The pick in question is the recording, "remastered at Abbey Road" and bound as a book, of David Oistrakh playing the Brahms Violin Concerto and Double Concerto and Beethoven's Triple Concerto, with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, pianist Sviatoslav Richter, George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra (Brahms), and Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic (Beethoven) (2 SACD/CDs, EMI Signature Collection 9 55978 2).
Why take back an R2D4? I will…
The David Bowie estate seems to raid more vaults than John Dillinger ever managed to. But then, if the quarry results in quality releases, why not?
Divine Symmetry certainly is a quality release. It's not just the title, which is great (although it's not the first time the "Quicksand" lyric has been used; there was also an unofficial release). Included in the box, alongside a lush book of essays and…
The jazz piano trio has accurately been called "the minimum complete jazz orchestra." It is an instrumental format of infinite possibility. The range of what is achievable with a piano trio runs from the ethereal to the tumultuous, from reductive single-note Zen to vast complexity. John Escreet's trio with Eric Revis and Damion Reid leans strongly toward the tumultuous and…
Luisi serves up forthright yet unusually cultivated Nielsen. His suave manner, a bit like Rattle's, smooths the music's rougher edges; he doesn't overplay, literally or figuratively, such characteristic gestures as the obsessive short motifs (ostinato, indeed!). In contrast to the Briton, Luisi does this without sacrificing propulsion, energy, or…
Prolific composer, vocalist, and violinist Caroline Shaw, who turned 40 just last year, possesses a unique gift—one that earned her the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Music. Shaw has translated the old performer edict "Don't let them see you sweat" into her compositional craft and mastered the art of expressing complex thoughts…
Some background is in order. Using a large-diameter woofer endows a conventional two-way speaker with potentially high sensitivity and extended low frequencies. However, the large woofer's radiation pattern narrows at the top of its passband, whereas that of a tweeter mounted on a flat baffle is at its widest at the bottom of its passband. Even if the drive units' outputs are well-matched in the speaker's on-axis response, this…
Decription: Two-way, reflex-loaded, standmounted loudspeaker. Drive units: 10" (254mm) paper-cone woofer with concentrically mounted 1.25" (32mm) soft-dome tweeter. Crossover frequency: 1.6kHz. Frequency range: 42Hz–30kHz. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Minimum impedance: 6.2 ohms. Sensitivity: 91dB/2.83V/m. Minimum recommended power: 30W. Maximum power handling: 200W. Supplied accessories: magnetically attached grilles, adhesive rubber feet.
Dimensions: 22.5" (571.5mm) H × 14.5" (368.3mm) W × 16" (406.4mm) D (without grille). Internal volume: 50l. Weight: 46.…
Analog source: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B cartridge, Channel D Seta L phono preamplifier.
Digital sources: Roon Nucleus+ file server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; MBL N31 CD player/DAC; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 A/D converter; NetGear Nighthawk router.
Power amplifiers: Parasound Halo JC 1+ and Schiit Tyr monoblocks, Benchmark AHB2.
Loudspeakers: KEF LS50, Mission 770.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), AudioQuest Coffee (USB), DH Labs (1m, AES3). Interconnect:…