In Teach Me Thy Statutes, 15 compositions by the prolific Pavel Chesnokov (1877–1944) receive devout performances by the…
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We who love recordings of massed voices have learned the hard way that some succeed in blending vocal clarity with acoustic resonance, while others deliver echo-muddied jumbles. Happily, some very fine choral recordings have come my way in the last six months. Along with John Atkinson's acoustically stunning engineering of recordings by the vocally gifted Portland State Chamber Choir and the all-male ensemble Cantus, these aural documents do composers proud.
How many times have I asked myself what the purpose of music is? And what music really is, and what exactly I am trying to convey. What feelings? What ideas? How can I explain something that I myself cannot fathom?—Gabriel Fauré, letter to his wife, August 31, 1903
In writing reviews for Stereophile, I face a challenge. Whether I'm evaluating an audio component, a recording, or a live performance, I'm confronted by the fact that, when all is said and done, no one fully understands why or how the sound of a particular component, composition, or artist can affect us as powerfully as so many…
Dvořák: Violin Concerto, Trio Op.65
Isabelle Faust, violin; Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello; Alexander Melnikov, piano; Prague Philharmonia/Jiří Bělohlávek.
Harmonia Mundi HMM931833 (CD). 2023. Martin Sauer, prod.; Philipp Knop, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
Isabelle Faust, violin; Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello; Alexander Melnikov, piano; Prague Philharmonia/Jiří Bělohlávek.
Harmonia Mundi HMM931833 (CD). 2023. Martin Sauer, prod.; Philipp Knop, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
Isabelle Faust makes a fine impression in the Dvořák concerto. She answers the orchestra's opening phrases with firm-bowed flourishes, impeccably tuned, both in the "little notes" and when sailing in alt. Without sacrificing polish, she makes the second theme feel shaggy and untamed. The curlicued cadenzas on the lead…
Berio, Boulez, Ravel: Sinfonia, Notations I–IV, La Valse
Ludovic Morlot, Seattle Symphony Orchestra; Roomful of Teeth
Seattle Symphony Media SSM 1018 (CD, 2.0- and 5.1-channel downloads at 24/96). 2018. Rosalie Contreras, Elena Dubinets, exec. prods.; Dmitriy Lipay, prod., eng.; Alexander Lipay, eng. DDD. TT: 58:20
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
Ludovic Morlot, Seattle Symphony Orchestra; Roomful of Teeth
Seattle Symphony Media SSM 1018 (CD, 2.0- and 5.1-channel downloads at 24/96). 2018. Rosalie Contreras, Elena Dubinets, exec. prods.; Dmitriy Lipay, prod., eng.; Alexander Lipay, eng. DDD. TT: 58:20
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
What ties Luciano Berio's boundary-breaking Sinfonia for Eight Voices and Orchestra (1968–69) to Pierre Boulez's out-there Notations I–IV for Orchestra (1945/1978) to Maurice Ravel's progressively off-kilter La Valse (1906–1920)?…
Commercial products listed here have been formally reviewed in Stereophile, and we have determined them to be among the finest available in each of four or five quality classes: Whether a component is listed in Class A or Class D (or E), we consider it to be a genuinely recommendable product.
Each listing, in alphabetical order within classes, is followed by a brief description of its performance characteristics and a note indicating the issue of Stereophile in which its review, and in some cases Follow-Up reports, appeared—ie, "Vol.42 No.6" indicates our June 2019 issue. And so forth.…
Cecilia Bartoli: Unreleased
Beethoven, Mozart, Myslivecek, and Haydn
Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano; Kammerorchester Basel, Muhai Tang, cond.
DG 4852093 (24/96 WAV). 2021. Arend Prohmann, prod.; Philip Siney, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Beethoven, Mozart, Myslivecek, and Haydn
Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano; Kammerorchester Basel, Muhai Tang, cond.
DG 4852093 (24/96 WAV). 2021. Arend Prohmann, prod.; Philip Siney, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Any concerns that artistic shortcomings might have been the reason that Cecilia Bartoli held back release of this 2013 collection of concert arias and extended vocal scenas are dispelled immediately once you listen. It may be difficult to imagine Bartoli's light mezzo-soprano undertaking Beethoven's dramatic scena "Ah! perfido"…
I have lost track of how many loudspeakers I have measured with DRA Labs' MLSSA system since Stereophile started accompanying its reviews with measurements in the late 1980s, but it must be close to 1000. Most of those speakers have long since faded from my memory, but there are some whose excellent measurements stick in my mind. One such is the Magico S5 Mk.II I reviewed in February 2017.
That large, heavy, expensive three-way tower featured an enclosure built on an aluminum space frame with extruded aluminum walls. I was impressed not only by how it measured but also by its lack of…
Eric Nathan: Missing Words
The Boston Modern Orchestra Project, American Brass Quintet, International Contemporary Ensemble, Neave Trio, Hub New Music, cellist Parry Karp and pianist Christopher Karp
New Focus Recordings FCR314 (2 CDs, download). 2022. Shauna Barravecchio, Andrew Bove, et al., prods.; Mario Correa, Joel Gordon, et al., engs.
Performance ****
Sonics ****
The Boston Modern Orchestra Project, American Brass Quintet, International Contemporary Ensemble, Neave Trio, Hub New Music, cellist Parry Karp and pianist Christopher Karp
New Focus Recordings FCR314 (2 CDs, download). 2022. Shauna Barravecchio, Andrew Bove, et al., prods.; Mario Correa, Joel Gordon, et al., engs.
Performance ****
Sonics ****
Ben Schott's 2013 book Schottenfreude is a glossary of German words invented by its author to describe contemporary life. Such notions as "tiny triumphs of nimble-fingered dexterity" and "the exhausting…
Every product listed here has been reviewed in Stereophile. Everything on the list, regardless of rating, is genuinely recommendable. Occasionally we get complaints from manufacturers who object to being included in, say, Class B. That's their error: Inclusion in Class B is an honor.
Within each category, products are listed by class; within each class, they're in alphabetical order, followed by price, a review synopsis, and a note indicating the issues in which the review and any subsequent follow-up reports appeared. "Vol.48 No.11" indicates our November 2025 issue, for example. "WWW"…
As Jason Victor Serinus reported just ahead of High End Vienna 2026 earlier this month, some of the expectant exhibitors didn't get the rooms they wanted—or any rooms at all. To be fair, that's not unique to the main Vienna show, as there have often been satellite events adjacent to other big trade shows that endeavor to pick up spill-over exhibitors, and some of those satellite shows are also genuinely preferred by the brands that participate in them.
In Vienna, there were no fewer than three such auxiliary shows, the smallest of which—Xclusive High End Show Vienna 2026—is the…