Audiophilia

by Anthony Kershaw

This complete set of Bruckner symphonies is in mono sound, taken from live Vienna performances in Jan/Feb 1953 by Radio Wien. Directing the Vienna Symphony (not the much more famous Philharmoniker) is Volkmar Andreae (1879 – 1962). He was a Swiss conductor who spent much of his time working in Austria, eschewing recording and disliking the jet set lifestyle of the international conductor. Hence, his lack of notoriety. He was also a composer and teacher of some note.

So, not much to go on with this historical gem of a CD set.

I heard about it through Audiophilia contributor, James Norris. He called me from London very excited about this new Music & Arts release. Jim is as much a Bruckner enthusiast as me and thought they would be to my taste. I quickly put an SOS out to Naxos (the distributor) for a quick download. As always, they came through. In minutes, the entire 9 CD set (as FLAC files) was in my Antipodes DS1 music server.

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by Bruce Surtees

A First Look

I had come to the realization some time ago that I would never again have the slightest desire to change any of the components in my two channel system. Not that I had lost any of my lifelong enthusiasm for music but my component system was totally fulfilling.

Since the 1980s, my amplifiers, pre and power, have been exclusively Jeff Rowland. I updated infrequently until recently when I fell for the 625 power amp to replace the 312 that had replaced the 302. To be quite honest, the 302 was more to my liking than the 312.

Last Fall I was fortunate to spend a friendly and informative afternoon with Jeff Rowland during his stop-over in Toronto on his motorcycle trek from Colorado to Newfoundland! He expounded on the genesis and philosophy behind of his new DAC, the Aeris. All very interesting, but, as convincing as he was, and I mean convincing, I had not for a moment believed that it would, or could, equal or surpass my dCS Scarlatti DAC. I didn’t even think about it until a few weeks ago when it was suggested to me that I listen to the Aeris at home.

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by Anthony Kershaw

May 2, 2013. Koerner Hall, Toronto, ON — A change of venue for the The Women’s Musical Club of Toronto Recital Series final gala concert — Walter Hall of the University of Toronto was replaced by larger Koerner Hall, the Telus sponsored concert space of the Royal Conservatory of Music. And what a splendid hall it is. Handsome, with wonderful acoustics.

It served as a perfect venue for what seemed like a Canadian ‘All Star’ concert; luxuriantly, in mid afternoon, mid week. James Ehnes, violin, Russell Braun, baritone and Carolyn Maule, piano are no strangers to Canadian classical music fans. In fact, I’d consider the fabulous Ehnes to be the Michael Bublé of classical (now, there’s a quote. Not!). There seemed to be a good number of young violin fans in addition to the venerable subscription audience. Lots of influential musicians, too, including a few international conductors.

Good looks and engaging stage presence apart, Ehnes is a brilliant musician and must now be considered among the top handful of stellar fiddlers. It has been a pleasure hearing this man grow from virtuoso to artist.

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by Karl Sigman

PS Audio makes two DACs, the NewWave at $995 and the high-end PerfectWave MKII at $3995, both built in Boulder, Colorado, USA. After recently reviewing the very impressive low- priced NewWave model and concluding that it is both outstanding and a bargain, I could not resist moving on to try out the high-end MKII model. How much better can digital audio sound?

There were two deeper related reasons for doing so, however. First of all, the NewWave led me to rid my system of its CD player. I am very grateful. PS Audio’s NewWave proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that CD players are dead — Q.E.D. (Quite Elegantly Demonstrated — in layman’s terms). Additionally, the MKII promised to rid my system of its 50 pound Marantz SC-7S2 preamplifier — another middleman removed. That is not trivial. This outstanding preamp even now sells new for $4000. No need for this? As stated on the PS Audio Website, ‘Our first choice for connecting the MKII to your system is all by itself and directly into your best power amplifier without going through a preamplifier first. There’s simply “no preamp like no preamp” and the MKII direct into your system provides a remarkably clean, simple and elegant path for the music.’

The MKII even has a balance control.

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Audiophilia Recommended New Releases - Update 01/05/13

Purchase CDs at affiliate link (Click on CD title).

Stravinsky – The Firebird / The Rite of Spring [CD- 55 mins, DVD- 37 mins]
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse / Sokhiev
Naive V5192 (2012)

This month (May 2013) marks the centenary of The Rite of Spring’s turbulent Parisian premiere, since when it has become the most iconic classical work of the 20th Century – partly, I believe, because its sheer unconventionality allows it to appeal to those who otherwise feel little inclined towards classical music. Its story rightly starts a few years earlier when, as he completed his score for the ballet The Firebird, Stravinsky had a vision of a young girl dancing herself to death at a pagan rite to the god of Spring. That the young, unknown composer had an opportunity to realise this vision owed much to the success of The Firebird, the acclaim for which propelled him to international stardom. Tapping into a fashionable interest in paganism, The Rite’s unprecedented violence and primal rhythms famously provoked a riot between the work’s supporters and detractors on its opening night.

Scored for a large orchestra, The Rite’s unrestrained dynamics and thunderous percussion have defined it as one of the great audiophile pot boilers, with The Firebird having its advocates, too, especially in a couple of specialist recordings. On the face of it, this new release represents a highly attractive package, especially for those new to these works: an orchestra and conductor attracting rave reviews; a nicely illustrated, luxurious hardback booklet; a concert performance of The Rite on bonus DVD; and the prospect of Naive’s typically superior sound quality, all at a standard single disc price.

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by Anthony Kershaw

The ten sonatas for violin and piano by Beethoven are a string of beautiful pearls composed during the early to middle years of his life. All but the last were completed before the Eroica Symphony (1805), but many portend the markers of Beethoven’s coming greatness — wide dynamic range, syncopation, arching melodies and complex harmonies. Under the guise of what some consider Beethoven’s salon music, especially in the earlier sonatas, there are indications of deep soil.

Duo Concertante has recorded all the sonatas in this new Marquis CD set. Based at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, this married and musical partnership has spent many years developing their interpretations and performing the sonatas in concerts. Duo Concertante is Nancy Dahn, violin and Timothy Steeves, piano.

The Beethoven Violin Sonatas would seem to be the perfect repertoire for the Duo. The pair perform music that utilizes both instruments as equal soloists and accompanists. The Beethoven Violin Sonatas are most definitely an equitable division of labour — they are sonatas for two solo instruments, just one of the many original details that Beethoven would introduce in his chamber music, symphonies and solo works.

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