Wonderful ensemble piece
936166
I love a good ensemble film, where acting and writing rule the day. Films like"Rambling Rose" and "The Big Chill" win my heart fair and square, and here's another one. It's tempting to discuss this in detail, but that would involve spoilers. I don't do spoilers, so suffice it to say this. A brilliant ensemble cast takes a story of two deeply dysfunctional families, one southern USA, one British, unites them through the death of a mostly unseen character, and the sparks fly. I love Robert Duvall; he is ever a poet, and nowhere more than in this flinty turn as the patriarch of the southern family. Robert Patrick is steely as a father who takes after his own. Kevin Bacon gives a performance of immense strength and sympathy as the son who has rebelled against family values. John Hurt brings to the role of the British father channels of darkness that reveal themselves only gradually, and in remarkable ways. We are not so different. The film takes place in 1969, the height of the Vietnam conflict and a time of schism in America that would not be seen again until the present day. While the actual time is less relevant than those who live it, it presents a fine battleground for three generations of war wounded. It explores questions of love and attraction, of pain and bandages, of loyalty and family, and much more. I can't be more specific without doing a disservice to a fine and surprisingly warm- if spiky - work by Billy Bob Thornton, who both directed and co-wrote a scrappy ode to how we define ourselves by our pain. I can't recommend this film highly enough, except to say I watched it on two successive nights and was delighted both times, and that after the first viewing I dreamed about some of the characters. ***** bobbogoldberg 1/13/14
3466715
Superb ensemble playing, first rate recording and faithful remastering, and the inspired conducting of young Michael Tilson Thomas make this welcome reissue a first recommendation for this works. Don't hesitate if you are considering to purchase this generously filled 80min 50 sec cd.
4866546
This recording is really, really well done! The ensemble consists of harp, 2 violins, french horn, contra bass and occasional glockenspiel (used with an amazing effect on the song "Sounds of silence".) The harp re-captures Paul's guitar, sometimes note for note (and in the case of "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" that glorious gospel-like piano intro and accompaniment). The arrangements are superb, tasteful, creative, sometimes lush, such as in "Old Friends" where the harp and strings and horn re-captures the original orchestration. Sometimes other S&G songs are quoted, such as the weaving in of "The Boxer" within the opening piece, "The Dangling conversation." I was surprised by the inclusion of "Peggy-O" and "Benidictus," which are not exactly Simon and Garfunkel originals (they appeared on their earliest album "Wednesday Morning 3 AM") but musically they somehow work and blend nicely with the overall recording. But the real surprise was "Mrs. Robinson" an amazing arrangement with much of the funk of the original. They really did an excellent job. Highly recommended.
2398713
I have many recordings of various Bach cantatas, all in period instrument performances.  This is the exception.  I have heard cantata No. 78 on the radio in this particular performance, and just had to have it! Julianne Bream's singing is superb, the entire ensemble is great.  What is unique about this recording, that Rifkin's choir is one to a part.  It works out beautifully.
2448997
A very enjoyable album featuring top-notch ensemble playing, excellent soloists and some great compositions/arrangements.  Michael Waldrop does a great job driving this big band and  Jack Cooper is one of the most solid, talented arrangers on the scene today.
2250797
Music with Changing Parts by Philip Glass is a piece that I have known since the early 1980s through the Glass Ensemble's original recording.  This piece has had a huge impact on my personal developement and evolution as a composer of post-minimalist music.

I just received the Icebreaker CD through Amazon and after listening had to write some positive comments about the performance and recording.  The performance itself is a glorious arrangement by a large and colorful ensemble that includes electric keyboards, electric guitar, bass guitar, percussion and wind instruments.  The players have a deep understanding of the intention of this music.  The clarity of the contrapuntal instrumental lines interlock into perfect rhythmic designs and the sustained tones  shine through like rays of sunlight beaming through large windows overlooking an imaginary landscape.  The recording is pristine and helps to reveal the intricacy of the compostion's textures and densities, which is what this music is really all about.

I can't say enough about this piece and this recording and it definitely has made the top of the list for me for 2007.
2342207
i heard claudia villela and ensemble perform at the healdsburg jazz festival many years ago and bought this album to preserve my great pleasure at her performance. for me true musicality combines stylistic assurance and performance talent with a complete unity of ensemble, regardless of the musical style, epoch or fashion. this recording far exceeds that standard. every track is fluent, lively, just a bit improvisatory, and entirely fun. everything meshes perfectly. i agree with another reviewer that this may not be to everyone's taste, considered only from the point of view of style and fashion; but if you enjoy supremely talented musicians enjoying the fun and verve of what they do, this album is a gem.
1075816
I have owned and enjoyed a lot of different Rite recordings.  Currently, I've whittled down my collection to only Cleveland/Maazel, Ozawa/Chicago, Tilson-Thomas/Boston, Rattle/Berlin Phil., Stravinsky's own stereo recording (kind of boring), and this new one from an orchestra I'd never heard of.  It's really interesting to hear this piece played by an orchestra with, so far as I can tell, somewhat reduced string forces.  The textures are much clearer; the inner woodwind voices are much more easy to discern.  It's a bit different, in a good way.

The playing is fantastic (something I frankly worried about with this non-famous ensemble), and the energy is exceptional.  This may be the most hair-raising, electrifying Rite I own (with Ozawa/Chicago making a strong showing, too).  The propulsion and drama are absolutely gripping, with fantastic pacing and great, loud playing just where it should be.  So, 5 stars for this Rite.

The Bartok compares to other recordings I've heard of it, which is to say it's fine.  It's just not a piece I've ever liked.  It's interesting to pair it with Stravinsky; the pairing can't help remind you of the neo-classical path that Stravinsky took after World War I.  Anyway, if you like this piece, you'll probably enjoy this performance.  Since I don't, my 5-star rating is really for the Stravinsky which, again, I think is fantastic.
3903276
One of my favorite pieces to play!  Difficult in level, but so so fun!  It is modern in sound--actually the top part has to reach over the secondo and play high and low notes at once.  It is a hit for performing.
275446
The collabration between Rachel Gauk and Susan Hoppner is one of the most beautiful pieces of chamber music I have listened to. Besides Duo Similia, I enjoy works of Flute and Classical Guitar; this is a wonderful collection to the library.
1614637
Muffat was in more ways than one the product of many cultures.  Born in Savoy to a family of Scottish descent, he was trained by Lully in Paris, was taken under the wing of Pasquini and Corelli in Rome, and yet always considered himself a German.  The style of his music is equally eclectic, combining the dance-like nature of seventeenth-century French music with the gusto and fantasy of Italian music and the sombreness of the music of the North.  The result is astounding.  In this vigorous performance, Ensemble 415, one of the best of today's period-instrument groups, tries to recreate the sound of the seventeenth-century Roman chamber orchestra.  If this really is the way the orchestra sounded then, it's easy to see why the audiences of men like Corelli (and Muffat) were swept off their feet.  The quality of this recording, both in terms of the finely crafted music itself, the top-notch musicianship of the performers, and the crystal-clear sound, makes it one of the best CDs in my collection.

Don't be scared off by a name you've never heard of -- this is a must for any Baroque connoisseur!
473618
Being a horn player myself, I'm always looking forward to listening to a new recording of the Shumann's Konzertstuck for four horns and orchestra. It is probably one of the most difficult pieces ever written for horn (the stratospheric-high first part in particular) and it is a really wonderful piece of music, sadly little known and rarely executed due to its difficulties. Well, this recording by the Philarmonia horn section is really excellent(it is only a pity that in the informative notes the names of the players are not reported). Wonderful sound and colors, flawless technique and fine phrasing. Also the balance between the four parts is very good. The first movement is particularly well done, listen to the horn's entrance and the finale!! About the 2nd symphony, it is also quite good although I would have preferred a faster tempo.
3531811
This is a really beautiful sequence of English viol consort music. The title - in spite of its slightly touristy flavour - refers to the great influence and prestige of England, and especially London, in the field of instrumental consort music in the late Elizabethan and Jacobean era. Composers represented here include Jenkins, Byrd, Holborne, Gibbons, Christopher and Thomas Simpson, Bull, Ferrabosco, Hume and Locke.

The four ladies of the ensemble Les Escapades - German-based despite their collective name - are joined here by two more including a lutenist for some of the pieces. They form a superb viol consort, sensitive, beautiful in tone, unified in spirit and playing as one. The works are judiciously arranged to form a varied, contrasting sequence opening with a lovely, tuneful Almain from John Jenkins. Other especially fine pieces include Gibbons' Fantasia no. 1 a 4 (track 7); Christopher Simpson's Division no. 5 (10), unfamiliar to me but a real treasure; Holborne's The Image of Melancholly (11); Gibbons' Fantasy a 3 (16); John Bull's Chromatic Hexachord Fantasy (19); and Locke's Fantazie from Suite no. 2 (20). In several cases the works are thoughtfully paired to form a satisfying, solemn/cheerful mini-sequence. But in fact all the works selected are very fine choices and there is not a single dull moment.

Recorded sound is excellent, capturing all the grace and subtlety of both music and instruments. This recording is an exceptionally lovely example of this repertoire, and I hope we will hear plenty more from Les Escapades.
2652238
I loved it. Brought back so many memories. It's a fabulous ensemble group and Toots doesn't disapoint.  Would highly recommend.
4961218
This is an excellent recording of Brahms's Piano Quintet - one of his finest chamber works - and a string quartet which is also good but perhaps not in the same league.  I tried it on the strength of the performers as I sometimes struggle with Brahms and thought it might be a good way into these pieces for me.  It was.

Both the Takacs Quartet and Stephen Hough are now regarded as among the world's best (quite rightly in my view) and they show why here.  The intelligence, thoughtfulness and empathy they bring to these works is quite remarkable.  The very opening of the Quintet with its sweeping melodic lines sounds almost like a concerto and in other places there is a wonderful delicacy and a deep understanding between the players which makes it chamber playing of the highest order.  In particular they play with a directness and wonderful lyricism which is a delightful contrast to some rather glutinous and stodgy recordings which exist.  I have never got on very well with Brahms's String Quartets (a failing in me rather than in Brahms, of course) but I very much enjoy this performance, which seems to let in the light and air to bring it alive.

As always from Hyperion the recorded sound is excellent (the cello sounds simply fabulous), the notes very good and the presentation very attractive.  It is an excellent disc all round and very warmly recommended.
3599787
Despite the changes in personnel this ensemble continues to produce very high-quality material. Saw the stage show based on this album recently, and it was superb as well.
3121360
The ensemble, precision and energy of this series of pieces sets the recording apart from merely good performances.  Ms. Podger's sponsorship of her best students pays off in their adherence to her standards and the obvious joy they express in being privileged to play with here.  The compositions disprove Stravinsky's accusation that Vivaldi merely wrote the same concerto over and over again some 500 times.  The recording quality is at once both transparent and arresting, seemingly placing the listener perhaps 12-15 feet from the center of the ensemble.  There's no wonder whatsoever why it won Stereophile's Recording of the Month award.  Buy it.