Keith Jarrett’s Live Well-Tempered Clavier Resurrected
Thirty-two years after it was recorded, pianist Keith Jarrett’s live reading of J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, has seen the light of day.
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Jason Victor Serinus
As One — Original Cast Recording
What’s the most frequently performed new opera in America at present? It’s Laura Kaminsky’s 2014 chamber opera, As One, whose libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed explores the coming out process of its protagonist, Hannah, as a transgender woman.
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Vanatoo Transparent One Encore powered loudspeaker system
Has Serinus been demoted? You might well ask. This month, instead of reviewing a $58,000 stereo amplifier, I'm tackling a $599 powered loudspeaker system.
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Truth be told, I'm always on the lookout for products that deliver outstanding sound at bargain prices. And since I maintain in my living room a modestly priced system built around powered speakersthis in addition to the far costlier system in my dedicated listening roomit's an easy fit for me to evaluate low-priced products in a real-world context.
Stilling Heartbreak from Weinberg
Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla's (b. 1986) rendition of Polish-Jewish composer Mieczysław Weinberg's (1919–1996) final symphony, which is dedicated "to the memory of those who were murdered in the Warsaw Ghetto," has all the earmarks of a life-affirming Record to Die For. Rarely have I heard such hallowed silence, absolute control, and reverence for life and beauty from a conductor so young. For those willing to explore the mysteries of exquisite sadness amidst suffering, this recording cries out.
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Assessing T.H.E. Show Long Beach 2019
See the smiling woman in this photo with a dazed-amidst-all-these-rooms yours truly? Meet T.H.E. Show’s fabulous Director of Social Media and Marketing, Emiko Carlin, a former classical pianist and musician whose 3000 songs include some #1 pop singles. I don’t know how this dazzling woman comes across to others, but for me, discovering Ms. Carlin was like meeting an old friend.
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mbl N31 DAC – CD player, N11 stereo preamplifier, N15 monoblocks, 120 Radialstrahler hybrid loudspeaker with Wireworld Eclipse Series 8 cabling
Ah, mbl. This time, making music not in its usual large room, but rather in an 11-foot wide space. Mbl North America’s Jeremy Bryan had asked for a larger exhibit room, but none was available. After hearing the havoc wrought by air wall subdividers in many of the Hilton Long Beach’s conference rooms, I think Bryan is lucky to have been refused.
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AirHush Comes Out to T.H.E. Show
After Emiko Carlin of T.H.E. Show basically ordered me to check out AirHush’s display at T.H.E. Show, I spent a few minutes speaking with company CCO Michael Quinby.
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Wilson TuneTot speakers, Luxman L-509X integrated amplifier, MSB Discrete DAC, Innuos Zen mini music server, Bergmann Magne turntable, Ortofon A95 cartridge, D’Agostino Momentum phono preamplifier, and Kubala-Sosna Elation cabling
Red was more than the color of my true love’s hair toward the end of T.H.E. Show Long Beach, as I moved from one winning red speaker to another.
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EAR/Technics RS-1500 tape deck, EAR Acute Classic CD Player, Helius Designs Viridia turntable, Omega Standard tonearm, Denon DL-103R cartridge, PranaFidelity purna/ca preamplifier, purna/ma amplifier, and Vayu/fs loudspeakers;, Etc.
It took two tries over the course of two days to find a seat, but on Sunday afternoon, I finally squeezed into the room shared by EAR and PranaFidelity. The wait was worth it.
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Stenheim Alumine 3 speakers, CH Precision C1 D.A Controller, D1 SACD / CD Drive, L1 preamp, P1 phono stage, X1 power supplies, and A1.5 2-channel amplifier; Technics SL1000R turntable, Lyra Etna SL cartridge, Harmonic Resolution stands, Etc.
There was a helluva lot of burnished silver jewelry in this room, and it sparkled like a sharply polished diamond.
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