Author: Adrian Quanjer

Could ‘The Horse’s Mouth’ Be Bigger than We Thought? Mozart played by three students of the Mozarteum University must be as though it comes straight from the horse’s mouth. Is that so? I compared Mozart’s Fourth Piano Trio, the first item on this new ADS release, with the excellent reading by the ‘Haydn Trio Eisenstadt’ […]

Currently 35% OFF! *Offer valid through Monday, May 05 end of day PST*Discount will be applied automatically at checkout. Just adding another Beethoven Violin Concerto? Only two and a half months after I heard Arabella Steinbacher playing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto at the inaugural night of Poland’s Beethoven Easter Festival, in Warsaw’s Filharmonia Narodowa, with Sinfonia […]

Originally written for HRAuido.net There is nothing colloquial about Sergio Assad’s captivating Colloquial Preludes – written for star guitarist, Ricardo Gallén – with which this new Eudora release begins. At first listening, it becomes immediately clear that these are anything but ‘colloquial’. It’s magical. All of it. The composition, the playing and the recorded result […]

Quality and quantity are two different things. The best, of course, is getting both. But if a choice has to be made, quality must prevail. Short as this DSD EP may be, it scores high on quality.  For the first time, I heard the Dutch pianist, van Poucke, in a carefully crafted Schumann recital – The […]

A Reputation Only Few Can Hope to Attain. The Meccore String Quartet has built a concert hall reputation that only few can hope to attain. In their home country recognised as ‘the best Polish string quartet’, they also have garnered acclaim after acclaim on many international stages. Their recent tour in The Netherlands, so I […]

In Admiration of one of France’s Most Famous Organists, David Briggs Pulls all the Stops. Notre Dame de Paris … This latest release of Jake Purches’ is special on more than one count. Base 2 Music, being a respected organ music label, has released something that not only marks the centenary of one of France’s […]

Prelude Classics is a new label catering to the most demanding lovers of classical music. A previous release ‘Telemann: 12 Fantasias for Viola Solo’ harvested multiple accolades and for this new one the Polish producer/engineer, Michał Bryła, has given ‘tout son savoir-faire’ for the benefit of all those for which only the very best is good […]

Music that makes you happy. If there is anything these days that we need in large quantities, it’s music that makes you happy. Well, here it is, thanks to Alpha Classics. It is said that Mozart’s music has a positive effect on the psyche. Studies prove it though others -as always- deny such an effect. […]

A PCM recording needn’t be a dark horse Having spent a fortune on a (multi-channel) system, some classical music buffs can be dismissive about everything that may not meet their expectations. A PCM recording for example. I’ve fallen into that trap several times, too. Not without reason. Depending on your ears, equipment, and mood, it’s […]

This Stereo & 5 Channel Surround Sound DSD EP has been sourced from the DXD original edit master and is available only at NativeDSD! Check out the full album that was put out by Pentatone, which also contains Berntein’s Serenade: I don’t know anyone who doesn’t know John Williams’s music for Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film […]

A growing number of Spain’s classical prominence has gained worldwide recognition thanks to Gonzalo Noqué, the driving force behind the Spanish audiophile label, Eudora Records. Noelia Rodiles is one of them. I’ve greatly admired her interpretation of Schubert’s Moments Musicaux D.780 (Rodiles 1823) with which she joined in my view the ranks of Schubert notables. […]

Get Volume 1 & Volume 2 for 40% off when you buy the Double Album In my possibly somewhat subjective opinion, there is no other interpretation that brings Sibelius’s intent so remarkably to life. Summing it all up: This release is beyond the grasp of anyone else.  With this Sibelius you get more Some scholars […]