Marc Regnier Tempo do Brasil a “Gift-Giver’s Delight!”
Marc Regnier’s Tempo do Brasil hailed as a “Gift-Giver’s Delight!” by Kara Dahl Russell and Delmarva Public Radio: “This CD plays like a truly collaborative Chamber performance, led by Grammy nominated, Peabody Conservatory grad. Regnier. The 4 artists on this CD take turns in solo works and a variety of pairings of accessible works, mostly with a latin rhythm – composers like Assad, Villa-Lobos, Almeida, Powell, and more. This CD was on air when our…
Rad Bennett Listens to Minnesota Orchestra’s Strauss
Audiophile critic Rad Bennett has a new review of an HDtracks download of our Minnesota Orchestra recording of Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben with Eiji Oue: “… the orchestra covered itself in glory. Lush, detailed, exciting, and heroic are all words that come to mind to describe this performance. The download also included a suite of interludes from the opera Die Frau Ohne Schatten, which is awesome, dramatic, and romantic music we should hear more often! ……
Five Stars for Kansas City Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3
Kansas City Symphony’s new Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 “Organ” recording gets a new Five Star review from an Amazon reviewer: “Beautiful recording. I have quite a few recordings of this Symphony and have actually played this myself in college days. I wanted this recording because the Kansas City Symphony is such an amazing “young” symphony. But, I’ll have to be honest, I wanted the recording to hear the organ in Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman…
Nadia Shpachenko and Jan Kraybill Thursday Videos
Nadia Shpachenko Performing George Crumb’s Music for a Summer Evening Buy Nadia Shpachenko’s Woman at the New Piano Read the latest Woman at the New Piano review! Jan Kraybill and the Kansas City Symphony Test the Casavant Organ Get Jan Kraybill and the Kansas City Symphony’s Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony recording today! Hear Jan Kraybill and the Casavant Organ in full splendour in Organ Polychrome!
Kansas City Star Recommends Saint-Saëns
The Kansas City Star‘s Patrick Neas makes his suggestions for music to listen to this summer and the Kansas City Symphony’s Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 “Organ” is on the top of his list: “There are many recordings of Camille Saint-Saens’ Organ Symphony on the market, but Reference Recordings has just released a CD by the Kansas City Symphony that can take its place with the best of them. The KC Symphony, with superb direction from…
Woman at the New Piano a “New Favorite”
Critic Don Clark has “a new favorite” in Nadia Shpachenko’s Woman at the New Piano recording: “Woman at the New Piano is an album with a surely cosmic purpose… this prodigiously talented, California-based pianist and teacher, has recorded a delightful and diverse program of brand new works she commissioned in 2013 from four outstanding composers, Tom Flaherty, Peter Yates, Adam Schoenberg and James Matheson. … Shpachenko makes a most convincing case for [Adam Schoenberg’s “Picture…
Kansas City Saint-Saëns “A Pleasure To Own”
MusicWeb International critic Michael Cookson recounts a live Saint-Saëns “Organ” Symphony performance while reviewing our new Kansas City Symphony recording: In the Adagio – Allegro moderato Michael Stern’s well balanced opening soon increases in weight and volume. The efforts of the Kansas orchestra are thrilling. Stern engenders a sense of steely determination. The low growling entry of organ in the Poco adagio is notable and the dialogue between organ and strings is delightfully reflective. Conversely…
Manfred Honeck and Pittsburgh Symphony’s Bruckner Symphony No. 4 an “Excellent Choice”
Arthur Lintgen reviews Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s new Bruckner recording for Fanfare Magazine: “What Honeck does accomplish, perhaps better than any other conductor, is to move the music along and even lighten instrumental textures as in the relaxed and faster second subject of the first movement without detracting in any way from the solemnity of the opening horn call and the power of the massive brass climaxes. In other words, Honeck’s flexible tempos…
Specs for the The Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant Organ, Opus 3875
In David Hurwitz’s fantastic new review of the Kansas City Symphony’s Saint-Saëns “Organ” Symphony recording, he states “I do wish, though, that Reference Recordings had included a stop list in the booklet. The instrument has some interesting timbres and I would have liked to know what resources it calls upon to make them.” Unfortunately these specs were not able to fit in the included liner notes, but in case anyone else might be curious, we…
ClassicsToday: A “Remarkably Good” Saint-Saëns from Kansas City
ClassicsToday‘s David Horowitz reviews the “remarkably good” Kansas City Symphony recording of Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3: “…this is an unusually vivacious and texturally transparent reading, recorded with welcome clarity in an acoustic that never permits detail to get obscured by excessive reverberation. The balance between organ and orchestra in the finale, even when everyone is blasting away, could not be more perfect. In the serene Adagio too, which flows with impressive poise, the soft tones…
ClassicalNet Reviews Minnesota Orchestra’s Bruckner Symphony No. 9
Brian Wigman says our 1997 Bruckner Symphony No. 9 recording featuring Stanislaw Skrowaczewski and the Minnesota Orchestra should be “required listening.” “This disc dates from 1997, well before the Bruckner explosion and at a time when a small label like Reference Recordings was still carving a niche as an audiophile enterprise. Everything works wonderfully. I dare you to play this for friends; I imagine they would name a great European orchestra if asked who was…
Joel Fan: Dances For Piano and Orchestra “Sparkles”
ClassicalNet critic Brian Wigman has a new review for Joel Fan and the Northwest Sinfonietta’s Dances for Piano and Orchestra recording: “This diverse and engaging program of works for piano and orchestra reflects Joel Fan’s ongoing commitment to international music. … There is…a real sense of intelligence and enjoyment. Captured in excellent sound, this program has a wide potential audience, from piano students and teachers to the adventurous listener. … I can’t imagine any piano…
Kansas City Symphony Saint-Saens an AllMusic Editor’s Choice
AllMusic names Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony’s Saint-Saëns recording an Editor’s Choice! “Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony deliver this celebrated Romantic symphony with extraordinary vitality, crisp articulation, and brilliant sonorities, and their performances of the two filler pieces are equally vivid and exciting. Of special note are the soloists, organist Jan Kraybill in the symphony, violinist Noah Geller in the Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, and the duo of Geller and cellist…
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…
Watch Joel Fan’s Kennedy Center Performance
Watch Joel Fan’s Kennedy Center Performance On-Demand! See all RR Joel Fan Recordings Latest Joel Fan Release: Dances for Piano and Orchestra JOEL FAN Northwest Sinfonietta Christophe Chagnard, Music Director RR-134HDCD Pierné, Castro, Chopin, Saint-Saëns, Weber, Gottschalk, Cadman Buy Now