Naxos intend to record Vivaldi’s entire orchestral corpus, and Raphael Wallfisch’s integral four-disc survey of the 27 cello concertos inaugurates this visionary, though plainly Herculean undertaking. Soloist and orchestra employ modern instruments; director Nicholas Kraemer contends that authentic protocols can be ably met by contemporary ensembles and, in articulation, style and ornamentation, these pristine, engaging readings have little to fear from period practitioners. Wallfisch’s pointed, erudite and spirited playing is supported with enlightened restraint by the CLS, directed from either harpsichord or chamber organ by Kraemer, whose sensitive continuo team merits high praise throughout. Without exception, these Concertos adopt an orthodox fast-slow-fast three-movement format. Wallfisch, dutifully observant in matters of textual fidelity, plays outer movements with verve, energy and lucidity, such that high-register passagework, an omnipresent feature of these works, is enunciated with the pin-sharp focus of Canaletto’s images of 18th-century Venice, which adorn the covers of these issues.
Jimmy Griffin, co-founder of the soft rock super group "BREAD", who's hits "Baby I'm A Want You", "Guitar Man", "Make It With You", "If", "Diary", "Aubrey" "It Don't Matter To Me", and "Sweet Surrender". This CD set gives you an in-depth look at Griffin’s masterful song writing, incredible vocals, and impeccable musicianship. Wraysong Records has been working for years to collect the music of Jimmy Griffin. Martha Griffin gave long time friend Ray Chafin all the recorded material from Jimmy's archives, and Ray has worked diligently to restore and re-master every one, so that he can now share Jimmy's mostly unheard, and some unreleased music with you!
It is all too easy to take Gustav Mahler's symphonies and orchestral songs for granted in the 21st century's first decade. More than ever before, concert performances and recordings of these works abound, and at a level of proficiency that reveals the remarkable extent to which musicians worldwide have assimilated the composer's idiom. Given the music's primacy in today's central orchestral repertoire, we forget how the great Mahler advocates of the past had to champion his music in the face of adversity. "Who can bear those monstrous symphonies, those over-blown, out-of-date horrors," asked one leading music critic when the New York Philharmonic launched a Mahler Festival to celebrate the composer's 1960 centenary.
Dutch rock band the Cats were popular during the late '60s and early '70s, releasing a bunch of English-language hits and full-length albums during this peak period. Founded in the mid-'60s in Volendam, the Netherlands, the band was comprised of Cees Veerman (vocals, guitar; born October 6, 1943), Piet Veerman (vocals, guitar; born March 1, 1943), Jaap Schilder (guitar, piano; born January 9, 1943), Arnold Muhren (bass; born January 28, 1944), and Theo Klouwer (drums; born June 30, 1947). the Cats made their album debut in 1967 with Cats as Cats Can, and at least one new album followed each year until the swan song release The End of the Show (1980).
I've been listening to Brandenburgs non-stop for the past three weeks, for some reason. I love the Ristenpart recording, and I like the Britten version even better in some ways. This Baumgartner recording has a certain elegance. The pace is a tad slower and the ambience a bit thicker. The second movement of the first Brandenburg hits that emotional place a bit better than in the Britten version. I would be hard pressed to say which I prefer overall, but on first listening I sure loved this recording.