Archive for Elgar and Vaughan Williams
Classical Ear Reviews Elgar/Vaughan William SACD
The Classical Ear iPhone Review App has a new review for our Kansas City Symphony Elgar and Vaughan Williams SACD! “The Wasps makes a dashing curtain-raiser – and what a treat to hear the other irresistible numbers in Vaughan Williams’s inimitably titled ‘Aristophanic Suite’. Stern also masterminds a commendably sensitive, scrupulously prepared traversal of Elgar’s vernally fresh masterpiece… the engineering, which is of simply splendiferous, demonstration-worthy realism… Recommended if…you feel like giving your hi-fi components…
CD Choice Reviews Elgar/Vaughan Williams SACD
Barry Forshaw raved about the Kansas City Symphony Elgar/Vaughan Williams recording when it was first released. Now he has a second review of the recording after hearing the new SACD version: “…this writer was so impressed by the performance and sound quality of this cherishable disc in its CD version that I contacted Reference Recordings with my one caveat: that the disc was not afforded the company’s inestimable SACD spruce-up. And here, after some delay,…
RR Producers Nominated for Grammy Awards!
Two of the five producers nominated for the 56th Annual Grammy Award for Producer Of The Year, Classical featured Reference Recordings releases! Victor Ledin and Marina Ledin: Bizet: Symphony In C; Jeux D’Enfants; Variations Chromatiques (Martin West & San Francisco Ballet Orchestra) Traveling Sonata – European Music For Flute & Guitar (Viviana Guzmán & Jérémy Jouve) Voyages (Conrad Tao) Zia (Del Sol String Quartet) David Frost: Andres: Home Stretch (Timo Andres, Andrew Cyr & Metropolis…
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…
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…
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…
Enjoy The Music reviews Kansas City Symphony Elgar Vaughan Williams Recording
Our latest Kansas City Symphony recording reviewed by EnjoytheMusic.com’s Joe Milicia “…the Enigma Variations, completing the program, is something else. In a field with many formidable entries, not least the various renditions of Sir Adrian Boult and Sir John Barbirolli, not to mention Pierre Monteux with the LSO, Stern offers a striking performance, its many memorable details enriched by the sound engineering. … these Enigma Variations are well worth hearing, especially as realized by RR’s…
The ArtsDesk Praises Kansas City Symphony Elgar/Vaughan Williams
Kansas City Symphony’s Elgar/Vaughan Williams recording continues to bring in rave reviews! The ArtsDesk‘s Graham Rickson has a new review and places the recording in his end-of-year Top 10 list: “This is an exceptional disc in so many ways. The Kansas orchestral playing is flamboyant, assured, but always affectionate, and the recorded sound is possibly the most realistic I’ve come across. “The engineering really does serve the music, lending additional colour and warmth to Michael…
Fanfare With A Second Rave for Kansas City Symphony’s Elgar/Vaughan Williams
Fanfare reviewer Merlin Patterson adds a second (First Fanfare review here) Elgar/Vaughan Williams review! “The reason to acquire this disc is not necessarily for the music of Elgar and Vaughan Williams, but rather to experience the brilliant playing of the Kansas City Symphony under the inspired baton of its music director, Michael Stern…The big ticket item on the disc is of course, Elgar’s Enigma Variations and here, Stern and his great orchestra deliver a thrilling…
Kansas City Symphony Elgar/Vaughan Williams Recording featured in Gramophone
The newly available May 2013 issue of Gramophone Magazine features a wonderful interview with conductor Michael stern about the Kansas City Symphony’s latest recording of Elgar and Vaughan Williams, and also includes a new review for the release! “…the Kansas City Symphony sets its sights on another with a second all-English concert for multiple Grammy-winner Reference Recordings, featuring a revelatory Enigma Variations. From the outset, Michael Stern and his world-class band bypass the riddle by…
Fanfare Reviews Kansas City Symphony Elgar and Vaughan Williams
Dave Saemann of Fanfare Magazine has a new review of our latest Kansas City Symphony recording: “If taste in music-making can pass from one generation to another, that certainly seems to have happened with conductor Michael Stern. Yo-Yo Ma said of the conductor’s father, violinist Isaac Stern, that he left ‘no tone unsterned.’ Similarly, Michael Stern’s Kansas City Symphony is defined by its elegant and beautiful tone, splendidly adapted to the character of the music…
Classical.net Reviews Kansas City Elgar – Vaughan Williams Recording
Brian Wigman of Classical.net says the new Kansas City Symphony recording of Elgar and Vaughan Williams is “about as good as it gets“! “This very fine CD is about as good as it gets. Reference Recordings has long made some of the finest sounding records in the business, and this recent release is no exception. None of that would matter if the music making wasn’t exceptional, but it is. These wonderfully played, entirely convincing performances…
New Doug MacLeod and Kansas City Symphony CDs On Sale
Announcing Two New RR Releases On Sale Through March 25th! Use our special discount code: NEW-RR and receive a 10% discount on one or both of these two new RR titles Enter the discount code when ordering There’s A Time New Midwest Record Review “All these years and all his collected praises later, he makes a new record, recorded live in the studio at Skywalker Studios and he still has the same cover pic smirk…
Classical CD Choice With Two Reviews of new Kansas City Symphony Elgar/Vaughan Williams Recording
Barry Forshaw and Graham Williams of the UK’s Classical CD Choice both have rave reviews of our latest Kansas City Symphony Elgar/Vaughan Williams recording: “History might be said to repeat itself in these utterly splendid American performances of Elgar and Vaughan Williams, with Michael Stern adopting an utterly persuasive approach to this music, stressing (if anything) its internationalism. What makes the disc particularly cherishable is the typically luxurious 24-bit sound quality afforded by Prof Johnson,…
ClassicsToday Highly Recommends New Kansas City Symphony Recording
ClassicsToday rates our latest Kansas City Symphony Elgar/Vaughan Williams recording a 9/10 for Artistic Quality and a 10/10 for Sound Quality, while highly recommending the recording even if you have multiple recordings of the repertoire: “Michael Stern and his Kansas City Symphony take to the music as if to the manner born. The Wasps, here given as the complete suite and not just the overture, is delightful. “The finale is extremely impressive, aided by state-of-the-art…