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Joan Tower. Violin Concerto. Stroke. Chamber Dance. Cho-Liang Lin, violin. Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor. Naxos 8.559775.   New Seasons. Gidon Kremer. Glass, Pärt, Kanchelli, Unabeyashi. Kremerata Baltica. Deutsche Gramophone. DG 4794817.   Rosary Sonatas. Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. Rachel Podger, violin. David Miller, theorbo and arch lute; Marcin Swiatkiewicz, harpsichord, organ; Jonathan... Read More »

We are creatures of habit. For ten consecutive years Lynn and I have taken our summer vacation at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival in Canada, which bills itself as the largest of its kind in the world. It is huge in terms of programming and number of days, if not in audience size. A... Read More »

Wilhelmina Smith, Cello. Britten, Schnittke, and Shostakovich. Thomas Sauer, piano. Arabesque 26801. I had known of Wilhelmina Smith since her career began in the 1990's, knew especially that she played on the wonderful Arabesque album of Copland's chamber music. But I did not know until recently that she had also made a recording as lead.... Read More »

I have come across many audiophiles who have truly splendid turntables, tone arms, and cartridges, of which cost them an arm and a leg. Nevertheless, they still may not enjoy the best that vinyl has to offer if the bottleneck in their audio arsenal is their phono preamplifier. There is no doubt that the phono... Read More »

This is Glyndebourne's first ever staging of an opera by Rameau. Though he was well known as an innovator/thinker in the music world, it was not until he was fifty years old before he composed this opera in 1773. It just might be his best opera. Based on a well-known story from long ago, there... Read More »

"It disturbs me that footers make such a difference." Ain't that the truth, Abe. But then you shouldn't have been so surprised. Remember when you gave me an assist installing the Finite Elemente Pagode APS Amp Stands? Talk about a grand disturbance! Such are the pitfalls of the empiricist grappling with the logic of the... Read More »

Despite the virtual disappearance of EMI Classics as a separate label—having been swallowed into the Warner Music combine—Mariss Jansons's inconsistent but always interesting Shostakovich cycle remains worth examining. (Besides, with online and secondhand shops largely having replaced the big music chains as retail sources, the nominal "availability" of this or that item has become moot:... Read More »

The 20 songs I played a lot more than other songs this year, in alphabetical-artist-order, that were released in 2015 and that ended up on a list I made at the end of the year in 2015… Action Bronson – Mr. Wonderful "Baby Blue" Action Bronson takes himself, and his music, juuuusssttt seriously enough to... Read More »

Never in my wildest imagination did I ever foresee myself facing a mountain of reel-to-reel tapes to review in 2015. Sure, some of the backlog is directly traceable to summer AC problems that halted my reviewing for over two months. At the same time, however, it's also an indication of just how many new companies... Read More »

(Image courtesy of Zesto Audio) Introduced at RMAF in October by Zesto Audio, these new powerhouse mono-blocks have the Zesto signature house sound, which is nearly nothing at all. It also has enough power from tubes to be an amplifier solution to any and all speakers I know of, with extraordinary results. If you loved... Read More »

I am a huge fan of Integrated Amplifiers. I am a firm believer that less is more.  Fewer boxes, cables and resonance control devices is a big plus in my book. Past reviews for models from Vitus, D'Agostino, Pass Labs, Simaudio, BMC, Marantz and more have established several reference standards for sound quality—even when compared... Read More »

Back in the early days of digital-to-analog conversion, I bought one of the first commercially available (for consumers) DACs, a Threshold. I felt the results it yielded were pretty impressive, lifting CD playback to a much more enjoyable and listenable level. My predominantly analog system at that time included electronics by Classe, Magneplanar speakers, dual... Read More »

Few audio companies can lay claim to as rich and storied a legacy as that possessed by JansZen Loudspeaker Ltd. Arthur A. Janszen is credited with the invention of the first practical electrostatic loudspeaker, and in 1954, was awarded a patent for his design. Over the course of the next three decades, Janszen developed numerous... Read More »

Analysis Plus was established in 1993 with a unique perspective in the cable market. Proprietary computer modeling had shown that hollow oval shaped conductors performed better than any other form or geometry. Think of the shape of a new pair of socks in their flat packaging and you'll understand hollow ovals. Currently, Analysis Plus makes... Read More »

Audio cables seem to induce more fractious behaviour among audiophiles than virtually any other component of the hifi chain. The two camps comprise the hardcore objectivist, who demands rigorous scientific evidence and the subjectivist who is merely happy to report what they hear. I don't wish to dwell on this age-old debate; instead I wish... Read More »

So there I was checking my email, and I saw that I had a message from Dave Clark asking if I was interested in reviewing some Mojo Audio gear. As I read down the email, I could see that Benjamin Zwickel has personally asked for me to review his digital gear. The first thought that... Read More »

Schubert Quintet LIve!  A Live Recording of the Schubert's cello quintet by the Brentano Quartet with Michael Kammen. Azica Records. ACD 17304.  Whenever I forget what suavity is, I listen to the Brentano Quartet to remind myself. The Brentanos employ suavity to evoke the 'classic' quality of Mozart, Beethoven, and here, Schubert. They are not... Read More »

These are interesting pieces to have to write about in my first for Positive Feedback. When I picked them up, Dave, who hadn't heard them, said something like, "You may not like them and if so, then just don't write about them."  But I didn't think that; I wasn't expecting miracles, but I nearly got... Read More »

Pass Labs is on a roll. The new Xs lineup that includes the Xs Preamplifier ($38,000) and Xs-300 Monoblock Amplifiers ($85,000) has been receiving rave reviews worldwide. Definitely considered state of the art contenders by even the most discerning critics. Bottom line, my short time with them in my system was a revelation. Now we... Read More »