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High Definition Tape Transfer has been on quite a roll in 2022 with a strong schedule of new releases. Their jazz releases in 2022 have been phenomenal and, hopefully, merited your attention. But, the classical albums they've reissued have been similarly outstanding, including performances in the top echelons of the catalog such as the Mercury... Read More »

I've written before about the recordings of pianist Hannes Minnaar (see HERE and HERE). I'm writing now to share with you a new solo piano recording of the Shostakovich 24 Preludes (a marvel), an earlier recording of piano works inspired by Bach, and a scrumptious complete cycle of the Beethoven Piano Concertos with Jan Willem... Read More »

In this superb release from Eudora Records, the Protean Quartet deliver stylish performances of the last of the Haydn's Russian Quartets, the first of Beethoven’s String Quartets, op. 18 no.1 (but already a masterpiece), and the first recording of Juan Pedro Almeida Mota’s String Quartet op. 7 no. 1. Performed on period instruments, with historically... Read More »

There are times when something so special comes along that one needs to shout "Stop the presses. Hold page one." This is one of those occasions. HDTT has just released a superb DSD256 transfer of the legendary RCA Living Stereo recording of the Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 "Organ Symphony" from Charles Munch and the Boston... Read More »

I’ve been listening to various of the Hunnia Records' Pure DSD256 recordings downloadable from NativeDSD. There are very many that I like both for the music and for the quite stellar sound quality. It's time to share with you some of the excellent Hunnia recordings that I'm enjoying. Founded by Robert Zoltán Hunka, owner and... Read More »

Time Out was the first jazz album to sell more than a million copies. The album was certified platinum in 1997 and double platinum in 2011. The single, "Take Five", also sold over a million. And it has been reissued endlessly. So why bother with yet another? Because this release in Pure DSD256 from HDTT... Read More »

Chopin's music is loved by many. And many pianists gravitate to performing his works. Unfortunately, not all pianists should play Chopin—both Chopin and we would be better off if they found some other poor composer to butcher. But, when Chopin's music falls into the hands of an empathetic artist devoted to communicating Chopin, ah then,... Read More »

Here we have one of the world’s greatest French conductors and one of the world’s finest French orchestras (albeit located in the United States) playing the very essence of French music. And this particular album is perhaps one of the greatest Mercury Living Presence recordings. We've been fortunate to have some good vinyl reissues over... Read More »

Hannes Minnaar (b.1984) is a pianist to keep one's ears on. He is is consistently described by critics as able to convey musical essence in all its purity, and I've become convinced this is true. I first came to know him through his contributions with the Van Baerle Trio and I've very much enjoyed his... Read More »

Does this album need any further introduction than it's title, Getz/Gilberto? Well, when it is reissued in the finest digital sound quality I've yet heard it deserves a bit of celebration! And HDTT deserves kudos for the exceptionally good work accomplished here. I have multiple digital reissues of this album, but this is now at... Read More »

Truly special recordings deserve to be heard and celebrated. Such a truly special album is the newly released Lost in Venice by Infermi d'Amore, from Eudora Records. On this album are alert, energetic, and beautifully played performances of works from three Venetian Baroque masters using instruments appropriate to the period. Complementing these delightful performances are... Read More »

Ukranian pianist Anna Fedorova is a remarkable talent. She is right in the top of my list for outstanding performers in recent years. I've written about her solo-piano and chamber music recordings with Channel Classics here, here, and here. But now she is expanding her recorded repertoire to include some of the most challenging pieces... Read More »

Bob Witrak at HDTT has done it again—a superb new release in Pure DSD256. This is the superlative Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. And it sounds simply amazing, folks. Sonny's saxophone is alive, full of texture, filled with detail. Max Roach is in the room on drums, with outstanding transient attack on stick strikes and shimmering... Read More »

How best to present several of the outstanding orchestral masterpieces found in the Channel Classics catalog? My choice is to start with selections from the works of the great conductor, Iván Fischer, leading the Budapest Festival Orchestra. These are world class performances filled with deep intelligence and love for the music. Combined with the superb... Read More »

Grab onto the sides of your chairs so you don't fall over like I did when you hear this superb new transfer of Billie Holiday's Lady in Satin. The sound quality is simply gorgeous—alive, dynamic, transparent, with great accuracy of timbre in both instruments and voice. Billie Holiday is in the room with us, folks.... Read More »

We started our downsizing journey four years ago. I've written about that journey in four parts beginning HERE. I thought that after four years of experience with our all-digital, headphones-only listening system, an update might be worth sharing. As we headed into the realm of digital-files-only listening, my heels were dug firmly into the dirt trying... Read More »

Gonzalo Noque's recordings continue to mesmerize and delight me. I'm sitting at the moment just stunned having listened to a preview copy in DSD128 of the coming release of J.S. Bach's Complete Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV1014-1019, with Andoni Mercero (violin) and Alfonso Sebastian (harpsichord). My need to share something about this recording compels... Read More »

Whenever I see a Pure DSD transfer from HDTT, I know they've found an excellent source tape that is in great condition. And these are always wonderful to hear. Recently I started looking around for Ella Fitzgerald recordings at HDTT and I've found four in Pure DSD256 transfers that are well worth bringing to your... Read More »

Thus far in 2022, HDTT has given us three new and outstanding transfers of well known, and well loved, performances from the RCA Living Stereo catalog. To these, I've added several more of their excellent DXD/DSD256 Living Stereo reissues, plus a final reissue that RCA never released as a Living Stereo, but should have. They... Read More »