Prof Johnson 24 Bit HDCD® Recordings

BELLS FOR STOKOWSKI
The University of Texas Wind Ensemble
Jerry Junkin, Conductor
Nine delightful Renaissance dances by Tielman Susato start this program with a bang. The ever-popular English Folksong Suite by Ralph Vaughan Williams in its original scoring continues the crowd-pleasing mood. Two important new works follow. David Del Tredici’s first composition for wind band, In Wartime, is based on the popular hymn “Abide With Me” and the Persian national anthem. Michael Daugherty is one of the most performed and commissioned American composers of his generation. Bells for Stokowski is a fantasy in which the composer imagines Leopold Stokowski in Philadelphia, hearing all the bells of the city resonate. It’s a sonic spectacular, captured to perfection by “Prof.” Johnson in his most dazzling HDCD sound.
RR-104 HDCD -- $16.98

Track Listing: SUSATO: Danserye (9); VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: English Folk Song Suite; DEL TREDICI: In Wartime DAUGHERTY: Bells for Stokowski.

mp3 Sound Sample: Track 1: SUSATO: Danserye (9)

Grammy® Nominated 2003
Category 90 – Best Engineered Album - Classical
Keith O. Johnson, engineer

Chosen by THREE reviewers of The Absolute Sound magazine as one of the best releases of 2001.
"Listening to this recording is one of those exultant musical experiences that will remind you why you got into the audiophile game in the first place." - SoundStage.com - complete review - "Best Recordings of 2001"

Sergei Rachmaninoff was one of the most beloved composers of the twentieth century. His music is redolent of his Russian homeland, and it sings long, lush melodies that define the term "romantic." Everyone who knows and loves his piano concertos will enjoy these lyrical and dynamic works for orchestra. The "Symphonic Dances" in recent years have become one of Rachmaninoff’s most-performed scores. The five "Ètudes-Tableaux" were orchestrated by Ottorino Respighi from the brilliant originals for piano. "Vocalise" is one of the great classical melodies, and is hummable by everyone. Initial response from renowned reviewers is amazingly positive. Two have said this is the finest orchestral recording RR has ever made! "Listening to this recording is one of those exultant musical experiences that will remind you why you got into the audiophile game in the first place." - REVIEWS

EIJI OUE / MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA
RR-96 HDCD -- $16.98

Track Listing: Symphonic Dances [Non allegro; Tempo di valse; Lento assa]; Vocalise; Études–Tableaux [The Sea and the Seagulls; The Fair; Funeral March; Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf; March.

RESPIGHI
Grammy Nominated: Best Engineered Album, Classical
Keith O. Johnson, Engineer - More Information
"Dazzling orchestral colors," is one one way to describe the music of Ottorino Respighi. "Belkis, Queen of Sheba" was conceived as an evening-long ballet with singing whose lavishness has kept it from view since its La Scala premiere. This is only the second recording of a suite prepared by the composer –for the first time with the tenor solo (sung by Chad Shelton), and with the movements in the correct order. The music's oriental perfumes and barbaric splendor guarantee the enthusiasm of anyone who hears it. "Dance of the Gnomes" is a little-known but characteristically dramatic and colorful (some might say "lurid") tone poem. "Prof." Johnson's stunning HDCD¬ sonics make Respighi’s greatest hit "The Pines of Rome" (with extra brasses and organ!) a dazzling conclusion to this unusual, inventive program.
REVIEWS

EIJI OUE / MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA
RR-95 HDCD -- $16.98

Track Listing: Belkis, Queen of Sheba–Suite [Solomon's Dream; The Dance of Belkis at Dawn; War Dance; Orgiastic Dance (Chad Shelton, tenor)]; Dance of the Gnomes; The Pines of Rome [The Pines of the Villa Borghese; The Pines Near a Catacomb; The Pines of the Janiculum; The Pines of the Appian Way].

Skrowaczewski

Concerto Nicolò for piano left hand and orchestra
Concerto for Orchestra

Gary Graffman, piano
Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
Minnesota Orchestra

American pianist Gary Graffman has been a major figure in the music world since 1949. He made an extensive series of acclaimed recordings for CBS and RCA with the orchestras of New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago and Boston. His performing career was curtailed by an injury to his right hand, and now his performances focus on the repertoire for piano left hand. Stanislaw Skrowaczewski is an internationally-known conductor and composer. Concerto Nicolò was commissioned for Gary Graffman, and is a lighthearted score based on the famous 24th Caprice of Nicolò Paganini. The Concerto for Orchestra is a brilliantly-scored work.

"The slight Paganini snippet is developed and redeveloped, transmuting it into the musical equivalent of precious metal. The Concerto Nicolo should become a major addition to the piano left hand repertory. . . Warmly recommended." --Ronald Legum, Audiophile Audition - www.audaud.com

The eminent Polish conductor and composer ...is one of the great hidden secrets of the music world...Like Bartok and Shostakovich, Skrowaczewski approaches music as a sensual pleasure for the ear. For its serious musical value, among the dozens of Referrence Recordings available in excellent sound, this CD really deserves to be THE demonstration disc." –Benjamin Ivry, The Audiophile Voice

mp3 Sound Sample: Concerto Nicolò for piano left hand and orchestra 4-Finale Concerto for Orchestra

Track Listing: Concerto Nicolò for piano left hand and orchestra 1-Lento; 2-Largo; 3- Presto Tenebroso; 4-Finale Concerto for Orchestra: 5-Adagio, Misterioso; 6-Adagio, “Anton Bruckners Himmelfahrt”

RR–103 HDCD — $16.98

WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING!

Sir John Tavener
Ikon of Eros

Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Chorale
Paul Goodwin, Conductor
Jorja Fleezanis, Violin
Patricia Rozario, Soprano
Tim Krol, Baritone

One of today's most celebrated composers, Sir John Tavener has earned a huge following worldwide for the combination of spiritual mysticism, reverent yearning and passion that suffuses all of his music. This work originated as a commission for Jorja Fleezanis, concertmistress of the Minnesota Orchestra, on the occasion of the orchestra's Centennial. This magnificent work expresses a moving interplay between the forces of the orchestra, depicting aspects of the Divine Spirit, and the violin, representing the "Divine Eros" - "our longing for God and His longing for us." The music speaks deeply to a universal longing for love, peace and transcendence that unites all faiths. Prof. Johnson's recording amazingly captures the enveloping sound of the massed orchestra, choir and soloists in the magnificent acoustics of the Cathedral of Saint Paul, MN, creating a transcendent musical and sonic experience.
RR–102 HDCD — $16.98

mp3 Sound Sample: Track 2

"A recording like this is no mere entertainment... The music is immediately seductive, but it nevertheless requires several auditions in order to unlock all of its beauty... This is a powerful work, from which emanates the scent of immateriality." -- Reine Lessard, Ultra High Fidelity

Track Listing: Includes John Tavener in interview with Brian Newhouse, courtesy Minnesota Public Radio.

Casa Guidi
Frederica von Stade
Sings Dominick Argento

Minnesota Orchestra
Eiji Oue, Conductor

This magical CD brings together world premiere recordings of three works by one of America's outstanding living composers, Dominick Argento (b.1927), and features the magnificent singing of mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade. "Everything Argento writes . . .originates in his love for the voice. His subject is self-discovery - the human condition illuminated by music of extraordinary lyric beauty." Casa Guidi, with Ms von Stade, is a set of five songs with orchestra based on letters of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Argento's Capriccio for Clarinet and Orchestra ("Rossini in Paris") is a delightful tribute to the spirit and melodic brilliance of the great 19th century composer of "The Barber of Seville". Finally, In Praise of Music: Seven Songs for Orchestra is a brilliant symphonic tribute to the glory of music itself, drawing inspiration from the spirit of music expressed by many cultures over the centuries. Pulitzer Prize winning Dominick Argento is the Composer Laureate of the Minnesota Orchestra and under the direction of Eiji Oue, that orchestra plays with passion, panache and tremendous sensitivity to this beautiful music.
RR–100 HDCD — $16.98

Track Listing:Casa Guidi: Five Songs for Mezzo-soprano and Orchestra: Capriccio for Clarinet and Orchestra (Rossini in Paris) Burt Hara, clarinet; In Praise of Music: Seven Songs for Orchestra.

Dominick Argento was awarded a Grammy® in the category "Best Classical Contemporary Composition"

"Casa Guidi" nominated for two Grammys®
Reference Recordings was once again honored by the Grammy organization, with two nominations for ONE release. Mezzo-soprano FREDERICA VON STADE was nominated in the category "Best Classical Vocal Performance," and composer DOMINICK ARGENTO won in the category "Best Classical Contemporary Composition." Congratulations to both!

“ Frederica von Stade has lost none of the immense talent that propelled her to the summit of her art, where she has shone since her beginnings, playing the roles most sought after in the opera world.” --Lessard, UHF Review!

NEW CLASSICS TODAY 10/10 REVIEW
"It's asked so often that it as become a cliché: How did Dominick Argento build an international reputation based in the Upper Midwest "heartland"? Because of the beauty of the music and the excellence of Reference Recordings' production, this release demands the question be reversed: How could Argento not have enjoyed such a career when he can compose like this?"--Joseph Stevenson - MORE !

ORGAN SENSATION
FELIX HELL
Prof. Johnson brilliantly captures the spectacular sounds of the massive Schoenstein Organ of First-Plymouth Congregational Church, Lincoln Nebraska. Felix Hell is one of the most exciting and remarkable organists on today's concert scene. His virtuosity and dazzling technique, and his profound understanding of the music is all the more remarkable in a musician just 17 years of age! He is gaining an international reputation as an up-and-coming superstar of the King of Instruments, and his gifts are fully on display in this recording of some of the greatest of the organ masterworks by Liszt (the great Fantasy and Fugue on "Ad Nos ad Salutarem Undam," and the Prelude and Fugue on B.A.C.H.), Guilmant (Sonata No. 1), Vierne (Finale from Symphony No. 1) and Rheinberger ("Evening Peace").

“The organ is a large one, and Felix Hell and the composers he plays take full advantage of the larger pipes. . . it is awesome to listen to.” --Rejskind, UHF Review
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"The newest CD from Felix Hell is a sonic blockbuster that may become a contender for status as one of the best organ recordings ever. . . For those who have been reading about Felix but have not heard him in concert, especially on a large instrument, THIS is the CD to purchase. . . Turn down the lights, crank up the volume and revel in it!" --Rich Blacklock, PIPORG-L Complete Review - - - More Reviews

Felix Hell Website

mp3 Sound Sample: Track 6: LISZT: Prelude

RR–101 HDCD — $16.98

Track Listing: GUILMANT: Sonata No. 1 in D minor; RHEINBERGER: Abendfriede; VIERNE: Symphony No. 1 – Final; LISZT: Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H; LISZT: Fantasy and Fugue on “Ad nos, ad salutarem undam”.

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