Music Reviews
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Recent Finds No. 49, NativeDSD’s Catalog Continues to Expand Beautifully
View Original NativeDSD’s catalog continues to expand, with new artists and new labels. As I’ve written before, I enjoy recommending new albums from NativeDSD because I trust that the sound quality will be very high, regardless of the format or original recording resolution. Too many times I’ve been disappointed by the sound quality found elsewhere, […]
L’extase: Debussy’s Intimacy, Messiaen’s Vision
Listen and fall in love as two world-class artists make this album of French art songs by Debussy and Messiaen into something magical. Magdalena Kazena’s voice is intimate, sensual, and rich with feeling. Mitsuko Uchida’s accompaniment is a perfect partnership. Together, they make these songs mesmerizing. I was instantly transported to a dreamlike setting. Featured […]
Strauss Reimagined: Honeck’s Riveting Suites from Elektra & Rosenkavalier
Richard Strauss straddled the 19th and 20th centuries and was a towering figure in late romantic and early modern music. I enjoy his tone poems so I was especially glad to discover these two orchestral suites from Strauss operas, performed by Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The Rosenkavalier suite was created by Artur […]
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 […]
The Gamba Speaks: Lucile Boulanger and the Voice of a Forgotten Instrument
Musical instruments from the Baroque era were often quite different than modern counterparts. I don’t know why the trombone’s ancestor is called a sackbut, but I don’t know why the modern instrument is called a trombone. They’re both funny names. But, the viola da gamba is not a funny name! The family has 7 different […]
I Can’t Stop Listening: Eastern European Cello Sonatas That Sing
You might recall my praise for Martin Helmchen’s recording of Piano Concertos by Dvorak and Schumann a few weeks back. On this recently released double set, Helmchen is joined by his wife, cellist Marie-Elisabeth Heckler in an album of cello sonatas entitled From Eastern Europe. And what a program it is! Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, […]
Rachmaninoff 3 and Ravel La Valse Liss
Here’s a delightful discovery from Dmitry Liss and the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra. Ravel’s La Valse starts as a tribute to the Viennese waltz, but by the last few minutes, you know you have fallen into a bad dream. Liss and his players do a superb job of capturing this feeling. It’s said that Ravel wanted […]
Recent Finds No. 44 New Releases from NativeDSD
View Original This article of Recent Finds contains a truly disparate array of albums, but all of which I’ve enjoyed immensely. They are all beautifully recorded, supremely well performed, with interesting music that should be heard. I hope you will find something here that tickles your fancy. Mine has been tickled nearly to death listening […]
‘Somnia’ – Denis Kozhukhin – Pentatone
Here’s a discovery from just a few weeks ago that I really wanted to share with you– Denis Kozhukhin’s Somnia. The Russian pianist is absolutely marvelous in this exploration of the theme of childhood. These works are charming, yet truthful. They are involving, yet soothing. Most importantly, this is music that captures your attention […]
Review of Trio Callas’ First Release in Ambitious Project
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’ […]
Ning Feng plays Shostakovich & Prokofiev Violin Concertos No. 1
Only 15 years separated Prokofiev and Shostakovich by age. Both were born in the Russian Empire. Prokofiev left at the time of the Revolution, but Shostakovich never left. Prokofiev lived in Paris from the early 1920s until 1936. His exposure to the exciting music scene there gave a western foundation to much of his music. It was in […]
Sound Liaison Releases a Pure DSD256 One-Mic Stunner, With Free Download Sample Track
View Original Review Peter Bjørnild and Frans de Rond at Sound Liaison have just released a stunning new Pure DSD256 album. This is their first album in Pure DSD256 and the results are simply incredible, with all the transparency, timbral accuracy, and resolution for which we love Pure DSD256. Frans says of DSD, “Its incredible […]