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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
…
Photo by Terrell Clark
Friday, May 11, at 5pm: Sight + Sound (Studioplex, G8, 659 Auburn Avenue, Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta, GA) hosts its grand opening as both a contemporary art gallery and high-end audio equipment retailer. The gallery will showcase artwork from local artists while exhibiting gear from T+A, Nordost, and Elipson.
On exhibit for the opening will be regional photographer Terrell Clark’s 3 Feet Above Sea Level: A Pinhole Exploration of the French Quarter, where Clark captures “an unconventional perspective of the Quarter and challenges the notion of a ‘perfect’…
I’ve been curious about Philips’ new CitiScape Downtown headphones ($99) ever since reading Tyll Hertsens’ review, so I ran into Best Buy this afternoon and checked them out.
I only listened for a short while, but I immediately liked what I heard. Scrolling between hip-hop, R&B, and pop selections, I was hoping for Prince, but settled for Adele. I found that “Rolling in the Deep,” the lead track from the excellent 21 sounded particularly fine, with a really impressive sense of space around the British singer’s powerful voice and good detail and clarity to the acoustic guitar. The…
Thursday, May 10, 2–8pm: As part of MartinLogan's Truth in Sound Tour, Audio Advice (11409 Carolina Place Parkway, Pineville, NC) will host an evening of music featuring the MartinLogan Reserve ESL Series CLX Art loudspeaker ($25,495/pair). With the CLX Art, MartinLogan aimed to create “the world’s finest full-range electrostatic line source loudspeaker.” MartinLogan reps will be on hand for the demonstration and to answer any questions.
At the 2012 NYC hi-fi show, I was chastised by a random showgoer for using a “dynamic-less” recording as a reference in the Legacy room. Now with the help of the Unofficial Dynamic Range Database, I can find the dynamic range measurements of many of my favorite recordings, including the record ridiculed by one spiteful audiophile. Was he right about its dynamics?
The “Unofficial” Dynamic Range Database uses a sliding scale from 1 to 20 (1 being the worst, 20 being the best) to rank the dynamic quality of each of the recordings they list. This number represents the difference between the…