MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

alternatively
CD: MDT

Antonín DVORÁK (1841-1904)
Symphony No.6 in D major Op.60 [45:39]
Symphony No.9 in E minor Op.95 From the New World [41:49]
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop
rec. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore, USA. 2007-8
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM Stereo
The review is of the DTS-HD tracks.
NAXOS BLU-RAY AUDIO NBD0014 [87:28]

Experience Classicsonline



 
This is the second Blu-ray Audio foray by Naxos to land on my desk. Like the Corigliano Circus Maximus the cover plugs the high resolution of the master recordings used to author the issue. Also like the Corigliano the disc wants to be connected to the internet. Naxos inform me that this is a disc authoring matter that has slipped into production but is not required. So those playing this recording can accept or reject the invitation to connect. Neither option makes any difference whatever and be assured that Big Brother is not watching you if you say 'Yes'! Apart from this, playing Blu-ray Audio is simple and can be done without a display screen. The red button on your remote control selects DTS HD 5.1 and the green one selects PCM Stereo. A nice simple arrangement. I am pleased to report that the quality of sound on the red button is again absolutely top class. Whilst no one but an audiophile extremist would claim any recording sounds like the real thing, this is as real as one can wish for. I have never entered Baltimore's Meyerhoff concert hall but I hear a believable picture of the sound from about Row M in this rather beautiful auditorium. Since I like to sit closer in any concert hall I do find this recording a little distant but that is no criticism of the engineers who have made their decision and managed it extremely well. I was struck repeatedly by the feeling that this was like an excellent standard stereo CD with added space and a lack of nasty edges. If this is indeed a result of DTS HD 5.1 mastering then I think listeners will be happy.
 
As to Marin Alsop's way with Dvorák I am less enthusiastic. She directs a performance of both the 6th and the 9th that I would characterise as smooth, lyrical and delicate. Nothing is misplaced and the orchestra plays very well indeed. Having attended many concerts conducted by Maestro Alsop with her ex-UK orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony, of whom she was the principal conductor for several years and is now Conductor Emeritus, I recognise the same good and less good points. These are beautiful performances but lacking some drama. Tempi often seem just a notch too relaxed. Moments when the music seems to demand more rhythmic edge get instead more careful shaping. There is much to enjoy in both symphonies but I find more in the classic Kertesz recordings and in the New World particularly I find Wolfgang Sawallisch's ancient recording with the Philharmonia (1960) has drama, depth and all round sparkle that this lacks. However, no other performances are likely to be better recorded than these and they can be recommended with slightly muted enthusiasm.
 

Dave Billinge
 



 

 

 

 

 



 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.