Mort Herbert

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.

Avec ce Demi-tour, Herbert réécrit l’histoire de la plus belle façon, conjuguant au présent, et en rythme, cinq titres déjà publiés dans son premier album sorti en 1967. Une relecture sur des arrangements de pur rhythm’n’blues, « pas le R’n’B d’aujourd’hui ! » prévient Herbert.

Alberic Magnard - Alain Meunier, Philippe Guilhon-Herbert - Une Mort Mythique (2014) {Hortus}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 247 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 168 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 150 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Hortus | HORTUS 701
Classical / Romantic / Chamber Music / Cello

This Magnard re-issue on the French label Hortus originally appeared in 2012 (review). It is now repackaged as volume 1 in the series Les Musiciens et la Grande Guerre (Musicians and the Great War) titled Une Mort Mythique (A Legendary Death). Magnard’s Cello Sonata is the primary attraction with the remainder given over to the composer’s complete output for solo piano which takes around forty-four minutes in total. A Parisian by birth Magnard was born into a wealthy family with a privileged upbringing. A pupil at the Conservatoire de Paris Magnard studied under Jules Massenet and Vincent D’Indy. Magnard became a national hero who was tragically shot and burnt to death defending his house from the invading Germans.

In the spring of 1959, when Louis Armstrong took the stage in Belgium to play the concert captured on this DVD, he had much to smile about. The irrepressible trumpeter and singer had cut his first records with King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band some thirty-six years earlier. In the interim, he had completely redefined the possibilities of both instrumental jazz and popular singing. His concept of what it meant to swing had become the very essence of jazz rhythm, and his ceaseless ability to create coherent melodic improvisations over a given set of chord changes had reconstructed the very nature of the jazz ensemble.

With this original jackets’ box set Deutsche Grammophon concludes its series of 4 grand sets that present almost the totality of Herbert von Karajan’s output for the Yellow Label – and hence perhaps the most magnificent legacy in the history of recorded music. On 70 CDs “KARAJAN – THE OPERA RECORDINGS” features the 14 operas Karajan recorded for DGG – from “Carmen” to “Parsifal”, from “The Merry Widow” to “Rosenkavalier”, from Mozart to Puccini. And, of course, the complete “Ring”.

Le 21 août 1958, Karajan dirige à Salzbourg les Wiener Philharmoniker et un quatuor de solistes trié sur le volet dans la grand-messe verdienne. La bande de cette soirée mémorable était devenue quasi introuvable : Diapason vous la rend.

Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - The Great Summit Complete Sessions (1961) {2CD Ron McMaster 24-bit Deluxe Edition}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 739 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 296 Mb
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© 1961, 2000 Roulette Jazz / EMI | 7243 5 24546 2 4
Jazz / Mainstream Jazz

Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington were (and are) two of the main stems of jazz. Any way you look at it, just about everything that's ever happened in this music leads directly – or indirectly – back to them. Both men were born on the cusp of the 19th and 20th centuries, and each became established as a leader during the middle '20s. Although their paths had crossed from time to time over the years, nobody in the entertainment industry had ever managed to get Armstrong and Ellington into a recording studio to make an album together. On April 3, 1961, producer Bob Thiele achieved what should be regarded as one of his greatest accomplishments; he organized and supervised a seven-and-a-half-hour session at RCA Victor's Studio One on East 24th Street in Manhattan, using a sextet combining Duke Ellington with Louis Armstrong & His All-Stars.