I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Quad Reference ESL-2805's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and spatially averaged room responses. The measuring microphone was placed pointing toward the center of the diaphragm, which, with the 3° tiltback, was on the listening axis in my room. Although I raised the speaker off the ground for the acoustic measurements, I couldn't get it high enough to avoid the early reflection from the floor. This limited the resolution of the…
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My review of Neneh Cherry and The Thing’s upcoming album, The Cherry Thing, is scheduled to appear in our August issue. Last month, we heard the band’s version of Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream.” Now we can check out the video for “Accordion,” a selection taken from MF Doom and Madlib’s 2004 album, Madvillainy.
Director Ted Says explains the video’s creepy look and feel: “We wanted to create an atmosphere that would sit well with the unpredictable music of The Thing and be playful yet creepy. I didn’t want to restrict Neneh too much either—she had to have a platform to do…
Nicolas Jaar: "Love You Gotta Lose Again"
Actress: R.I.P.
Tim Hecker: Ravedeath, 1972
Zomby: Where Were You in '92?
Nicolas Jaar: "Don't Break My Love"
Jay-Z: Decoded
The Wire, The Fader, The Stereophile
Actress: R.I.P.
Tim Hecker: Ravedeath, 1972
Zomby: Where Were You in '92?
Nicolas Jaar: "Don't Break My Love"
Jay-Z: Decoded
The Wire, The Fader, The Stereophile
Eric Chenaux, at Casa del Popolo, Montreal, performing "Put In Music" from the beautiful album, Guitar & Voice.
The album is available now from the kind people at Constellation Records and Secretly Canadian Distribution.
Just the other evening, a friend, co–worker and fellow old record enthusiast, Brian Laboe, and I were saddled up at our neighborhood watering hole, sipping overpriced craft beer and talking about funk bands from the 70’s which happens to be a passion we share. Zapp and Faze–O came up along with Ohio Players, Funkadelic and Cameo. Upon getting home, I put on the new Papa Grows Funk album, Needle in the Groove, and there, fresh from New Orleans in 2012, was a 70’s funk record, one that both celebrates the form and pushes it forward. This being the beginning of the second weekend of Jazzfest (i.…
The results are in! This has been by far my best reader write-in competition ever. The notion of putting together an entire symphony-orchestra season without one single work from any of the Top 12 most popular composers prompted some intensely creative thinking! I was knocked out by the quality of the winning entries-and so was John Atkinson. Indeed, all the entries were interesting, provocative, or both. Please don't feel bad if you didn't win a prize; the level of competitiveness was the highest yet.
As the entries came in, I gave each one individual consideration. I provisionally…
TIE FOR FIRST PRIZE
ONE(a)
Fred Vrabel, Lilly, Pennsylvania
ONE(a)
Fred Vrabel, Lilly, Pennsylvania
Concert 1
Peter Boyer: Celebration Overture
Ernst von Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song
Lili Boulanger: D'un Matin de Printemps
Intermission
Claude Debussy: Children's Corner Suite, orchestrated by André Caplet
Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony 1, Classical
Concert 2
Benjamin Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra ("Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell")
Alban Berg: Violin Concerto
Encore: Antonio Vivaldi: "Spring" from The Four Seasons
Intermission
Joly…
THIRD PRIZE
Nelson Morgan, Nicholson, Georgia
Nelson Morgan, Nicholson, Georgia
Concert 1
Benjamin Britten: Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
Samuel Barber: Piano Concerto
Intermission
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony 5
Concert 2
Granville Bantock: The Witch of Atlas
Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Intermission
Einojuhani Rautavaara: Symphony 8, The Journey
Concert 3
Josef Suk: Fantastic Scherzo
Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto 3
Intermission
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony 10
Concert 4
Claude Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
…
SEVENTH PRIZE
Rolland Chalmers, Surrey, British Columbia
Rolland Chalmers, Surrey, British Columbia
Concert 1
Leonard Bernstein: Overture to Candide
Erich Korngold: Violin Concerto
Intermission
Ferde Grofé: Grand Canyon Suite
Concert 2
Dag Wirén: Marcia from Serenade for Strings
Ignacy Jan Paderewski: Piano Concerto in a
Intermission
Georges Bizet: Symphony in C
Concert 3
Bedrich Smetana: "The Moldau" from My Country
Antonin Dvorák: Cello Concerto
Intermission
César Franck: Symphony in d
Concert 4
Jean Sibelius: Alla Marcia from Karelia Suite
…
SPECIAL PRIZE FOR COURAGEOUS (OR FOOLHARDY) PROGRAMMING
Richard Leickly, Redmond, Washington
Richard Leickly, Redmond, Washington
Concert 1
Havergal Brian: Symphony 1, Gothic
Concert 2
Benjamin Britten: Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Intermission
Christopher Theofanidis: Symphony 1
Concert 3
Richard Einhorn: Voices of Light
Concert 4
Sofia Gubaidulina: Offertorium, for violin and orchestra
Intermission
Béla Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
Concert 5
Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie
Concert 6
…