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Classical Essentials

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)

Released 4th May - Preorder 'Live in Riga' http://thomasgould.bandcamp.com/

THOMAS GOULD Live in Riga
Sinfonietta Riga

1-3 VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D, OP. 61 - LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN 
I. Allegro ma non troppo 
II. Larghetto 
III. Rondo (Allegro)

4 THE LARK ASCENDING - RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

‘Violinist Thomas Gould is one of a new generation of classical musicians who refuses to be defined by a single genre’. GUARDIAN

‘One of the most talented and charismatic British violinists of the younger generation’. LONDON EVENING STANDARD

‘The young British violinist Thomas Gould seems intent on becoming the Nigel Kennedy of his generation… Scythingly scintillating playing from a young virtuoso with a magpie mind’. THE TIMES

‘Live in Riga’ is the major new album from the celebrated 31 year old British violinist Thomas Gould.  Recorded live in concert with Sinfonietta Riga on April 11th 2014 at the Great Guild Hall in Riga, Latvia, it confirms Gould’s enormous potential as one of the most inventive and colourful instrumentalists of his generation.  Gould is no ordinary classical musician but one of a new generation who refuse to be defined by a single genre.  He has developed impressive jazz credentials, but it is in this environment as soloist/director of classical repertoire where he really excels.  The Times recently described Gould as “intent on becoming the Nigel Kennedy of his generation”.  Gould, however, is incomparably his own musician.  Bold and courageous enough to forge his own path and follow his singular vision, he steps outside the footsteps of the greats.

‘Live in Riga’ is a defining album for Gould, his first disc of a three-album deal with forward-thinking British jazz and classical record label Edition Classics.  Over the last decade he has been in demand as a soloist with major orchestras worldwide, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra and LA Phil New Music Group.  He is also much in demand as a leader/director, working with Britten Sinfonia, Aurora Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s ACO2, but it’s when he brings these disciplines together that the magic happens.  As Gould explains, “It means that everyone plays in a more engaged way. There is a group commitment to making it work, so the process is much more collaborative than when working with conductor.”

Sinfonietta Riga is an orchestra with a story to tell.  Formed in 2006, their vision is as bold as Gould’s.  Equally happy to play in concert dress or T-shirts they are intent on building new audiences for the music while reaching for the highest artistic standards.  Their collaboration is a perfect match and a unique experience for both the orchestra and for Gould.  This live concert recording bears witness to this special musical symbiosis.

To release an album featuring Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending is a bold decision.  As two cornerstones of the violin repertoire, there are plenty of performances to compare, but Gould’s versions demonstrate a brilliance of tone and colour that demands attention.  His flexibility and breadth of musical interests is fully evident.  Gould’s playing has the clarity you would expect from any major performer but radiates a freedom in its expression as though improvised with an immediate elegance and poise.

For Gould it’s all about achieving the right balance.  Whether it’s jazz or classical, written or improvised, as soloist or director, Gould is right in the eye of the storm.  If the dark clouds gathering in the wider music world imply that the days of the single-minded virtuoso are coming to an end; if to succeed in that brave new world we need to attract more diversity and brighter colours, then in Thomas Gould we may have found the lightning conductor to spark a new generation.


THOMAS GOULD Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending

Johann Sebastian Bach - Aria Da Capo,  Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (Fine Classical Music)

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Audius

Piano Sonata No.15 in F-Major, K. 533: III. Rondo Allegretto

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

Arrange for 5 tubas of the finale of the overture from the Wagner's opera Tannhäuser.

I played the five tuba parts

Finale from Tannhauser Overture (Richard Wagner)

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: 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)

Colburn School - Junior Solo Recital - February 2012

11 Robert Schumann  Kinderszenen, Op. 15 - 7. Träumerei

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.

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

Reference Recordings

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