by Henry Wilkenson
A first look
Tri-Planar has been producing some of the world’s finest tonearms for the past fifty years. The late Herb Papier, the founder of the company, introduced the original Wheaton Tri-Planar arm at the 1981 Consumer Electronics Show, but he had been making tonearms for some twenty years for family and friends. It is not surprising how many high-end audio manufacturers are musicians, and Herb was no exception—he expressed his love of music as a trumpet player—and he turned his talents as a precision watchmaker to the manufacturing of tonearms.
The name Tri-Planar is derived from Papier’s design goal of addressing the three planes of tonearm geometry—azimuth, vertical tracking angle (VTA), and vertical bearing at record height. The result of these efforts is a tonearm that is highly adjustable, with superior trackability and resolution. In 1989, the company was purchased by Tri Mai, the current owner and designer. Tri has continued the tradition of exquisite precision and build quality with the current Tri-Planar Ultimate Mk.VII. The new Ultimate 12-inch arm, or U-12, is the second completely new tonearm released in the company’s long history.
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by Anthony Kershaw
I heard this LP reissue recently while attending the New York Audio Show. There was lots of buzz, not only about the quality of the sound (which is exceptional) but also about this little known Louisiana Swamp Rock artist. Tony Joe White is still active at 69, singing dates in blues clubs all over the US and Europe. A tour to Australia and New Zealand is in the works.
After some initial success as a singer, White made much of his living writing songs for others. All the songs on Homemade Ice Cream are White originals. ‘Original’, being the optimal word.
To my uneducated ears, at least where ‘Louisiana Swamp Rock’ is concerned, the songs sound bluesy in a square, Texas honky tonk way, with some Cajun spice. See, original!
From the fantastic opening groove of ‘Saturday Nite, In Oak Grove, Louisiana’ to soul searching ballads like ‘For Ol’ Times Sake’ and ‘Ol’ Mother Earth’, Homemade Ice Cream will sustain your interest with great melodies and superb playing. And, all are sung with charisma and sensitivity featuring White’s husky baritone voice. His backing musicians — Reggie Young on guitar, David Briggs, Piano and Organ, Norbert Putnam on bass and Kenny Malone, drums — are all Memphis or Nashville session regulars.
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Audiophilia’s Henry Wilkenson adds his thoughts to Martin Appel’s review of this Audiophilia Star Component winning isolation device.
by Henry Wilkenson
Over the years I have used many different isolation devices, everything from ceramic to soft jell to brass. Simply stated, the Redpoint Blakholes are the most effective isolation devices that I have used.
These deceptively simple devices are made up of a metal cone with a ball made from a material that Redpoint’s Peter Clark is silent about. If you drop the ball, it does not bounce; it just sits there; very unusual indeed.
I placed a set of three Blakholes under my VAC preamp. Since you place them with the ball facing upward, it is very easy to balance components on them. For heavier components, you simply use more of them.
Once in place, I noticed an increase in focus and articulation. I could hear slightly more low level detail. While the difference wasn’t night and day, it was audible.
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By James Norris
Having heard the live performance given by these forces in Liverpool in January 2012 I am pleased to say at the outset that this recording lives up to the expectations I had at that time. It is a very fine interpretation.
For too long, Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony has been used as a musical battering ram in the concert hall and this performance shows just how good it can be when given a sympathetic and well thought out reading.
Much has been written about what Shostakovich’s real intentions were when writing this work, was it just a rallying cry to the beleaguered Russian people under siege from Hitler or is it also a requiem for the dark days of Stalinist repression. He certainly knew what is was like to come under the scrutiny of the Communist Party and he used later symphonies to give a covert message of hope to all Russian artists.
Petrenko has admirably conveyed the complexity and the pathos of this symphony in a way seldom achieved by other more starry conductors and the result is a finely paced unfolding of the drama from the whisper of the strings to the full orchestral tutti with driving brass and percussion and wailing woodwind giving a terrifying account of the horrors of war.
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Tailgate and Music Mob with our great orchestra. The hugely improved TSO closes its season with some innovative ways to enjoy classical music. Party on!
Two really cool initiatives are in bold.
For Rhapsody in Blue (June 1 & 2), one of the most popular American concert works, conductor Bramwell Tovey will take to the piano to play Gershwin’s beloved jazz-infused Piano Concerto. Before leading the orchestra in Elgar’s Enigma Variations– a series of charming musical sketches about the composer’s closest friends –Tovey, an eloquent host, will share some of the unsolved mysteries of the work’s “secret” contents.
Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell returns to the TSO (June 5, 6 & 8) to perform both classical and folk-inspired works. When Bell performed with the Orchestra in 2009, the Toronto Star raved that “the way [Joshua] can make his instrument and the music sing, in every sense of the word…makes him one of the world’s finest musicians.” With TSO Music Director Peter Oundjian at the helm, Bell is joined by double-bass soloist and composer, Edgar Meyer, in the Canadian première of Meyer’s TSO Co-commissioned Concerto for Violin & Double-Bass. Joshua Bell will join Music Director Peter Oundjian onstage for a lively post-concert chat!
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by Roger Kershaw
Oesterle : New World: Of Hope and Refuge (World Premiere)
Sibelius : Violin Concerto
Stravinsky : The Rite of Spring
May 11, 2013. Royal Theatre, Victoria, BC — Juno award winning, Julliard educated wunderkind, brilliant violinist, artist extraordinaire — how many superlatives can be heaped on one Canadian fiddler? After hearing star James Ehnes last night at the Royal Theatre they all apply. He was here to perform the virtuosic Violin Concerto in D Minor by Sibelius with Tania Miller conducting the Victoria Symphony as part of their unique Signature Series. On the second side was a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Igor Stravinsky’s dissonant barnburner, The Rite of Spring . Opening the program was the second movement of Composer-in-Residence, Michael Oesterle’s ‘New World: Of Hope and Refuge’, the last of four world premieres of new Canadian pieces commissioned by the orchestra this season. What a thrilling evening of music making and highly skilled musicianship ending a wonderful season of challenging works.
Oesterle’s work explores the immigrant experience in Canada, and is a delightful, modern confection of pathos and hope. This young composer used the orchestra to full effect including a solid part for the tuba which he jokingly acknowledged in a pre-performance talk as “leaving out” in his previously premiered piece. The next two movements will be showcased next season.
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