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I was a bit breathless. My friend and spiritual colleague David Robinson had invited me to sketch and cover a uniquely intriguing event at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium on Sunday, July 12, 2015. To kick off the Golandsky Institute’s summer series, noted pianist Ilya Itin was slated to perform the music of Scriabin and Rachmaninov.... Read More »

Grieg. Peer Gynt Suites. Six Orchestral Songs. Orchestra: Malmo Symphony. Conductor: Bjarte Engeset. Recording: Naxos CD8-570236 These Peer Gynt suites are the heart and soul of Grieg's incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play of the same name. This beautiful and very impressively melodic music is one of my personal favorites of all time. The immense... Read More »

For more than two decades I've been a fan of vibraphonist/pianist/band leader Ruben Estrada, whose lyrical delicacy and musical intensity define, and extend,the profound artistic heritage he absorbed on his way to Number One world class Latin jazz vibe and timbales guru. Estrada is an enormously modest man. His pride in his playing and his... Read More »

In Search of a Perfect Song… I recently republished that old article because I've had further opportunity to explore the concept. I began that article with a lesson about the difference between opinion and fact. Again I will remind you that this is my opinion of what makes a song perfect. Naturally, if you have... Read More »

This article was originally published in Issue 26 of Positive Feedback. I decided to republish it because I've gotten the bug to write another article with some more perfect songs. Back when I wrote this article it seemed like I was a topic for discussion on message boards. I was everyone's favorite target because I... Read More »

If you love DSD downloads as much as I do, but haven't yet heard of High Definition Tape Transfers, then brother, let me do you a big favor. Some of the best DSD downloads now available in classical music and jazz are coming from Bob Witrak and his operation over at HDTT. Possessed of a... Read More »

Singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett cites a poster hanging in her Grandmother's bathroom when she was a child as inspiration for the title of her first full-length album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (Mom+Pop Records MP221-2). Distilling the mundane into lyrical profundity extends beyond just the titular for Barnett, whose songs on... Read More »

Sagebrush Rebellion Papillon Recordings  BluePort Jazz, BPJ-024 Producer: Dmitri Matheny Recording Engineer: Jim Merod Mastered by: Jim Merod and Steve McCormack Recorded Live at Dizzy's in San Diego, CA, 11/29/13  [Image courtesy of Dmitri Matheny and BluPort Jazz] Dedicated to the artistry of Art Farmer, four stellar jazz musicians (Dmitri Matheny on flugelhorn, Nick Manson playing piano,... Read More »

Bartok. Sonatas for Violin Nos. 1 and 2; Sonata for Solo Violin. Barnabás Kelemen, violin; Zoltán Kocsis, piano. Hungaroton HSACD 32515. SACD. How do you like your Bartok? Do you like Bartok? It took me several years to persuade a good fellow graduate student (who knew a lot about music) to believe me when I... Read More »

Dan Schmalle, Paul Stubblebine and Mike Romanowski, aka The Tape Project's tres amigos, are more than anyone else responsible for putting the reels back in motion. When my first Tape Project piece appeared in the virtual pages of PF some six years ago now (Issue 46), these folks were the only game in town; today... Read More »

Style of the work of Czesław Niemen is very heterogenic. It covers big-beat, progressive work, rock with jazz elements, blues-rock, avant-garde, and electronic music—you will find all these elements in his works. The period from 1967, the year of his debut album Dziwny jest ten świat… till 2001 was the most interesting period in popular... Read More »

The four composers represented in this overview and the accompanying album, all wrote music in a variety of styles and for many different types of ensembles. This broad spectrum of styles is a consequence of the four composers choosing to work within and to develop traditional formats and techniques, while at the same time mastering... Read More »

Jennifer Koh, Bach and Beyond 2. Solo Violin Sonatas by Bach, Bartok, and Saariaho. Jennifer Koh, violin. Çedille 90000-154. Nobody plays Bach better than Jennifer Koh. As I've written before, I heard her play the Partita No. 2 live in Amherst College's Buckley Recital Hall several years ago and at the time it felt as... Read More »

Here is a band that changed the way I view Neanderthals. Most people might see a caveman, or a Neanderthal, and instinctively see the old Geico commercials run through their mind. This is clearly not the case with Fartbarf. They are wild, energetic, comedic, brazen, outlandish, and enthralling to see live. Josh McLeod, Dan Burley,... Read More »

Dmitri Shostakovich, arranged Rudolph Barshai. Chamber Symphonies. The Dmitri Ensemble, Graham Ross. Harmonia Mundi HMU 907634. These are three of Shostakovich's string quartets arranged for chamber orchestra by a student, friend, and close associate of the composer. Only one of them, the arrangement of Quartet No. 8, has gotten much attention before now. I have... Read More »

SCHUBERT: Allegro moderato and Andante, D. 968; 4 Ländler, D. 814; German Dance with 2 Trios and 2 Ländler, D. 618; Introduction and Variations on an Original Theme in B-flat, D. 968A; Eight Variations on a French Song in E minor, D. 624; Fantasia in F minor, D. 940 Marco Schiavo and Sergio Marchegiani, pianos.... Read More »

Nigel Armstrong, Nigel Armstrong: Bach, Bartók, Korngold. Featuring Sir Neville Mariner and the Colburn Orchestra. Native DSD Catalog number YAR65007DSD This Yarlung Records recording is simply entitled Nigel Armstrong. Armstrong is a young and dynamic artist, exactly fitting the rising stars captured by the Yarlung label. With a varied repertoire of Bartok, Bach, and Korngold,... Read More »

Belafonte at Carnegie Hall: The Complete Concert Photo: Courtesy of Acoustic Sounds Sometimes, the best things are worth waiting for. That's certainly the case with this week's long-awaited release of the Living Stereo album Belafonte at Carnegie Hall: The Complete Concert in 3 Channel SACD Stereo on the Analogue Productions label. I'm sure that most... Read More »

Dean Martin, Dream with Dean: The Intimate Dean Martin Analogue Productions, QRP 200 gram LP, stereo, 45 RPM (2 LP set), USD $50 You know, it really isn't fair. There I was. Just getting over my blood-pressure-wrecking pleasure over the brilliant Analogue Productions release of Duke Ellington's Masterpieces by Ellington (as reviewed HERE). Just getting... Read More »