MartinLogan Montage Manufacturer's Comment
Editor: Thank you for reviewing MartinLogan's entry-level Montage floorstanding loudspeaker. The introduction of the MartinLogan ATF drivers found in the Montage has allowed our design and engineering team to achieve excellent levels of performance at prices that, five years ago, even we wouldn't have believed.
Thanks to Kalman Rubinson for his excellent observations regarding the Montage's superior bass extension, clarity, and precision. We agree that the Montage achieves wonderful clarity, precision, resolution, and bass extension at…
Here we go again---the usual Stereophile suspects rounding up some very unusual suspects of their own, and all collected in "Records To Die For," the highest annual concentration of surprising recommendations in the biz. Reviewers of wares soft and hard pick their absolute most favoritest recordings, each of which must be a) a topnotch performance in b) topnotch stereo sound. But be warned: some of us cheat (if we can get away with it). This is the fourth go-round for R2D4, which has proven to be one of our most popular and letters-generating features. After all, recorded music is what…
Paul L. Althouse
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto 1; Two Songs, Op.91
Stephen Kovacevich, piano; Ann Murray, contralto; Wolfgang Sawallisch, LPO
EMI CDC 7 54578-2 (CD only). John Fraser, prod.; Mark Vigars, eng. DDD. TT: 59:28 Until this recording came along, it seemed that no performance would ever match up to my old favorites: Curzon/Szell for poetry and Serkin/Szell for a dynamic approach. Kovacevich, one of the rare musicians who makes too few records, has Brahms's full measure in this powerful early work. He sees it more as a profound search than as a vehicle for pianistic…
Carl Baugher
LEROY JENKINS: The Legend of Ai Glatson
Leroy Jenkins, violin; Anthony Davis, piano; Andrew Cyrille, drums
Black Saint BSR 0022 (LP), 120022-2 (CD). Giacomo Pellicciotti, Walter Prati, prods.; "Michel" Carlo Assalini, Carlo Martenet, engs. AAA/AAD. TT: 37:27 This 1978 gem is one of the boldest, most innovative jazz releases of the past 20 years. Jenkins, the most important improvising violinist after 1960, plays with passion and intelligence, while acclaimed pianist Davis and drummer-great Cyrille anticipate his every move. The compositions are as forward-looking…
Martin Colloms
BRITTEN: Symphonic Works
The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Four Sea Interludes, Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge
Andrew Davis, BBC SO
Teldec 9031-73126-2 (CD only). Tony Faulkner, eng. DDD. TT: 67:77 The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra is a jewel that never fails to delight. Beneath a surface simplicity and economy lies masterly orchestration. The disc also includes Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge, itself by no means overshadowed by the marvelous orchestral excerpts from Peter Grimes. The BBC Symphony plays superbly under Davis's…
Robert Deutsch
EMILE PANDOLFI: An Affair to Remember
Emile Pandolfi, piano & arrangements
MagicMusic MMC-912 (CD). Emile Pandolfi, prod.; Matt Schwartz, eng. DDD. TT: 45:37 It's not highbrow. It's not funky. It probably doesn't represent a new epoch in 20th-century music-making. But for anyone suffering from frayed nerves, I can't think of a better remedy than a large aural dose of Emile Pandolfi. He plays standards from Broadway, Tin Pan Alley, and Hollywood in a free-flowing, emotional manner that seems to go to the music's very soul. Take two tracks---but please don't…
Alvin Gold
P.D.Q. BACH: Portrait of P.D.Q. Bach
Prof. Peter Schickele, conductor; New York Pickup Ensemble, many others
Vanguard VSD 79399 (LP). Seymour Solomon, Peter Schickele, prods.; Robert Lurie, eng. AAA. TT: 42:46 The music, of course, is a spoof; but the selection here is in deadly earnest. Prof. Schickele's New York Pickup Ensemble is as rough and ready as the name suggests, and the recording has clearly been done cheaply---this really is the beauty of the enterprise. It may not have the widest frequency range, and distortion is high enough to make self-respecting…
Robert Harley
KEI AKAGI: Playroom
Kei Akagi, piano; Rick Margitza, sax; John Patitucci, Bob Harrison, bass; Tom Brechtlein, drums
Bluemoon/Moo R2 79342 (CD only). Akira Yada, prod.; Duncan Aldrich, Robert Reed, engs. DDD. TT: 53:54 After years as a relatively unknown sideman, pianist Kei Akagi steps out on Playroom to showcase the full measure of his extraordinary keyboard and compositional talents. This all-acoustic set (except for electric bass on a few tracks) of Akagi's original compositions spans the range from the very accessible title track to the more adventurous "…
Beth Jacques
THE COMMITMENTS: Original Soundtrack
MCA/Beacon MCAD-10286 (CD only). Paul Bushnell, Kevin Killen, Alan Parker, prods.; Kevin Killen, record/mix; Tim Martin, eng. AAD. TT: 46:54
Why a "soul" band? "The Irish are the [blacks] of Europe," says the wannabe-manager in this straight-from-the-shoulder Alan Parker film about a bunch of Dublin council-house kids trying to be somebody by way of Stax/Volt---a fine film for a thousand reasons (novel by Roddy Doyle and screenplay by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, for three). This CD, recorded concert-style and mixed and co-…
Ken Kessler
BIG DADDY: Sgt. Pepper's
Rhino R2 70371 (CD only). Big Daddy, Harold Bronson, Rochard Foos, prods.; Bob Wayne, Damon De Grignon, engs.; Mark Waldreo, Bob Wayne, mastering. ADD. TT: 36:32
Lehnert said, "Ken---lighten up!" So here goes: A re-recording of the entire Sgt. Pepper's LP as if it were a course in early rock'n'roll and '50s pop. Would you believe a perfect impression of Johnny Mathis doing "With a Little Help from My Friends''? How about "A Day in the Life" performed as a Buddy Holly song? Sonically a gas---this is one of the funniest spoofs I've heard…
