RR Radio will feature one full track from each of our new releases, added after each album is released. RR Radio will also bring you a full track from a featured release from Reference Recordings' 30+ year history. RR Radio will stay fresh, and will rotate tracks in and out as we go on, so make sure you’re listening often!

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Music: “Allegro” from Symphony No. 6 in G minor
Composer: Charles-Marie Widor
Artist: Jan Kraybill
Album: Organ Polychrome: The French School
Instrument: The Julia Irene Kauffman Organ, Casavant Freres Op. 3875, 2011
Venue: Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City, Missouri

Premiere Solo Recording - The Julia Irene Kauffman Organ, Casavant Freres Opus 3875, 2011 - This program of French masterworks was designed to showcase all the colors and nuances of this outstanding new instrument. Florent Schmitt: Prière (Prelude in G minor), Op.11 (1899). Gorgeous HDCD sonics by Grammy-winning engineer Keith Johnson will thrill organ music lovers and audiophiles of all persuasions, especially those with powerful subwoofers!

Reference Recordings is proud to offer these brilliant performances by the organist who knows this instrument best, Jan Kraybill. She regularly plays and oversees the care of the three largest pipe organs in the Kansas City metro area: the Community of Christ Auditorium's 113-rank Aeolian-Skinner (installed in 1959) and Temple's 102-rank Casavant (1993), and the 102-rank Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant (2011) at the Kauffman Center's Helzberg Hall.

At the Kauffman Center, she performs and hosts guest organists in both solo and collaborative musical events, including regular appearances with a major tenant of the Center, the Kansas City Symphony and Chorus. As a junior in high school in Colby, Kansas, Jan Kraybill performed her first European piano recital in Andover, England. She earned education and piano performance degrees from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, and her doctorate in organ performance is from the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In 2010 she earned the Fellow certificate from the American Guild of Organists, the highest certification available for organists. Dr. Kraybill maintains an active concert career, having appeared as a soloist and collaborative artist throughout the United States and in Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Russia, South Korea, and Tahiti; she has been featured at regional and national conventions of the AGO and other musicians'
organizations. She has recorded three solo CDs on Community of Christ's instruments, and this disc is the first on the Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant.

ORGAN POLYCHROME — Widor: Allegro from Symphony No. 6 in G minor

Music: Valse-Caprice in A-flat Major, Op. 76 ("Wedding Cake")
Composer: Camille Saint-Saëns
Artists: Joel Fan, piano; Northwest Sinfonietta; Christophe Chagnard, director
Album: Joel Fan: Dances for Piano and Orchestra

Pre-Order on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1yCcoKk
http://www.referencerecordings.com

Pianist Joel Fan is one of the most dynamic and accomplished musicians performing before the public today! He is consistently acclaimed for his recitals, recordings, and appearances with orchestras throughout the world. His concerts attract a wide range of audiences, as he has eagerly embraced traditional piano literature as well as an eclectic range of repertoire, including new music commissioned especially for him, world music, and his own transcriptions. Joel Fan is recognized for his work with cellist Yo-Yo Ma as a member of the Silk Road Ensemble, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and on the television programs Good Morning America and Late Night with David Letterman. Fan has also collaborated with numerous other ensembles, including the Shanghai Quartet, Imani Winds, and A Far Cry. Mr. Fan's engaging personality, technical assurance, lyricism, and sheer musicality win over audiences wherever he performs. This release follows two outstanding solo albums on Reference Recordings: RR-106 World Keys and RR-119 West of the Sun.

This CD is Northwest Sinfonietta’s first release with Reference Recordings, and to quote them: they are “thrilled and honored with their collaboration with long-time partner and phenomenal pianist Joel Fan.”  

Northwest Sinfonietta, under the leadership of Founding Music Director Christophe Chagnard, is a vital part of the Pacific Northwest cultural scene and is recognized for its extraordinary performances, innovative programming and collaborations.

Since its first performance in December 1991 honoring the bicentennial  of Mozart’s death, Northwest Sinfonietta has held a unique place as the region’s only professional chamber orchestra. In 2012 and 2013, Chagnard led the orchestra on tours to Cuba as only the third professional American orchestra to visit Cuba since the 1959 revolution.  After 24 years at the helm, Maestro Chagnard will step down in 2015. Northwest Sinfonietta will become the fourth professional chamber orchestra in the world to adopt its new Artistic Partner Leadership model. Northwest Sinfonietta is excited for the time of transition and growth and will celebrate its 25th season—and Mozart’s 250th birthday—with an electrifying mix of special guest artists and new leadership.

----TRACK LISTING
1  Gabriel Pierné: Fantaisie-Ballet, Op. 6  11:33
2  Ricardo Castro Herrera: Vals Capricho, Op. 1  7:57
3  Fryderyk Chopin: Krakowiak in F Major, Op. 14  13:57
4  Camille Saint-Saëns: 
Valse-Caprice in A-flat Major (“Wedding Cake”), Op. 76  6:20
5  Carl Maria von Weber / Liszt: Polonaise Brillante, Op. 72 (S.367)  9:53
6  Louis Moreau Gottschalk / Kay: Grand Tarantelle, Op. 67   8:09
7  Charles Wakefield Cadman: 
Dark Dancers of the Mardi Gras (Fantasy for Orchestra with Piano)  11:08
Northwest Sinfonietta
Christophe Chagnard, Music Director


Saint-Saëns: Valse-Caprice in A-flat Major ("Wedding Cake"), Op. 76

Music: “Picture Etudes” for Solo Piano: Three Pierrots
Composer: Adam Schoenberg
Artist: Nadia Shpachenko
Album: Woman at the New Piano: American Music of 2013
Label: FRESH! From Reference Recordings
Street Date: November 11, 2014

http://referencerecordings.com
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1BWsdYL

World Premiere recordings of new works for piano, chamber instruments and electronics from 4 notable modern composers: Tom Flaherty, James Matheson, Adam Schoenberg, and Peter Yates

Featuring Nadia Shpachenko-Gottesman: piano, percussion;
with Genevieve Feiwen Lee: piano, toy piano, electronics

This innovative project of new compositions brings together piano repertoire representing the diversity of today’s American classical music. With sounds and textures both new and familiar, both tumultuous and contemplative, all the pieces touch on themes of transformation, of resonances across time, and of cycles of rebirth. The four composers present a snapshot of the many facets of piano music in 2013, the beginning of a new era of pianism.

Steinway Artist Nadia Shpachenko-Gottesman has performed extensively in solo recitals and with orchestras in major venues across North America, Europe and Asia. Described by critics as a "truly inspiring and brilliant pianist... spellbinding in sensitivity and mastery of technique," Nadia enjoys bringing into the world things that are outside the box – powerful pieces that often possess unusual sonic qualities or instrumentation. Nadia’s concert highlights include solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, as well as numerous appearances as a soloist with orchestras in Europe and the Americas. An enthusiastic promoter of contemporary music, she has been chosen to give world and national premieres of more than 50 works by Elliott Carter, George Crumb, Tom Flaherty, Annie Gosfield, Leon Kirchner, Amy Kirsten, Hannah Lash, James Matheson, Harold Meltzer, Adam Schoenberg, Lewis Spratlan, Iannis Xenakis, Peter Yates, and others. Winner of more than a dozen piano competitions, Nadia currently serves on the faculties of Cal Poly Pomona and Claremont Graduate Universities.

This album is produced by six-time GRAMMY® nominees Marina and Victor Ledin, engineered and edited by the uncompromising and innovative engineer, Barry Werger-Gottesman. Recorded at Pomona College, Claremont, California, July 11-14, 2013

FRESH! is part of Reference Recordings’ mission to encourage new artists and give them a strong platform for promotion and sales nationally and internationally.

Adam Schoenberg: Picture Etudes for Solo Piano: Three Pierrots

Music: Excerpts from “Nothin' 'Bout Me”, “IONO”, and “She Lies Herself to Sleep”
Artist: Robert Moore
Album: Outta My Soul
Label: FRESH! From Reference Recordings
Street Date: November 11, 2014

http://referencerecordings.com
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1wszyjb

Outta My Soul leaves one moved in head, heart, hand and hind...” —Tim DuRoche

New to our Fresh! series is Robert Moore, jazz vocalist, composer, trumpet and harmonica player based in Portland. He has evolved a sound uniquely his own, mixing his Southern roots, influences of soul and gospel into his own distinct interpretations of bebop and swinging jazz.

Outta My Soul showcases six originals and six compositions from diverse writers including Frank Loesser, Sting, Gene Ammons and King Pleasure — one instrumental and eleven vocals from delicate to scat to blues proclamation. There’s even a Ken Nordine-esque spoken ‘word jazz’ number.

Produced by Robert and recorded in high-res digital by innovative engineer Bob Stark, the album combines creative arrangements and outstanding performances by many of Portland's best musicians in a wide variety of settings from two to twelve.

Moore started his singing career in a Southern Baptist church, and that early heartfelt gospel truth can still be heard in the soulful delivery of his music. 

After stints as a public schools music teacher, he began his performance career, settling in Birmingham, Alabama. After 25 years there, he moved his scene to Portland, Oregon, finding a home and a following among the knowing jazz fans of that musically sophisticated city. 

His music has steadily grown in depth, passion and honesty during his 60 years on the planet. Robert’s well-seasoned, finely-honed chops on vocals, trumpet, and harmonica are bringing joy to a wider audience than ever. 

“Robert Moore is a vintage Jazz hipster and possibly the coolest one in town. A singer, a trumpeter and a composer who has a maverick streak and takes no mess. This honesty and willingness to speak his mind has not endeared him to everyone in the music biz...but it has to music fans.” —Tom D'Antoni, Oregon Music News

FRESH! is part of Reference Recordings’ mission to encourage new artists and give them a strong platform for promotion and sales nationally and internationally.


Robert Moore: Outta My Soul

Music: Symphony No. 4 — I. Bewegt, nicht zu schnell (excerpt)
Composer: Anton Bruckner
Artists: Manfred Honeck, conductor; Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra;
Album: Bruckner: Symphony No. 4

FR-713SACD 
Street Date: February 10, 2015

http://referencerecordings.com
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1xYpe5A

Thrilling live performances from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, in brilliant audiophile sound!

Anton Bruckner is known as a deeply religious composer whose Catholic spirituality is prominent in his music, particularly his later symphonies. However, his Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major (“Romantic”) is one of his most secular, most influenced by nature and most popular works. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Manfred Honeck offer a bold new interpretation of this great music, breaking Bruckner out of the strictly interpreted box in which he is often placed. Here, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Honeck present the 1878/80 version, the same version that was used for the symphony’s premiere in 1881.

This release is the third in the highly acclaimed “Pittsburgh Live!” series of multi-channel hybrid SACD releases on the FRESH! Series from Reference Recordings. The previous release, “Dvořák/Janaček” (FR-710SACD), has received a Grammy® nomination along with numerous critical accolades.

For more than 119 years, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has been known for its artistic excellence, a rich history of the world’s finest conductors and musicians, and a strong commitment to the Pittsburgh region and its citizens. Past music directors have included many of the greats, including Fritz Reiner (1938-1948), William Steinberg (1952-1976), Andre Previn (1976-1984), Lorin Maazel (1984-1996) and Mariss Jansons (1995-2004). This tradition of outstanding international music directors was furthered in fall 2008, when Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck became music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony.

The orchestra has been at the forefront of championing new American works, and gave the first performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1 “Jeremiah” in 1944.  The Pittsburgh Symphony has a long and illustrious history in the areas of recordings and radio concerts. As early as 1936, the Pittsburgh Symphony broadcast on the airwaves coast-to-coast and in the late 1970s it made the groundbreaking PBS series “Previn and the Pittsburgh.”  The orchestra has received increased national attention since 1982 through network radio broadcasts on Public Radio International, produced by Classical WQED-FM 89.3, which are made possible by the musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

This release and the entire “Pittsburgh Live!” series are recorded and mastered by the team at Soundmirror, whose outstanding orchestral, solo, opera and chamber recordings have received more than 70 Grammy nominations and awards! Soundmirror has recorded for every major classical record label, now including Reference Recordings.

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 — I. Bewegt, nicht zu schnell (excerpt)

Jerry Junkin conducts The University of Texas Wind Ensemble
Excerpts from (in order):
Dan Welcher: Spumante
Donald Grantham: Jai Été Au Bal
Frank Ticheli: Concerto for Clarinet (Nathan Williams, Clarinet)
John Mackey: Wine Dark Sea: Symphony for Band (World Premiere Recording)
Album: Wine Dark Sea
Label: Reference Recordings
Available March 11, 2016
Pre-Order: http://amzn.to/1OCcGGk

The University of Texas Wind Ensemble has firmly established itself as one of America's elite wind bands

Active in the area of commissioning new music since 1988, the group has offered world premiere performances of works by many composers including John Corigliano, Michael Daugherty, Donald Grantham, David Maslanka, and Dan Welcher. One of the guiding principles of the ensemble is contact with the leading musical minds of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

JERRY JUNKIN conducts The Universiy of Texas Wind Ensemble, and is also the Artistic Director and Conductor of The Dallas Winds, and Music Director and Conductor of the Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia. Reference Recordings is proud to have released 9 albums conducted by Jerry Junkin.

Four outstanding wind band composers are represented on this album. The title piece by JOHN MACKEY, Wine Dark Sea, is the world premiere recording of this important new work. Commissioned by the UTWE for the 100th Anniversary of The Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music, it has been performed in front of ecstatic audiences and received raves around the world. Reference Recordings is proud to present it alongside important works by DAN WELCHER, DONALD GRANTHAM, and FRANK TICHELI. This is contemporary wind band music at its best, in extraordinary performances.

The repertoire on this new album was performed internationally by the UTWE on their 25 Day Around–the–World Tour in Summer 2014, then recorded in September 2014 by Reference Recordings’ GRAMMY®–award winning engineer Keith Johnson at Bates Recital Hall, The University of Texas.

Wine Dark Sea

Jerry Junkin & The University of Texas Wind Ensemble — Wine Dark Sea Sampler

Track: Danza del Soul - III. Celebraçion de Vida
Composer: Chris Brubeck
Artists: Concord Chamber Music Society

The Concord Chamber Music Society Premieres New Recordings

Brubeck, Gandolfi and Foss 
RR-122

The prestigious Concord Chamber Music Society, featuring musicians of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, mark their debut on Reference Recordings with two premiere recordings. These new works by Chris Brubeck and Michael Gandolfi, two of America's most-commissioned composers, are both accessible and adventurous. Rounding out the program, the Lukas Foss duo for violin and piano, Central Park Reel, hints cheerfully at a kind of musical twin bill. "Central Park" suggests a scene in New York but "Reel" hints at a characteristic dance often accompanied by a bluegrass band. Grammy award winning engineer "Prof." Keith Johnson did an outstanding job of recording this music in the superb natural acoustics of Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts. 

Concord Chamber Music Society: Chris Brubeck - Danza del Soul - III. Celebraçion de Vida

Music: Festival Fanfare
Artist: Dallas Wind Symphony
Composer: John Wasson
Album: Horns for the Holidays
Label: Reference Recordings

John Wasson's long musical career began as a pre-schooler, when he started picking out tunes on the family piano. He began arranging music for band when he was still in high school, and went on to become an accomplished arranger, composer, and performer. A Wasson work commissioned by the Dallas Wind Symphony, "Festival Fanfare for Christmas" offers the trumpet section an opportunity to step out with a series of intricate fanfares built from well-known Christmas melodies. Before the piece is over the rest of the brass have joined in, as well as Mary Preston on the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center's magnificent Lay Family organ.

Purchase at http://referencerecordings.com

Horns for the Holidays: Festival Fanfare (Wasson)

Music: Excerpt from Vocalise, Opus 34, No. 12 (arr for Piano Trio by Julius Conus)
Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff
Artists: Hermitage Piano Trio
Album: Hermitage Piano Trio: Rachmaninoff (RR-147)
Label: Reference Recordings
Available June 7, 2019
Order: https://referencerecordings.com/?p=13689

The Hermitage Piano Trio is distinguished by its exuberant musicality, interpretative range, and sumptuous sound—attributes that Reference Recordings expects to be highly appealing to music lovers and audiophiles worldwide. Following a recent performance, The Washington Post raved that “more striking even than the individual virtuosity was the profound level of integration among the players, who showed a rare degree of ensemble from beginning to end.” Based in the United States, the Trio excels at performing an enormous variety of music and has a wide repertoire ranging from Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, Arensky, Glinka, and Tchaikovsky to Schubert, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Dvořák, and Brahms.

This is their debut album as a trio. More albums with Reference Recordings are planned. Sessions were held at famed Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA, and were recorded by RR’s engineering team, comprised of GRAMMY®-­winning engineer and Technical Director Keith O. Johnson, and multi­-GRAMMY® nominated engineer Sean Royce Martin. The album was produced by the multi­-GRAMMY® nominated team, Marina and Victor Ledin.

A rarity in the chamber music world, this elite trio is comprised of three musicians who are noted soloists in their own right. In a career already spanning fifty countries on five continents, violinist Misha Keylin is attracting particular attention with his world­ premiere CD series of the seven Henri Vieuxtemps violin concertos. These best­selling recordings have garnered numerous press accolades and awards, including “Critic’s Choice” by The New York Times, Gramophone, and The Strad. Hailed as “a brilliant cellist” by the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich, Sergey Antonov went on to prove his mentor’s proclamation when he became one of the youngest cellists ever awarded the gold medal at the world’s premier musical contest, the quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Competition. Antonov’s entry into this elite stratum of sought­after classical artists has already placed him on stages at world­renowned venues from Russia’s Great Hall at the Moscow Conservatory to Suntory Hall in Tokyo. Pianist Ilya Kazantsev, a fresh and exciting presence on the international music scene and a passionate interpreter of his native Russian repertoire – hailed by The Washington Post as “virtually flawless”–has performed as recitalist and soloist with orchestras in Russia, Canada, Europe, and the United States. Among his many awards and honors, Mr. Kazantsev received first prize at the Nikolai Rubinstein International Competition (Paris) and a won the International Chopin Competition (Moscow) and the 2007 & 2008 World Piano Competitions (Cincinnati).

Hermitage Piano Trio: Rachmaninoff

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Rachmaninoff: Vocalise, Opus 34, No. 12, arr. Julius Conus (Excerpt)

Music: Asphalt Cocktail (Excerpt)
Composer: John Mackey
Artists: Dallas Winds; Jerry Junkin, conductor; Christopher Martin, trumpet;
Album: Asphalt Cocktail: The Music of John Mackey (RR-144)
Label: Reference Recordings
Available June 21, 2019
Order: https://referencerecordings.com/recording/asphalt-cocktail-john-mackey/

Brilliant performances by THE DALLAS WINDS have been captured in superb audiophile sound by Reference Recordings’ award-winning engineering team: Keith O. Johnson and Sean Martin. ASPHALT COCKTAIL was crowd-funded by fans of Mackey and of the Dallas Winds. Their support made this unique, all-John- Mackey release possible. The recording was made in Dallas Texas, in the Morton H. Meyerson Concert Center, one of the world’s greatest concert halls.

Mackey is one of today’s most popular and sought- after composers of contemporary classical music, with an emphasis on wind band and orchestral music. His music runs the gamut of human emotion, from the sublime to the ridiculous. One minute he offers the sound of ripping metal, then suddenly gives you a melody that's achingly beautiful. John always writes with a purpose, be it jostling you through the wildest Manhattan cab ride ever, or painting that ethereal hour just before sunset.

Special guest artist on ASPHALT COCKTAIL is Principal Trumpet of the New York Philharmonic, Christopher Martin, performing Mackey's recently written Antique Violences: Concerto for Trumpet. Also included is the World Premiere of This Cruel Moon based on the second movement of Mackey's Wine-Dark Sea: Symphony for Band.

Asphalt Cocktail

John Mackey: Asphalt Cocktail (Excerpt)

Music: Children of Adam: I. Walt Whitman, "From Pent-Up Aching Rivers" 
Composer: Mason Bates
Artists: Richmond Symphony; Richmond Symphony Chorus; Steven Smith, Conductor; Erin R. Freeman, Chorus Director
Album: Bates: Children of Adam; Vaughan Williams: Dona nobis pacem (FR-732)
Label: FRESH! From Reference Recordings
Available August 16, 2019 
Order Now: https://referencerecordings.com/?p=14101

Groundbreaking New Music from Mason Bates and the Richmond Symphony!

Reference Recordings is proud to present a World Première recording of MASON BATES: Children of Adam, songs of creation—commissioned by the Richmond Symphony—coupled with RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Dona nobis pacem. These pieces both draw inspiration from Walt Whitman’s poetry and this release celebrates his bicentennial (born 1819). Children of Adam is a collection of exuberant celebrations of creation, from American poets to sacred and Native American texts. The title comes from a Whitman poem that appears throughout the work in the form of brief “fanfare intermezzos.” Whitman’s celebrations of sensuality, considered provocative at the time, explore the connection of the body and the soul. Between these choral fanfares, each movement of the work offers a different perspective on creation.

These works are brilliantly performed by the Richmond Symphony conducted by Steven Smith, and the Richmond Symphony Chorus, Erin R. Freeman, Director. Solo performers on the Vaughan Williams are Michelle Areyzaga, soprano, and Kevin Deas, bass-­baritone. Recorded live at the Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Richmond Virginia; engineered by Ed Thompson; and produced by Ed Thompson, Victor and Marina A. Ledin.

Bates: Children of Adam; Vaughan Williams: Dona nobis pacem

See The Album

Children of Adam: I. Walt Whitman, "From Pent-Up Aching Rivers"

Music: Excerpt from Symphony No. 9 in D minor, (1896; unfinished) ed. Nowak: II Scherzo: Bewegt, lebhaft – Trio: Schnell
Composer: Anton Bruckner
Artists: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck, conductor
Album: Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (FR-733SACD)
Label: FRESH! From Reference Recordings
Available August 23, 2019
Order Now: https://referencerecordings.com/recording/bruckner-symphony-no-9/

Reference Recordings proudly presents this iconic work in a new and definitive interpretation from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, in superb audiophile sound. This hybrid SACD release was recorded in beautiful and historic Heinz Hall, home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

In his deeply personal and scholarly music notes, Maestro Honeck gives us great insight into the history and the musical structure of Bruckner’s final composition, and describes how he conducts and interprets this masterwork. To conclude his notes he quotes Bruckner biographer Max Auer: “The Ninth Symphony surpasses all its predecessors in sublimity and consecration. If Arthur Schopenhauer describes the arts as an image of an idea, but music as an idea in itself, then Bruckner’s swan song, his Ninth Symphony, appears to us as the idea of the beyond, of the deity itself. Already from the very beginning of the richly structured first movement, one feels surrounded by the twilight light of a Gothic cathedral—a mood that releases us from the heaviness and fatigue of matter and leads us to the afterlife.”

This release is the ninth in the highly acclaimed Pittsburgh Live! series of multi-channel hybrid SACD releases on the FRESH! series from Reference Recordings. This series has received GRAMMY® Nominations in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. Its recording of Shostakovich’s Symphony No.5 /Barber Adagio for Strings won the 2018 GRAMMY® Awards for Best Orchestral Performance and Best Engineered Classical Album.

Bruckner: Symphony No. 9

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Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 in D minor: II. Scherzo (Excerpt)

Music: Excerpt from The Planets: Mars, the Bringer of War
Composer: Gustav Holst
Artists: Kansas City Symphony, Michael Stern, conductor
Album: Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool (RR-146SACD)
Label: Reference Recordings
Available October 11, 2019
More Info: https://referencerecordings.com/?p=14254

Reference Recordings proudly presents Holst’s best known and beloved works in an outstanding interpretation from Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony. This hybrid SACD release was recorded in the beautiful and acoustically acclaimed Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. It was produced by David Frost, six-time winner of the Classical Producer of the Year GRAMMY® award. It was recorded by RR’s engineering team, comprised of GRAMMY®-winning engineer and Technical Director Keith O. Johnson, and multi-GRAMMY® nominated engineer Sean Martin.

The Kansas City Symphony has a vision to transform hearts, minds and its community through the power of symphonic music. Founded in 1982, the Symphony has established itself as a major force in the cultural life of the community. Praised for performances of uncompromising standard, the orchestra is the largest in the region and holds a national reputation under the artistic leadership of Music Director Michael Stern.

This is the seventh in Reference Recordings’ series with Kansas City Symphony. Previous albums are Shakespeare’s Tempest, the Grammy® Award-winning Britten’s Orchestra, an Elgar/Vaughan Williams project, Miraculous Metamorphoses, an all-Saint-Saëns CD featuring the magnificent Organ Symphony, and the music of contemporary American composer Adam Schoenberg (nominated for two Grammy® Awards). Two additional projects, featuring one-movement symphonies by Barber, Scriabin, and Sibelius; and a live recording of works of Johannes Brahms, have been recorded and slated for future release.

Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool

Holst: The Planets: Mars, the Bringer of War (Excerpt)

Music: Lieutenant Kijé Suite: IV. Troika
Composer: Sergei Prokofiev
Artists: Utah Symphony; Thierry Fischer, music director
Album: Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky – Lieutenant Kijé Suite
Label: FRESH! From Reference Recordings (FR-735SACD)
Available October 25, 2019
Order: https://referencerecordings.com/?p=14377
Also featuring Alisa Kolosova, mezzo-soprano; Utah Symphony Chorus, University of Utah A Capella Choir, University of Utah Chamber Choir, and director Barlow Bradford

Reference Recordings is proud to present the Utah Symphony conducted by Thierry Fischer, in grand new performances of Alexander Nevsky and the Lieutenant Kijé Suite, two of his most brilliant and dramatic musical works. The music of Lieutenant Kijé was originally written as the score to the film of the same name, released in March 1934. It was Prokofiev’s first film music and his first commission. Prokofiev soon adapted it into the five-movement Lieutenant Kijé Suite, first performed in December 1934, and which quickly became a favorite in the international concert repertoire. Then, in 1938, Prokofiev collaborated with film director Eisenstein to create the score for the film Alexander Nevsky. He later adapted much of his score into the large-scale cantata for mezzo-soprano, orchestra and chorus featured on this recording.

Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky; Lieutenant Kijé Suite

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Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé Suite: IV. Troika

Excerpts from Christmas With True Concord
Artists: True Concord Voices & Orchestra, Eric Holtan (conductor), Cait Frizzell (soprano)
Album: Christmas With True Concord: Carols in the American Voice
Label: FRESH! From Reference Recordings (FR-734)
Coming November 1, 2019 - Order: https://referencerecordings.com/?p=14440

Holiday Musical Treasures – Newly Imagined

Eric Holtan, founder and conductor of True Concord Voices and Orchestra states: “Every December, True Concord presents its popular Lessons and Carols by Candlelight concerts in the Tucson area. Unique in the local milieu of seasonal offerings, the focus is on sacred Christmas carols. Even in their simplest form, carols evoke emotionally powerful memories of personal and family experiences that enrich and enliven annual holiday celebrations. With this album, I wanted to capture the essence of our much­loved concerts with the mostly familiar carols presented here, but in musical settings by American composers that are new or not widely known. With the kind assistance of advisor Dale Warland — who set the standard of excellence with several cherished Christmas recordings over the years by The Dale Warland Singers — True Concord offers these holiday treasures, most of which are receiving their world premiere recordings. This is Christmas With True Concord — Carols in the American Voice.”

Christmas with True Concord: Carols in the American Voice

Christmas With True Concord (Sampler)

Music: Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon: Movement II
Composer: Jonathan Leshnoff;
Artists: Michael Rusinek, clarinet; Nancy Goeres, bassoon; Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Manfred Honeck, music director
Album: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4/Leshnoff: Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon (FR-738SACD)
Label: Fresh! From Reference REcordings
Release Date: May 22, 2020
Order: https://referencerecordings.com/?p=16997

Reference Recordings® proudly presents Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in an exquisite interpretation from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. It is coupled with a World Premiere recording of leading American composer Jonathan Leshnoff’s Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon, featuring the extraordinary talents of the Pittsburgh Symphony’s own Principal Clarinet Michael Rusinek and Principal Bassoon Nancy Goeres. This hybrid SACD release was recorded in beautiful and historic Heinz Hall, home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, in superb audiophile sound.

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4/ Leshnoff: Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon

Jonathan Leshnoff: Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon: Movement II

We at RR believe that how a recording sounds is as important as the music itself. "Prof." Keith O. Johnson, our chief engineer and Technical Director, is a true audio legend, having designed and patented many innovative products in the professional and consumer fields. The RR Sound comes from his singular methods and equipment, hand-built or extensively modified by him. Microphone techniques range from single-point Blumlein to spaced omnis to complex studio mixes, depending on the musical forces and the performing space involved. Our goal is to recreate the sound of real musicians making music in real space.

Horns for the Holidays: Festival Fanfare (Wasson)

Reference Recordings

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