Classical Archives - The Absolute Sound

Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie

Peter Burwasser — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:56:53 +0000

When Serge Koussevitsky commissioned Messiaen to write an orchestral work for the Boston Symphony in 1946, he told the composer, “Choose as many instruments as you desire, write a work as long as you wish and in the style you want.” Messiaen took him at his word, creating a ten-movement behemoth for an overflow ensemble with an immense percussion section, plus two soloists, calling it Turangalîla-Symphonie. The name is, roughly, Sanskrit for “hymn to joy,” and appropriately, the music exudes an exotic sense of ecstasy. Messiaen’s voice has a unique harmonic signature, but it is very approachable. In this piece his solo parts are for piano and ondes Martenot, a keyboard instrument that is a precursor to the modern synthesizer, producing swooping tones that were widely used in vintage sci-fi film scores. This new recording is a tour-de-force in every way; Andris Nelsons and the BSO celebrate the 75th anniversary of the premiere of the music with tremendous intensity and kaleidoscopic tone, and are brilliantly abetted by pianist Yuja Wang and ondist Cécile Lartigau. Not least, the recording is superb. Clearly the venerable DG sound engineers, who have had a few rough patches in the digital era, totally have their mojo back.

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Ives: The Eye Is the First Circle

Peter Burwasser — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 12:05:29 +0000

Simone Dinnerstein’s breakthrough recording was of the Bach Goldberg Variations, one of the most frequently recorded works in the keyboard repertoire. Her performance was distinguished by an exceptionally lyrical and thoughtful approach, making it stand out in a very crowded field. She brings similar attributes to this new release of a live performance of a 20th century classic, the Concord Sonata of Charles Ives, although the music could scarcely be in greater contrast, stylistically, to Bach. The Ives Sonata is something of a Frankenstein monster; it is huge in every sense, usually lasting for 45 minutes, alternately extremely dense and delicate, reflecting the New England transcendentalists who are named for the four movements; Emerson, Hawthorne, the Alcotts, and Thoreau. There is gentle, introspective poetry in the work, but the main impression is of tremendous energy, immense clusters of harmony, and a frequent disregard for barlines. The work is sometimes compared to the similarly audacious and powerful Hammerklavier Sonata of Beethoven, a claim that seems validated by the quotes from the older master’s sonata and iconic opening chords from Symphony No. 5. It’s a great ride, and Dinnerstein is a superb pilot.

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American Sketches

Peter Burwasser — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 11:23:46 +0000

This album is a love letter to American music from a Korean-born artist who could barely speak English when she came to the United States at the age of seven. Kristin Lee went on to study at Juilliard, and even took lessons with a legend, Itzhak Perlman. She is a stunning virtuoso, with dazzling agility expressed in a joyful, rhythmically buoyant style. That musical personality fits this presentation nicely, which consists of mostly 20th century works that can put in the light classical category (which is not a criticism). Her program is enhanced, culturally, with a strong bias towards the influence of jazz on the American musical identity, with contributions from J. J. Johnson (a bluesy “Lament”) and Thelonious Monk (his soulful ballad “Monk’s Mood,” inspired by the John Coltrane rendition), and also ragtime, with Scott Joplin, of course, but also modern rags from John Novacek. The oldest music played by Lee is from Henry “Harry” Thacker Burleigh, whose four Southland Sketches, written in 1916, are a lovely example of his formal settings of spirituals, a practice that was a major influence on Dvořák earlier in Burleigh’s career. All told, this is an enjoyable calling card for a fine young artist, whetting the appetite for meatier fare.

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Human Universe

Randall Couch — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 15:17:42 +0000

Early in 2023, Daisy Woodward wrote a piece for BBC Culture about the surprising surge in popularity of classical music among young adults. Among other things, she cited a survey finding that 74% of UK residents under 25 would be listening to orchestral music at Christmas, versus 46% of people 55 or older. But it wasn’t just orchestral music, or only in the UK. Classical music had somehow become cool.

How did that happen? The answer’s no longer so surprising. When the pandemic shut down performance venues, groups—and especially young soloists whose careers faced extinction—scrambled to bring content online. Thus their work entered the media stream of Gen Z and young millennials, where likes and algorithms introduced them to millions with little prior exposure to art music. No dressing up, no expensive tickets, no anxiety about etiquette. Real people were posting from their living rooms and even having fun with the music. Such approachability wasn’t entirely new—witness baritone Babatunde Akinboboye larking Figaro’s aria “Largo al factotum” over the beat of Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” on YouTube in 2018—but it achieved a totally different scale.

Hayato Sumino was one of those soloists. As “Cateen,” he’d posted on YouTube since middle school, but during the pandemic he made it a focus. Today his channel has more than 1.4 million subscribers.

Taught by his mother from age three, Sumino felt a natural affinity for the piano and entered youth competitions in Japan. He later developed an interest in science alongside his love for music, taking in 2020 not a conservatory diploma but a master’s degree from the University of Tokyo. In 2018 he won the grand prize at Japan’s PTNA Piano Competition, and two years later gave up a research career in favor of full-time musicianship.

Sumino’s international concert career was launched by the response to his performance in the 2021 Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, where he reached the semifinal round. His first-round program was a favorite with the live audience and his second round received 45,000 online views. He was subsequently engaged to tour Japan with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop, where in 2022 he recorded the Chopin concerto he had prepared for the Competition finals.

Human Universe is thus Sumino’s third album, but his first for Sony Classical. It showcases the range of his historical influences, as well as his own compositions and arrangements. Its principal mood is wonder at a musical cosmos, but the program is warmly humane, including “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” as arranged by Dame Myra Hess, who gave free concerts in the National Gallery during the Blitz; the Chopin C-minor Nocturne Sumino played in the Warsaw Competition; and Hans Zimmer’s “Day One” from Interstellar. It concludes with his own 7 Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, nodding to Mozart before running through increasingly fearsome changes in completely orthogonal idioms—a spectacular encore. Sony gives the piano excellent sound throughout.

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Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov & Tsfasman: Works for Piano & Orchestra

Steven Estep — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 12:35:27 +0000

There’s one person who isn’t on this program, yet whose figure can often be glimpsed in the distance: Rachmaninoff (he and Prokofieff both signed their names with the double “f,” not a “v”). Besides the Russian musical language common to all four composers, our fantastic pianist gives these lesser-known concertos the big-boned romantic phrasing that Rachmaninoff requires, even if these themes don’t always have his grandeur. Rimsky-Korsakoff’s only Piano Concerto (1882–83) is rarely performed; it is a bit short, and the virtuosity serves the music rather than the pianist or audience, but it is plenty delightful and dramatic. I’ve always thought it was underrated, as is Prokofieff’s Second Concerto, with its eerie, invigorating orchestration, sweeping polemics, and earth-shattering cadenza that physically pushed me back into my seat the first time I heard it! The Intermezzo movement does get laborious. Alexander Tsfasman, the first to play Rhapsody in Blue in the USSR, wrote his Jazz Suite in 1945. Its four compact movements offer cartoon-like fun, soft-focus Hollywood swooning, and several charming tunes, all presented in clever orchestration and scintillating piano work. Superlative performances; the sound is slightly constricted but still very good.

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Debussy. Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (arranged for chamber ensemble by David Walter); Sonatas; String Quartet in G Minor. Nash Ensemble

Ted Libbey — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 12:03:29 +0000

Almost providentially, I found myself listening the other day to the 1970 DG recording of Debussy’s late sonatas by the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. “Providentially” because just a few days later came this new recording from the Nash Ensemble, coupling the same sonatas with the early string quartet and the Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune. A comparison across more than a half a century of record-making would seem to be in order.

The Boston accounts of the three sonatas—the only ones Debussy wrote of an intended six “pour divers instruments”—were highly praised at the time. But as listening made clear, they were very close-miked, oddly balanced (the harp sounds gigantic), and prone to picking up noises from the street outside Symphony Hall. Joseph Silverstein’s playing in the Violin Sonata (1917) still sounds hot and symphonic, as you might expect from a world-class concertmaster. He was able to manage that approach, but the BSO’s principal flutist Doriot Anthony Dwyer, trying something similar in the Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp (1915), too often sounds driven and unnuanced. String principals Burton Fine (viola) and Jules Eskin (cello) are adequate if rarely exceptional, while the piano playing of a young Michael Tilson Thomas in the sonatas for violin and cello is admirable and always respectful.

This new recording from England’s Nash Ensemble casts an entirely different light on these works, however. The performances are highly profiled, the conversation between instruments intimate and articulate. The Nash players are very attentive to Debussy’s expressive markings and bowings, and the pairings and “sharings” of figures sound nicely dovetailed and perfectly in tune. In the Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp, violist Lawrence Power is not afraid to stand out, swelling his sound, bowing aggressively on the bridge, but only where Debussy’s markings call for it. It’s a risky gambit, but it’s what Debussy wanted (we should remember that Debussy himself coached Darius Milhaud, no wallflower, in the first performance of this part). Elsewhere there is first-rate playing from every member of the ensemble: flutist Philippa Davies and harpist Lucy Wakeford in the aforementioned sonata; cellist Adrian Brendel (son of Alfred) and pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips in a reading of the 1915 Cello Sonata that’s a total gas; and violinist Stephanie Gonley and pianist Alasdair Beatson in the Violin Sonata.

All this would be more than enough, but there’s also a good account of the quartet (with Brendel again doing the honors on cello) plus a rather breathless rendition of the Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune for an ensemble of 12, although here, less is not more—Debussy knew what he was doing when he scored the piece for full orchestra. The recordings, made in two venues in London during the winter of 2023–24, are well balanced and very natural except for that of the Prélude, where reflections off the walls (especially with the horn) often harm the clarity of the texture. There is beautiful piano sound in the two sonatas that call for that instrument.

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AXPONA 2025: The Musicians

Jeff Wilson — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 16:45:53 +0000

To state the obvious, musicians are essential to AXPONA, as it’s their recordings that you hear in every room. And some musicians play a larger role in the event. Sometimes that translates into a meet-and-greet, as when Johnny Iguana signed his new album on Saturday at the Delmark booth, and sometimes the musicians give a live performance, as on Friday, when the Kyle Asche Organ Quartet played. Anne Bisson did both, signing her new album The Essentials (a complilation that was mastered by Bernie Grundman and is available on vinyl and as a reel-to-reel tape) and performing in one of the rooms.

Jazz artist Patricia Barber also wore two hats, signing her newly remastered vinyl reissue of Modern Cool at the Elusive Disc booth on Saturday and then performing a concert in the evening. The buzz was definitely on for this concert, and I’m glad it was a huge success, as hosting an artist of this stature is certainly a feather in AXPONA’s cap.

Musicians also have a history of speaking at AXPONA. This year David Chesky gave a talk entitled “What Is Good Sound and How to Get It.” As a composer and musician, Chesky has an extensive discography that embraces several genres, including jazz, classical, and Brazilian music, but he also has a history of taking audio technology to the next level.

Recently the U.K.- and Asia-based Evolution Music Group is now reissuing some classic Chesky titles on vinyl. Here you see Edwin Lo, Business Lead for Evolution Music Group, holding a couple new CDs on the label. Consisting entirely of piano trios, Harvey Mason’s Changing Partners: Trio 2 is a fascinating project that matches the veteran drummer with different bassists and pianists, with contributors including Stanley Clarke and Buster Williams on bass and Chick Corea and Jackie Terrasson on piano. Evolution Music Group makes some of the best-sounding CDs I’ve heard, and Wayne Garcia will review their 1-step vinyl pressing of Changing Partners: Trio 2 for Issue 362.

Like David Chesky, jazz pianist Elan Meher is a musician who also launched an audiophile label. The vinyl-focused Newvelle Records is about to celebrate its tenth anniversary. Musicians who have recorded for the label include Bill Frisell, Rufus Reid, Jack DeJohnette, and Frank Kimbrough. On Sunday, I visited a room where the equipment included Stenheim loudspeakers and Nordost cables. Newvelle Records used Nordost cables during its recording sessions, and because some Newvelle selections were played at AXPONA, that room offered a rare through-line between the recording and the playback. That afternoon we listened to two Newvelle tracks: the opening song from Elan Meher’s There is a Dance, which features a piano trio led by Meher; and “Ode to Satie” from an album where the legendary drummer Jack DeJohnette focuses exclusively on piano. The recording and the system sounded great, and I was very happy to hear that Newvelle is preparing to launch another series of albums. You’ll definitely be hearing about that series in upcoming issues of The Absolute Sound.

What Inspires Me About AXPONA

I’ll close by getting philosophical. Obviously, the main reason people attend AXPONA is to listen to equipment that, under normal circumstances, they can read about ad infinitum but are unlikely to hear in person unless they travel to an audio show. It’s no wonder that close to 11,000 people attended the event. As a result of hearing the equipment in person, many people decided what their next piece of equipment would be.

There’s something else about AXPONA that makes it a memorable experience, however, and that’s the camaraderie that occurs when you mingle with fellow music lovers. That’s why the focused listening sessions that brought together listeners to hear specific titles or genres are such a welcome feature. To give just two examples, this year Sierra Sound hosted two Metal Zone listening sessions for heavy metal fans, and another room hosted a listening session for the Who’s Live at Leeds. The fact that these high-energy listening sessions took place later in the day suggests that music fans might like a quick energy boost after racing from room to room all day.

There were also the focused listening sessions that occurred spontaneously. When I walked into the room where Sierra Sound was set up, they were playing a Bach Cantata instead of a heavy metal record, but they were happy to follow up the Bach with a Candlemass song that featured a fiery guitar solo. One tangent led to another, and somehow we ended up listening to a Charles Mingus platter with a mono cartridge. (I’m not sure how we got there.) Thanks to Sierra Sound for that musical journey, and I’ll bring a couple mono LPs next year to check out on your system.

On a similar note, I continually found myself in rooms where people were asking about an artist they’d just discovered after listening to a song. That interaction is an integral part of AXPONA, and I love that part of it. The fact that people come from all over the world for the event—this show featured equipment from more than 50 countries—makes the interaction that much enjoyable. Constantly I’m reminded that the enthusiasm for high-end gear is a worldwide phenomenon that brings people from different countries and cultures together—and the more of that, the better.

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2025 TAS Super Tape List

Jonathan Valin — Sat, 05 Apr 2025 13:02:33 +0000

Those of you who’ve been following my reviews in TAS already know that I’m a huge fan of reel-to-reel tape players. But tape decks are no good unless you can find first-rate tapes to play back on them. So, in keeping with the tradition of our Super LP List, I’ve compiled a selection of recommended tapes, which you’ll find printed below.

Of course, I haven’t been able to come close to auditioning all the many 15ips reel-to-reel issues and reissues that have been marketed over the past few years. Though I’ve made my selections from a fairly large sampling (and have had help from tape aficionados Greg Beron and Andre Jennings), my list of best-sounding tapes comes nowhere close to being comprehensive. There are many worthy tapes out there that I simply haven’t heard.

Also, be aware that the sonic quality of R2R tapes, like the sonic quality of LPs, varies with the generation and condition of the source (in addition to the quality of the original mixing and mastering). Those very well-recorded ones that are copied from second- and third-generation production masters (copies of the mastertape used to press vinyl records) tend to sound a bit less good than those that are copied directly from first-generation mastertapes. To give you a heads up, new entries are in boldface. I’ve also marked the tapes that are said to have been copied directly from the original 15ips or 30ips mastertape with double asterisks, though understand that, however it was duplicated, no tape on this list is less than worthy.

Classical

Albeniz: Suite Española (De Burgos, New Philharmonic), Decca/The Tape Project (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00

Arnold: Arnold Overtures (Arnold, London Philharmonic), Reference Recordings/The Tape Project (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00

Bach: Cello Suite No.3, etc. (Rosselet), Yarlung Records (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $290.00**

Bach: Italian Concerto (Gould), Columbia/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Bach: Messe In H-Moll BWV 232 (Popp, Schreier, Rundfunkchor Leipzig and Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum zu Leipzig), Eterna/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra (Reiner, CSO), RCA Victor/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00

Beethoven: Sonatas Nos.8 and 14 (Lenehan), Chasing The Dragon (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $499.99**

Beethoven: Sonata Op.96 (Abel/ Steinberg), Wilson Audiophile/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00

Brahms: Klavierkonzert No.1 (Gilels, Jochum, Berliner Philharmoniker), DGG/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Brahms: Klavierkonzert No.2 (Gilels, Jochum, Berliner Philharmoniker), DGG/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Cantate Domino (Oscar’s Motet Choir), 2xHD (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reels, IEC EQ), $994.99**

Elgar: Cello Concerto (Du Pré, Barbirolli, LSO), EMI/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ, 510nWb), 420.00 EUR

Graham: Winds of War and Peace (National Symphonic Winds), Wilson Audiophile/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00

Holst: The Planets (Steinberg, Boston Symphony Orchestra), DGG/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Janaki String Trio: Debut (Penderecki, et al.), Yarlung Records (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $290.00**

Petteri Iivonen: The Art of the Violin Volume 1 (Debussy Sonata in G Minor, etc.), Yarlung Records (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $449.99**

Liszt, et al.: Rhapsodies (Stokowski), RCA/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00

Mahler: Symphony No. 1 (Suitner, Staatskapelle Dresden), Eterna/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Mendelssohn: Octet (Locrian Ensemble), Chasing The Dragon (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $499.99**

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, Night on Bald Mountain (Markevitch, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig), Eterna/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $549.99**

Mussorgsky: The Power of the Orchestra (Leibowitz, Royal Philharmonic), RCA Victor/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00

Nojima: Nojima Plays Liszt, Reference Recordings/The Tape Project (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00

Open Reel Selection of Opus 3 Analogue Classical Recordings (Brahms, Albeniz, Sandström), Opus 3 (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $299.99**

Orff: Carmina Burana (Kegel, Radio Sinfonie Orchester Leipzig, Rundfunkchor Leipzig), Eterna/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Prokofiev & Ravel: Piano Concertos (Argerich, Abbado, Berliner Philharmoniker), DGG/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kije (Reiner, CSO) RCA Victor/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No.3 (Janis, Kondrashin, Moscow Philharmonic), Mercury/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Puccini: Tosca (Callas, Gobbi, Prêtre), Warner Classical/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $1149.99**

Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances & Vocalise (Johanos, Dallas Symphony), Turnabout/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Rachmaninov: Second Symphony (Previn, London Symphony Orchestra), EMI/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $549.99**

Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe (Munch, BSO), RCA Victor/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Ravel: La Valse, Ma mère l’Oye, Pavane pour une infante Defunte, Bolero (Herbig, Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester), Eterna/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $549.99**

Respighi: Pines of Rome (Reiner, CSO), RCA Victor/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 (Sanderling, Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester), Eterna/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Stravinsky: Der Feuervogel & Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem Op.20 (Kempe, Dresden Staatskapelle), Eterna/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $549.99**

Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.3 (Munch, BSO), RCA Victor/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Various: The Reiner Sound (Reiner, CSO), RCA Victor/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), 420.00 EUR**

Various: Witches’ Brew (Gibson, New Symphony Orchestra of London), RCA Victor/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $449.99**

Vivaldi: Vivaldi in Venice (Interpreti Veneziani), Chasing The Dragon (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $799.99**

Rock, Blues, Pop, Folk

Joan Baez: Joan Baez, Vanguard/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Joan Baez: Joan Baez, Vol. 2, Vanguard Records/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

The Band: The Band, Capitol/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

The Band: Stage Fright, Capitol/The Tape Project (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Patricia Barber: Café Blue, Premonition Records (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, digital recording, IEC EQ), $599.99

Patricia Barber: Clique, Premonition Records/Impex (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, digital recording, IEC EQ), $629.99

The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Capitol/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Harry Belafonte: Belafonte at Carnegie Hall, RCA Victor/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Vincent Bélanger & Anne Bisson: Conversations, Camillo (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $499.99**

David Bowie: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, RCA/United Home Audio (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $N/A

The Doors: L.A. Woman, Elektra/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Island/United Home Audio (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $N/A

Vanessa Fernandez: Use Me, Groove Note (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $599.99**

Vanessa Fernandez: When the Levee Breaks, Groove Note (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $599.99**

Janis Ian: Breaking Silence, Columbia/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Jacintha: Autumn Leaves/The Songs of Johnny Mercer, Groove Note (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, NAB), $599.99**

Jacintha: Jacintha is Her Name, Groove Note (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, NAB), $599.99**

Jacintha: Lush Life, Groove Note (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, NAB), $599.99**

Norah Jones: Come Away With Me, Blue Note Records/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Rickie Lee Jones: It’s Like This, Artemis/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Antonio Lysy at the Broad: Music from Argentina, Yarlung Records (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $290.00**

Hugh Masekela: Hope, Troika/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Metallica: The Black Album, Elektra/United Home Audio (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $N/A

Joni Mitchell: Blue, Reprise Records/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Joni Mitchell: Hejira, Reprise Records/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Peter, Paul and Mary: In the Wind, Warner Bros. Records/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Lou Reed: Rock N Roll Animal, RCA Victor/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Lyn Stanley: Interludes, (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $674.99**

Lyn Stanley: The Moonlight Sessions Volume Two, AT Music (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reels, IEC EQ), $674.99**

Rolling Stones: Beggars Banquet, London Records/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed, London Records/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Hans Theessink: Baby Wants To Boogie, Blue Groove/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Hans Theesink & Terry Evans: Delta Time, Blue Groove/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Hans Theesink & Terry Evans: Visions, Blue Groove/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Trio de Curda: Liber Tango, 2xHD (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reels, IEC EQ), $499.99**

Suzanne Vega: An Evening of New York Songs and Stories, Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $549.99**

Yello: Stella, Blue Groove/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $749.99**

Muddy Waters: Folk Singer, Chess Records/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

The Weavers: Reunion at Carnegie Hall 1963, Vanguard/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Junior Wells: Hoodoo Man Blues, Delmark/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $475.00

The White Stripes: Elephant, V2/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $499.99**

Sonny Boy Williamson: Keep It To Ourselves, Storyville/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Jazz

Dee Alexander: Magic, International Phonograph Inc. (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $150.00/reel**

Louis Armstrong: Satchmo Plays King Oliver, Audio Fidelity/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Chet Baker: Chet Baker Sings, Pacific Jazz/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track mono, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Count Basie: 88 Basie Street, Pablo Records/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Clifford Brown: Memorial Album, The Tape Project (15ips, ¼”, 2-track mono, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Holly Cole Trio: Don’t Smoke in Bed, Manhattan Records/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Quentin Collins All-Star Quintet: A Day in the Life, Chasing The Dragon (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $499.99**

John Coltrane Quartet: A Love Supreme, Impulse!/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $500.00**

John Coltrane Quartet: Ballads, Impulse!/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $500.00**

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, Capitol Records/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track mono, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Miles Davis: Kind of Blue, Columbia Records/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Duke Ellington: Masterpieces by Ellington, Columbia/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track mono, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Bill Evans: Live At Art D’Lugoff’s Top Of The Gate, 2xHD (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $499.99**

Bill Evans: Some Other Time: The Lost Session From The Black Forest Vol. 1, 2xHD (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $499.99**

Bill Evans Trio: Waltz for Debby, Riverside/The Tape Project (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, Album, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong: Ella and Louis, Verve Records/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track mono, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Shirley Horn: Softly, 2xHD (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $499.99**

International Phonograph Inc. Jazz Sampler 1, International Phonograph Inc. (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $150.00/reel**

International Phonograph Inc. Jazz Sampler 2, International Phonograph Inc. (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $150.00/reel**

Diana Krall: Live in Paris, Verve Records/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, Album, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

The L.A. Network: Dave Brubeck Redux, 2xHD (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $499.99**

Josh Lawrence: Jazz Masters Volume 1, Dangerous Analog, LLC (15ips, ¼”, 2-track mono, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $499.99

Syd Lawrence Orchestra: Big Band Spectacular, Chasing The Dragon (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $499.99**

Thelonious Monk: Brilliant Corners, The Tape Project (15ips, ¼”, 2-track mono, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Lee Morgan: The Sidewinder, Blue Note/The Tape Project (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Gerry Mulligan: Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster, Verve/United Home Audio (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $N/A
Oliver Nelson: The Blues And The Abstract Truth, Impulse/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Joe Pass: Intercontinental, MPS/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Jaco Pastorius: Truth, Liberty & Soul: Live in NYC, 2xHD (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $994.99**

Oscar Peterson: Exclusively For My Friends—Mellow Mood, MPS/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Oscar Peterson: Exclusively For My Friends—Travelin’ On, MPS/Horch House Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $649.99**

Joe Policastro Trio Featuring Mark Feldman, International Phonograph Inc. (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $150.00/reel**

Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus, Prestige/The Tape Project (15ips, ¼”, 2-track mono, 10.5″ NAB reel, Album, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Frank Sinatra: Sinatra at the Sands, Reprise Records/Puget Sound Studios (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $200.00/reel*

Jimmy Smith: The Sermon! Blue Note/The Tape Project (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $450.00

Buddy Tate & Harry Edison: I Cried For You, 2xHD (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reels, IEC EQ), $499.99**

Clare Teal with the Syd Lawrence Orchestra: A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Chasing The Dragon (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $499.99**

Various: Jazz at the Pawnshop, Proprius/2xHD (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC/NAB EQ), $994.98**

Ben Webster: Gentle Ben, Ensayo/Analogue Productions (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, Album, IEC EQ), $450.00**

Ben Webster: Stardust Limited, 2xHD (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reels, IEC EQ), $994.99**

The Anthony Wilson Trio: Our Gang, Groove Note (15ips, ¼”, 2-track stereo, 10.5″ NAB reel, IEC EQ), $599.99**

* Only available through industry professionals.

** Said to be sourced directly from the original mastertape.

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Doriene Marselje: Interference

Jerika Hayes — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 13:20:09 +0000

Harpist Doriene Marselje’s fascinating new album Interference explores the array of sonic worlds the harp can produce and seeks to challenge our perception of the instrument. Along with exploring compositions by Kaija Saariaho and Toshio Hosokawa, Marselje also commissioned two pieces by Valerio Sannicandro (who works with extended techniques) and Tony Roe, who uses electronics to push the harp’s timbral palette, respectively. The results are prismatic. Sannicandro’s piece “Cortex” illuminates the percussive ability of the harp with exaggerated, buzzing string coils, dramatic slaps and pops, and knocking against the frame. One of my favorite performances on the record is the first movement of the title track, which is a four-part suite by Tony Roe. With disparate octaves resonating at once and the purposeful distortion effect on many of the lowest notes, it’s a wholly unique listening experience (as is the incredible final movement, “Duologue”). The quality in recording is also a treat, and allows the listener to completely immerse oneself into Marselje’s work while simultaneously bringing across the human element of the performance. You can hear fingers hit strings and breaths being taken, which enlivens the recording while also keeping it grounded amid the swirl of fantastic sounds.

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Dessner: Solos

Ted Libbey — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 16:49:25 +0000

Listening to “Tromp Miniature,” the fifth cut on Bryce Dessner’s new album Solos, people whose ears were shaped decades ago may note a similarity to the “pulses” of Steve Reich’s 1976 Music for 18 Musicians, or even to Carl Orff’s Schulwerk. Colin Currie plays the piece on a five-octave marimba, and it’s lovely in a minimalist, Bach-like sort of way. Other solo meditations heard here suggest Eric Satie and Philip Glass. But Dessner is far from reactionary and only a bit derivative. He’s a post-modern composer-guitarist with a Master’s degree from Yale who has one foot firmly planted in the classical world, including film, and the other rooted in indie rock. Between these worlds, the message of his music seems to be: “Why should there be a distinction?” And in a certain way, all 15 of the pieces heard here ask that question, while suggesting there’s a New Age spirituality behind it all. Solos consists of 15 unaccompanied instrumental works written over the past ten years, performed by Dessner, Currie, string players Pekka Kuusisto, Nadia Sirota, and Anastasia Kobekina, pianist Katia Labèque, and harpist Lavinia Meijer. We are a long way from Berio’s Sequenze, but so be it. The sound from multiple venues is excellent.

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Beethoven: Early String Quartets

Peter Burwasser — Sat, 01 Mar 2025 13:26:43 +0000

Great recordings of Beethoven’s string quartets, as is the case with all of his core repertoire, are available in an embarrassment of riches. This new release of his early quartets, all six of the Opus 18, is nevertheless unique in a number of ways. The Narratio Quartet is a period instrument ensemble, which is rare, but not entirely unknown in this music. What sets them apart is their stated purpose to bring the listener closer to what Beethoven heard in his mind’s ear, via meticulous research (including unearthing written descriptions by the composer’s contemporaries who heard the then new music) and countless hours of rehearsal and conversation. Perhaps surprisingly, the results are remarkably easygoing and spontaneous, elegant and expressive. The surprise is the use of portamento, a largely obsolete practice by which the string players slide from one note to the next, in the manner of a glissando. It is startling to hear at first, but after a short period of immersion, the effect feels natural, and even proper (it helps that the Narratio uses the technique sparingly and with discernment). The music itself conveys the special charms of early Beethoven, with his audacious genius firmly in place, but absent the affectations of his much better-known mature work.

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Puccini: Love Affairs

Peter Burwasser — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 17:35:15 +0000

Puccini has long been an important composer in the career of the great German tenor Jonas Kaufmann, but his main place on the opera scene has been in the heldentenor repertoire, which most famously features tenor roles in Wagner operas, but also includes such grandiose parts as Otello, in Verdi’s late masterpiece of the same name. This deeply satisfying all-Puccini album finds him an interesting place in his vocal development. Kaufmann’s timbre has always been especially warm, even a bit dark, and here a pleasing huskiness has crept in, lending his voice something of the expressiveness of another storied heldentenor of a previous generation, Jon Vickers (who chose not to sing Puccini). The album features a clever but artistically valid format, in which Kaufmann partners with six different sopranos in each of the well-known arias. Thus, for example, we have Pretty Yende’s sweet toned and vulnerable Mimi in La Boheme, or the appropriately fiery Sonya Yoncheva as Tosca, in the title role of that opera. This is a studio recording with full orchestra, and the voices are vivid and nicely spaced. Puccini lovers will snap up this gooey, voluptuous musical treat, but it also a perfect introduction to the artform for the opera curious.

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