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Violinist Tosca Opdam is joined by pianist Alexander Ullman to create some delightful chamber music in their new album, Soundscapes, all beautifully and sensitively performed. Included is the world premier recording of a work dedicated to Ms. Opdam by Dutch composer Robin de Raaff. The album is an engaging program of a bit of the... Read More »

I've written before about legendary Decca recording engineer Kenneth Wilkinson and the extensive collection of his recordings available from High Definition Tape Transfers. Since my original introductory article (HERE), HDTT has released more Wilkinson engineered recordings that are very much worthy of comment. And, I've found a few in the catalog that I'd missed before.... Read More »

Rembrandt Frerichs is a remarkably eclectic and innovative jazz and world musician, synthesizing rhythms and sounds from many cultures. In this thoroughly engaging premier recording of his piano concertos, he collaborates with five string players from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and his long-time partner in The Rembrandt Trio, percussionist Vinsent Planjer. The result is a... Read More »

Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble, Couldn't Stand The Weather. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, UD1S 2-007,  UltraDisc One-Step, Original Master Recording, 2 x  12" 45 RPM SuperVinyl 180g LPs, Numbered Limited Edition, Remastered, Deluxe Edition Box Set, 2021 First up...the 2021 Mobile Fidelity Ultra Disc 1 Step remaster (UD1S 2-007) as two, 12-inch 45 RPM LPs... Read More »

Kenny Dorham, Matador (Impex Records) Another masterpiece from Impex Records, Matador is a real sleeper. Originally released in 1953 on the United Artist label and now back in print for the first time in nearly 50 years, this title by Kenny Dorham deserves an early nomination for the reissue of the year! Pressed at RTI... Read More »

One can only hope that this release marks the beginning of a full cycle of recordings of the Beethoven Sonatas for Violin and Piano from Rachel Podger and Christopher Glynn. If this initial album is any indication of what might be in store, such a cycle would be a wonderful gift. Beethoven Sonatas for Violin... Read More »

A piano trio is perhaps my favorite performing ensemble. And when the performances are as finely crafted as these from the Delta Piano Trio, bliss is near at hand. Add music by Swiss composer Frank Martin, and a recording engineered by Bert van der Wolf, and my expectations are very high. And those expectations are... Read More »

Each album Angelo Verploegen makes with Just Listen Records and Jared Sacks is an eagerly awaited pleasure in our household. Beautifully played jazz in some of the best small ensemble recorded sound we get to hear. Verploegen and his partners take us to a soft, warm musical place, and Jared Sacks brings the performances right... Read More »

Such a pleasure! A recording label for country, bluegrass, pop, world and other acoustic musicians that truly brings the listener into the presence of the live performance. Soundkeeper Recordings is making direct-to-two-track recordings that I'd love to hear from more labels. This is the way acoustic music should be heard. Barry Diament, founder, chief recording... Read More »

Magnificently performed by the string quartet Matangi, this is music written in the second half of the twentieth century by Russian and Ukrainian composers that is ideally suited to the bizarre world in which we find ourselves today in March of 2022. It is intense music of challenge, protest, and criticism. It was intended to... Read More »

Shostakovich: String Quartets: No 3 in F, Op. 71; No 8 in C minor, Op. 110. Novus Quartet. Aparte AP 271.  TT: 54.19 It's one up, one down—and not as you might have expected, or hoped. The five-movement F Major Quartet hovers uneasily, or schizophrenically, between Shostakovich's "traditional" style and his more angular, "modern" one. The... Read More »

George Walker, Five Piano Sonatas, (1953 - 2003) Steven Beck, piano. Bridge Records 9554. It's a bit early in the year to pronounce a Record of the Year, and perhaps I'm making the call based partly on guilt for my ignorance: why have I not heard of this extraordinary composer? His music is a brilliant... Read More »

Enjoy Gregorian Chant? I have a new album you may just love. Beautifully sung by the Gregorian female choir Novum Gaudium. With a repertoire around the Marian theme, the pieces on this album have been selected for variety of style, compositional technique, and complexity of sound textures. An intriguing and very gratifying presentation of great... Read More »

Music from the ever-inventive Georg Philipp Telemann has long enchanted me. His is music of never ceasing discovery. In these performances of some of Telemann's magnificent Fantasies, oboist and pianist Pauline Oostenrijk is a delightful guide. These are performances to savor, made even more enjoyable with the excellent sound quality provided by recording engineer Tom... Read More »

I have been enjoying the performances of violinist Rosanne Philippens for several years, but have not yet written about her recordings. She is remarkable, a tremendous talent, and someone whose work I value very much. My music library is enriched by her performances, as am I each time I select one to hear. Let's take... Read More »

With lively performances filled with joy and good humor, the Intercontinental Ensemble returns with a two immensely entertaining releases. And with the excellent sound quality provided by TRPTK, there is nothing but good things to say about these two releases. In Motu – Intercontinental Ensemble. TRPTK 2021 (DXD) HERE Arc, Intercontinental Ensemble. TRPTK 2022 (DXD) HERE Yes, I'm... Read More »

This new recording by the ever-excellent Dana Zemtsov offers much to savor, particularly with the rich, resonant tonal qualities of her viola brought front and center. And the sound quality provided by Jared Sacks is a true sonic joy, as usual. Dutch Hidden Gems, Contemporary Compositions for Viola. Dana Zemtsov, Anna Fedorova, Phion Orchestra. Channel Classics... Read More »

These searching, deeply penetrating, and searingly wrought performances by Trío Arriaga of two elegiac masterpieces left me emotionally drained...and uplifted. After first listening to Shostakovich's Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, I had to stop and collect my energy. The Arriaga's performance had simply wrung me out. In the best way—give me more, I... Read More »

Alessandro Perpich delivers an intensely felt, personal journey through the challenging Six Sonatas for Solo Violin by Eugène Ysaÿe. Perpich is an artist new to me, on a label new to me. I wanted to hear what he would have to say because every performance of worth is unique in the artist's relationship to Ysaye's... Read More »