Kansas City Symphony/Michael Stern One-Movement Symphonies
Reference Recordings RR-149. David Frost, prod.; Keith O. Johnson, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
These three symphonies, all dating from the first half of the 20th century, comprise so apt a program that I'm surprised no one did it before. The striking contrasts among them—Barber's First unusually angular (for him), Sibelius's Seventh rugged and forward-looking, the Poem of Ecstasy (Scriabin's Fourth) mystical and impulsive—serve to underline their common features. Who knew, for example, that Barber could sound…
Richard Strauss: Orchestral Works
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Andris Nelsons, cond.; Yuja Wang, piano; Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Deutsche Grammophon 486 2049 (7 CDs, auditioned as 24/96 WAV), 2022. Various prods. and engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
At last, a box set of the orchestral works of Richard Strauss to rival the classic analog traversal from German conductor Rudolf Kempe and the Staatskapelle Dresden: a heaping helping of orchestral blockbusters, 93 tracks of music that, for color, splash, dynamic impact, fantasy, romance, wonder, and…
When Hong Kong–based music lover and electronics-equipment distributor Klaus Heymann (footnote 1), now 70, first began organizing classical-music concerts as a way to boost sales, he had no idea he would end up founding the world's leading classical-music label. But after starting a record-label import business and meeting his future wife, leading violinist Takako Nishizaki, the German-born entrepreneur sought a way to promote her artistry. First he founded the HK label, which specialized in Chinese symphonic music (including Nishizaki's recording of Butterfly Lovers, the famous violin…
Herb Reichert
Sonny & Cher: "I Got You Babe"
Atco Records AT.4035 (7" single). 1965. Sonny Bono, prod.; Stan Ross, eng.
I promise you, whatever age you are now, your lifeforce will be greater after you've heard Sonny Bono sing Put your little hand in mine / There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb. Bill Voss of Technics played Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe" from a 12" Greatest Hits disc, and it earwormed its way into the next month of my life. When I got home from the show, I bought a VG+ version of the single on eBay for $11.95, and every time I see…
Jason Victor Serinus returned to the Innuos Statement in November 2023 (Vol.46 No.11):
On April 2020, when I reviewed the original version of the top-of-the-line, two-box Innuos Statement Music Server/Streamer (then $13,750, now $16,700+), it was able to do all of the things you would hope a server could do: play back music from its internal SSD or an external NAS; stream music from several music-streaming services; and easily play and rip music from CDs inserted into a built-in disc drive (a feature some other servers lack). I liked that it allowed me to use either Roon or—for those who…
The January 2011 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands—a whole new year, a whole new volume of your favorite hi-fi magazine! And we’re starting the year off right. In my opinion, this is the best-looking cover we’ve put together in a while. The layout is clean and well-balanced, the image is dynamic, and the colors are vibrant and attractive. Those colors largely stem from the cute, little Chordette Gem DAC. Graphic designer, Natalie Baca, borrowed the fuchsia of the Chord’s chassis for the cover’s border, and took the gold of the Chord’s output jacks for our logo and cover…
German manufacturer Canton Elektronik has a strong presence in Europe, but distribution of its loudspeakers in the US has been sporadic. Consequently, the most recent review in Stereophile of a Canton speaker, the Reference 3.2 DC, was in 2010. When we heard, in December 2020, that Bluebird Music would be bringing Canton back to North America, we were eager to review a Canton loudspeaker. Balancing performance and price, we selected the Reference 7K, which costs $6995/pair.
Description
The Reference 7K is a handsome three-way tower, 1m tall and finished in high-gloss lacquer—black…
I have reviewed several network-connected music servers in recent years, from Antipodes, Aurender, and NAD. All performed well but are relatively expensive, and their associated player apps didn't equal Roon's user friendliness in terms of interface, organization of the library, and inclusion and updating of metadata. So when Roon Labs introduced their own server, the Nucleus+, I first reviewed and then purchased it, along with a lifetime subscription to Roon. But at $2498 without an internal drive for storing music files, the Nucleus+ is still relatively expensive, and even Roon's less-…
Takács Assad Labro: Pieces for bandoneón, string quartet, piano, and voice
Takács String Quartet, Clarice Assad (piano and voice), Julien Labro (bandoneón)
Yarlung YAR59691 (24/88.2 download). 2024. Bob Attiyeh, J and Helen Schlicting, prods.; Bob Attiyeh, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
Yarlung's latest "audiophile" recording is a breath of fresh air in every respect. Offering seven accessible, beguilingly fresh works, all composed within the last 53 years (and several quite new), it brings together stellar artistic forces: the 49-year-old Takács String Quartet;…
Franck: Symphony In D Minor
Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande
Berlin Philharmonic/Daniel Barenboim
DG 486 6008 (CD). 2024. Marco Buttgereit, prod.; Gregor Schweiger, eng.
Performance **
Sonics ****½
I was rather hoping, given the Berlin Philharmonic, that this might improve on Barenboim's earlier Franck recording with the erratic Orchestre de Paris, which was afflicted by his faux-Furtwängler mannerisms. This one has a few ensemble problems characteristic of Barenboim's conducting, but the textures are consistently clear. Still, as Bernstein's Cunegonde sings, "Ah, 'twas not…
