I had a nice chat recently with Mark Berry, publicist for classical music’s Naxos label. Naxos, for those unfamiliar, is a label with one hell of a back story.

<B>Hansen Audio:</B> Canadian loudspeaker manufacturer Hansen Audio, best known for "high-end luxury lifestyle speakers," has named Wes Bender senior director of US sales and marketing.

When I <A HREF="http://stereophile.com/news/051506nht/">visited</A&gt; NHT's manufacturing facility in early May, I was struck by a comment managing director Chris Byrne made when describing NHT's <A HREF="http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1105nht/">Xd loudspeaker</A>, which employs sophisticated digital signal processing (DSP) for its crossovers and equalization functions. "You do realize that we could have never incorporated such complex slopes in a physical crossover," Byrne proselytized.

Classical music in general, and audiophile label Telarc in particular, scored big in this year's annual Outmusic Awards. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Del Tredici, whose music has recently found an ardent champion in conductor Robert Spano, won Outstanding New Recording: Instrumental for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's Telarc recording of <I>Paul Revere's Ride</I>. Telarc veteran and Grammy Award-winning producer Thomas C. Moore, who assisted in the recording, received the Outstanding Producer award. In addition, soprano Melissa Fogarty received Outstanding New Recording: Debut Female for <I>Handel: Scorned & Betrayed</I> (Albany Records).

<I>Locust St.</I> finds the hidden links between color and music, Newton and Aristotle, and the Rolling Stones and Dolly Parton.

That's ray guns to you and me&mdash;and Lockwasher has assembled a beautiful bevy of 'em. I love the spray-gun/toilet float-ball jobbie and just may be inspired to create a few of my own&mdash;depending, as Lockwasher says, on what kind of stuff I find.

Here's a fascinating review of John Bridcut's <I>Britten's Children</I>, a book that traces Benjamin Britten's fascination with a succession of young boys and that obsession's role in the creation of so much of his glorious music.