Archive for Fresh From Reference Recordings
Audiophile Audition Gives an Ovation to Bach Aria Soloists’ Le Dolce Sirene
Audiophile Audition‘s Fritz Balwit has a wonderful overview and review for the Bach Aria Soloists’ Le Dolce Sirene recording: “The most striking feature of this opening track is the keening sound of the violin paired with a minimal cello basso continuo. This was my first exposure to the exceptional skills of the violinist and director of the ensemble, Elizabeth Suh Lane… substantial works that will appeal to fans of modern vocal recitals. They don’t lack…
Invasion is Not To Be Missed
Huntley Dent has added Nadia Shpachenko’s Invasion: Music and Art for Ukraine to Fanfare‘s “Not To Be Missed” list! “Calling upon her friend and sometime collaborator, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Lewis Spratlan, Shpachenko commissioned Invasion, which is scored for piano and chamber ensemble. My expectations of grim, angry music were overturned by Invasion, whose three sections, lasting 12 minutes, don’t echo the stark bleakness of wartime Shostakovich, or any other war music I can think of. Instead, Spratlan…
Textura Sees Nadia Shpachenko Recordings as Trilogy
Textura Magazine’s new review of Nadia Shpachenko’s The Poetry of Places places it in context with her previous FRESH! From Reference Recordings releases: “The Poetry of Places could easily pass for the final part of a trilogy, so complementary is it to Nadia Shpachenko’s previous Reference Recordings releases, Woman at the New Piano (2014) and Quotations & Homages (2018). In all three cases, the intrepid pianist tackles challenging new works by a host of innovative composers, and while the…
Now Available — Woman at the New Piano: American Music of 2013!
Woman at the New Piano: American Music of 2013 Nadia Shpachenko World Premiere recordings of new works for piano, chamber instruments and electronics from 4 notable modern composers. Featuring Nadia Shpachenko-Gottesman: piano, percussion; with Genevieve Feiwen Lee: piano, toy piano, electronics The new works were composed as a celebration of a newly transformed world, for the new 5,125 year cycle of the Mayan Calendar- inspired by the happy fact that the world did NOT end…
Now Available — Robert Moore: Outta My Soul
Outta My Soul Robert Moore FRESH! From Reference Recordings “Outta My Soul leaves one moved in head, heart, hand and hind…” —Tim DuRoche New to our Fresh! series is Robert Moore, jazz vocalist, composer, trumpet and harmonica player based in Portland. He has evolved a sound uniquely his own, mixing his Southern roots, influences of soul and gospel into his own distinct interpretations of bebop and swinging jazz. Outta My Soul showcases six originals and…
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…
Now Available — The Pittsburgh Symphony: Dvořák & Janáček!
Dvořák • Janáček Manfred Honeck Pittsburgh Symphony OrchestraFR-710 SACD Antonin Dvořák Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88 Leoš Janáček Symphonic Suite from “Jenůfa”(Conceptualized by Manfred Honeck, realized by Tomáš Ille) Thrilling Live Performances From The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, In Brilliant Audiophile Sound! This release is the second in the “Pittsburgh Live!” series of multi-channel hybrid SACD releases on the FRESH! series from Reference Recordings. For more than 116 years, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra…
Now Available Worldwide on CD: “The Banner Saga” Official Soundtrack!
The Banner Saga Austin Wintory, composer The Dallas Wind Symphony Maluka and Peter Hollens, vocals; Taylor Davis, violin GRAMMY®-nominated,*BAFTA-winning composer Austin Wintory created an earthy, multi-layered orchestral score for the single player role-playing tactical game from Stoic Studios, currently available on PC and Mac. The soundtrack score features the Dallas Winds (America’s Premier Windband), recorded by GRAMMY-winning engineer Keith O. Johnson and the Reference Recordings team at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, TX. In…
SoundStage! Features the Pittsburgh Symphony
SoundStage! HiFi’s “Keepers” feature by Richard Freed has a wonderful feature on orchestra recordings and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Here’s a bit about the Fresh! Label and the Strauss recording. “What is truly different here is that the label in question, Reference Recordings, had built its reputation entirely in the realm of the audiophile, which is to say, on its own engineering and production skills, which have little or no direct involvement in this project.…
Portraits of Colorado Conductor Scott O’Neil
Meet Portraits of Colorado Conductor, Scott O’Neil Photo Credit: Michael Martin Photography/AEG Live Currently in his eighth season with the Colorado Symphony (third as resident conductor), Scott O’Neil maintains a strong commitment to making music of the highest quality accessible to young audiences. He served as associate conductor for the Utah Symphony, which he joined in August 2000. O’Neil has guest conducted the Houston Symphony, Houston Youth Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Annapolis Symphony, Florida Philharmonic, Tulsa…
On the Andrés Segovia Archive – Part Two
From the liner notes of the new FRESH! From Reference Recordings release Andrés Segovia Archive: Spanish Composers featuring guitarist Roberto Moronn Perez (Read Part One Here): From the very first concerts of the 1920s Segovia’s approach in commissioning new music was very clear. As he was dealing with world renowned composers, he did not attempt to criticize the new works, he simply evaluated each piece in terms of its affinity with his own personal sound…
On the Andrés Segovia Archive – Part One
From the liner notes of the new FRESH! From Reference Recordings release Andrés Segovia Archive: Spanish Composers featuring guitarist Roberto Moronn Perez: One of Andrés Segovia’s greatest achievements in the history of guitar music was his success in commissioning new works for his instrument. From the very outset of his career he took the decision to become actively involved in encouraging world renowned composers to write for him. up till that point, guitar performance had…
New Release – Roberto Moronn Pérez: Andrés Segovia Archive
Andrés Segovia Archive Spanish Composers Roberto Morronn Pérez A Superb New Classical Guitar Recording The genesis for this unique project is a collection of pieces recovered in May 2001 at Segovia’s home in Spain. These pieces were dedicated to Segovia or commissioned by him, involving composers from eight countries. They were subsequently published as “The Segovia Archive Series” by Edizione Musicale Bèrben. Guitarist Roberto Moronn Pérez researched these newly recovered works and found some pieces…
WFMT Classical Names Andres Segovia Archive their New Release of the Week
Tomorrow we release Roberto Moronn Perez’s debut on Fresh! From Reference Recordings, but WFMT’s Lisa Flynn’s New Release Blog has named Perez’s Andres Segovia Archive their New Release of the Week! “The genesis for this project is a collection of pieces recovered in 2001 at Andrés Segovia’s home in Spain. These pieces were dedicated to Segovia or commissioned by him, involving composers from eight countries. They were subsequently published as “The Segovia Archive Series.” Guitarist…
Coming Soon from Fresh!
A quick teaser for an upcoming release on Fresh! From Reference Recordings: Watch on YouTube
2025 GRAMMY® Award Winner – Best Engineered, Classical
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7; Bates: Resurrexit
Mark Donahue & John Newton, engineers; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)