, the minor, inverted ‘Frère Jacques’ funeral tune and the klezmer music sound natural. Others make it sound like film music. … So, a fine execution of…
Audiophilia Reviews Bruckner
Audiophilia says to keep the FRESH releases coming! Audiophilia Magazine’s Anthony Kershaw adds Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Bruckner release to his “must have” pile in his latest review: “Each Fresh! release gets better. The entire team — players, conductor, recording company, engineers, all seem to be finding their groove. And, in this new Bruckner 4, the team has captured something quite special. … But let’s forget all the scholarship this and that.…
Audiophilia Recommends New Pittsburgh Symphony SACD
Audiophilia recommends the new Pittsburgh Symphony Dvořák/Janáček recording in their July Recommended New Releases: “Here, under a warm Bohemian sun, the Pittsburgers and their man have scored a home run. … And, though the opera Jenůfa is about child loss and redemption, conductor Honeck’s ‘conceptualization’ of the opera’s themes into a ‘Suite’ makes for very enjoyable listening. The pathos is there but with such wonderful and infectious rhythms, it’s hard to feel down. … Taken…
More Praise For the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Strauss Release!
The praise keeps coming in for our new Strauss release with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra! Audiophilia Magazine has named Strauss one of the “Star Recordings of the Year!” “The orchestra’s soloists are exemplary here (horns, Eb clarinet and concertmaster, in particular). As an ensemble, the Pittsburgh Symphony provides an indulgent forward sweep which suits the passionate emotions of the works very well.” —James Norris See the full list on audiophilia.com! And French Magazine Audiophile-Magazine has…
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…
RR in RMAF News
After a fantastic weekend (more on our weekend experience soon), everyone in the Audiophile world is still raving about people, equipment, and their time at the Rocky Mountain Audiofest this weekend. Here are a couple of RR-Related tidbits: From Stereophile In the Joseph Audio Room “…the beauty of Reference Recordings’ LP version of Vaughan Williams’ The Wasps confirmed the superiority of both the equipment chain and the Keith Johnson/Sean Martin recording team.” In the ApexAudio…
Audiophilia With a Rave Pre-Release Review for Bizet
Anthony Kershaw has a new review for our upcoming Bizet release from the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra: “The recording, sourced at Skywalker Studios, is much like the SF Ballet’s previous CD release. As such, it’s yet another gem from Keith Johnson and his team. No matter where the recording is sourced, Johnson manages to snag the Reference ‘house’ sound. Meaning, incredibly defined bass, beautiful separation of instruments (listen to the flute and violin unison in…
Audiophilia Says Doug MacLeod There’s A Time A Cause for Celebration
Audiophilia‘s Anthony Kershaw has been a fan of Doug Macleod for over fifteen years, and says that Doug’s latest release There’s A Time is cause for celebration: “Any new Doug MacLeod release is a cause for celebration. That we have him recorded by the benchmark for audiophiles, Reference Recordings, is a double celebration. “This audiophile has very high expectations from both artist and engineer. They were matched easily. Engineer Keith Johnson has the aural skill…
Early Reviews for New Kansas City Symphony Release
Early Reviews for the Newest Kansas City Symphony recording are in – and we’ve got some raves! From Puggingham Palace: “What makes this release an event is that a “provincial” US orchestra is daring to record standard repertoire in glorious sound, challenging many classic recordings with ease… Michael Stern leads the Kansas City Symphony in a sumptuously recorded and generous all English program. “Since the recorded competition (for “The Wasps”) is small but mighty (Boult,…
Audiophilia Reviews Delibes: Sylvia/Coppélia
Anthony Kershaw of Audiophilia has a nice new review of upcoming San Francisco Ballet Orchestra release Delibes: Sylvia/Coppélia, which comes out March 13th! “Both scores receive first rate performances. Soloists have character and ensemble is generally very fine. And West keeps the tempi moving…This orchestra follows the conductor perfectly — he obviously knows the scores like the back of his hand and how to relate the music to the dance. As such, both Coppélia and…