LATEST ADDITIONS

Our interview with Hiroyasu Kondo&mdash;founder of Audio Note Japan, and a legendary figure in his own time&mdash;took place during HI-FI '96 last June at the Waldorf=Astoria. It seemed very natural; the crowd at the Show was <I>very</I> internationalist. Herb Reichert of Audio Note New York found us a quiet corner after lunch, and we sat down to talk.

Treasured as much for her bubbling personality and administrative acumen as for her extraordinary voice, coloratura soprano Beverly Sills died of lung cancer on July 2. One of the finest high-flying sopranos of the latter 20th century, she leaves behind a rich legacy of recordings and an opera scene revitalized by her tireless efforts on behalf of American singers.

<I>The New York Times</I> reported on July 2 that Universal Music Group notified Apple that it will not renew its annual contract to sell music through the iTunes Store, choosing instead to sell music to Apple "at will," meaning it could withdraw its wares with little notice. Executives of both companies declined to comment.

Take time out for beauty. The Brooklyn Museum has posted all 118 (!) woodblock prints from <I>One Hundred Famous Views of Edo</I>.

"Damned Mozart!"

Bagheera watches Huckleberry bird watch. If he starts making the <I>chit chit</I> noise, she'll reckon it's worth checking out for herself.

I don’t want to write too much about any one musician, but I just got back from seeing clarinetist Anat Cohen’s quartet at the Village Vanguard, and I can’t resist. Her CD, <I>Poetica</I>, is one of the year’s fresh surprises—breezy, heady, and warm (see my <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/fredkaplan/061707jazz/">blog of June 17</A>)—but it’s a mere shadow of what she does live. She plays with a perfect clean tone and an insouciant virtuosity combined with a hip-swaying, eyes-rolling, wide-smiling swing—or with a breath-stopping melancholy, depending on the song.