Inspired Excellence

Dmitri Shostakovich - The Symphonies: Symphony 4
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln / Dmitrij Kitajenko
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,80 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,12 GB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Capriccio # SACD71-032 | Country/Year: Germany 2005
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Contemporary

"Rapidly shifting moods in I are captured well, and with great power when needed. II is great; the central fugue has never been this clear before, and the percussion at the end is appropriately chilling. III is powerful, and eerie at the end, better than Gergiev's." ~SA-CD.net

Dmitri Shostakovich - The Symphonies: Symphonies 6, 7 & 9
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln / Dmitrij Kitajenko
2xSACD | ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,92 & 3,49 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,14 & 1,01 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Capriccio # SACD71-033/34 | Country/Year: Germany 2005 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Contemporary

"Amazing dark, deep, rich string sound. Virtuosic wind playing throughout. Opening Largo slower than usual but intense all the way through. Soft gong strokes toward the end of i are superbly recorded. In all, the best I've heard, easily better than Fedoseev. (Symphony 6)" ~SA-CD.net

Landscapes Through Time with David Dunlop is a unique, lively and entertaining 13 half-hour high definition television series on art and painting that was broadcast nationally on PBS beginning in June, 2008. Our series provides a unique blend of art, history, travel, science, philosophy, and painting technique as David Dunlop uses his entertaining, integrative approach to make the artists and their art come alive – for the artist and the general viewer as well. This series offers entirely new and exciting television format for art and art history – the next generation of arts programming! We were thrilled that our unique, new format has received the television industry’s highest broadcast honors - an 2009 Emmy® Award and a CINE Golden Eagle Award for excellence in Film and Television Production.

Dmitri Shostakovich - The Symphonies: Symphony 11
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln / Dmitrij Kitajenko
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,62 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,07 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Capriccio # SACD71-036 | Country/Year: Germany 2005 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Contemporary

"Beautiful, full rich string sound, and great sound overall. I is fantastic. II is slightly slower than I prefer (about 4'30"), but Kitajenko does very well with it, sustaining tension throughout. III is terrific; you can hear and feel the soft percussion toward the end. IV again has a slightly slower basic tempo than usual, but tension is sustained throughout, and the playing responsive." ~sa-cd.net

Baroque powerhouse Domenico Scarlatti – son of the great Alessandro Scarlatti and born in 1685, the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and George Friderich Handel – wrote an enormous 555 keyboard sonatas. These were mostly to be performed on the harpsichord, although several sources suggest that he may have also written some for the fortepiano at the Spanish court, where he was employed from 1733. The universal appeal of these sonatas – containing Scarlatti’s trademark influence of Iberian folk music and dances – is such that they have been pushed beyond the boundaries of the intended instrument, and thus the recording also boasts performances of selected sonatas on the harp and accordion, bringing these wonderful sonatas into the 21st century.