Articles by Year: La Folia, 2015.

Used Bin Troll Tweets L.

Gorgeous sound and stupendous playing in this sundry program of solo viola da gamba pieces.

Used Bin Troll Tweets L.

Gorgeous sound and stupendous playing in this sundry program of solo viola da gamba pieces.

(Dis)Arrangements 6. / Piano Factory 14.

Bach and Scarlatti on piano are intrinsically arrangements, music relocated to an instrument unanticipated by their composers. Some 19th and 20th-century composer-pianists found Bach and Scarlatti too spindly for the ivories. They added notes and fleshed out chords, and took other liberties such as composing new voices or adjusting harmonies.

(Dis)Arrangements 6. / Piano Factory 14.

Bach and Scarlatti on piano are intrinsically arrangements, music relocated to an instrument unanticipated by their composers. Some 19th and 20th-century composer-pianists found Bach and Scarlatti too spindly for the ivories. They added notes and fleshed out chords, and took other liberties such as composing new voices or adjusting harmonies.

Paul Bley’s singular Ballads

Reissues in Japan often exhibit a short life. This influential album hit CD 15 years ago, but only on the Japanese market, and will now appear there (briefly!) in SHM-CD attire.

Paul Bley’s singular Ballads

Reissues in Japan often exhibit a short life. This influential album hit CD 15 years ago, but only on the Japanese market, and will now appear there (briefly!) in SHM-CD attire.

Mostly Symphonies 27.

I’ve previously expressed impatience with Mahler’s First, however, this release bucks the trend doubly. First, this 2004 live performance is bright and energetic. Second, perhaps because this is a Hungarian effort and the symphony’s five-movement incarnation originally premiered in Budapest, Kocsis restores the Blumine movement.

Mostly Symphonies 27.

I’ve previously expressed impatience with Mahler’s First, however, this release bucks the trend doubly. First, this 2004 live performance is bright and energetic. Second, perhaps because this is a Hungarian effort and the symphony’s five-movement incarnation originally premiered in Budapest, Kocsis restores the Blumine movement.

EA Bucket 21.

The best ea defies explanation and labeling. We find ourselves in a world where the familiar takes on varying expressions.

EA Bucket 21.

The best ea defies explanation and labeling. We find ourselves in a world where the familiar takes on varying expressions.

Four Centuries Apart 4.

Get this disc by Josie and the Emeralds, an enterprising soprano and quartet of viols in Australia, for the two-thirds that’s new to us.

Four Centuries Apart 4.

Get this disc by Josie and the Emeralds, an enterprising soprano and quartet of viols in Australia, for the two-thirds that’s new to us.

Not an Encomium for Pierre Boulez

Pierre Boulez, the maître, will turn 90 next month. This occasion engenders a poem and a brief acknowledgment of conflicted thoughts.

Not an Encomium for Pierre Boulez

Pierre Boulez, the maître, will turn 90 next month. This occasion engenders a poem and a brief acknowledgment of conflicted thoughts.

Used Bin Troll Tweets K.

Alas, they don’t make them like this anymore!

Used Bin Troll Tweets K.

Alas, they don’t make them like this anymore!

Percussion with Pianos

There are old and new friends to be found in Edwardes’ excellent recital.

Percussion with Pianos

There are old and new friends to be found in Edwardes’ excellent recital.

Mostly Symphonies 26.

Babbitt’s All Set is a snazzy twelve-tone piece for jazz ensemble. Were it scored for a Pierrot ensemble it might seem bone dry, and if a jazz combo were provided atonal charts, this wouldn’t be the result. Regardless, I can’t help but listen and grin throughout.

Mostly Symphonies 26.

Babbitt’s All Set is a snazzy twelve-tone piece for jazz ensemble. Were it scored for a Pierrot ensemble it might seem bone dry, and if a jazz combo were provided atonal charts, this wouldn’t be the result. Regardless, I can’t help but listen and grin throughout.

A Look at Chopin’s Piano Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 35

The music unfolds in a great arc of color, motion and sweep. One is reminded of an hallucination owing to the music’s lack of obvious form – as if no bar lines or structure existed. Arthur Rubinstein called it “wind howling around the gravestones.”

A Look at Chopin’s Piano Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 35

The music unfolds in a great arc of color, motion and sweep. One is reminded of an hallucination owing to the music’s lack of obvious form – as if no bar lines or structure existed. Arthur Rubinstein called it “wind howling around the gravestones.”

Acoustic Revive’s Triple-C Finemet Interconnects and Triple-C SPC Reference Speaker Cables

When a cable substitution enriches the stereo image, begin by saying so. Triple-C Finemet cables indeed enrich the stereo image.

Acoustic Revive’s Triple-C Finemet Interconnects and Triple-C SPC Reference Speaker Cables

When a cable substitution enriches the stereo image, begin by saying so. Triple-C Finemet cables indeed enrich the stereo image.