Bill Dodd, Author at NativeDSD Music https://www.nativedsd.com Highest DSD Resolution Audio Downloads (up to DSD 1024) Fri, 04 Oct 2024 08:47:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://i0.wp.com/media.nativedsd.com/storage/nativedsd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/13144547/cropped-favicon.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Bill Dodd, Author at NativeDSD Music https://www.nativedsd.com 32 32 175205050 The Big Three https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/the-big-three/ Fri, 04 Oct 2024 07:00:00 +0000 https://www.nativedsd.com/?p=272864 Available now for 25% Off! Many would say that the big three of the top English composers of the 20th Century would be the three […]

The post The Big Three appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>

Available now for 25% Off!

Many would say that the big three of the top English composers of the 20th Century would be the three whose music makes this album one of the hidden gems available at NativeDSD 

Elgar is celebrated for his Symphonies, his Cello Concerto, and (of course) The Enigma Variations and the Pomp and Circumstance Marches.  Elgar’s Cockaigne Overture may not be his most celebrated work, but it is a delightful trip to London at the turn of the last century.  It’s short, light, and full of happy nostalgia. 

Benjamin Britten’s Four Sea Interludes and Passacaglia is a favorite of mine.  The music consists of non-vocal passages from his opera, Peter Grimes, which work very well as a standalone suite.  Haunting, exciting, superbly orchestrated, this music has become part of the standard repertoire.

But the shining jewel on this album is Ralph Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 5.  The Fifth contains some of the most beautiful music ever written, yet when performed properly has the drama and tension that keeps it interesting.  Maestro Carlos Kalmar and the Oregon Symphony might not be the first group you’d think of in this music, but they are excellent!  And that excellence is on full display thanks to a fine Pentatone recording.  

No “stiff upper lips” here– just great music to fall into.

Also consider…

The post The Big Three appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>
272864
Very British and Very Beautiful https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/very-british-and-very-beautiful/ https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/very-british-and-very-beautiful/#respond Fri, 20 Sep 2024 07:00:00 +0000 https://www.nativedsd.com/?p=271460 The extremely talented Ning Feng is joined by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto in the Violin concertos of Edward Elgar […]

The post Very British and Very Beautiful appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>

The extremely talented Ning Feng is joined by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto in the Violin concertos of Edward Elgar (1857-1934), and Gerald Finzi (1901-1956).

Elgar’s Violin Concerto isn’t quite as well known as his Cello Concerto, but has a similar passion and beauty. It’s been said that Elgar’s pieces are like time capsules of their time and place, and I must agree. In my imagination, I am transported to the turn of the last century England in a way unlike any other composer’s music.

Finzi’s music often contains the most simple melodies; but they are melodies that convey a warmth of emotion that wraps your heart in a pretty bow, and makes the world seem like a wonderful place. Although finished in 1927, the Violin Concerto was not premiered until 1999– nearly a half-century after Finzi’s death. It turns out he was dissatisfied by the two fast movements, although no one really knows why that might be. I’ve become a big fan of Finzi’s music, and I urge you to seek it out.

These works are very British, and they are very beautiful. Luckily for us, Ning Feng, plays them with love and commitment, and the Channel Classics recording is superb.


I urge you check these out as well:

The post Very British and Very Beautiful appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>
https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/very-british-and-very-beautiful/feed/ 0 271460
Bernstein’s Best? https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/bernsteins-best/ https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/bernsteins-best/#respond Fri, 13 Sep 2024 08:21:08 +0000 https://www.nativedsd.com/?p=270939 Here are two excellent recordings of a work that might be new to you:  Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium). Quoting Bernstein, “The music, like Plato’s dialogue, […]

The post Bernstein’s Best? appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>

Here are two excellent recordings of a work that might be new to you: 

Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium). Quoting Bernstein, “The music, like Plato’s dialogue, is a series of related statements in praise of love.” The work is scored for Solo violin, harp, string orchestra, and percussion. It was premiered in 1954 in Venice with Isaac Stern, violin, with Bernstein conducting. Bernstein considered it his best “serious” work.

The recording with the amazing Salvatore Accardo was my introduction to the Serenade. It won me over from the first few bars. The Album also features conductor Krzysztof Penderecki’s own Violin Concerto.

Released just this year, the album featuring soloist James Ehnes, with Stephane Deneve conducting the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra also features John Williams’ Violin Concerto no. 1.

So, which one is the winner? They’re both excellent! You might decide on the basis of the additional works. There’s an old world magic to Accardo’s playing. James Ehnes is fine in the John Williams Concerto, as well as the Bernstein. I might lean toward the Accardo just a bit, but I wouldn’t want to be without either one.


You might also be interested in:

The post Bernstein’s Best? appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>
https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/bernsteins-best/feed/ 0 270939
Finally, I Get It! https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/finally-i-get-it/ https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/finally-i-get-it/#respond Fri, 30 Aug 2024 08:00:00 +0000 https://www.nativedsd.com/?p=269675 I admit it. I was never a fan of director Sergio Leone’s “spaghetti westerns”. I got tired of closeups that allowed me to count the pores […]

The post Finally, I Get It! appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>

I admit it. I was never a fan of director Sergio Leone’s “spaghetti westerns”. I got tired of closeups that allowed me to count the pores and follicles on the bad guy’s face, and the music that seemed a bit draggy. A lot of people disagreed. Many American westerns began to resemble spaghetti westerns. Don’t get me wrong, there are many fine Italian films I love and have in my collection, and there are elements from each of Leone’s films that show remarkable creativity. But boiling it down, I was in no hurry to listen to this album.

But when I did… Finally I get it! I’m still not a big fan of spaghetti westerns but I have tremendous respect now for the music of Morriconi, because of this album.

These suites are made up of themes from his most famous scores from different genres, and from different directors. Marco Serino’s solo violin is in the spotlight. Ennio Morricone’s son, Andrea conducts the Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano and Trento.

If you already know the films and the music, you will love the album. If you don’t, forget about the movies and just listen to the lovely and unashamedly romantic music. After the second listen, I was hooked!

Also interesting:

The post Finally, I Get It! appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>
https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/finally-i-get-it/feed/ 0 269675
But what do you call it! https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/269249/ https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/269249/#respond Fri, 23 Aug 2024 10:24:02 +0000 https://www.nativedsd.com/?p=269249 The amazing classical cellist Maya Fridman joins with jazz musicians, pianist Atzko Kohashi an acoustic bass player Frans van der Hoeven, to create something unique! […]

The post But what do you call it! appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>

The amazing classical cellist Maya Fridman joins with jazz musicians, pianist Atzko Kohashi an acoustic bass player Frans van der Hoeven, to create something unique!

It’s wonderful, it’s superbly played; but what is it? Yes, it’s jazz, but Maya Fridman’s cello makes for something like classical chamber music. Or, chamber jazz. (I didn’t coin that phrase, by
the way, but it works.) The three musicians play together as one, even as they occasionally improvise.

The recording is amazing. For me, this is music for being alone – perhaps with a dash of melancholy.
It’s music that suggests a dream – one you don’t want to lose when you wake up.

Quiet, thoughtful, calming- but this music is never “background.”
But what do you call it? I call it uniquely involving, beautifully played, soul- touching music!
I hope you will take the time to “discover” this one for yourself.

The post But what do you call it! appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>
https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/269249/feed/ 0 269249
A Forgotten Treasure from Korngold https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/268614/ https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/268614/#respond Fri, 16 Aug 2024 10:12:15 +0000 https://www.nativedsd.com/?p=268614 When I was young I was very impressed by music from “big” motion pictures. There was Miklos Rozsa (Ben Hur, El Cid, Quo Vadis), Alex North […]

The post A Forgotten Treasure from Korngold appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>

When I was young I was very impressed by music from “big” motion pictures. There was Miklos Rozsa (Ben Hur, El Cid, Quo Vadis), Alex North (Spartacus), Bernard Hermann (Vertigo and other Hitchcockian delights), Dimitri Tiomkin (Giant, Lost Horizon, High Noon), and others. Aaron Copland, Prokofiev, and other “classical” composers also wrote music for films. But the most remarkable composer for films was probably Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957), and he only did the music for sixteen of them.

When he was a child Korngold was writing music that impressed everyone. Mahler called him a genius and Strauss marvelled at how such totally adult music could be composed by a boy.

He was a successful opera and concert composer in Vienna, but spent some time in Hollywood writing music for a few Warner Brothers films. He made the final move to Hollywood while escaping with his family just as their home was being confiscated by the Nazis. Luckily he’d been tapped to do the music for “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” making the trip possible.

In 1918, Korngold was commissioned to write incidental music for a production of Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing (Viel Lärm um Nichts) that received its first hearing at Vienna’s Schönbrunn Castle in may 1920.

Korngold was just 15 when he wrote the Sinfonietta, first performed by Felix Weingartner and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in 1913. It earned the praise of no less than Richard Strauss. 

John Storgards, conductor

Korngold is most impressive to me for his absolutely gorgeous dramatic melodies, and his amazing orchestrations, even in these two early works. John Storgards and the Helsinki Philharmonic are excellent in this music, and the recording is first class!

This was definitely an overlooked treasure for me– A true “discovery!”


You may be interested….

And here’s a YouTube BBC Documentary with Leonard Slatkin talking about his family and Korngold.

The post A Forgotten Treasure from Korngold appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>
https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/268614/feed/ 0 268614
An Award-Winning Performance I am Thrilled to Rediscover https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/an-award-winning-performance-i-am-thrilled-to-rediscover/ https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/an-award-winning-performance-i-am-thrilled-to-rediscover/#respond Fri, 09 Aug 2024 08:19:13 +0000 https://www.nativedsd.com/?p=268166 I was looking through some releases from last year when I was reminded of this award winner.  Sebastian Stanley’s Rachmaninoff album showcases his masterful playing, […]

The post An Award-Winning Performance I am Thrilled to Rediscover appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>

I was looking through some releases from last year when I was reminded of this award winner.  Sebastian Stanley’s Rachmaninoff album showcases his masterful playing, and HR’s superb recording quality.

Rachmaninoff has a special place in my life.  I began piano lessons just 7 years after his death. I’ve always seen the modern side of his works.  He was a superb conductor, a much admired concert pianist, and he sure could write a tune!

The Morceaux de Fantasie was first published in 1893.  The Prelude is certainly the most well known.  Melody and Serenade were revised with second versions much later in 1940. Although all five were performed frequently by Rachmaninoff, it was these two that he performed in many different versions.  The Chopin variations are delightful as well.

As I often say, when doing these reviews, I have too many different performances I like to say this one is RIGHT and that one is WRONG.  (Although…  Sometimes…) What I can say about this one is that I’m glad I found it again!  Stanley’s touch, his feeling, his total approach makes me eager to hear more from him.

The post An Award-Winning Performance I am Thrilled to Rediscover appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>
https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/an-award-winning-performance-i-am-thrilled-to-rediscover/feed/ 0 268166
I can’t think of a single work by Prokofiev that I don’t like. https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/i-cant-think-of-a-single-work-by-prokofiev-that-i-dont-like/ https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/i-cant-think-of-a-single-work-by-prokofiev-that-i-dont-like/#respond Fri, 26 Jul 2024 07:30:12 +0000 https://www.nativedsd.com/?p=266953 Everybody knows Prokofiev’s ballets, and his 5th Symphony.  I can’t think of a single work by Prokofiev that I don’t like.   Well… there is […]

The post I can’t think of a single work by Prokofiev that I don’t like. appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>

Everybody knows Prokofiev’s ballets, and his 5th Symphony.  I can’t think of a single work by Prokofiev that I don’t like.  

Well… there is an opera that takes some effort.  

The Firey Angel was commissioned in the early 1920s, but not performed in its entirety until after Prokofiev’s death.  There is (to my knowledge) only one complete recording of that opera, with Neeme Jarvi conducting.  As I said, it takes some effort.  In 1929 Prokofiev had a brilliant idea, he “reinvented” a lot of the music from the opera in his Symphony No. 3.  The result is outstanding.  It’s symphonic in structure, and it’s bold.  But it’s as accessible as his later ballets.  Noseda’s Prokofiev Symphony No.3 has become one of my favourites.  Big, flamboyant, but always involving. Sample the tracks and download the liner notes. The recording is first class!

Available now for 25% off!


The post I can’t think of a single work by Prokofiev that I don’t like. appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>
https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/i-cant-think-of-a-single-work-by-prokofiev-that-i-dont-like/feed/ 0 266953
Saskia Giorgini Plays Debussy With a Sparkling Joyfulness https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/saskia-giorgini-plays-debussy-with-a-sparkling-joyfulness/ https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/saskia-giorgini-plays-debussy-with-a-sparkling-joyfulness/#respond Fri, 19 Jul 2024 07:23:00 +0000 https://www.nativedsd.com/?p=265949 Available now for 25% off! I’ve said it before… I love Debussy! I especially love his piano works. I’ve amassed a big collection of CD’s and files […]

The post Saskia Giorgini Plays Debussy With a Sparkling Joyfulness appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>

Available now for 25% off!

I’ve said it before… I love Debussy! I especially love his piano works. I’ve amassed a big collection of CD’s and files by numerous luminaries of the keyboard, and I wouldn’t want to be without any of them. But here’s a recent release that really stands apart.

Normally I divide Debussy interpreters into two groups: The “Just play it and let the notes speak for themselves” group, and the “Impressionists” group. I can’t think of any artists I’ve heard who don’t fall into or somewhere between these styles.

But then along comes Saskia Giorgini with this program of popular pieces. Saskia Giorgini has something to say, and she wears it on her sleeve. You’ll think I’m nuts, but I hear a sparkling joyfulness to much of these pieces. No, I’m not talking syrupy romanticism, I’m simply talking about an airiness – a feeling that she is playing with a smile and saying, “Here, listen to this one!”

I believe she is playing these pieces as Debussy might have wanted, but she is sharing the happiness she feels in doing so. The Pentatone engineers have captured this marvellous artist quite well.

Available now for 25% off!


The post Saskia Giorgini Plays Debussy With a Sparkling Joyfulness appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>
https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/saskia-giorgini-plays-debussy-with-a-sparkling-joyfulness/feed/ 0 265949
Fiery Performances from Patrenko and Oslo Philharmonic https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/fiery-performances-from-patrenko-and-oslo-philharmonic/ https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/fiery-performances-from-patrenko-and-oslo-philharmonic/#respond Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:24:06 +0000 https://www.nativedsd.com/?p=265947 I’d like to put out some praise for “warhorses.” There’s a reason they hang around. People like them! And occasionally a conductor will come up with […]

The post Fiery Performances from Patrenko and Oslo Philharmonic appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>

I’d like to put out some praise for “warhorses.” There’s a reason they hang around. People like them! And occasionally a conductor will come up with a new performance that reminds us why.

This recording was the 2020 Orchestral Album of the Year at NativeDSD. Rimsky-Korsakov was one of the great orchestrators, bringing new color and life to the symphony. His students included Respighi and Stravinsky.

Vasily Petrenko and his Oslo Philharmonic gang really put the fire into these pieces. One critic said that the solo violin in Petrenko’s Scheherazade is like an operatic aria – especially in the final farewell. I don’t think I’ve ever heard better performances of Scheherazade or the Capriccio Espagnol, and both pieces have been part of my life for a very long time.

The recording of these wonderful performances is excellent!

Available now for 25% off!

The post Fiery Performances from Patrenko and Oslo Philharmonic appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

]]>
https://www.nativedsd.com/dsd-reviews/dodds-discoveries/fiery-performances-from-patrenko-and-oslo-philharmonic/feed/ 0 265947