Leading Lightly

Music is a universal language. It transcends linguistic and (most) cultural borders. Yet it is not nationless or without idiosyncrasies determined by place and local culture. There are, therefore, instruments which are more closely associated with a particular place than with another. This does not apply just to folk instruments (as the Scottish bagpipes, the Spanish guitar, or the Russian balalaika, to name but few) but also to instruments which are fully part of the “international” musical panorama and of the Classical Symphony Orchestra. Thus, the violin is by no means a “local” instrument; yet, there is a closeness between Hungarian/gipsy music and the violin which is lacking elsewhere. Similarly, the flute is as universal an instrument as there can be (it is probably the most common instrument in all epochs and cultures), but it has a privileged relationship with France.

Despite the obvious advantage of hearing Beverly Sills in one of her celebrated Three Queens roles, for many opera aficionados there will be an almost equal attraction in being able to hear Eileen Farrell as Elisabetta. She was an under-recorded artist who curtailed her opera career early and there is a special thrill in haring her huge, slightly unwieldy dramatic soprano negotiate Donizetti's florid lines. Her voice obviously contrasts strongly with Sills' lyric coloratura soprano and even though I prefer the great mezzo Dame Janet Baker above all as the doomed Mary Stewart, as long as there is sufficient contrast between the two queens the drama works..

Tchaikovsky's four suites for orchestra don't have the structural heft or the emotional impact of his seven symphonies, but they are lovely. For the listener who savors the Russian composer's specific sound world but is not in the mood for being emotionally overtaxed, these suites are just the thing. The first two are collections of character pieces, the First with its Divertimento and Intermezzo, the Second with its Valse and Danse baroque. The later two are more substantial, the Third with its extended series of Variations, and the Fourth with its heartfelt homages to Mozart. This is ideal light Tchaikovsky.
– James Leonard, AllMusic.com

Max Roach & Mal Waldron - Explorations …To The Mth Degree (1995) {2CD Set, Slam Productions SLAMCD505 rel 1999}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 676 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 273 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 11 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1995, 1999 Slam Productions | SLAMCD 505
Jazz / Modal Music / Post Bop / Hard Bop / Modern Creative / Drums / Piano

Live recording of two jazz legends Max Roach (drums) and Mal Waldron (piano), at the concert held to celebrate Mal Waldron's 70th birthday. Recorded at the Desingel Arts Centre, Antwerp, Belgium, 20 September 1995. Featuring a comfortable duo between one of the kings of bebop, Max Roach, and master genre-bender Mal Waldron, this two-CD set contains a complete concert in honor of the pianist's 70th birthday. (Actually, there is also a bonus track of a cut recorded before the concert.) The 30 pieces are mostly fully improvised and flow into one another flawlessly.