Stephen Francis Vasta, Jason Victor Serinus

October 2025 Classical Record Reviews

Mahler: Symphony 9, Park Avenue Chamber Symphony/David Bernard; Anna Clyne: Abstractions, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop; Steve Reich: Jacob's Ladder | Traveler's Prayer, Synergy Vocals, New York Philharmonic/Japp van Zweden, Colin Currie Group; Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem; Winter Words; The Prince of the Pagodas, Nicky Spence, tenor; London Philharmonic Orchestra/Edward Gardner.
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September 2025 Classical Record Reviews

Holst: The Planets & Cheetham Fraillon: Earth, Deborah Cheetham Fraillon, soprano; MSO Chorus; Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/Jaime Martín; Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto 3, Yunchan Lim, piano; Fort Worth Symphony/Marin Alsop; Mozart: 6 String Quintets on Historical Instruments, Spunicunifait; L'Extase: Debussy & Messiaen, Magdalena Kožená, mezzo-soprano; Mitsuko Uchida, piano.
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Canor Hyperion P1 preamplifier

Just when I thought my equipment reviewing schedule was locked in for many months, an unavoidable last-minute cancellation sent me scrambling for an alternative.

Jim Austin to the rescue. To his query, "How would you like to review a tube preamp from Canor, of Slovakia?" I answered with an enthusiastic "yes!"

In addition to the exciting prospect of reviewing the first tubed preamplifier to come my way in a long time, hearing the Canor Hyperion P1 preamplifier ($12,500) in my system would enable me to get a handle on the sound of gear I'd only encountered once, at High End Munich 2024. As is often the case at shows, I left without a clear sense of the preamp's contribution to the system's sound, let alone its ultimate potential.

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