LATEST ADDITIONS

There's a fantastic new two-SACD/CD set of a demonstration-quality live recording of a rather obscure work you really should get to know, not only for its own merits, but also for what I believe is its underappreciated but major influence on music and on popular culture. The piece is by 20th-century composer Arnold Schoenberg, but trust me&#151;it's more than "listenable." It (or, at least, the music on the first disc) is beyond engaging; it is compelling&#151;a revelation, even. The work is <I>Gurrelieder</I> (Songs of Gurre), Gurre being a castle in medieval Denmark that was the setting of a real-life doomed love triangle, the story of which has since loomed large in the moodily brooding artistic consciousness of Danes. The 19th-century Danish poet Jens Peter Jacobsen wrote a collection of poems based on medieval legends, including this one, and a German translation by Robert Franz Arnold provided Schoenberg's dramatic texts.

<B><I>The Incredible String Band</I></B><BR>
Hannibal HNCD 4437 (CD only). TT: 45:15<BR>
<B><I>The 5000 Spirits or The Layers of the Onion</I></B><BR>
Hannibal HNCD 4438 (CD only). TT: 50:06<BR>
<B><I>The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter</I></B><BR>
Hannibal HNCD 4421 (CD only). TT: 50:12<BR>
<B><I>Wee Tam &amp; the Big Huge</I></B><BR>
Hannibal HNCD 4802 (2 CDs only). TT: 87:49<BR>
<B><I>Changing Horses</I></B><BR>
Hannibal HNCD 4439 (CD only). TT: 50:24<BR>
<B><I>I Looked Up</I></B><BR>
Hannibal HNCD 4440 (CD only). TT: 41:30<BR>
<I>All above:</I> Joe Boyd, prod.; John Wood, eng. AAD.

Not too many years ago, high-fidelity movement was being hailed from all quarters (and many halves) as a revolution. In the sense that it took the country storm, and made billions of dollars for many entrepreneurs during heyday, it was indeed a revolution. But now the public has grown tired of high fidelity and is turning other electronic diversions&#151;video, video games, and computering. And what, as of this summer of 1982, do we have to show for the high-fidelity revolution?

Exactly six months after we’d seen them perform in Puerto Rico, at that strange island bar, Bamboo Beach (see “Records to Die For,” February 2010, pages 71-72), the <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/when_im_gone/">Vivian Girls</a> performed on Saturday night, this time so much closer to home, at Maxwell’s in Hoboken. I bought tickets for the whole crew&#151Rizzo, Fritzy, Papi Chulo, Fuzzy, and Tigga&#151so that, together again for the first time since that memorable trip, we could <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/what_happened_in_puerto_rico/… the magic</a>. We ate well, drank too much, laughed, danced, and sang along as the Vivian Girls burned through their energetic set.

Let's face it, keeping up with new music gets harder as we get older. If you're over 30, do you still buy new music?

To celebrate his 30 years with the company, Marantz threw designer Ken Ishiwata a birthday party in the form of an assignment: Design a new, limited-edition integrated amplifier and SACD/CD player bearing his initials. (Only 500 of each will be made worldwide.)

We’re currently working on our July 2010 issue, which will include Wes Phillips’ review of the Vivid Audio G1Giya loudspeaker ($65,000/pair). Near the end of Wes’ auditioning, the domes of both upper-midrange units were inexplicably damaged. As you can see from <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/damaged_domes/">the picture</a>, it appears the domes were poked by some sort of dull object. Wes didn’t do it; Wes’ wife didn’t do it. We’ll never know how the damage occurred. What we do know is that the aluminum-dome midrange unit is incredibly delicate and has a strong magnetic pull.