Favourite CD's for sound staging, imaging, etc.
500 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 871
CD Title: LANG LANG
RACHMANINOV, PIANO CONCERTO NO.2
PAGANINI RHAPSODY.
Ensemble: Orchestra of the Marinsky Theatre.
Conductor: Valery Gergiev.
Piano: Lang Lang.
Label: Deutsche Grammophon (4775231).
On this cd, the young Chinese pianist Lang Lang, plays two of Sergei Rachmaninov's (1873-1943) most famous symphonies; the 2nd piano concerto in C minor op.18 and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini op.43.
As Lang Lang himself says, "Making Russian music with Gergiev and a great Russian orchestra is the fulfillment of a dream."
As Gergiev puts it, "Lang Lang can play brilliantly. He can be fast, precise, and well accomplished. His approach is very thorough. He's not in a rush. He knows that the compser wants the artist to take time to enjoy the piece."
Rachmaninov's 2nd piano concerto was written just as the composer was emerging from three years of depression and reclusion. Thus, this concerto is dark and brooding. This is not a piece of music to be taken lightly or played for fun. It is a very serious piece of work where Rachmaninov expresses his three previous years of deep depression and sadness through the keyboard of the piano and a symphony orchestra. He wrote this majestic concerto in 1900.
As Lang Lang says, "It's a very deep piece of music; you can't play it as you would a light-hearted piece by Mozart. You must incorporate the sadness, the grief."
During the summer of 1934 while Rachmaninov was vacationing at his retreat in Switzerland, his creative juices were once again rekindled and he wrote in only a matter of 6 weeks The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. He composed this work using two famous musical ideas; the Paganini theme from the A minor Caprice for solo violin and the "Dies Irae" from the Gregorian Requiem sequence. What he ended up with was a piece consisting of 24 variations from the original pieces.
This cd is quite different in sound from the Yo-Yo Ma recording which I have just reviewed previously. With the Yo-Yo Ma cd, the recording is very precise, infact I could say that it is extremely precise. I can hear absolutely everything that Yo-Yo Ma is doing with the cello. It feels that he is sitting just a few feet away from me with the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra maybe 20' behind him or so. This is probably because it is a studio recording with the mics placed very close to him, thus rendering a very precise sound.
Now, with the Lang Lang cd that I am reviewing here, the sound is more rounded, not quite as precise. When I'm listening to this cd, I feel as though I am sitting in the last row in a concert hall, furthest away from the stage. To further my aural findings of this cd, here is a quote about this recording from Kenneth Chalmers. He says and I quote; "The live atmosphere preserved on this recording is important...Gergiev is not hung up on a performance being, as he puts it, 'clinically precise', but wants it to be 'naturally musical, naturally beautiful'". And so it is...very naturally musical and naturally beautiful.
This cd was recorded live in Finland during July 2004.
[ March 30, 2005, 06:34 PM: Message edited by: Keith ]
RACHMANINOV, PIANO CONCERTO NO.2
PAGANINI RHAPSODY.
Ensemble: Orchestra of the Marinsky Theatre.
Conductor: Valery Gergiev.
Piano: Lang Lang.
Label: Deutsche Grammophon (4775231).
On this cd, the young Chinese pianist Lang Lang, plays two of Sergei Rachmaninov's (1873-1943) most famous symphonies; the 2nd piano concerto in C minor op.18 and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini op.43.
As Lang Lang himself says, "Making Russian music with Gergiev and a great Russian orchestra is the fulfillment of a dream."
As Gergiev puts it, "Lang Lang can play brilliantly. He can be fast, precise, and well accomplished. His approach is very thorough. He's not in a rush. He knows that the compser wants the artist to take time to enjoy the piece."
Rachmaninov's 2nd piano concerto was written just as the composer was emerging from three years of depression and reclusion. Thus, this concerto is dark and brooding. This is not a piece of music to be taken lightly or played for fun. It is a very serious piece of work where Rachmaninov expresses his three previous years of deep depression and sadness through the keyboard of the piano and a symphony orchestra. He wrote this majestic concerto in 1900.
As Lang Lang says, "It's a very deep piece of music; you can't play it as you would a light-hearted piece by Mozart. You must incorporate the sadness, the grief."
During the summer of 1934 while Rachmaninov was vacationing at his retreat in Switzerland, his creative juices were once again rekindled and he wrote in only a matter of 6 weeks The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. He composed this work using two famous musical ideas; the Paganini theme from the A minor Caprice for solo violin and the "Dies Irae" from the Gregorian Requiem sequence. What he ended up with was a piece consisting of 24 variations from the original pieces.
This cd is quite different in sound from the Yo-Yo Ma recording which I have just reviewed previously. With the Yo-Yo Ma cd, the recording is very precise, infact I could say that it is extremely precise. I can hear absolutely everything that Yo-Yo Ma is doing with the cello. It feels that he is sitting just a few feet away from me with the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra maybe 20' behind him or so. This is probably because it is a studio recording with the mics placed very close to him, thus rendering a very precise sound.
Now, with the Lang Lang cd that I am reviewing here, the sound is more rounded, not quite as precise. When I'm listening to this cd, I feel as though I am sitting in the last row in a concert hall, furthest away from the stage. To further my aural findings of this cd, here is a quote about this recording from Kenneth Chalmers. He says and I quote; "The live atmosphere preserved on this recording is important...Gergiev is not hung up on a performance being, as he puts it, 'clinically precise', but wants it to be 'naturally musical, naturally beautiful'". And so it is...very naturally musical and naturally beautiful.
This cd was recorded live in Finland during July 2004.
[ March 30, 2005, 06:34 PM: Message edited by: Keith ]
500 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 871
CD Title: Angele Dubeau & La Pieta, Passion.
Label: Analekta (AN28724).
Angele Dubeau has won many awards in Canada for the fine classical music that she has produced over the last decade or so. In 1997 she created La Pieta, a 12 musician string ensemble which brings together some of the best women musicians in Canada.
On this cd, we get incredible string playing by this ensemble. They feature musical pieces from the likes of; George Bizet, George Enescu, Manuel de Falla, Frederic Chopin, Ernest Bloch, Pablo de Sarasate, Stephen C. Foster, and George Gershwin.
The sound engineers at ANALEKTA have done a marvelous job recording this cd. Sound quality is supreme throughout the entire disc.
La Pieta consists of:
Angele Dubeau, violin.
Marcelle Mallette, violin.
Julie Triquet, violin.
Andra Giugariu, violin.
Natacha Gauthier, vioin.
Myriam Pelletier, viola.
Julie Dupras, viola.
Marilou Robitaille Hans, viola.
Annie Gadbois, cello.
Murielle Bruneau, double bass.
Louise Andreee Baril, piano.
Label: Analekta (AN28724).
Angele Dubeau has won many awards in Canada for the fine classical music that she has produced over the last decade or so. In 1997 she created La Pieta, a 12 musician string ensemble which brings together some of the best women musicians in Canada.
On this cd, we get incredible string playing by this ensemble. They feature musical pieces from the likes of; George Bizet, George Enescu, Manuel de Falla, Frederic Chopin, Ernest Bloch, Pablo de Sarasate, Stephen C. Foster, and George Gershwin.
The sound engineers at ANALEKTA have done a marvelous job recording this cd. Sound quality is supreme throughout the entire disc.
La Pieta consists of:
Angele Dubeau, violin.
Marcelle Mallette, violin.
Julie Triquet, violin.
Andra Giugariu, violin.
Natacha Gauthier, vioin.
Myriam Pelletier, viola.
Julie Dupras, viola.
Marilou Robitaille Hans, viola.
Annie Gadbois, cello.
Murielle Bruneau, double bass.
Louise Andreee Baril, piano.
50 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 68
Anything by Aphrodite will test your bass clarity.
Dub Moods, Man of Steel, Rinsing Quince, Bad ***, Spice
All great bassy tracks, sound really cool on a loud and clear system. The bass ranges from so low you can only feel it to nice crisp beats.
Dub Moods, Man of Steel, Rinsing Quince, Bad ***, Spice
All great bassy tracks, sound really cool on a loud and clear system. The bass ranges from so low you can only feel it to nice crisp beats.
500 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 871
CD Title: Hilary Hahn
Elgar, Violin Concerto
Vaughan Williams, The Lark Ascending.
Label: Deutsche Grammaphon (4745042).
Violin: Hilary Hahn.
Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra.
Conductor: Colin Davis.
Edward Elgar's (1857-1934) glorious violin concerto is one of the most autobiographical pieces of music written in the classical arena. The only other work which is considered to be more personal and autobiographical is the violin concerto by Alban Berg.
Elgar completed this concerto in August 1910.
It is a very long musical work of almost 50 minutes.
It consists of three movements:
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Allegro Molto.
Of his violin concerto, Elgar said, "I have written out my soul in the concerto. In these three works I have shewn myself."
Elgar speaks of the sadness of this concerto, "the violin sadly thinks over the 1st movement...the music of memories and hope." He himself could not play this music without tears filling his eyes.
Hilary Hahn and the London Symphony Orchestra render a beautiful performance of this wonderous work of musical art.
In typical Deutsche Grammophon style, the recording sounds very natural and beautiful. There is no harshness or extremes at any frequency level.
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) began to work on this symphony (The Lark Ascending) in 1914, but had to put it aside due to his commitments in World War I where he served in the military and in the medical service also. He finally completed this piece in December 1920.
His symphony is based upon a poem that he read written by George Meredith of the same title.
Once again, Hilary Hahn and the London Symphony Orchestra render a very heart-warming and compelling rendition of this gorgeous symphony. The violin and the orchestra take flight and soar to heights as would a lark ascending.
The Lark Ascending is in one movement and is about 16 minutes in length.
Recording took place at Abbey Road Studios, London England, between October and December 2003.
Elgar, Violin Concerto
Vaughan Williams, The Lark Ascending.
Label: Deutsche Grammaphon (4745042).
Violin: Hilary Hahn.
Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra.
Conductor: Colin Davis.
Edward Elgar's (1857-1934) glorious violin concerto is one of the most autobiographical pieces of music written in the classical arena. The only other work which is considered to be more personal and autobiographical is the violin concerto by Alban Berg.
Elgar completed this concerto in August 1910.
It is a very long musical work of almost 50 minutes.
It consists of three movements:
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Allegro Molto.
Of his violin concerto, Elgar said, "I have written out my soul in the concerto. In these three works I have shewn myself."
Elgar speaks of the sadness of this concerto, "the violin sadly thinks over the 1st movement...the music of memories and hope." He himself could not play this music without tears filling his eyes.
Hilary Hahn and the London Symphony Orchestra render a beautiful performance of this wonderous work of musical art.
In typical Deutsche Grammophon style, the recording sounds very natural and beautiful. There is no harshness or extremes at any frequency level.
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) began to work on this symphony (The Lark Ascending) in 1914, but had to put it aside due to his commitments in World War I where he served in the military and in the medical service also. He finally completed this piece in December 1920.
His symphony is based upon a poem that he read written by George Meredith of the same title.
Once again, Hilary Hahn and the London Symphony Orchestra render a very heart-warming and compelling rendition of this gorgeous symphony. The violin and the orchestra take flight and soar to heights as would a lark ascending.
The Lark Ascending is in one movement and is about 16 minutes in length.
Recording took place at Abbey Road Studios, London England, between October and December 2003.
500 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 871
CD Title: Romance of the Violin
Violin: Joshua Bell
Orchestra: Academy of St.Martin in the Fields
Conductor: Michael Stern
Label: Sony Classical (SK 87894)
This is a cd of short melodious symphonic music for violin (or transcribed for violin) and other instruments such as guitar, harpsichord, cello, lute and cymbalon.
The composers featured include: Giacomo Puccini, Claude Debussy, Frederic Chopin, Camille Saint-Saens, Franz Schubert, Vincenzo Bellini, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Alaxander Borodin, Antonin Dvorak, Claudio Monteverdi, Jules Massenet and Robert Schuman.
The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, a fine orchestra in its own rights, gives a soft and melodious background to Bell's virtuosic violin playing.
Beautifully recorded by Sony Classical.
Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London England, from June 11 - 13, 2003.
Violin: Joshua Bell
Orchestra: Academy of St.Martin in the Fields
Conductor: Michael Stern
Label: Sony Classical (SK 87894)
This is a cd of short melodious symphonic music for violin (or transcribed for violin) and other instruments such as guitar, harpsichord, cello, lute and cymbalon.
The composers featured include: Giacomo Puccini, Claude Debussy, Frederic Chopin, Camille Saint-Saens, Franz Schubert, Vincenzo Bellini, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Alaxander Borodin, Antonin Dvorak, Claudio Monteverdi, Jules Massenet and Robert Schuman.
The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, a fine orchestra in its own rights, gives a soft and melodious background to Bell's virtuosic violin playing.
Beautifully recorded by Sony Classical.
Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London England, from June 11 - 13, 2003.
500 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 871
CD Title: Swan Lake & The Nutcraker
Composer: Pyotr I'llych Tchaikovsky
Orchestra: Georgian SIMI Festival Orchestra
Conductor: Anzor Kinkladze
Label: Analekta (AHD 1016)
The idea for the Nutcracker came first from the director of the royal Russian theatres. The scenario is based on the children's tale of "The Nutcracker and the Mouse Baron" by Ernst Theodor Hoffman. It was later turned into a Christmas fairytale.
Tchaikovsky wrote the symphonic score for choreography for the Russian ballet for this play.
Swan Lake is one of the most popular works and is a symbol of Russian ballet. It combines the work of two great Russian choreographers...Marius Petipa who wrote Acts 1 and 3 and Lev Ivanov who wrote Acts 2 and 4. Tchaikovsky wrote the musical score for this ballet, and it was first performed in St. Petersburg in 1895, twenty years after Tchaikovsky composed the music.
The sound of this cd is large and atmospheric and reveberant but definately NOT precise or articulate. Upon hearing the cd, it seems to have been recorded in a very large auditorium with a reveberant acoustic. There is no literature in the cd package as to where and when it was recorded, so I am only guessing from what I can hear and cannot hear on this recording.
Composer: Pyotr I'llych Tchaikovsky
Orchestra: Georgian SIMI Festival Orchestra
Conductor: Anzor Kinkladze
Label: Analekta (AHD 1016)
The idea for the Nutcracker came first from the director of the royal Russian theatres. The scenario is based on the children's tale of "The Nutcracker and the Mouse Baron" by Ernst Theodor Hoffman. It was later turned into a Christmas fairytale.
Tchaikovsky wrote the symphonic score for choreography for the Russian ballet for this play.
Swan Lake is one of the most popular works and is a symbol of Russian ballet. It combines the work of two great Russian choreographers...Marius Petipa who wrote Acts 1 and 3 and Lev Ivanov who wrote Acts 2 and 4. Tchaikovsky wrote the musical score for this ballet, and it was first performed in St. Petersburg in 1895, twenty years after Tchaikovsky composed the music.
The sound of this cd is large and atmospheric and reveberant but definately NOT precise or articulate. Upon hearing the cd, it seems to have been recorded in a very large auditorium with a reveberant acoustic. There is no literature in the cd package as to where and when it was recorded, so I am only guessing from what I can hear and cannot hear on this recording.
500 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 871
CD Tilte: Johannes Brahms, Concerto for Violin
& Violincello.
Composer: Johannes Brahms.
Violin: Henryk Szeryng.
Violincello: Janos Starker.
Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amstredam.
Conductor: Bernard Haitink.
Label: originally recorded by Philips on analogue tape. Re-mastered digitally by Eloquence.
Two fine concertos have been presented to us on this well recorded cd. The re-mastering process was done quite well as the original analogue recordings were done during 1971 for tracks 4 to 6, and 1974 for tracks 1 to 3.
Janos Starker was a well know cellist during his time. He was as popular as Jacqueline du Pre or as Yo-Yo Ma is today.
Henryk Szeryng also plays the violin flawlessly on this recording.
And with the two of them together along with this fine orchestra, well, it is quite remarkable to listen to.
The cello is definately on the far right (passenger side) channel, while the violin is somewhat in the middle. The orchestra is panned out from far left to far right.
The sound of the orchestra is rounded, not very detailed. The orchestra seems to have been placed far back in this recording. The sounds of the cello(violincello) and the violin are much more detailed. They seem to have been placed much closer on the recording. I can many times hear the bow of Janos Starker scraping along the strings of his cello(violincello).
This is a budget priced cd. I only paid $6.99 for it. Well worth the price.
& Violincello.
Composer: Johannes Brahms.
Violin: Henryk Szeryng.
Violincello: Janos Starker.
Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amstredam.
Conductor: Bernard Haitink.
Label: originally recorded by Philips on analogue tape. Re-mastered digitally by Eloquence.
Two fine concertos have been presented to us on this well recorded cd. The re-mastering process was done quite well as the original analogue recordings were done during 1971 for tracks 4 to 6, and 1974 for tracks 1 to 3.
Janos Starker was a well know cellist during his time. He was as popular as Jacqueline du Pre or as Yo-Yo Ma is today.
Henryk Szeryng also plays the violin flawlessly on this recording.
And with the two of them together along with this fine orchestra, well, it is quite remarkable to listen to.
The cello is definately on the far right (passenger side) channel, while the violin is somewhat in the middle. The orchestra is panned out from far left to far right.
The sound of the orchestra is rounded, not very detailed. The orchestra seems to have been placed far back in this recording. The sounds of the cello(violincello) and the violin are much more detailed. They seem to have been placed much closer on the recording. I can many times hear the bow of Janos Starker scraping along the strings of his cello(violincello).
This is a budget priced cd. I only paid $6.99 for it. Well worth the price.
Artist: Madeleine Peyroux
Album: Careless Love
Genre: Jazz
I am really enjoying this album, it is nostalgic and modern at the same time. Great soundstage, wonderful imaging and interesting instrumentation. It was recorded in NYC and uses some very fine musicians. It does not hurt that she looks like a supermodel either.
Album: Careless Love
Genre: Jazz
I am really enjoying this album, it is nostalgic and modern at the same time. Great soundstage, wonderful imaging and interesting instrumentation. It was recorded in NYC and uses some very fine musicians. It does not hurt that she looks like a supermodel either.
500 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 871
CD Tile: Wieniawski-Sarasate
Violin: James Ehnes
Piano: Eduard Laurel
Label: CBC (MVCD 1168)
The compositions of 2 great violinists of the 19th century, Henryk Weiniawski and Pablo de Sarasate, have been interpreted on this recording by the duo team of James Ehnes and Ed Laurel.
A very clean recording of excellent sound quality.
Recorded at Glenn Gould Studio, Toronto, May and June 2003.
Violin: James Ehnes
Piano: Eduard Laurel
Label: CBC (MVCD 1168)
The compositions of 2 great violinists of the 19th century, Henryk Weiniawski and Pablo de Sarasate, have been interpreted on this recording by the duo team of James Ehnes and Ed Laurel.
A very clean recording of excellent sound quality.
Recorded at Glenn Gould Studio, Toronto, May and June 2003.
