The ‘Beethoven Piano Concertos’ You’ve Been Looking For

I’ve been listening for too many years, and loved too many different recordings of the 5 Beethoven Piano Concertos to settle on absolute favorites, but this set comes very close, and it has kept me smiling since it was released last year.  The estimable Garrick Ohlsson with Sir Donald Runnicles conducting the Grand Teton Music […]

‘Paysage’ from Véronique Gens is Simply and Gently Moving

When I went to check the mailbox today I was greeted by a cloudless sky. The temperature was perfect. Our large bay tree is perfuming the entire yard. And just when I thought things couldn’t be better, a hummingbird came by to check out the honeysuckles! Was I dreaming? It truly was an amazing moment.  Believe it or not, […]

Britten’s ‘Sinfonia da Requiem’ from Sir Simon Rattle and LSO

I first “discovered” Benjamin Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem in 1963 with Andre Previn’s premiere album as conductor of the St. Louis Symphony. I bought the album because it had Aaron Copland’s Red Pony Suite, and while I love that, it was Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem that made this a favorite LP. It was commissioned in 1939 by […]

Music, Film or Both?

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 […]

Praise for ‘Mozart, You Drive Me Crazy!’

Golda Schultz, supported by seven other fine soloists, takes us on a delightful excursion through the three Mozart/da Pointe operas, Don Giovanni, Le nozzi di Figaro, and Cosi fan tutti. The album is dedicated to the five strong female characters in these three operas, and she brings strength to each, navigating the sometimes difficult arias perfectly. Conductor […]

Pentatone Has a Rising Star! 

Pentatone has a rising star! Venezuelan Rafael Payare has been making a name for himself for the past few years, and these two newer releases from Pentatone are lighting up my listening room. I have so many great Mahler 5’s, and I’ve praised many of them right here. But this new one from Payare with […]

Noella Rodiles Continues to Surprise

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. […]

Multiple Album Review of Songlines Recordings

HRAudio jazz music reviewer Mark Werlin offers us a multi-album review of recent albums from Songlines Recordings. Mikkel Ploug: Alleviation On “Alleviation”, Danish electric guitarist Mikkel Ploug unplugs, and undertakes a set of solo acoustic guitar compositions with influences ranging from folk fingerpicking to traditional Danish church hymns, post-War European classical to American minimalist styles. […]