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.
‘Grieg & Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos’ by Suzana Bartal
The Musical Engine of Europe? An intriguing release. Two well-known core compositions performed by lesser-known artists. It requires some explanation. Many of us will be familiar with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken (now the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern), mainly for guest Director Stanisław Skrowaczewski’s Bruckner Symphonies. But I can’t recall hearing anything from the Saarländisches Staatsorchester […]
Bartók in DSD: Aimard, Salonen & the San Francisco Symphony (Pentatone)
Bartok’s story is a fascinating one. His music was modern, but also very much influenced by Hungarian folk music. He and his wife came to the US in 1940 to escape the war. He became a US Citizen in 1945, shortly before his death, but never felt all that comfortable away from Hungary. It was […]
APSoon Recordings at the Organ, Phenomenal Music and Sonics in Pure DSD256
View Original This new release in the ongoing series of outstanding organ recordings from APSoon Recordings is their best yet. If you love great organ recordings, just get this now! It will blow you away. Aare-Paul Lattik, Live at Riga Cathedral. APSoon Records 2025 (Pure DSD256) Edit Master Sourced HERE This is the most recent release of […]
Recent Finds No. 54 – A Treasure Chest of New Releases at NativeDSD
View Original I can’t tell you about all the new releases from this past week now available at NativeDSD. I haven’t had time to listen to them all, and certainly not yet time to write about them all. But I have selected six that truly piqued my interest, and they turned out to be just […]
Noseda and LSO’s Prokofiev 6 is a Knockout
I’ve been a fan of James Gaffigan’s cycle of Prokofiev Symphonies, and so is my colleague, Rushton Paul. Here’s a link to his very fine discussion of Prokofiev’s symphonies and Gaffigan’s recordings. These are all available from NativeDSD. But there’s a new contender for my favorites — Gianandrea Noseda’s recordings with the LSO! No, he hasn’t finished […]
Cobra Records 25th Anniversary Producer’s Choice Album, an Audio Education
View Original Here is an audiophile’s dream—an exploration of superb performances remastered in Pure DSD from the original DSD tracking channels. Tom Peeters, founder and recording engineer of Cobra Records has gone into his archives to find his original DSD64 tracking channels from albums released between 2007-2014 and remastered selected tracks in Pure DSD256 for […]
Recent Finds No. 52 An Eclectic Mix of Modern, Traditional, and Earlier
View Original Today’s issue is an eclectic mix, and I think delightfully so. From an outstanding new release by The Hague String Trio of modern music composed in the 1920s, to even more challenging modern music of the past 30 years with the Rudersdal Chamber Players, to music of the 18th Century on clavichord (of […]
‘Arabescos’ by Bruno Madeira on ADS
Not all Descriptions Cover the Load It is common knowledge that notes accompanying the presentation of a new recording are intended to encourage you to buy, likely written by a PR specialist. There is nothing wrong with that, but it’s a reviewer’s duty to verify the accuracy of the message. I’ve come across descriptions that […]
Recent Finds No. 51 Cornucopia of Excellence from NativeDSD
View Original We have a virtual cornucopia of excellence from NativeDSD for this edition of Recent Finds. Following the release of Eudora’s outstanding Pure DSD256 album of Mozart’s piano music for four hands, Review HERE, now we have a superb Mozart Requiem from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Orchestra, delightful Handel and Bach secular oratorios from Florilegium and […]
When Two Masters Play Side-by-Side… Extraordinary release from Eudora in Pure DSD256
View Original When two masters play side-by-side, magic happens. So it is with this excellent new recording from pianists extraordinaire Josep Colom and Javier Laso. Mozart & Schubert Four Hand Piano Works, Josep Colom and Javier Laso. Eudora Records 2025 (Pure DSD256-Direct Mixed, Stereo, MCh) Edit Master Sourced HERE I have long admired the playing of both […]
Mahler’s 7th from Ivan Fischer and Budapest Festival Orchestra
Ivan Fischer’s recordings of the Mahler Symphonies have been very well received, and this one is no exception. In fact it erases any doubt that the 7th is totally Mahlerian in its power and it’s surprises. And there are surprises galore! Cowbells, quotes from Mozart, a joyful climax– perhaps Gustav is having us on […]
Recent Finds No. 48 – A Potpourri from NativeDSD
This article was originally written by Rushton Paul for Positive Feedback. It has been reposted with their generous permission. View Original This Recent Finds includes an eclectic selection of music from the NativeDSD catalog. What’s the common thread? In each case, I found the music engaging, the performers/performances excellent, and the sound quality at a […]