Jason Victor Serinus

Recording of January 2022: Sofia Gubaidulina: Orchestral Works

Jason Victor Serinus Dec 14, 2021

Sofia Gubaidulina: Dialog: Ich und Du; The Wrath of God; The Light of the End
Vadim Repin, violin; Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Andris Nelsons, cond.
Deutsche Grammophon 4861457 (auditioned as 24/96 WAV). 2021. Everett Porter, Bernhard Güttler, prods.; Porter, Sebastian Nattkemper, Benedikt Schröder, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics *****

At 90 years of age, Sofia Gubaidulina has honed her musical language amidst conflict. Since 2003, the profoundly religious, visionary, and visceral Russian composer has written three huge, prescient works that depict in musical terms a standoff between God and humankind. All receive their world premiere "live" recordings in this sensational-sounding, system-demanding outpouring from Andris Nelsons and the venerable orchestra that Felix Mendelssohn once led, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.

Interviews Music and Recording Features

Tom Fine: Finding The Way Home

Jason Victor Serinus Dec 10, 2021

Rabbits figure frequently in chats with Tom Finenot the little creatures per se but the holes they burrow into. Because when you question Fine about matters present and past, his encyclopedic memory and fascination with all things great and small take you down what he calls "rabbit holes."

Music and Recording Reviews

December 2021 Classical Record Reviews

Jason Victor Serinus, Stephen Francis Vasta Dec 10, 2021

Brahms: Symphony No.4, Florence Price: Symphonies Nos.1 & 3, Schumann: Arabeske, Kreisleriana, Fantasie and Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues Op.87.

News

Michael Fremer enlivens impressive Audio-Ultra demos

Jason Victor Serinus Nov 22, 2021

Audio-Ultra, a Seattle-area (Sumner, Washington) dealership representing Magico, MSB, Taiko Audio, Kuzma, Vitus, StromTank, Equi=Tech, AudioQuest, Ansuz, and more, held an impressive two-day event November 12 and 13 at the Cedarbrook Lodge near SEATAC Airport. Of all the audio events I’ve attended over the years, this one, masterminded by Audio-Ultra’s Edward DeVito, made the most convincing case for the need of careful setup to fully appreciate the rewards of vinyl remasters of classic rock and jazz.

Music and Recording Reviews

November 2021 Classical Record Reviews

Kurt Gottschalk, Jason Victor Serinus, Stephen Francis Vasta Nov 12, 2021

J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concertos, Christopher Otto & JACK Quartet: rag'sma, R. Strauss: Alpine Symphony and Fairy Tales: Recital Music From Eastern Europe: Music by Prokofiev, Tubin, Körvits, Herdzin, Balsys, Tcherepnine, and Markovitch.

My Back Pages

Listening Deeply

Jason Victor Serinus Nov 02, 2021

Take a walk at night. Walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears.Pauline Oliveros, Sonic Meditations

The one activity that distinguishes audiophiles from other music lovers is our practice of sitting in solitude and listening closely to music reproduced on a finely tuned playback system.

Recording of the Month

Recording of November 2021: J.S. Bach: Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello

Jason Victor Serinus Oct 26, 2021

J.S. Bach: Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, Vols. 1 and 2
Zuill Bailey, cello
Octave Records OCT-0008 (Multiple formats; auditioned as DSD64). 2021. Five/Four Productions, Ltd.: Thomas C. Moore, prod.; Robert Friedrich, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics *****

Why is Stereophile publishing its fourth review (at least) in three years of a recording of Bach's Six Cello Suites? Partly it's because the suites, which were composed ca 1720 but remained in obscurity until a young Pablo Casals rediscovered them in a secondhand sheet music store in Barcelona in 1890, contain some of the most joyous, moving, and profound music in the Western classical music canon. It's also because these two volumes, which present Grammy Awardwinning cellist Zuill Bailey's second recorded exploration of the suites (the first was on Telarc more than two decades ago), abound in astoundingly beautiful musicianship illumined by fresh insights and superb engineering.

Audacious Audio Solid State Power Amp Reviews

Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems Progression M550 monoblock power amplifier

Jason Victor Serinus Oct 20, 2021

We audiophiles so frequently get caught up in the pursuit of perfection that some have attempted to rebrand high-end audio as "perfectionist audio." But is it even possible for a single piece of audio gear, let alone an entire audio system, to attain perfection when there's no common agreement as to what "perfection" means? It's easier to cue up a Nirvana track than to find the way to audio nirvana.

News

The Graham Audio LS8/1 Loudspeakers Debut in the US

Jason Victor Serinus Oct 13, 2021

Jake Snider of Gig Harbor Audio and band Minus the Bear stands between Philip O'Hanlon of On A Higher Note (left) and Gig Harbor co-owner Erik Owen (right).

After two years of COVID-enforced isolation, the ever-dapper Philip O'Hanlon, founder and president of On A Higher Note distribution, flew to the PNW (footnote 1) to present, on October 2, the US premiere of the Graham Audio Limited Anniversary Edition LS8/1 loudspeaker. At $9700/pair with stands, the Graham Anniversary Edition LS8/1 looked right at home in the tastefully appointed, main floor showroom of three-floor Gig Harbor Audio, a dealership located a major swim or easy drive from the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area.

Music and Recording Reviews