Rushton Paul, Author at Positive Feedback

Recent Finds No. 35 Classical Music Composed Within the Past 25 Years

Rushton Paul — Sat, 26 Apr 2025 18:17:45 +0000

With such a rich history of music in the western world, it is too easy to get lost in centuries past. We can too easily fail to see the amazing music being written today. With this article, I want to offer up some outstanding music of the 21st Century I've been privileged to hear these... Read More »

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A Rare Musical Experience with Pianist David Fung

Rushton Paul — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 23:35:12 +0000

David Fung, Evening Conversations. Yarlung Records 2006 2025 (Pure DSD256) HERE Edit Master Sourced I found myself talking recently on the phone with my friend Bob Attiyeh, the creative founder and visionary of Yarlung Records. I'm always intrigued by these occasional calls with Bob. One never knows whence they may wander. That day, Bob... Read More »

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Recent Finds No. 34 New Releases from HDTT

Rushton Paul — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 21:01:06 +0000

Bob Witrak has been busy these past months with additions to the HDTT catalog. The biggest news is that the International Phonograph Jazz recordings are back! See my earlier note about this great news, HERE. Below are some of the new reissues (not IPI) that have caught my ear in recent weeks. Witches Brew, Alexander... Read More »

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Recent Finds No. 33 International Phonograph Inc (IPI) Pure DSD256 Transfers are Back!

Rushton Paul — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 23:03:38 +0000

Let there be rejoicing among fans of Pure DSD recordings—transfers from the IPI analog master tapes to Pure DSD256 are back at HDTT! They disappeared for a while when IPI owner and recording engineer Jonathan Horwich decided to retire and withdrew them. But now the International Phonograph, Inc., catalog is returned to HDTT. These albums... Read More »

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Recent Finds No. 32 Early Music from Medieval to Early Renaissance

Rushton Paul — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 03:43:35 +0000

I unabashedly love listening to early music, from medieval to renaissance. And much of this music is for voices. Not all, by a long shot, but there is a lot that is a cappella. Early music will be the theme of today's Recent Finds because this is what has consumed much of my recent listening.... Read More »

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Maya Fridman's Ordo Ritualis - a New Album from TRPTK

Rushton Paul — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 15:34:31 +0000

Whenever cellist and vocalist Maya Fridman releases a new album, I celebrate. Or perhaps it's a happy dance. Either way, I head off to download the album and spend some time listening. And I'm never disappointed. Maya's musicianship is superb, both as a cellist and as a vocalist. But it is probably her sensibilities about... Read More »

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Recent Finds No. 31 HDTT from the Desmar Master Tapes and More

Rushton Paul — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 16:03:29 +0000

I don't always manage to include all recent HDTT releases that I've liked in any given article. Sometimes a little catch up is required. Thus the belated reviews of two releases missing from my last discussion, Overtures by Offenbach and Auber and Louis Armstrong meets Oscar Peterson. And a Pure DSD256 Miles Davis reissue plus... Read More »

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Recent Finds No. 30 with Pure DSD256 Albums from Hunnia Records and More

Rushton Paul — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 17:29:00 +0000

Those who have travelled with me through my notes on recent finds know that I have eclectic taste in music. I enjoy almost anything acoustic that is well performed and well recorded. Unfortunately, this also means that you have to scan through the album covers to see if there may be anything that aligns with... Read More »

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Josep Colom Returns and Wow!

Rushton Paul — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 16:59:25 +0000

Mozart Piano Sonatas, Josep Colom. Eudora Records 2024 (Pure DSD256) HERE "There are good pianists, and then there is Josep Colom." * A living legend. A creative genius. A brilliantly and entrancingly insightful artist. Spanish pianist Josep Colom is all of that and more. And if you've not listened to his recordings, you have been... Read More »

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Master Tapes, Shmaster Tapes

Rushton Paul — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 16:40:39 +0000

Watch out. This is going to be a bit of a rant. I begin to cringe every time I read/hear from audiophiles: Was it made from the master tape? Or..., It can't possibly sound very good—it wasn't from the master tape. Yes, I'm talking about reissues. And, yes, I'm talking about audiophiles being brain-washed into... Read More »

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Choosing the Best Sounding File Format with Free Sample Downloads

Rushton Paul — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:21:49 +0000

Since downsizing 5 years ago and leaving behind my LPs and vinyl playback equipment, I have gradually built a new digital music library. At Dr. David's request, I shared this traumatic journey in several articles titled Yes, There Really is Music After Vinyl, the first of which you can find HERE. Today, most new additions... Read More »

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Recent Finds No. 29 HDTT Keeps Rolling with Great Releases

Rushton Paul — Sat, 22 Feb 2025 20:35:42 +0000

High Definition Tape Transfers continues to make available excellent new releases of classic albums. Here are a few recent arrivals that have been brightening my days. Frank Sinatra, Only the Lonely. HDTT 1958 2025 (DXD, DSD256) HERE Only the Lonely is one of Frank Sinatra's most iconic albums, released in 1958 by Capitol Records. Known... Read More »

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Sound Liaison's Remastering of Thousand Shades of Blue - Free Download Tracks to Compare

Rushton Paul — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:21:50 +0000

I was fascinated recently by Sound Liaison's 2024 remastering of their excellent 2012 album Thousand Shades of Blue by Carmen Gomes Inc. In this new release, Thousand Shades of Blue Revisited, recording engineer Frans de Rond and producer Peter Bjornild went back to the original 96kHz 24-bit recorded tracks and applied everything they'd learned the... Read More »

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Recent Finds No. 28 Pure DSD256 from Eudora, Hunnia, Yarlung, plus more

Rushton Paul — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 22:52:26 +0000

I'm catching up... honestly I am. There are many wonderful albums to talk about, more than I can cover in one article. But, I'll make a start and then add more in a later article. Today, I want to visit several terrific Pure DSD256 recordings from Eudora, Hunnia, and Yarlung. Plus some outstanding high resolution... Read More »

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Bruno Walter's Classic Mahler Ninth Symphony in Stunning Sound Quality

Rushton Paul — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 20:52:56 +0000

Mahler Symphony No. 9 in D major, Bruno Walter, Columbia Symphony Orchestra. HDTT 1961 2024 (DSD256, DXD) HERE Some performances are so culturally significant that they require special notice when a superb new release becomes available. Such is the case with this 2024 reissue from HDTT of the classic account of Mahler's Ninth Symphony recorded... Read More »

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Recent Finds No. 27 HDTT Recent Releases

Rushton Paul — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 18:39:29 +0000

I've been on a bit of an audio hiatus these past few months, but that hasn't meant I wasn't paying attention to the many excellent albums Bob Witrak has been releasing over that time. Those of you who have read some of my other writing know with what great respect I hold Bob's work at... Read More »

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Recent Finds No. 26 Bert van der Wolf Recordings

Rushton Paul — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 22:53:00 +0000

Recording engineer Bert van der Wolf's releases are eagerly awaited in our household. The reason is a combination of three factors: (1) the audio quality he achieves is easily in the top ranks of what is possible today, and he's constantly pushing the envelope to achieve even better sound; (2) I like his choice of... Read More »

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Sisters of the Moon by Susana Gomez Vazquez in Pure DSD256

Rushton Paul — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 16:04:37 +0000

When I hear that Gonzalo Noqué is releasing a new Pure DSD256 recording on his Eudora Records label, my ears prick up. When I find that he is recording the excellent pianist Susana Gomez Vazquez, I'm doubly on alert. Her playing is just scintillating and her choice of programming is always intriguing. And so, when... Read More »

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Recent Finds No. 25 New Recordings at NativeDSD

Rushton Paul — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 15:39:44 +0000

The labels represented in NativeDSD's catalog continue to deliver outstanding performances in great sounding recordings. NativeDSD is just a stunning resource for those who love immaculate high resolution recordings made by some of the best recording engineers working today (Jared Sacks of Channel Classics, Brendon Heinst of TRPTK, Gonzalo Noqué of Eudora, Jake Purches of... Read More »

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Anna Fedorova, Among the Greatest Pianists Performing Today

Rushton Paul — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 15:30:12 +0000

Anna Fedorova performing selections from Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, from YouTube video linked below. Anna Fedorova is among the greatest pianists performing and recording today. Sure, my opinion. But well judged. Anna plays organically, self-effacingly. She consistently lets the music flow forth for its own sake, never as a way of saying "look at... Read More »

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Recent Finds No. 24 HDTT Keeps Rolling Out Great Titles

Rushton Paul — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 20:57:46 +0000

If you listen to digital, love classic jazz and the golden age of stereo classical recordings, then surely you have been listening to the outstanding releases from Bob Witrak's High Definition Tape Transfers. Bob's transfers to high resolution digital (DSD256 and DXD) very typically sound better than the releases from the labels themselves. You know—the... Read More »

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Recent Finds No. 22 Six Marvelous Pure DSD256 Recordings

Rushton Paul — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 18:25:50 +0000

With some of the best sonics you will ever experience, I'd like to introduce you to six recently released Pure DSD256 recordings from Eudora Records, Hunnia Records, and Yarlung Records. All of these albums are originally recorded directly to DSD256 and not to analog tape and then transferred to DSD. If you value the ultimate... Read More »

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Recent Finds No. 23 More from HDTT

Rushton Paul — Sun, 16 Jun 2024 15:36:24 +0000

High Definition Tape Transfers continues on its roll of great releases. Just recently I wrote about HDTT's superb reissue of Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (HERE). Now we have the famous Fritz Reiner recording of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, and The Weavers Reunion At Carnegie Hall, and Ella and Basie!, and much more. Bartók Concerto... Read More »

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Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section - new Pure DSD256 Transfer from HDTT

Rushton Paul — Sun, 05 May 2024 16:34:26 +0000

Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section, with Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, HDTT 1957 2024 (Pure DSD256) HERE This is such a great album, it is wonderful to now have it in my digital music library in the best quality sound. My standard for this album has always been the excellent 45rpm vinyl... Read More »

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Reiner's Performance of Pines of Rome and Fountains of Rome from HDTT

Rushton Paul — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 17:30:38 +0000

Turn up the volume and prepare for sumptuous sonics from one of the great performances in the catalog. This new transfer from High Definition Tape Transfers is terrific. It is now my personal standard for what this great RCA Living Stereo recording can sound like. Respighi Pines of Rome & Fountains of Rome, Fritz Reiner,... Read More »

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