Anna Netrebko – Opera Arias (2003) [SACD / Deutsche Grammophon – 474 640-2]

Anna Netrebko - Opera Arias (2003)

Title: Anna Netrebko – Opera Arias (2003)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64

This remarkable vocal album, which won the prestigious Amadeus Music Award in 2003, features soprano Anna Netrbko in stunning renditions of works by Puccini, Berlioz, Mozart, Bellini, and Dvorák among others. A multiple Grammy-nominee and the first opera singer ever to be named to the TIME 100 list (Time magazine’s list of the most influential people in the world), Netrebko takes on these masterworks with startling vivacity and vocal virtuosity.

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1 min read

Anna Netrebko – Sempre Libera (2004) [SACD / Deutsche Grammophon – 474 881-2]

Anna Netrebko - Sempre Libera (2004)

Title: Anna Netrebko – Sempre Libera (2004)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 

Anna Netrebko’s second disc is even more impressive than her first. She still may not be an absolutely polished, finished artist, but she’s working at it and presents here a very satisfying–-even thrilling–-program. She doesn’t quite have the stature or insights for Verdi’s Violetta yet, but aside from some smudged coloratura in low-lying passages she sings the first act scene quite well (capped with a well-placed, big E-flat). She’s close to ideal in the Sonnambula and Puritani excerpts, where her girlishness is entirely right, her coloratura dazzling, and her ability to sound tearful really impressive. The Lucia Mad Scene (also notable here for its use of the glass harmonica for which it was composed in place of the usual flute) is quite wonderful, even if the runs are sometimes not as well-delineated as they should be. And although she’s not vocally suited to Desdemona’s Willow Song and Ave Maria, she does manage to darken her voice to fit the character and presents a very moving portrait. The disc ends with an utterly charming “O mio babbino caro.” Artistry and everything else aside, her voice is just beautiful. Claudio Abbado’s leadership is ideal.

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2 min read

Anna Kolchina – Wild Is The Wind (2017) [Japan 2018] [SACD / Venus Records – VHGD-267]

Anna Kolchina - Wild Is The Wind (2017) [Japan 2018]

Title: Anna Kolchina – Wild Is The Wind (2017) [Japan 2018]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Anna Kolchina, a Russian jazz vocalist from Bashkortostan and a St. Petersburg State University of Cultural Arts graduate, delivers her third Venus Records album, Wild Is The Wind, recorded in 2017 in New York with an all-star band featuring John Di Martino on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Willie Jones III on drums. Following her 2015 debut Street of Dreams with Massimo Farao’s trio and 2016’s Dark Eyes, this album showcases Kolchina as an equal quartet member, her mellow, seductive voice blending seamlessly with the ensemble, particularly in the title track where it emerges delicately from Washington’s bass. The 14-track collection of love song standards, including “You Do Something To Me,” “So In Love,” and “Don’t Look Back,” explores varied emotional facets with Kolchina’s refined yet street-smart vocals, which convey vulnerability and worldly wisdom. The three-dimensional engineering creates an immersive experience, making Wild Is The Wind a compelling, intimate masterclass in ensemble jazz performance.

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1 min read

Anna Kolchina – Street Of Dreams (2015) [Japan 2016] [SACD / Venus Records – VHGD-170]

Anna Kolchina - Street Of Dreams (2015) [Japan 2016]

Title: Anna Kolchina – Street Of Dreams (2015) [Japan 2016]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Anna Kolchina’s mellow seductive voice has been heard around the world. Born in Russia (Republic of Bashkortostan) and graduate of the St.Petersburg State University of Cultural Arts, Anna has since performed and recorded with world class musicians from Russia, Europe and USA. In 2015, Anna’s debut album “Street of Dreams” was recorded with the world famous Italian jazz pianist Massimo Farao’s trio in Turin, Italy. She signed under Japan based jazz label, Venus Records.

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1 min read

Anna Kolchina – Dark Eyes (2016) [SACD / Venus Records – VHGD-190]

Anna Kolchina - Dark Eyes (2016)

Title: Anna Kolchina – Dark Eyes (2016)
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Anna Kolchina’s mellow seductive voice has been heard around the world. Born in Russia (Republic of Bashkortostan) and graduate of the St.Petersburg State University of Cultural Arts, Anna has since performed and recorded with world class musicians from Russia, Europe and USA. In 2016, Anna released her sophomore record with Venus Records, “Dark Eyes”. On this album, she choose to be more hands on and wrote the arrangements for 6 songs which was played by Massimo Farao’s trio featuring Claudio Chiara- alto sax and Fulvio Albano- bari sax. “Dark Eyes” was in high rotation for weeks Virginia Muse radio in Amsterdam.

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1 min read

Angela Hewitt – Piano Music by Emmanuel Chabrier (2006) [SACD / Hyperion – SACDA67515]

Angela Hewitt - Piano Music by Emmanuel Chabrier (2006)

Title: Angela Hewitt – Piano Music by Emmanuel Chabrier (2006)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Angela Hewitt, renowned for her masterful Bach, Chopin, Couperin, Messiaen, and Ravel recordings on Hyperion, brings her technical polish and expressive depth to Emmanuel Chabrier’s keyboard works in a 2004 release, delivering colorful, idiomatic performances of late nineteenth-century miniatures. While Chabrier’s music ranges from sophisticated pieces like Aubade, Habanera, and Bourrée fantasque to the charming posthumous Ballabile, Caprice, and Feuillet d’album, the Dix pièces pittoresques and earlier Impromptu and Ronde champêtre often lean toward trite, superficial salon fare with occasional hints of Ravel-like innovation. Hewitt’s sensitivity and skill elevate these works, making them sound more compelling than their sometimes shallow nature might warrant, though her choice of repertoire may not thrill fans as much as her usual selections. Hyperion’s sublime recording quality perfectly showcases Hewitt’s brilliance and panache, cementing her status as a leading interpreter despite the mixed appeal of Chabrier’s compositions.

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1 min read

Angela Hewitt – Jean-Philippe Rameau: Keyboard Suites (2008) [SACD / Hyperion – SACDA67597]

Angela Hewitt - Jean-Philippe Rameau: Keyboard Suites (2008)

Title: Angela Hewitt – Jean-Philippe Rameau: Keyboard Suites (2008)
Genre: Classical
Format: DSF DSD64

Hyperion’s January Record of the Month features Baroque legend Angela Hewitt performing three of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s keyboard suites, showcasing the eighteenth-century French composer’s blend of intellectualism, passion, and tenderness on a Fazioli piano. Rameau, once a traveling violinist and provincial organist before becoming Compositeur du Cabinet du Roi, crafted some sixty keyboard works, including courtly dances like the Tambourin and programmatic pieces like Les sauvages, which Hewitt plays with crisp clarity, delicate ornamentation, and a vibrant, harpsichord-like tone. Her renditions, from the noble Courante in the A minor Suite to the tender Les Triolets and vivid Le Rappel des oiseaux, balance Parisian elegance with rhythmic vitality, making the piano feel perfectly suited to Rameau’s music. Critics praise Hewitt’s refined technique, meticulous ornamentation, and expressive touch, noting that her performances, backed by Hyperion’s vivid engineering, rival historic recordings like Marcelle Meyer’s 1953 cycle, establishing this disc as a must-have for Baroque enthusiasts.

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1 min read

Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Orchestra & Chorus of La Scala – Puccini: La Boheme (1999) [Reissue 2003] [SACD / Decca – 470 624-2]

Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Orchestra & Chorus of La Scala - Puccini: La Boheme (1999) [Reissue 2003]

Title: Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Orchestra & Chorus of La Scala – Puccini: La Boheme (1999) [Reissue 2003]
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Decca’s new recording of La Bohème with Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, conducted by Riccardo Chailly, joins iconic performances by Tebaldi and Bergonzi (1950s) and Freni and Pavarotti (1970s), delivering a standout interpretation for the new millennium. Chailly’s sensitive phrasing and brisk yet unhurried tempos, paired with the La Scala Orchestra and Chorus’s innate feel for Puccini, create a compelling performance, enhanced by Francesco Degrada’s 1988 critical edition with subtle, polished changes like Alagna’s romantic E at Act One’s close. Gheorghiu and Alagna, a real-life couple, bring heartfelt synergy to Mimì and Rodolfo, with Gheorghiu’s dark, skillful voice shining in “Mi chiamano Mimì” and Alagna’s boyish charm peaking in “Che gelida manina.” Simon Keenlyside’s ardent Marcello and Anna Scano’s sparkling Musetta, alongside vivid portrayals by the other Bohemians and Alfredo Mariotti’s lively Benoit and Alcindoro, add depth, making this Bohème a highly recommended, near-perfect addition to the opera’s discography.

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2 min read

Andrew Cyrille Quintet – Ode To The Living Tree (1995) [Japan 2017] [SACD / Venus Records – VHGD-244]

Andrew Cyrille Quintet - Ode To The Living Tree (1995) [Japan 2017]

Title: Andrew Cyrille Quintet – Ode To The Living Tree (1995) [Japan 2017]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

In December 1994, drummer Andrew Cyrille, joined by David Murray on tenor sax and bass clarinet, Oliver Lake on alto sax, Adegoke Steve Colson on electric piano, and Fred Hopkins on bass, recorded Ode to the Living Tree in a Dakar studio during a Senegal visit, marking the first jazz session ever recorded there. Featuring original compositions by Cyrille, Murray, and Colson, alongside John Coltrane’s “Acknowledgement” and “Resolution” from A Love Supreme and “Mr. P.C.,” the quintet delivers melodic inside/outside post-bop in the Coltrane/McLean/Lateef tradition. Highlights include the lyrical ballad “So That Life Can Endure…P.S. With Love,” Murray’s moody “Dakar Darkness,” and Colson’s Brazilian-tinged “Midnight Samba,” with the group’s cohesive and passionate performance making this historic album a standout in Cyrille’s catalog.

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1 min read

Andre Kostelanetz – Plays Music Of Villa-Lobos & Conducts Music From Spain (1974) [Reissue 2017] [SACD / Vocalion – CDLK 4594]

Andre Kostelanetz - Plays Music Of Villa-Lobos & Conducts Music From Spain (1974) [Reissue 2017]

Title: Andre Kostelanetz – Plays Music Of Villa-Lobos & Conducts Music From Spain (1974) [Reissue 2017]
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

This Andre Kostelanet’sz SACD, beginning with colorful orchestral works by Portuguese-born Villa-Lobos. We have orchestral excerpts from the opera Magdalena and several other lovely pieces. Of particular interest is the imaginative Little Train of the Caipira with its colorful description of a little train chugging through the mountains. This is richly orchestrated, and engineers have separated instruments among the four channels very effectively. Bachianas Brasilieras No. 5 is truncated and it is unfortunate they didn’t perform it with a soprano—after all, Marni Nixon was on the scene. The remainder is music of Spain featuring Maralin Nixon in several works, and the two short pieces by Pablo Casals are welcome. Audio is outstanding on this issue. Both LP from 1974, were to all intents and purposes demonstration discs, designed to show off quadraphonic sound.

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1 min read