"benjamin S Bauer"

Benjamin Godard - Trio Parnassus - Complete Piano Trios
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 235 MB | Full Artwork: 83 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Gold" # 303 1615-2 | Country/Year: Germany 2010
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Piano Trio

"…The pianist, Chia Chou, deserves particular praise for his wide dynamic and tonal range: the arpeggiated patterns suggest reserves of tonal weight; elsewhere he articulates individual notes with a delicate, crystalline ping. Clear, warm, and appealing sound reproduction further enhances the proceedings. Enthusiastically recommended, particularly to devotees of the French Romantics." ~musicweb-international

Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934 and formerly known as Dollar Brand) is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cape Town, ranging from traditional African songs to the gospel of the AME Church and ragas, to more modern jazz and other Western styles. Ibrahim is considered the leading figure in the subgenre Cape jazz.

Adolph Henselt - Piano Trio, Duo, Variations
Claudius Tanski / Benjamin Schmid / Clemens Hagen / Vincent Levesque
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 331 MB | Full Artwork: 134 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Gold, Edition IME" # 312 1022-2 | Country/Year: Germany 2000
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Piano

…Tanski’s talent makes the Variations de Concert an enjoyable closer. In this, the aria “Io son ricco e tu sei bella” from Donizetti’s Elisire d’Amore is given the usual 19th century virtuoso treatment by Henselt, but Tanski never gives in to flash. He evokes a broad range of emotions, always managing to keep things from becoming kitsch. By himself, Tanski is worthy of a warm recommendation…

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy - Elias: Oratorio on words of the Old Testament op. 70
Das Neue Orchester / Chorus Musicus Köln / Christoph Spering
2xCD | EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 556 MB | Full Artwork: 203 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Live" # 602 1656-2 | Country/Year: Germany 2010
Genre: Classical | Style: Oratorio, Sacred, Romantic

…And, in fact, Elias has rarely been performed with greater respect for the original than it is here under the conductor Christoph Spering, who has recorded this “sacred opera” with his New Orchestra and the Chorus Musicus Köln in Essen’s Philharmonic Hall with the composer’s “dramatic ideal” fully in mind and heart. (…) The result was in fact an oratorio in opera form and a wealth of dramaturgical elements that absolutely enthralled the public. Fresh Interpretation Just as the composer would have wanted it, Christoph Spering has selected a full chorus and a magnificently dimensioned orchestra for this recording. The New Orchestra performs on historical instruments and in the two years since its founding has gained renown as an outstanding interpreter of the music of the romantic era. (…) Brisk tempos, sharp delineation, powerful expression, and interpretive freshness are the hallmarks of this new discovery for the MDG Live label.

Anton Bruckner - Symphony No. 8 WAB 108 (Version 1890) in C minor
Beethoven Orchester Bonn / Stefan Blunier
2xSACD | SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 4,62 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,34 | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: MDG "Live" # 937 1713-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2011 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Orchestral

"Even though Stefan Blunier's 2011 recording of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor is a lot to digest, timed at over 88 minutes and stretched almost to the breaking point, this is a deeply compelling performance and an impressive recording that deserves all the time listeners devote to it. (…) MDG's natural, unprocessed sound is a great aid to capturing the orchestra's subtle dynamics, and the live recording has very few extraneous sounds. Highly recommended." ~AMG