Music Reviews
A grand collection of reviews. If you are a professional music reviewer and would like to contribute a review to this blog, please contact us.
Ravel Piano Concertos | Goerner & the Orchestre Harmonique de Monte-Carlo with Kazuki Yamada
Now Available at 40% OFF! Ravel is not without his moments that call for fireworks— The descent into madness at the end of La Valse is an example. But Ravel was a meticulous craftsman who prized clarity and balance. Stravinsky called him a “perfect Swiss Watchmaker” in that regard. Igor said it with a smile, […]
Jim Pugh And Anderson Audio NY Announce ‘New American Symphonies’, Featuring The First-Ever Recording Of Roy Harris’s Long-Lost Trombone Symphony
Acclaimed Trombonist Jim Pugh Reunites with Lifelong Friend and Grammy-Winning Engineer Jim Anderson of Anderson Audio NY to Resurrect a Forgotten Chapter of American Music History in Digital eXtreme Definition (DXD) Release event set for September 15 at Technica House in New York City EXCLUSIVE EARLY RELEASE ONLY AT NATIVEDSD June 24, 2026: Nearly ninety years […]
‘Canada Day’ Volumes II, III and IV – The Unmastered Editions
Canada Day: The Unmastered Editions The three albums included in this bundle have been favorites of mine since their original released versions. Hearing them as they were originally recorded and mixed has been an ear-opening experience. I invite you to explore Harris Eisenstadt’s individualistic compositions and the dazzling interplay of his bandmates in these NativeDSD […]
Recent Finds No. 73 Some Delightful New Releases, With Three in Pure DSD256
View Original We all say, “There is no substitute for live music.” This past spring, Ann and I treated ourselves to a generous helping of live orchestral music from one of our regional orchestras a few hours away. And yet, and yet… While the sound of live instruments cannot be fully replicated by even the […]
‘All These Lighted Things’ from Elim Chan
Elim Chan is the new Music Director Designate of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, becoming the official MD in September of 2027. She’s had an amazing career so far, and the level of excitement over her appointment in San Francisco is wild! Chan’s first concert since the appointment was described as “rapturous,” “exhilarating,” and “a hero’s […]
Beethoven: Pathétique · Moonlight · Waldstein
Certainly there is no shortage of excellent recordings of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, and there are some fine ones available on Native DSD. You may remember that I have been especially positive about Peter Takac’s complete set of the sonatas in the past, and if you’re looking for a complete set, you’d be hard pressed to […]
Stravinsky: Muses from Camerata Salzburg
Stravinsky’s “Big Three”, The Rite of Spring, Firebird, and Petrushka, are literally cultural icons. Hundreds of recordings, new and re-releases, have had a huge presence in concerts and in record sales. They each have a bold narrative, and are written for big orchestras. But the three neoclassical works on this album, Apolon Musagete, Dumbarton Oaks, […]
Recent Finds No. 72 NativeDSD Shows Again Why Not To Allow Format Dictate Music
Read Original I so often bring to you music in ultra-high resolution, but there are so many wonderful recordings not originally recorded in DXD or DSD256. I listen to many of these, but don’t regularly write about them because my brief is to focus on the higher resolution recordings so readers can know that they […]
Recent Finds No. 71: New Releases to Enjoy from NativeDSD
View Original I am frequently overwhelmed, in the most positive way imaginable, by the cornucopia of marvelous releases that appear. Such is the case today as I offer to you my thoughts on eight recent releases available at NativeDSD. They have made my heart sing these past few weeks. Santiago de Masarnau: Piano Works (Vol. […]
Recent Finds No. 69: A Potpourri of Nice Releases with Four Pure DSD256
View Original Over the past few weeks, my listening has been filled with enjoyable discoveries: four Pure DSD256 releases from Hunnia and Eudora (four!); another excellent LSO Live release with Gianandrea Noseda; a superb performance of Handel’s Theodora; a fine new recording from Barry Diament on his Soundkeeper label—who has something to teach popular and folk […]
Berlioz’s ‘Requiem’ from Sir Antonio Pappano and Concertgebouworkest
A memory crossed my mind the other day. I was attending a 6 week Summer Session at UC Berkeley in 1963, and one of my classes was Chorus, with longtime conductor and professor, Dr. Edward Lawton. I was in the chorus for the Summer Concert, Berlioz’ Grande Messe des Morts. It was a wonderful experience! […]