by Audiophile Audition | May 31, 2009 | Jazz CD Reviews
Kenny Burrell – Prime-Live at the Downtown Room – High Note HCD 7193, 54:31 – 1976 (track #7-2006) ****:
(Kenny Burrell, guitar; Richard Wyands, piano; Lisle Atkinson, bass; Lennie McBrowne, drums)
Someone deserves a raise for finding a reel-to-reel mag tape of Kenny Burrell’s Quartet 1976 performance deep in a vault somewhere. It chronicles a Jan. 6, 1976 performance at the little known Statler Hotel in Buffalo, NY. Originally recorded by Al Wallack and ably remastered digitally by Dana Walden, Live at the Downtown Room, has a highly listenable sound quality with Kenny, of course, up front in the mix and the great Richard Wyands featured on piano.
Isabella, the first track is a Burrell blues with a Latin tinge. Will You Still Be Mine follows and the late Lennie McBrowne is featured on drums with an extended solo. Thad Jones’ classic A Child is Born, follows, and is immediately recognizable as Kenny gently massages the melody with both bassist Atkinson and Wyands providing sympathetic backing. Herb Wong’s liner notes state that this is the third recording for Kenny of Jones’ masterwork.
Common Ground is a 12 bar blues with some twists. God Bless the Child, long associated with Billie Holiday is next. Burrell states in the notes that he played with Billie from 1953-1955 in Detroit, and just as Billie never sang one note she “didn’t mean,” Kenny evokes memories of Lady Day that are tender in counterpoint to the hard live that Billie had. Burrell actually recorded this song with Billie back in the day. The Statler Hotel crowd sure got a treat that night in Jan. 1976.
Do What You Gotta Do picks up steam and Kenny’s fleet fingers fly over the fret board. This would have been a fitting ending to the CD from this live set in Buffalo, but High Note has included a Burrell guitar solo from 2006, of Single Petal of a Rose, recorded from an Ellington tribute in Los Angeles. The thirty-year passage of time explains the contrasting, vastly superior sound quality of this closing track. Kenny’s guitar solo here has a chamber classical presentation.
This High Note recording would be a nice find for jazz guitar fans. It’s pure class…
TrackList: Isabella, Will You Still Be Mine? A Child is Born, Common Ground, God Bless the Child, Do What You Gotta Do, Single Petal of a Rose
– Jeff Krow
by Audiophile Audition | May 31, 2009 | Classical CD Reviews
JOSEPH C. PHILLIPS, JR.: Vipassana = 1. Of Climbing Heaven and Gazing On the Earth; 2. Stillness Flows Ever Changing; 3. Into all the Valleys Evening Journeys; 4. The Nothingness that is the Source of Everything – Numinous/Joseph C. Phillips Jr. – Innova 720, 1 hr. [www.innova.mu] *****:
The translation of the Buddhist term Vipassana is “to see things as they really are,” and it has become the term for a type of meditation seeking spiritual insight thru silence. Phillips has intended to reflect the essence of that in his composition, which features 15 musicians – instrumentalists and vocalists – in a four-part work that mixes classical, jazz and pop music in a minimalist yet constantly transforming creation that reminded me of some of Harold Budd’s meditational new music such as Madrigals of the Rose Angel.
Phillips reports that he wanted to stimulate the mind and refresh the spirit thru his music. The first movement title comes from the poetry of Percy Shelley, but the piece itself was inspired by a photo from the coffee-table book Earth From Above – a collection of aerial photos taken from places around the globe. The photo that struck Phillips was one of a flock of ibis flying over a Venezuelan delta, shot from a high perspective above the flock. It evoked for him a sense of “soaringness” which he tried to create in the music. It opens with vibes, strings, winds, pianos and voices. The third movement makes use of African and Brazilian percussion and was inspired by the “hero’s journey” as described by Joseph Campell in The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Phillips’ final movement was partly inspired by Mahler’s Rückterlieder, as well as a theme in Lars von Trier’s film Dancer in the Dark with Björk.
Vipassana has more depth than most music classified as New Age, and provides fascinating listening of great beauty along with considerable originality. It creates a sense of wonder missing from most new music.
– John Sunier
by Audiophile Audition | May 31, 2009 | Jazz CD Reviews
Kevin Hays Trio – You’ve Got a Friend – Jazz Eyes 006 (Italy), 48:57 ***1/2:
(Kevin Hays, piano; Doug Weiss, bass; Bill Stewart, drums)
You’ve Got a Friend, the new Jazz Eyes label piano trio release from Kevin Hays, must have been a lot of fun for Kevin to record. Composed of three pop covers and then four jazz standards, Hays plays a straight interpretation of Carole King’s title track, then proves his mettle as a creative artist by putting his own interpretation on the rest of the tracks.
Paul Simon’s most famous composition, Bridge Over Troubled Water, lets bassist Doug Weiss provide the famous melody (in a Charlie Haden “folk” style), then Hays embellishes Simon’s melody with flourishes taken at a walking pace. It has a gospel vibe that is quite moving. McCartney’s Fool on the Hill, would be hard to recognize for many Beatles fans with just hints of McCartney’s theme, but a close listen brings enough of the pop melody to satisfy both jazz and pop fans.
The balance of the CD is devoted to jazz. Monk’s Think of One has the staggered mannerisms of the master’s composition but adds swing feel to brighten up the mix and Kevin wails, driven by Stewart’s drums. Bob Dorough’s Nothing Like You is given a thorough workout, but retains the lyricism of the original. It is on Bird’s Cheryl, where Hays’ off minor reading brings more Monk to this track than Think of One received.
Hays shows his wide-ranging talent on this most interesting mix of styles and unpredictable readings.
TrackList: You’ve Got a Friend, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Fool on the Hill, Think of One, Sweet and Lovely, Nothing Like You, Cheryl
– Jeff Krow
by Audiophile Audition | May 31, 2009 | Pop/Rock/World CD Reviews
Nanci Griffith – The Loving Kind – Rounder 613275, 42:23 ****:
(Nanci Griffith – vocals, guitar; Pat McInerney – drums, percussion, producer; Thomm Jutz – guitar, producer; Matt McKenzie – bass; Barry Walsh – keyboards; Shad Cobb – fiddle; Fats Kaplin – pedal steel guitar, mandolin, fiddle)
Country/folk singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith has been a paradox most of her career. The Texan’s little-girl soprano voice has suggested naivete or innocence, yet she has a literate and sophisticated expertise, with lyrics that can be pointedly on-target, whether she is singing about romance at the local five and dime store or is passionately pleading for peace and understanding. Over the decades, Griffith’s voice has deepened somewhat, and she has tried her hand at torch songs and Irish folk. But on her 19th release, The Loving Kind, Griffith returns to her forte, writing and performing Americana material that covers the gamut from optimism to equality, and from quiet determination to mannered indignation.
The Loving Kind is a treat for long-term fans, because the album is the first since 2005 that blends Griffith’s signature sound with original material and contemporary covers, tapping into her country and folk roots, and using a stellar backing band which gives Griffith’s text immediacy and authority.
The 13 pieces are a mix of sociopolitical concerns and personal stories, and are balanced between sober resolve and wryly-spun episodes. Griffith starts with the fiddle-flavored country title track, which finds Griffith revisiting the 1967 landmark Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia, which ended the US ban on interracial marriage. Griffith retells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a white man and an African-American woman, who were forced to leave Virginia under threat of arrest because of the state’s Jim Crow law that barred wedlock between different races. Griffith’s tender voice is matched with Shad Cobb’s high fiddle, Barry Walsh’s melodic piano, and Fats Kaplin’s underlying pedal steel guitar.
That’s followed by Gale Trippsmith’s folk-pop "Money Changes Everything," a chipper-toned tune that examines greed, with a message that seems more pertinent each day, as companies file for bankruptcy, families lose their homes, workers are laid off, and state economies falter. Another current-events missive is hope-brimmed anthem "Across America," an upbeat country-pop sonnet to the hope many Americans have sensed during a time of new leadership and political transition. Griffith sings about everyday heroes she encountered on the road, how she "Spoke to folks in New Orleans with hammers in their hands," and her conversation with "A waitress in Missouri who wants her own health plan." Griffith also takes pot shots at a former White House occupant, in the Bush-whacking "Still Life." The country-pickled cut sums up Griffith’s feelings over the past eight years about her fellow Texan, "You need to change/You don’t know how/Your life could use a reformation/If you could see you/As I see you now/I know you’d change the situation."
The album’s most tough-minded moment is "Not Innocent Enough," a Dylan-esque account of a corruption of justice. The first-person history lesson profiles Philip Workman, convicted in 1981 of killing a Memphis police officer, and who was executed in 2007 by the state of Tennessee despite fresh evidence that could have proved his innocence. The heartfelt proclamation against the death penalty, which progresses from the robbery attempt to the policeman’s death and inescapably to the lethal injection, includes pal and musician John Prine, who lends his deep voice to the ending chorus.
Griffith is one of those singular songwriters who can pen both political as well as personal music. On The Loving Kind, Griffith reveals her intimate side with an ode to both a mentor and a lost family member ("Up Against the Rain"), revises a relationship drama about endearing love ("One of These Days"), and learns to let go ("Things I Don’t Need"). The country ballad "Up Against the Rain," co-written with longtime collaborator Charley Stefl, is a homage to songwriter Townes Van Zandt, who encouraged Griffith and was Stefl’s best friend. While Griffith paints a portrait of a man who never gives up his struggles, she also turns the profile into a doubled tribute to both Townes and Griffith’s beloved step-father, who passed away shortly before Griffith went into the studio. On the autobiographical "Sing," a pop-tinted mainstream number that could easily be a hit for Kathy Mattea or Suzy Bogguss, Griffith reminisces about listening to late-night radio and discovering her love for music at an early age. She performs another charming effort on the James Taylor-ish "Things I Don’t Need," which is highlighted by Walsh’s electric piano, and some finely etched fiddle. The harmonically rich travelogue "One Of These Days" should be familiar to fans, since it is a re-recording of a Griffith composition originally released on her 1986 undertaking The Last Of The True Believers.
Some people jest that in country music, listeners can count on three cliched themes: songs about dogs, drinking and cheating. Griffith does not trade in trite tendencies, however, she does in fact close The Living Kind with two alcohol-imbued tunes. During Dee Moeller’s honky tonk souvenir "Tequila After Midnight," Griffith notes that the intoxicating elixir will "Help you feel so warm/Makes you feel good/When you don’t" – in other words, sometimes someone wants to forget to get on with life. On Edwina Hayes’ likeminded, meditative "Pour Me a Drink," Griffith asks for one more shot of liquor before closing time.
On the technical side, producers Pat McInerney and Thomm Jutz deftly position Griffith’s soft voice to the fore and warmly wrap her distinctive style and careful phrasing with sympathetically placed acoustic guitars, and adroit fiddle, pedal steel guitar and piano. While The Loving Kind is not on par with Griffith’s Grammy-winning Other Voices, Other Rooms, nevertheless it as effective and engaging as eighties outings such as Lone Star State of Mind or Little Love Affairs.
TrackList:
1. The Loving Kind
2. Money Changes Everything
3. One of These Days
4. Up Against the Rain
5. Cotton
6. Not Innocent Enough
7. Across America
8. Party Girl
9. Sing
10. Things I Don’t Need
11. Still Life
12. Tequila After Midnight
13. Pour Me a Drink
— Doug Simpson
by Audiophile Audition | May 31, 2009 | Classical CD Reviews
VIVALDI: Concerto in D, RV 234; Concerto in E Minor, RV 273; Sonata in D Minor Op.1 No.12; Concerto in E Flat Major, RV 253; Aria “Sovvente il sole”; Concerto in D Minor, RV 565 – Daniel Hope, violin/ Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano/Kristian Bezuidenhout, harpsichord & organ/ Chamber Orchestra of Europe – Deutsche Grammophon 477 7463, 57:44 **** [Distr. by Universal]:
Following his delicious reading on Bach Concertos (Warner 2564-62545-2), “frighteningly gifted” Daniel Hope joins forces with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe once again in a sequel to explore a compelling programme of Vivaldi concertos, variations, and joined by Anne Sofie von Otter, an exquisite aria. Since his joining with the Hamburg-based record company in 2007, Hope’s second album for the yellow label presents Vivaldi’s close affinity on the violin with an unusual combination of subtlety and variety in four major concertos, including the celebrated “L’inquietudine” and “La tempesta di mare” that awarded pride of place.
The eminently reliable Chamber Orchestra of Europe, with keyboardist Kristian Bezuidenhout, perform on their instruments with consummate zest under the charismatic leader Lorenza Borrani. Hope has a gift with Baroque music, and these performances proves eminently instructive to the point especially in the first few tracks of the “L’inequietudine” and in the original version of the E Minor RV.273 Concertos. How so? Hope is one of the few violinists who comes to mind as the first to play a modern violin with period instrument methods and philosophies in mind. In the Vivaldi world, one thinks readily of the young talents as Janine Jensen and Joshua Bell, two very contrasting talents. But Hope’s peculiar choice in repertoire and the musicians with whom he partners with brings listeners back to the very fundamentals of violin playing in the highest form: pure, round, well-projected tone. These qualities match Vivaldi’s scores in the finest detail and articulation. The highlight of the four concertos comes with “La tempesta di mare” (RV.253), where Hope brings out an extra mile on phrasing in both the slow central sections and the less overtly expressive outer movements. In the others, rhythm and harmony are both enriched, all-in-all well-balanced and discreetly played by Kristian Bezuidenhout in the harpsichord that blended with the main body of strings. The acoustics of St. Paul’s in London are possibly a little on the over-rich side, but they suit the music and don’t stand in the way of detail and articulation.
In this album, it is not merely an instrumental showcase. There is also a nine-minute tour behind the angelic voice of mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter. Listen to how she glides with boundless beauty and tonal sweetness in the aria “Sovvente il sole,” from the recently unearthed serenata “Andromeda liberata.” If you are one of those collectors whose Vivaldi’s collection begins and ends with The Four Seasons, be sure to check out this latest album of Daniel Hope/Chamber Orchestra of Europe. You will soon discover there is much more Vivaldi violin treasures than meet the eye.
— Patrick P.L. Lam
by Audiophile Audition | May 30, 2009 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews
Diana Krall Live in Rio, Blu-ray (2009)
Performers: Diana Krall, vocals & piano; John Clayton, bass; Jeff Hamilton, drums; Anthony Wilson, guitar; Paulinho DaCosta, percussion; The Rio De Janeiro Orchestra cond by Ruria Duprat
Selections: I Love Being Here With You, Let’s Fall in Love, Where or When, Too Marvelous for Words, I’ve Grown Accustomed to His Face, Walk on By, Frim Fram Sauce, Cheek to Cheek, You’re My Thrill, Let’s Face the Music and Dance, Every Time We Say Goodbye, So Nice, Quiet Nights, Este Seu Olhar, The Boy from Ipanema, I Don’t Know Enough About You, S’Wonderful, Exactly Like You
Studio: Eagle Vision HD [Release date: May 26, 09]
Video: 16:9 color 1080i HD
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, DD 5.1, PCM stereo
Extras: Rooftop Session; Quiet Conversations; Interviews; The Boy from Ipanema (promo film with Krall vocal)
Length: 149 minutes
Rating: *****
This long and lovely concert video – recorded live at Vivo Rio in Rio – has completely changed my impression of Diana Krall. She was not my favorite female jazz vocalist and I admit I felt she was trading primarily on her great beauty and the sexiness of her song delivery. In one of the bonus features her producer Tommy LiPuma says he feels she has matured in many ways and is now better than ever. After all, her marriage to Elvis Costello has resulted in two children and she’s slightly less svelt-looking than in previous videos. I had forgotten that Krall got her start in jazz as a strictly instrumental pianist, trying to emulate Monte Alexander. Her piano solos in this concert are certainly well beyond what one would hear from most such celebrity vocalists. And guitarist Anthony Wilson’s and bassist John Clayton’s solos are equally exciting.
The selection of the 18 songs is extremely varied, and they’re not all of the type that seems designed for her patented sexy sophisticated delivery. A couple show her connections to her hero – who also began as a strictly jazz pianist and later was talked into doing vocals – Nat “King” Cole. Her version of his Frim Fram Sauce is a kick. The first and major part of the program are selections from the Great American Songbook and other classics. Then Kral swings into four bossa nova numbers, which receive a most welcoming reaction from the Brazilian audience. They sing along in Portuguese with her English lyrics on three of them, but on Este Seu Olhar they wig out because she sings that tune in Portuguese. (Would have been nice to have a translation.) Krall explains after that she finds it easier to sing in that language than to speak it. It did seem a bit odd that after the great audience connection with the four bossa nova tunes the performers came back with three American classics – although her version of S’Wonderful is probably the most heartfelt I have ever heard of this Gershwin classic.
The orchestral arrangements are by the famed Claus Ogerman, and the excellent orchestral backing is heard on something like alternate tunes, with Krall’s quintet soloing on the others. On some of the tunes Krall restricts her piano contributions to her right hand only, while delivering her vocals with legs crossed and her upper foot keeping time. Even when playing with both hands, her left doesn’t seem up to the improvisational chops of her right. The actual shots of the performers are interspersed with travelogue-type shots of Rio and environs. Many of these are collected together in the promotional film in the extras to The Boy From Ipanema. The interviews are interesting, and in the Rooftop Session we have several tunes quietly and informally sung by Kral at a rooftop restaurant with a view of Sugar Loaf in the background. Her drummer Jeff Hamilton plays with his brushes on a large serving plate on his knees. One sees in the shots of the audience several mike stands placed among them, and these obviously come into use for the audience reactions and joining along on some of the tunes, which has a strong emotional appeal. They provide a more immersive surround effect than one gets with most such video concerts. Altogether this is a terrific musical experience that should have the widest appeal.
– John Henry
by Audiophile Audition | May 30, 2009 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews
Yellowjackets – The Paris Concert at New Morning (2008)
Performers: Bob Mintzer, sax & EWI; Russell Ferrante, piano & keyboards; Jimmy Haslip, bass; Marcus Baylor, drums)
Program: Aha, Capetown, Bop Boy, Prayer for Peace, Cross Current, Dewey, With These Hands, Freedomland, Even Song, Downtown, Healing Waters, Evening News
Studio: Inakustik/Heads Up HUDV 7167 [Also available in Blu-ray version]
Video: 16:9 color
Audio: DTS 5.1, DD 5.1, PCM Stereo
No regional coding
Extras: Soundcheck sketches
Length: 98 minutes
Rating: ****
This superstar fusion group has charted a very successful career for themselves ever since their original launch back in 1981. They have made made CDs for the Heads Up label, with their mix of jazz, rock, funk, bebop and R&B being popular with many listeners. They have won two Grammies and several nominations.
This concert was recorded in hi-def in Paris and is on both standard DVD and Blu-ray. The visual coverage looks just find on this DVD but the lossless surround audio of the Blu-ray version would undoubtedly be an improvement. Although the notes on the box don’t mention it, Mintzer plays his Electronic Wind Instrument on some of the tracks. Generally I’m more partial to the acoustic instruments, but I liked his playing very much on the quieter Prayer for Peace. Ferrante also makes use of the synth on top of his piano, frequently duoing on it with Mintzer when the latter is playing his EWI for a thoroughly electronic timbre. After about a half dozen of the quartets’ original tunes I was wishing for just one standard as a change of pace. The stage at New Morning seems more ample than most Parisian jazz clubs, and the lighting people feature strongly colorful lights which change from number to number. On many of the closeups of the performers when shooting toward the lights, the smoke in the club achieves some lovely and artistic effects. Not likely many Paris clubs have instituted no-smoking policies! You might say there’s a nuage of Gauloises over the Yellowjackets here.
– John Henry
by Audiophile Audition | May 30, 2009 | Classical CD Reviews
BRAHMS: Violin Concerto in D, Op.77; Concerto for Violin and Cello in A Minor, Op.102 – Vadim Repin, violin/Truls Mørk, cello/ Gewandhausorchester Leipzig/ Riccardo Chailly – Deutsche Grammophon 477 7470, 71:30 **** [Distr. by Universal]:
This pairing of the two most popular string concertos of Johannes Brahms will be a mandatory purchase for admirers of both Vadim Repin and Truls Mørk. Particularly for the violin buffs who prefer fiery intensity and polished elegance in their Brahms, this will meet your needs like bread and butter.
For a composition of such apocryphal scale as the Brahms Violin Concerto, it is often a challenge to leave a lasting impression with audience, let alone for the performers themselves, who often carries this Concerto in their suitcases flying from one occasion to the next. However, for Vadim Repin, Brahms is one of the composers he holds with special affinity, and the Violin Concerto is one he fiddles regularly in concerts and masterclasses from Lucerne to Seattle, each time with a fresh offering. The compositions of Brahms are “musical nourishments” to Repin, much like Beethoven was for Kreisler. Whether it is a performance of the Brahms’ chamber works or here in the two Concertos, the spell of Brahms’ music inspires Repin in such a way unlike most composers he encounters. This recording exposes this very fine quality to those who follow his career closely. Unlike for some violinists where the Brahms Violin Concerto can often turn out to be routine run-throughs (even on recordings), nothing in Repin’s Brahms is routine compared to his past performances.
In this present performance with the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig under Riccardo Chailly’s direction, the musical friends rejoined in a partnership to this work that began more than a decade ago:
"The last time I performed the Brahms Violin Concerto with Vadim was almost ten years ago on a North American tour with the Concertgebouw Orchestra … since then, he [Repin] has performed it with other conductors and I have conducted it with other soloists. We have now met up again to rediscover the piece together."
Their Brahms heard in this album is a shot through with commitment. If you are the type of listener who insists on perfection and has little patience with the triumph of spirit over matter, you may not be enthralled by the violinist’s occasional blandness, as heard in the Adagio movement. But such considerations are trumped by the vigorous drama Repin milks from every note. There is an outsized personality at work here, and it is thrilling to hear this work performed by Repin even if it is the nth time this piece runs through your veins. Chailly and the Gewandhaus musicians match the soloist’s playing with loving commitment in the Adagio and passion in the outer movements. Repin’s full-blown mastery on the instrument is heard in the third movement Allegro, where one can witness plenty of Grand Romantic violinism here – full of the rubatos as well as musical jest that sound decidedly old-fashioned to modern ears. Rhythms are emphatic and melodies are stated with portamento-peppered expressive freedom that ends fully with dashing bravura.
The Double Concerto for violin and cello offers a nice resolution to the former Violin Concerto, perhaps with slightly less intensity on both parts of the soloists. While both Repin and cellist Truls Mørk’s elegant cello playing bring a fittingly romantic touch to Brahms’ final orchestral composition, they feel a touch conservative compared to the provocative reading of Kremer/Maisky/Bernstein (DGG 1982) that some of us have grown up with. Granted, it is at times both wistful and joyous, complementing the energy that the Violin Concerto brought out very well in the previous 40 minutes, but with the Double Concerto, melancholy was the overlying theme. In the outer movements, Chailly brings symphonic rigour and high drama to Brahms´ orchestral scores. It is hard to think of recent recordings of these great works that match the splendour of sound and musical insight here. An overall welcoming second release from the Russian violinist.
— Patrick P.L. Lam
by Audiophile Audition | May 29, 2009 | Classical CD Reviews
HAYDN: String Quartets Nos. 1-6, op. 17 – Auryn Quartet – Tacet 175 (2 Discs), 141:00 [Distr. by Naxos] *****:
Anyone following any of the reviews I have done of this series knows that I think it one of, if not the finest collection of Haydn Quartets on the market. When completed it will certainly be a formidable competitor with any of the others currently available. This release, volume 4 of 14 and the 21st release in the Auryn general series on Tacet, does nothing but enhance this opinion.Op. 17 was the set of quartets that Haydn created in 1771, followed the next year by Op. 20. It has similarities to Op. 9, including the four movement structure that had become common at this point with Haydn, the minuet being the second movement in each quartet. Haydn called these “divertimenti”, but it is evident by the nature of these works that they are much more than simple entertainments. The contrast among movements is great, with only the fact of the virtuosic first violin giving away the relatively early status of these pieces. Especially noteworthy are the wonderfully winding and ever-changing flow of the slow movements, surely an advocate of Haydn’s operatic experiences if ever there were any.
These works are full of the nuts and bolts of Haydn’s never-ending bag of tricks that he would use so effectively in future years, albeit in a more tentative and less consistent form. But it is precisely this inconsistency that makes their appearances so rewarding and exciting. These do not have the flavor of the later and greater quartets, but their risk-taking and cast-caution-to-the-wind rambunctious nature make for some lively listening.
What else can I say about the Auryn? It’s as if they lived with Papa Haydn himself while he was composing this music. You don’t get any more tuned in than that, and with Tacet’s superb sound on top of it, a buying decision is almost superfluous.
— Steven Ritter
by Audiophile Audition | May 29, 2009 | Classical Reissue Reviews
Wilhelm Furtwaengler: The Early Recordings, Vol. 3 = WEBER: Der Freischuetz Overture and Entr’acte; Invitation to the Dance (orch. Berlioz); MENDELSSOHN: Overture in E to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21; Scherzo, Nocturne, and Wedding March, Op. 61; The Hebrides Overture, Op. 26; BERLIOZ: Hungarian March from The Damnation of Faust, Op. 24 – Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Wilhelm Furtwaengler/Erich Kleiber (Mendelssohn Op. 61)
Naxos Historical 8.111004, 65:26 [Not distrib. in the U.S.] ****:
Producer Mark Obert-Thorn resuscitates the inscriptions Wilhelm Furtwangler (1886-1954) made for the Brunswick (Grammophone) Company 1929-1935, along with examples of Mendelssohn from Erich Kleiber (1890-1956) recorded in 1929. The relative brevity of the Furtwaengler program does not belie the extraordinary homogeneity of sound Furtwaengler commanded in his chosen, Romantic repertory. The quartet of French horns in the slow introduction to the 1935 Der Freischuetz Overture indicates the degree of almost Gothic drama the conductor could project into the score’s Druidical setting. The interlude captures the hunting motif that pervades the opera, whether of fauna or of human souls. The full complement of cellos opens The Invitation to the Dance (rec. 1932), spectacularly light and aerial for a Furtwaengler performance, even if a bit stiff in the joints. The measured tread of the middle section finally yields to the intensity of the moment, quite expressive and proud of the string and horn ensemble the Berlin Philharmonic could project in its honed manner.
Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream (13 June 1929) proceeds with ethereal grace, sporting out its cast of characters from Shakespeare’s storehouse of fairy energies. Diaphanous strings, bleating horns, flutes, and finally a superlative braying from Botttom, combine to realize a nobly translucent performance, albeit prone to old-school procedures like rich slides in the strings. The slower sections achieve a transcendent, pantheistic grace, the world dissipating into some rarified substance that Puck alone could explain. The latter pages blaze with grandiose jubilation, an enlivened gravitas, only to recede into stellar space on those final, four chords mystical and eternally nostalgic. The Fingal’s Cave (rec. 1930) suffers some surface scratchiness, but the tempestuous unrest of the Scottish coastline boils in every phrase, wind and sea in fearful tension. The cello melody rolls out like great wave itself, buoyed by an ardent violin, string line. The pantheistic romance burgeons into a polyphonic hymn of severe, grand power, with Furtwaengler’s raising of the titanic forces to something akin to Beethoven.
The Rakoczy March (rec. 1930) under Furtwaengler proves rather peppery, agile, and even thrilling, with trombones, cymbals, and tympani well into the mix, a particularly quiet transfer from the period. Erich Kleiber’s precise work before an orchestra hardly requires introduction, especially as Preiser has been active in restoring his 78 rpm work. The excerpts from A Midsummer Night’s Dream open with a nimble Scherzo, buzzing and light, lovingly articulate. The flute work makes us want to hear Kleiber in the second of the Bach Suites. The Nocturne instantiates the soul of serenity, the French horns basking in the melos with a “Wagnerian” sense of measure and space. Finally, the eternal Wedding March, pompous, imperial, rather brilliant in the horn and cymbal parts. Performances of mettle and verve, meticulously restored.
–Gary Lemco
by Audiophile Audition | May 29, 2009 | Classical CD Reviews
J.S. BACH (arr. Schumann): The Six Violin Sonatas and Partitas – Haroutune Bedelian, violin/ Lorna Griffitt, piano – Centaur 2904/2906 (2 Discs), 115:24 ***1/2 [Distr. by Albany]:
I had hoped of great things from this disc. Having been enthralled with the Schumann arrangement of the St. John Passion, could lightning strike twice? Nope—not in this case. In fact, throughout my hearing of this release, I just kept wondering, “what was he thinking?” as it all seems so utterly superfluous, completely out of character, and in the end only detracts from Bach’s superb compositions.Or does it?I realized during my lengthy thought processes that I am considering this solely on the basis of a modern man who has the advantage of hearing umpteen recordings of these pieces virtually at will. During Schumann’s day, when the great Bach revival was underway thanks to Mendelssohn’s exegesis of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829, interest peaked in the composer (though in fairness, the historical notion that Bach had “disappeared” in public performance is highly exaggerated) and Schumann himself was willing to contribute to the cause. In 1853 he wrote to his publisher with the idea of creating accompaniments to “a number of pieces” after hearing Mendelssohn accompany a performance of the Chaconne from Partita No. 2. The publisher responded in the affirmative, and one month later, in early February of 1853, Schuman had finished the work on all six sonatas and partitas. One might marvel at the speed, but in truth there is nothing revelatory here. Schumann was only trying to add a parlor dimension to these pieces in order to get them before the public. They basically fill in the harmonies provided implicitly by Bach in the solo versions, and no one is going to prefer them over the originals. Hence, they become essentially an historical curiosity.
Having said that, we must consider Mr. Bedelian’s rendition in comparison with the greats of the past, and they do not hold up so well. He has the chops—no question there—but the approach is very much the same with little variance among the pieces, perhaps seduced in a way by the piano accompaniment, when a solo outing would require more imagination. I find his tone somewhat unrelenting in its sameness and in its approach, though it is by no means offensive, just not something that strikes me as a positive attribute to his cause.
Nevertheless, this release is of some significance because of its historical import, and I think Centaur did a good thing in considering it. But if you have not heard Grumiaux or St. John in this music (and many others) do by all means consider them first.
— Steven Ritter
by Audiophile Audition | May 29, 2009 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews
Children of Men, Blu-ray (2009)
Starring: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Studio: Universal [Release date: May 26, 09]
Video: 1.85:1 Widescreen for main feature, 1080p HD and 1080i/p SD for special features
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 for feature, DD 2.0 for extras
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Italian, German, Castilian Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Korean, Dutch, Portuguese, Traditional Mandarin, Greek
Extras: Deleted scenes, Visual Effects; Creating the Baby, Theo and Julian, Under Attack, The Possibility of Hope documentary, Children of Men comments by Slavoj Zisek
Length: 110 min.
Rating: *****
Children of Men tells the story of a distant future (the year 2027) in which humanity has become infertile, causing countries to collapse and creating anti-immigrant fervor worldwide. When Theo (Clive Davis), an alcoholic office worker in the Minister of Energy, is asked by his former girlfriend and current revolutionary leader, Julian (Julianne Moore), to help a pregnant immigrant girl, Kee, out of country. He soon finds himself in the middle of a plot to use Kee’s child to incite a revolution.
With gorgeous cinematography and many long, unbroken takes, Children of Men is well served by the Blu-ray format. The DTS-HD audio is amazing as well, especially during the action scenes–you don’t realize how desensitized you are to the sound of gunshots in movies until you hear one as sharp and clean as they are in Children of Men. As someone who considers himself relatively jaded when it comes to suspense films, I was shocked at how tense I felt every time I heard a loud sound ring out.
The DVD’s extras include The Possibility of Hope, a documentary made by Alfonso Cuaron, which features interviews with activist Naomi Klein, philosopher Slavoj Zisek and others talking about real world problems addressed in the film, such as global warming, anti-immigrant governmental policies, and globalization. Bleaker than the film, the documentary is a fascinating look at the way the film’s dystopian vision is closer to the real world than we’d like to believe. Under Attack, a featurette about the one of the film’s most impressive scenes, a single shot sequence where the car carrying Theo, Julian, and Kee is attacked by a mob on motorcycles, is required viewing as well.
— Daniel Krow
by Audiophile Audition | May 29, 2009 | Audio News
More Americans Ask for Home Theaters When Home Buying – While the failing economy has reduced the number of people on the market for a new home, those who are want high quality and to many that means a home theater should be included. This trend started back in the 1980s with laser discs, VCRs and home video projectors, and the business has recently been booming. The sizable drop in price of large flat-screen HDTVs has also fueled the expansion of home theater. The viewing experience has increased tremendously in the last decade or so. Of course the surround sound system is also important; many feel that’s 50% of the total HT experience. With recent improvements and price drops in the technology it’s now possible to equal the sonic experience of most theatrical showings right in your home. Comfortable HT seating is another thing some homebuyers are looking for. Many families are finding they can sit more comfortably, quietly if they want (without others in the theater talking as though they were at home watching TV), with good or better sound, and an equal or even higher resolution image than in many theaters. And though the niceties of a quality HT don’t come cheap, some families feel that going out to the movie theater has become inconvenient, inefficient and also terribly expensive.
How Electronics Makers Can Flourish in the Down Economy – ATC Logistics & Electronics has published a downloadable white paper titled “How the Electronics Industry Can Flourish in a Down Economy with Outsourced Variable Cost Platforms.” According to the CEA (Consumer Electronics Association), shipment revenues for electronic products is expected to be flat in 2009, decreasing .06%. For 2007 to 2008 it had shown a 5.4% increase, so this is quite a drop. The government cites that industrial production of home electronics fell 1.9% in February, making it down 13.1% over the same month last year. The paper suggests that manufacturers curtail operational expenses and adopt aggressive strategies to cut costs and increase cash flow. They say a manufacturer’s focus should be on improving core capabilities, including R & D, managing sales channels and maximizing customer loyalty.
Samsung Bets on LDC Displays – Samsung Electronics is the world’s top TV brand, and according to a senior official they air to outperform the overall flat-panel TV market growth this year thanks to a new line of LED models. Samsung had 19% of the global liquid crystal (LCD) display market in the first quarter of this year. They are also the world’s biggest maker of memory chips and the No. 2 mobile phone maker. They are targeting the 15% growth forecast for the global LCD TV market, expecting to best their competition – Sony, LG Electronics, and Amtran’s Vizio. Samsung mentioned that the flat-screen market has done well because people are giving up traveling and eating out in the economic downturn and instead emphasizing activities inside their homes.
Wal-Mart Seeks a Blu-ray Boom – As part of its effort to lure customers following the failure of Circuit City, Wal-Mark is stepping up its Blu-ray offerings. They will be selling two Blu-ray players below $200 each, one a Philips brand. Wal-Mart has been offering a Magnavox Blu-ray player for $168. These players are likely not the latest Blu-ray profile and don’t connect to the Internet as do the latest players. In the sales of Blu-ray discs Wal-Mart has already passed No. 2 Amazon.com with a 20-30% share. No. 1 – with 40-50% market share – is Best Buy.
by Audiophile Audition | May 29, 2009 | Classical CD Reviews
VIVALDI: Gloria in D, RV 589; Motet in C minor, “In furore lustissimae irae”, RV 626; Concerto in D minor, RV 535; Motet in D, “Ostro picta”, RV 642; Magnificat in G minor, RV 610 – Monika Mauch, soprano/ Shannon Mercer, soprano/ Josee Lanlonde, alto/ Matthias Maute, Sophie Lariviere, recorders/ Ensemble Caprice/ Matthias Maute, conductor – Anakleta 2 9917, 66:17 ****:
Because of Vivaldi’s long term work at the orphanage Ospedale della Pieta, where only girls were allowed, it has been thought in some circles that many of his choral works were perhaps designed for their specific vocal ranges. Hence the temptation to perform some of his works with female-only ensembles. There is no question that he enjoyed a synergistic relationship with the girls of the school, and it became famous far and wide for the quality and technical accomplishments of the performers.
But Vivaldi indicated quite clearly in many of his scores (like the famous Gloria) a distinct and traditional soprano-alto-tenor-bass vocal spread, and while not impossible it seems unlikely that he would have composed this music directly for a female choir and used this clef notation. Fortunately this release is not particularly doctrinaire about all of this, and is presenting this music solely as a way of demonstrating what may have happened at the orphanage, and how the music would have sounded. So how does it sound? Very nice, thank you. Of course, the harmony is much, much closer in that the distance between soprano and bass makes the actual sound quite closed, but it also has an intensity and special timbre that make it unusual and pleasing.
These choral works will not replace your favorites, but they do make nice supplements to your favorites.The other pieces here are examples of Vivaldi’s motets, sung to radiant perfection by the two sopranos, and a nice concerto for two recorders. The 13-member choir and 16-member period band play with genuine persuasion and enjoyment, captured in nicely balanced sound. All in all this is a well-conceived concept album of great interest and impeccable performances done in spirited and true Vivaldian style, and are guaranteed to provide enjoyment. Cheerily recommended.
— Steven Ritter
by Audiophile Audition | May 29, 2009 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Historic Telecasts – Nathan Milstein, violin (1962-63)
Program: MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64; BACH : Prelude from Partita in E Major, BWV 1003; TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 Performers: Nathan Milstein, violin/Chicago Symphony Orchestra/ Walter Hendl
Studio: VAI DVD 4279
Video: 4:3 Black&White
Audio: PCM Mono
Extras: Milstein in conversation with Walter Hendl
Length: 71 minutes
Rating: ****
Taped through WGN, Chicago, 1962-1963, for their “Great Music from Chicago” series, the VHS edition of these collaborations in 2004 celebrated the centennial of the Russian virtuoso Nathan Milstein (1904-1992), whose towering technique and vibrant, sizzling tone made him to many auditors the world’s most consistently accomplished violinist. Those who recall Irving Kolodin’s article: “Nathan Milstein and the 6 Bs,” will know that Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, and Bruch are complemented by Better and Better. Milstein, armed with his violin, became a Russian firecracker that illumined all the music in its survey.
Host Jim Conway introduces the 1844 Mendelssohn Concerto, quoting a letter from the composer to violinist-dedicatee Ferdinand David. Hendl and Milstein launch into what proves to a volatile but salon-scale performance of the concerto, Milstein’s favoring a long bow and the long, fluid, melodic line. Cellist Frank Miller visibly leans into the accompanying phrases with his section, while the camera lingers over Milstein’s fingerboard, bow, and the fourth and fifth fingers of his left hand. The clarinet carries the secondary theme, and we move in sonata-form to a silken cadenza and beyond, to the flute and oboe in a superheated trio sonata with Milstein. Hendl’s excited tutti ends, and the bassoon manages the segue into the lyrical Andante, a song of exhilarated nobility. The nuances end quietly, and we witness Milstein’s cutting loose for the quicksilver finale, the camera trying, in vain, to catch the rhythms and pulsing power of the Allegro molto vivace.
In the shadowed grays of a bare backdrop, Milstein plays the bold Prelude from the E Major Partita, an etude in perpetual motion and graded polyphony, augmented by a huge trill and polished, perfect intonation. Edward Melkus once said of Milstein’s Bach, “it is different, virile, individual, always compelling.”
The Tchaikovsky Concerto opens with a rather subdued series of colors, but the scale expands the moment Milstein enters. His solo is long-lined, driven, rasping, with individual touches of orchestral hues from flute and French horns. The large tuttis might strike some as perfunctory—it could be Hendl’s facial sang-froid—a splashy vehicle for the purpose of returning to Milstein’s variants on the original motifs. A biting, impassioned cadenza makes Tchaikovsky imitate Bach, the E string given a workout but apparently all in a day’s work, given Milstein’s serene command of the elements. The expressive Canzonetta melts in one’s musical mouth, the camera shooting from behind, over Milstein’s right shoulder. A sudden rush of color, and we are in the visceral throes of the Allegro vivacissimo, and Milstein is not kidding around. He takes the (judicious) cuts in the score; but what he does play rouses, excites, urges us, if only because the articulation is so perfect, the notes executed with scathing clarity. At the last chords, Milstein reveals a bit of human fatigue, shaking Hendl’s hand in open appreciation of their efforts. Quite a show!
— Gary Lemco
by Audiophile Audition | May 27, 2009 | Classical CD Reviews
HANDEL: 12 Solo Sonatas Op.1; Pavlo Beznosiuk (violin)/ Rachel Brown (flute & recorder)/ Frank de Brione (oboe)/ Richard Egarr (harpsichord & direction)/ Academy of Ancient Music – Harmonia mundi (2 CDs) HMU907465-66, 70:46, 76:45 ****:
Opus 1 more often than not alludes to a youthful, if not immature work, but one usually worthy of publication. As Richard Egarr points out in his excellent in the booklet accompanying this release, Bach’s 6 Partitas for keyboard were published as Op.1 in stages from 1726 when Bach was already 41.
Handel’s instrumental and orchestral works have amongst them some very low opus numbers: Concerti Grossi Op.3 and Op.6, Trio Sonatas Op.2 and Op.5, Organ Concertos Op.4 and Op.7, and lovers of those works will find much to enjoy in this set of Op.1.
Egarr has done considerable digging around to ascertain authenticity of these sonatas. Handel was born in Halle in 1685, moved to Hamburg in 1704, where his first two operas were produced, travelled to Italy from 1706 to 1709 where he wrote further operas and cantatas. He became Kapellmeister to the future King George 1 in 1710 and settled in London in 1712, aged 27. Many of the sonatas here date from 1712 to before 1722 as an edition was published in Amsterdam by Roger who ceased to exist in 1722. Walsh of London published a set of 12 in 1732 with the note “This is more correct than the former edition”, though sonatas 10 and 12 are different pieces of music, as are some movements in other sonatas. Curiously the Walsh edition uses the same plates as the Roger edition made in Amsterdam ten years previously.
This set, then, contains all the sonatas in Walsh’s 1732 edition; in addition we get the alternate Sonatas 10 and 12, and a version of Sonata 5 for oboe. As Egarr makes clear, too, the sonatas are meant to be performed with continuo of harpsichord or bass viol, but not both, and he adopts the former. The recordings were made in September 2007 in the now well-known Potton Hall in Suffolk, after a series of concerts some of which took place at the Handel House, London.
All the performers are members of the Academy of Ancient Music. The violin sonatas, played by Pavlo Beznosiuk on a violin made in 1676 in Antwerp by Hofmans, are well-known and popular with violin students. The tone is bright, ornamentation sounds natural rather than over-contrived and the harpsichord is well-balanced allowing much detail to shine through. The oboe of Frank de Brione, after one by Stanesby in 1732, makes a wonderful sound, mellow and rich. Rachel Brown’s flute also makes a lovely sound; this is a one-keyed instrument by Martin Wenner after one dating from Handel’s lifetime, and her liquid tones are a delight to hear. Her recorder, also by Wenner after one by the younger Stanesby produces a width of tone providing an interesting variety of sounds.
All this authenticity is coupled to performances brimful of life; the minuets dance as they should and lightly, the slow movements are touching and the quick ones bound along with vivaciousness. It was interesting to compare the approach to the playing of these sonatas here with those by Alfredo Campoli, violin and George Malcolm, harpsichord on Testament SBT1358, a mono recording made in the mid-1950s, still sounding quite well, and although less interesting than Beznosiuk, worth seeking out, too.
The recording quality is pretty good; there is plenty of air round the sound though some may feel there is a little too much. The two generously filled CDs are under full price and are highly recommended particularly to those who have already discovered some of the other low opus number works described above. “Somewhat neglected children….?” There is rather less chance of that now with the release of these excellent CDs.
Contents:
Sonata in F major for violin and continuo, HWV370, Op. 1 No. 12
Sonata in E minor for flute and continuo, HWV359b, Op. 1 No. 1b
Sonata in G minor for recorder and continuo, HWV360, Op. 1 No. 2
Sonata in A Major for violin and continuo, HWV361, Op. 1 No. 3
Sonata in A minor for recorder and continuo, HWV362, Op. 1 No. 4
Sonata in G major for flute and continuo, HWV363b, Op 1 No 5
Sonata in G minor for violin or oboe and continuo, HWV364a, Op. 1 No. 6
Sonata in C major for recorder and continuo, HWV365, Op. 1 No. 7
Sonata in C minor for oboe and continuo, HWV366, Op. 1 No. 8
Flute Sonata in B minor, Op 1 No 9b, HWV367b
Sonata in G minor for violin and continuo, HWV368, Op. 1 No. 10
Sonata in F major for recorder and continuo, HWV369, Op. 1 No. 11
Sonata in A major for violin and continuo, HWV372, Op. 1 No. 14
Oboe Sonata in F major (manuscript) ‘Haub: Solo del Sr. Hendel’
Sonata in E major for violin and continuo, HWV373, Op. 1 No. 15
— Peter Joelson
by Audiophile Audition | May 27, 2009 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews
MAHLER: Symphony No. 4 – Miah Persson, soprano /Budapest Festival Orchestra /Iván Fischer – Channel Classics multichannel SACD CCSSA26109, 57:00 ***** [Distr. by Harmonia mundi]:
Mahler’s Fourth Symphony is the last of the Wunderhorn symphonies, and with the First the shortest of the cycle. In this case, the Wunderhorn content arrives in the last movement, Das himmlische Leben (Heaven’s Life) from Das Knaben Wunderhorn, sung by a soprano. This movement was written as a stand alone piece in 1892, and Mahler considered using it as the last movement of the Third Symphony.
Scored for a relatively small orchestra and frequently using light instrumentation, this symphony is recognised as one of the composer’s most accessible. Opening with sleigh bells, the first movement is gentle; the second movement has the first violin adopt scordatura tuning, involving tuning a tone sharp for the scary sound Mahler wanted for Old Nick, the devil’s playing.
The substantial adagio, a movement of great beauty, has moments of great restraint in contrast to outbursts of great passion is a remarkable lead into the last movement, the child’s view of paradise, as Mahler said, “With childlike, cheerful expression, without parody.” Here, Miah Persson is quite superb, getting the balance just right in all Mahler required.
The Budapest Festival Orchestra, founded by Iván Fischer and Zoltán Kocsis over an unbelievable quarter of a century ago, retains some of that Mid- and East-European tone and allure, so right for this music. Piquant clarinets imitating trumpets and colourful horn playing are memorable. Fischer also gets the balance just right, between observing all the details in the score and yet getting a feeling of natural and unstultified breath in the architecture. These attributes are more than enough to justify this release in a crowded market place.
And then there’s the recording. Jared Sacks and Hein Dekker have retained the full dynamic range so that the few climaxes for full orchestra, especially that towards the end of the third movement, make their full effect. Listeners may need to play this SACD at a slightly higher level than normal. Recorded in September 2008 in Budapest’s Palace of Arts this DSD recording is exemplary in both multichannel and stereo programmes, with the former especially notable.
This performance has given much pleasure over the past three weeks, and will surely be one of the recordings to make its mark with me in 2009. Just superb.
— Peter Joelson
![Oppo BDP-83 Universal Blu-ray Disc Player]()
by Audiophile Audition | May 27, 2009 | Component Reviews
Oppo BDP-83 Universal
Blu-ray Disc Player
Retail Price: $499
Disc Types: Blu-ray, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio (multi-chan.), SACD (multi-chan.), CD, HDCD, Kodak Picture CD, CD-R/RW, DVD+-R/RW, DVD+- R DL, BD-R/RE
BD-ROM version 2 Profile 2 (compatible with earlier versions)
Internal Storage: 1 GB
Outputs =
Analog Audio: 5.1 or 7.1 & stereo
Digital Audio: Coaxial, Optical
HDMI Audio: Stereo, up to 7.1 PCM, up to 5.1 DSD, DD bitstream, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio
Analog Video: Composite, Component (480i & p, 720p, 1080i)
Digital Video: HDMI with HDCP (both NTSC & PAL)
Video Specs: Composite Video Amplitude: 1.0Vp-p (75Ω); Component Video: Y= 1.0Vp-p (75Ω); Pb/Pr=0.7p-p (75Ω)
Audio Specs: Frequency: 20Hz-20kHz +- 0.4dB; S/N: >110dB; Total Harmonic Distortion: <0.001%
General Specs: Power Supply: ~100V-240V, 50/60Hz AC; Power Consumption: 35W; Dimensions: 16 7/8 x 13 1/4 x 3 inches; Weight: 11.2 lbs.
OPPO Digital Inc.
2629 Terminal Blvd., Suite B
Mt. View, CA 94043, U.S.A.
www.oppodigital.com
service@oppodigital.com
650-961-1118
Intro
The general meaning of a universal disc player until recently has been one that plays not only standard 44.1K/16bit Compact Discs, but also the two hi-res formats: SACD and DVD-Audio. And some of those players only played the stereo layers of the advanced formats, not the multichannel options. Now with first Denon – with a $3800 price tag – and just now Oppo, we have a new meaning for universal: a deck able to play not only the various DVDs – Video and Audio, plus SACDs and standard CDs, but also Blu-ray discs. In fact the Oppo user manual refers to this as a Blu-ray Disc Player.
Updates
The manual that was packed with my BDP-83 states under “Discs that cannot be played: DVD-Audio,” but back in February a firmware update was made to the BDP-83 which did allow stereo or multichannel DVD-A playback, and a current updated version of the user manual is available for download at the Oppo web site support section. On May 2 another major firmware update was made, and installed on my player which was shipped for review just afterwards. Another function added in firmware updates was onboard decoding of both DTS-HD lossless audio and Dolby Digital TrueHD audio. The BDP-83 is being launched in a progressive fashion, with a group of beta users out there who received a discount on purchase of the unit in exchange for reporting any problems or questions; a very sensible approach that I wish other manufacturers would use. Future firmware updates will bring in new features and functions. The easiest way to secure them is with an Ethernet or LAN connection right at the rear of the deck to the Oppo site. Next simplest is to transfer the firmware update from their site to a USB thumb drive and then insert it into either of the handy USB ports on the BDP-83 – front and rear. The most involved would be to burn a CD-R or RW on your computer and play it on the BDP-83 to accomplish the update. Detailed instructions are featured on the web site when you download the update, and it is simple to access a readout on your video display of the version of the firmware that is installed in your player. Both BD Live and Bonus View are supported by the BDP-83 on those Blu-ray discs that have them, and assuming that you care about either feature (you need the Ethernet connected to use the former, of course). HD DVD playback is not provided, though it has been observed that probably more people have collections of HD DVDs now than SACDs or DVD-As. But after all, it’s now a totally dead format, unlike the others.
Features
The BDP-83 will output both video and multichannel hi-res audio via its HDMI port. In order to make use of the single-cable solution to home theater consternation one must have of course a receiver or preamp which accepts the combined AV HDMI hi-def/hi-res data. My current Sunfire 401 AV preamp doesn’t, so I must use the 6-channel analog outputs for audio. Fortunately the BDP-83 shares with their earlier Model 983H the direct conversion of the SACD DSD signal to six-channel analog, rather than going thru a PCM stage as do many SACD decks. You still need to select DSD-to-analog in the Setup Menu rather than PCM for both the HDMI and 6 or 8-channel analog outs. I can also benefit from the deck’s onboard decoding of the new lossless multichannel codecs from DTS and Dolby, feeding it to the same 6-channel analog RCA output jacks. The only slight disadvantage is that this bypasses my Felston lip sync delay unit which matches the timing of the audio to that of the often-delayed video on many broadcasts and discs. However, the older audio codecs are handled by the Oppo’s bitstream optical output which feeds the Felston for standard DVDs, and Blu-rays don’t usually suffer from the grievous departures from accurate lip sync that plague many DVDs and broadcasts. (Since the Sunfire preamp defaults to the digital connection if you have both analog and digital plugged into one input, I had to set up a separate input just for the upsampled stereo signal from my Benchmark D-to-A, to employ the Source Direct audio option on the Sunfire. It will also slightly upsample 96K DVDs (to 110K) but won’t pass DSD or DVD-A signals.)
The BDP-83 has a plethora of rear panel ports. There are the eight RCA jacks for analog multichannel outputs – 5.1, or 7.1. These are on the far left, with the stereo audio RCA jacks next in line. Continuing to the right, we have the Toslink optical and the coaxial digital RCA jack. The three component video RCA jacks plus the audio are next. There is an Ethernet LAN port, a USB 2.0 port, in and out ports for infrared control, and finally the HDMI port. The front panel controls are kept simple: an open/close button for the disc tray and to its right the playback “joystick-type” navigation control. At the far right is a rubber-covered USB port, which is also duplicated on the rear of the player. The power button and the remote IR sensor are the remaining items on the front panel. The unit’s display window tells you clearly at the far left of the display exactly what disc is in the deck: BD, SACD, DVD-A, HD CD, S VCD, 2 Channel or Multichannel, plus Mute Audio. This is balanced by data at the far right end of the visual display which indicates the type of audio tracks that are playing: Dolby+, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HDMA, MPEG or PCM. There is also information displayed across the top as to titles, groups, total time, remaining time, status of playback, angle (if used), an indication if an Ethernet cable is attached, if the audio is muted, and whether the audio is two channel stereo or surround. The largest portion of the display is the main numeric and text display for the disc being played.
The supplied remote control is backlit, thankfully, and well-designed. In addition to all the usual controls it also offers such extras as a button to switch resolutions, one to turn on or off the secondary audio program, one to switch between NTSC and PAL video playback, an aspect ratio button as well as zooming in or out. (The latter is most useful – if your display lacks it – for the “picture-framed” images put out by many stations with borders all the way around.) The Oppo manual’s section on Determining the Display Aspect Ratio is very well-written. I liked the unit’s option to advance the image on video discs one frame at a time in either direction simply by hitting Pause and then pressing the Forward or Reverse buttons.
Media File Playback
A variety of media files can also be played by the BDP-83. You can playback from either the front or rear USB port or from a data disc in the tray with media files burned on it. The Home Menu then comes up as the starting point for accessing your media files. You can access music files, movie files and still photo files. You can even add background music to your slide show of photos, storing the music files on the same disc or thumb drive or on a separate one.
Setup Menu
The BDP-83 Setup Menu is extensive, but the manual takes you thru the process in a most understandable manner. (It appears Oppo didn’t leave the manual writing up to their engineers – Thank You!) You need to have the tray out of the player for a few of the Setup options, but most can be done on-the-fly with a disc playing. There is a very complete Audio Signal Reference Chart which aids in clarifying all the permutations of different channels, HDMI, Optical, Coaxial and Analog Outputs. Under SACD Output you would select DSD rather than PCM – unless, as the manual suggests, you prefer the PCM sound to DSD (which seems unlikely). Under Coaxial/Optical Output you would select Bitsream if your receiver or preamp decodes standard Dolby and DTS codecs. The LPCM option down-mixes everything to 2-channel PCM. The LPCM Rate Limit matches the highest sampling rate with your other components. Most users should select 192K if your receiver or preamp supports it, since that allows the 192K stereo files on some DVD-As to be properly passed thru. The BDP-83 does not upsample the audio. The picture adjustments in the Setup Menu are also extensive, which I’ll discuss next.
Video Evaluation
Since this is promoted as a Blu-ray player first, I feel I should cover the video side first even though the multichannel audio interested me the most. The BDP-83 employs the latest video processing from Anchor Bay Technologies. The trademarked products used in the player include that firm’s Video Reference Series, Precision Deinterlacing, Precision Video Scaling, Progressive Cadence Detection, and AutoCUE-C. It’s sort of an entry-level version of the complex stand-alone video processors used by some videophiles. The player is also supplied a terrific Blu-ray test discs. It is the Spears & Munsil Blu-ray Edition of their “High-Definition Benchmark” disc, is subtitled “Hand Forged Video.”
Before using the the Spears & Munsil disc and making any picture adjustments at all I viewed a couple of standard DVD discs at hand, after sampling them first on my other Oppo – the 983H. I found a slightly improved amount of detail and more lively color reproduction. I then put a couple of Blu-rays I had around in my first-generation (SRP $1500) Pioneer Blu-ray player, which has the latest firmware updates. Compared to the Oppo BDP-83 I didn’t see any huge differences. Then I tried stopping on some still images in the Blu-rays. One scene of rooftops in Berlin had a great deal of detail and depth in it. The same image when paused as a still on the BDP-83 had improved resolution thruout the entire image. Rooftop signs where the letters were a big fuzzy on the Pioneer became much clearer on the BDP-83.
The most astounding improvement was one I’ve seen and heard many users complaining about in regard to their earlier Blu-ray players: The discs loaded completely in under 30 seconds! And CDs and SACDs loaded almost instantly! Wow. No more frustration waiting as the screen continues to show “Loading” forever. I’m thinking that improvement has been perhaps the No. 1 thing I was looking for in my next Blu-ray player.
I then put in the Spears & Munsil Blu-ray test disc. It opens with a nicely-shot visual tour with music of Astoria, Oregon and shots in and around Seattle. This is followed by an extensive list of calibration patterns to set up your display and player. All were created at 1080p resolution in native color space. There are evaluation patterns to measure the quality of both displays and players, clips to test de-interlacing performance, and samples of various video and audio codecs. The first thing I noticed was that navigation on the disc was vastly improved over that on the Avia and Digital Video Essentials, where accessing the one or two patterns you want to test your display usually involves a great deal of effort and running into blind alleys navigation-wise. You can quickly selected from the long list of patterns the one you want and bring it up quickly. One button-press away is a text description of exactly how to use the pattern, which is also printed in the handy User’s Guide supplied with the disc. Just as an example on the usefulness of these patterns – which I find superior to both of the other popular test Blu-rays – I adjusted my 56” Samsung display with the first three: the PLUGE Low and High patterns and the Contrast pattern. These adjustments for brightness and black level were far superior to anything I had used on the other discs or what is supplied on some movie discs as THX test patterns. I had never been happy with the black levels on my Samsung display, but the Spears & Munsil PLUGE and Contrast patterns allowed me to set a much better black level so that images on my display now have more depth and look more dynamic than ever before. The patterns on the other discs only had two dark bars to adjust black level, but the Spears & Munsil has four, and following the setup instructions and going back and forth between the two PLUGE patterns and the Contrast resulted in my achieving a hugely improved black level on my display. The color patterns didn’t result in my making any adjustment changes because they demonstrated the BDP-83 was on the button in that department. I also didn’t notice any differences in extreme settings of the Sharpness control. However, I just discovered an extensive section in the BDP-83 manual on the unit’s controls for both Sharpness and Edge-Qualified Sharpness, and I intend to tweak that aspect a bit more.
Audio Evaluation
I first broke in the player with an F.I.M. demo disc for a few days. I then auditioned a number of SACDs and DVD-As on first my Oppo 983H and then again on the Oppo BDP-83. In general I heard a subtle though identifiable improvement in richness and fullness, with slightly more air and impact on the BDP-83 playback. A couple of SACDs that I had set aside as superior examples of the format – such as the CCn’C Records “Shifting Landscapes” with works by John Adams and Sumera performed by the Norrlands Opera Orch. conducted by Kristjan Järvi – now took on an even more impressive sound display via the BDP-83’s six-channel analog outputs. With standard CDs I didn’t note quite as major an improvement of one player over the other, but I was aware that my 983H is highly tweaked with various accessory feet underneath, Walker discs and Shakti stones on top, sitting on a thick MSB isolation plate; while the BDP-83 was only on an MSB plate with simple carbon fiber feet. Both had third-party AC cables connected.
I should emphasize the great advantages of such a truly universal disc player. Instead of having a separate Blu-ray player (which didn’t even play standard CDs in my case) plus another player for standard DVDs, SACDs and DVD-As, both switched thru a Zektor 6-channel switcher, and different inputs on my Sunfire preamp, I now have a single player for all video and audio formats. I think back to having once had yet another separate player just for DVD-As and I shudder…
Summary
I think Oppo has a serious winner here, at the right price too. It’s something like the days of the universal record changers which handled 78s, 45s, 33 1/3s and 16 r.p.m. discs. But there don’t seem to be corners cut with any of the formats. There’s nothing else quite like the BDP-83 right now, and it’s good that the minority users (compared to Blu-ray) of both SACD and DVD-Audio formats have not been ignored in the process. Whether or not the idea of audio-only Blu-rays ever gets off the ground, we’ll have proper playback of our collection of hi-res SACDs and DVD-As. The player is not yet in public release. Those who already signed up on the Oppo web site can get on their priority list for delivery of the final BDP-83, which is expected now in mid-June. Finally let me plug the wonderful and helpful customer service Oppo provides. Whatever your question or problem they will quickly respond and assist you, totally unlike most manufacturers.
– John Sunier
by Audiophile Audition | May 27, 2009 | Jazz CD Reviews
Carl Allen & Rodney Whitaker – Work To Do – Mack Avenue MAC 1045, 64:02 ****:
(Carl Allen – drums, producer; Rodney Whitaker – acoustic & electric bass, producer; Vincent Chandler – trombone; George Colligan – piano, Fender Rhodes; Vincent Herring – alto & soprano saxophone; Rodney Jones – acoustic & electric guitar; Brandon Lee – trumpet; Dorsey "Rob" Robinson – B3 Hammond organ & piano; Kirk Whalum – tenor & soprano saxophone)
On their sophomore album, Work To Do, rhythm section par excellence Carl Allen (drums) and Rodney Whitaker (acoustic and electric bass) once again tap into their roots and offer an engaging and user-friendly repertoire that includes standards, pop classics, soul music, gospel influences, and post-bop originals. On the duo’s previous Mack Avenue release, Get Ready, Whitaker and Allen mixed similar styles into a brew that appealed to a wide audience. On Work To Do, they refine and enlarge the concept, crafting music that keeps listeners tapping their toes, snapping their fingers and generally having a good time.
Not only is the set list expanded but the band is bigger, thus providing plenty of material to hear and lots of room to establish several moods. The regulars – trombonist Vincent Chandler, keyboardist Dorsey "Rob" Robinson, and guitarist Rodney Jones – are joined by an energized Kirk Whalum on tenor and soprano saxophone, Vincent Herring on alto and soprano saxophone, and keyboardist George Colligan.
The ensemble opens with the title track, formerly a folk-tinted hit for The Isley Brothers. Allen and Whitaker remodel the piece into a bluesy, up-tempo exhibition that showcases Whalum’s tenor sax, backed by George Colligan’s piano and the Allen and Whitaker’s flowing cadence. "Work To Do" finds Whalum outstripping his instrumental pop past, swinging mightily as he soars atop the beat, sounding more like Stanley Turrentine or Gene Ammons.
The entire nine-piece contributes to Donnie McClurkin’s wistful but funky "Speak To My Heart," a soul jazz venture which uses an exuberant, urbanized arrangement that evokes Larry Carlton-era Crusaders, with more meaty saxophone workouts. Later, the band turns to a pop classic The Crusaders had success with, The Beatles’ "Eleanor Rigby." Here, though, 5/4 and 4/4 sequences are arranged together that impart a wholly new tilt to the familiar melody. Allen’s agile drumming gives a vigorous bang to the performance, which contains an ample, Joe Morello-esque drum break. Lee’s trumpet shines during the 4/4 hook, affording a blues tone to Paul McCartney’s despondent ode to "all the lonely people."
The group truly changes to a late-night, melancholy mannerism during "Giving Thanks," Allen’s elegant ballad inspired by a recent trip to South Africa, highlighted by Whalum’s pop-oriented soprano solo and Allen’s effortless talent on cymbals. A likeminded reverie is displayed during the Carol Conners/David Shire theme "With You I’m Born Again," a somber and reverent rendition laced by Jones’s emotive electric guitar and Whalum’s and Herring’s twinned saxophones. However, the record’s most solitary moment comes during Johnny Mandel’s obscure romantic meditation, "A Time For Love," which is rendered as a guitar/bass duo between Jones’s airy acoustic guitar and Whitaker’s bowed bass.
One of Whitaker’s acknowledged heroes is spotlighted via the tribute tune, "For Garrison (Both)," which Whitaker states is an aural impression of both famed bassist Jimmy Garrison and Whitaker’s son, named after the bass player. "For Garrison (Both)" intersects both swing and Latin milieus, and features fine solos from Colligan, Herring, and Chandler while Allen furnishes consistent direction from the drum chair. Allen and Whitaker show their love for modern bop here as well, as indicated through the horns’ vanguard attack, in particular Herring’s alto saxophone solo.
One of the more intriguing numbers is Allen’s modal composition "Grahamstown," also sparked by his South African visit, and which employs cluster chords to convey the cheerful nature of children Allen witnessed playing, skipping and singing. Colligan’s brilliantly inventive acoustic piano chord structures and Herring’s robust alto sax both singularly connote Allen’s thoughts about the people and situations he saw in Grahamstown, South Africa.
The abiding sentiment that permeates Work To Do, as mentioned, is connected with feeling good, and the two best examples are an ultra-funky take of Marvin Gaye’s "What’s Going On" and Allen’s album closer, the breezy "Relativity." The interpretation of Gaye’s famous soul single concerning ghetto life again utilizes the complete nonet and brings together Allen and Whitaker’s rhythm and blues, jazz, and gospel foundations, with superb support from Jones, who adds picturesque chordal work, and rousing solos from Whalum and Lee. Whitaker harnesses a popping beat with his electric bass, while Hammond B3 organ underscores the celebrated melody. "Relativity" is the most contemporary-directed track with its animated beat, Dorsey Robinson’s ardently soulful organ touches, and Herring’s tempered alto sax, which rebounds off of Whalum’s fiery tenor sax.
The studio work on Work To Do by producers Allen and Whitaker and the engineers puts the music in a suitable context. The drums, for instance, are well spaced in the mix, filling left, right and middle channels, as it should be for a project with a percussionist as co-leader. The keyboards and horns ride the middle channels, and the acoustic and electric basses maintain a deep pocket throughout. Allen and Whitaker easily balance the shifts between funky and post-bop, so that no one style overfills the final mix.
TrackList:
1. Work to Do
2. Speak to My Heart
3. For Garrison (Both)
4. Giving Thanks
5. What’s Going On
6. Eleanor Rigby
7. With You I’m Born Again
8. Grahamstown
9. A Time for Love
10. Relativity
— Doug Simpson
by Audiophile Audition | May 26, 2009 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews
Cinderella Man, Blu-ray (2005/2009)
Starring: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti
Director: Ron Howard
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment 61106508 [Release date: May 26, 09]
Video: 2.35:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 16:9 color 1080p HD
Audio: DTS HD Master Audio 5.1; French, Spanish DTS 5.1
Extras: Multiple commentary tracks, Featurettes, Photo gallery, BD-Live content
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Feature Length: 145 minutes
Rating: ***1/2
Cinderella Man is based on the true-life story of Great Depression era boxer Jim Braddock (played by Russell Crowe), who bucked seemingly insurmountable odds to make the unlikeliest of comebacks and win the boxing crown in the mid-thirties. As an up-and-coming light heavyweight in the twenties, he suffered injuries to his right hand that hindered his ability to fight, and the onslaught of the depression found him losing his boxing certification – and essentially – his career. He soldiers on, finding work as available in the New Jersey docks, and he and his wife (Renee Zellweger) claw out a living with their three children, and his spirit is nearly crushed by the difficulties of daily living. His manager and trainer, played by Paul Giamatti, stays in touch, but he too has been hammered financially by the continuing depression, and is unable to offer any meaningful support. Braddock finally gets a break when a fight between the number two contender for the championship and a top contender is in jeopardy of being cancelled due to an injury to the challenger, and Braddock is asked to stand in and “lose” to the number two contender – for a juicy payday of 250 dollars. Everyone agrees that this will be a more humane way for him to exit the boxing world, at least by losing to a top flight boxer. Everyone except Braddock, that is, who knocks him out in the third round! Of course, he then goes on to success after success, and an eventual shot at the championship.
I have to hand it to Ron Howard; he really knows how to take an otherwise depressing story and weave into it enough hope to and uplift to keep your interest throughout. The sets are all dark and drab, with only the relative handful of very well-to-dos onscreen dressed in anything but rags. And there’s barely a ray of sunshine throughout – you are quite literally transported to depression-era New York. The Blu-ray disc offered really superb contrast, with really good black levels and highly detailed images. Of course, colors were quite intentionally muted, but the overall effect made for a quite enjoyable watch. The audio content of the movie was also quite serviceable, although very little seemingly went on in the surrounds. I checked them periodically to make sure they were in fact on, and there was just enough happening to give sufficient depth of sound to the proceedings. With the exception of the fight scenes, the film is really very dialogue heavy, so I didn’t find a whole lot to complain about for the most part.
My only real complaint about the film is that it’s premise is pretty much a foregone conclusion for the average watcher – you didn’t really have to stretch too far to surmise how the action was going to flow and that Braddock would ultimately triumph. But despite that, I still sat glued to my chair for the two-and-a-half hour runtime, so go figure! The filmmakers helped make the story infinitely watchable, with interesting plot twists – for example, when Braddock is offered the opportunity at a second fight after beating the number two contender, his trainer shows up with $175 to allow him to quit his job at the docks and concentrate on training. Braddock’s unhappy wife goes straight to the trainer’s apartment, to try and find out why he’s pushing her husband so hard to fight, and when he finally caves in and lets her beyond the door, she discovers that he’s sold all his furniture other than a folding table and chairs to back Braddock – that’s how much he believes in him.
Despite being an imperfect film, I found Cinderella Man to be quite an enjoyable watch, made even better by the Blu-ray’s highly detailed rendering of the details of a particularly dark movie. Highly recommended.
— Tom Gibbs
by Audiophile Audition | May 26, 2009 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews
Seabiscuit, Blu-ray (2003/2009)
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper
Director: Gary Ross
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment 61106507 [Release date: May 26, 09]
Video: 2.35:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 16:9 color 1080p HD
Audio: DTS HD Master Audio 5.1; French, Spanish DTS 5.1
Extras: Commentaries, Featurettes, Photo gallery, BD-Live content
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Feature Length: 141 minutes
Rating: *****
Seabiscuit was one of those movies almost impossible to resist, made in the grand tradition of good storytelling and eye-popping visuals that hearkened to an earlier (and perhaps better) time in Hollywood’s heyday. The based-on-a-true-story film revolves around, of course, the legendary horse Seabiscuit – a most improbable champion – and the cast of seeming losers who believe in him. That group includes unsure jockey Red Pollard (played by Tobey Maguire), who might not believe in himself, but surely does believe in Seabiscuit. Seabiscuit’s owner, Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges), is nearly bankrupt, but continues to bank on Seabiscuit as his shot at redemption. And Tom Smith (played by Chris Cooper) is Seabiscuit’s horse-whispering trainer who seems to be able to coax the thoroughbred to nearly superhuman (superanimal?) performances. But if all this must have seemed improbable way back then, just look at this year’s Kentucky Derby winner for a more modern-day reality check!
Seabiscuit was nominated for seven Academy Awards in 2004, but up against stiff competition from the third installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, unfortunately, came up empty-handed. But this excellent Blu-ray disc from Universal shows that it was Oscar-worthy indeed, and offers up one of the finest home theater experiences I’ve seen thus far this year. The image presented here is nothing short of reference quality, with crisp and highly detailed images and superb color representation. While the DVD copy looked incredibly good, this Blu-ray betters it in every possible aspect of the image presentation, and may be the best-looking Universal catalog title I’ve seen so far. And the surround sound is also superb – the DTS HD MA 5.1 track is a notable improvement over the DVD. While some of the best sound comes during the race scenes (your subwoofer will get a true workout!), the overall sound mix is excellent, and dialogue presentation is exceptionally clear. And there’s a plethora of available bonus materials that help to make this an impressive Blu-ray offering indeed!Even though most of us already know throughout that Seabiscuit will ultimately triumph, never at any point did my interest wane in this truly excellent story. Four stars – very highly recommended!
— Tom Gibbs
by Audiophile Audition | May 26, 2009 | Classical CD Reviews
GEORGES DELERUE: Works for piano and various instruments = Chant 1; Farewell Concerto (version for violin and piano); Aria et Final for cello and piano; Movements for percussion instruments and piano; Stances for cello and piano; Sonata for violin and piano – Minna Re Shin, piano /Olivier Thouin, violin/Guillaume Saucier, cello /Fabrice Marandola, percussion – DCM Classique DCM-CL205 [Distr. by Albany] ****:
Georges Delerue (1925-1992) is known for his film scores, especially some famous French New Wave films – including Francois Truffaut’s Shoot the Piano Player, Jules and Jim, and The Last Metro. He also scored Fred Zinneman’s A Man for All Seasons and Ken Russell’s Women in Love. He won an Oscar for A Little Romance. But he never stopped writing for the classical concert hall and was conductor of the French State Radio Orchestra.
The six works on this disc show both side of Delerue – melodic and dissonant. Chant is a a brief and beautiful beginning, with violinist Thouin’s ripe vibrato most noticeable. Farewell Concerto is a two-part reduction for violin and piano which serves as the basis for Delerue’s orchestral score for the 1992 movie Dien Bien Phu. The composer’s melodic gifts shine in this banefully beautiful ten-minute work that remembers this tragic event with passion. Aria and Final for cello and piano opens with a brooding meditation followed by an energetic romp that pays homage to Delerue’s teacher, Darius Milhaud.
In Movements for percussion instruments and piano Delerue moved away from melodic invention to rhythmic and percussive punctuation. Using a battery of percussive instruments that include timpani, cow bells, tam tam, tambourine, vibraphone and xylophone among others, the composer fashions a tapestry of moods that are whimsical, pensive and vibrant. Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion comes to mind. It’s the most creative piece on this disc. Stances for cello and piano is thoughtful and definitely more dissonant. Sonata for Violin and Piano is the longest and least appealing work to these ears. It waywardly slogs its way through chromatically dissonant terrain ending without apparent direction and lacking the smiles of Delerue the film composer.
This disc is an interesting snapshot of both of Delerue’s musical sides – the melodic film composer and the modern classicist. Close and truthful recording.
— Robert Moon
