Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, Dance Suite, Hungarian Peasant Songs
Hungarian National Philharmonic; Zoltán Kocsis, conductor.
Hungaroton 32187
Format: Hybrid Multichannel SACD

Musical Performance
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Overall Enjoyment

With this recording, Zoltán Kocsis, already established as today’s leading performer of Bartók’s piano music, emerges as the premier conductor of the composer’s orchestral works. His balance of lyricism and drama is ideal, his readings crackle with excitement without ever seeming heavy-handed or roughhewn, and the superb Hungarian National Philharmonic responds to his every demand. The strings are silky yet focused, the brass section rich and warm yet pungent when that is needed, and the woodwinds are virtuosic -- the bassoon playing is incredible in all aspects. This performance not only rivals the classic one by Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony, it is a notch better. This is partly because of the excellent sound. The balances are perfect, with just enough bounce off the rear walls in the multichannel mix to give a feeling of the hall and help impart ultimate presence to each instrument, whether it is playing softly or loudly. The only miscalculation is in the second movement of the Concerto, where the side drum seems just a touch too prominent in the center channel. If we gave a rating higher than "5," this disc would get it….Rad Bennett

Bill Madden: Samsara’s Grip
MADMUSE 98451 04012
Format: CD

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As a 15-year vegan and animal-rights activist, I’m glad Bill Madden’s CD Samsara’s Grip gets lots of college airplay. He’s been vegan and into AR for ten years, is interested in Eastern thought, and donates money to the fights against AIDS, TB, and malaria. This disc doesn’t mention food politics, but Madden’s website offers relevant links. Madden sings of the need to discard violence and destructively constraining ideas. In these 11 tunes, mostly recorded live, the music grows so organically from the words that to describe it as "arranged" would make it sound too calculated. My one gripe is Madden’s overly affected singing. A plainer vocal style would have highlighted the thoughts and better established the voice. My 1974 Webster’s defines samsara as the Hindu conception of human existence as a cycle in which the same soul is repeatedly reborn….David Cantor

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
Vienna Philharmonic; Sir Colin Davis, conductor.
Philips B0003347-19
Format: DVD-Audio

Musical Performance
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Overall Enjoyment

This 1990 recording, the third of the four that Sir Colin Davis recorded in two channels, has been remixed into very satisfying multichannel sound. While Davis, a Berlioz specialist, has scored by recording the composer’s more obscure or neglected works, the Symphonie Fantastique is Berlioz’s best-known composition, and Davis must compete with excellent recordings by Charles Munch, Jean Martinon, and Sir Charles Mackerras. What sets this performance apart and makes it a viable alternative is Davis’ innate sense of lyricism -- in this performance, everything sings -- even the "March to the Scaffold." There is fire when needed, as in the finale, but all within a lyrical frame. The recording, which is a bit dreamlike, helps. There’s detail aplenty, but no instrument ever seems spotlit, just naturally present. The harps and cornet are especially effective at the beginning of the second movement, and the timpani are particularly well recorded -- not to mention the spooky funeral bells in the last movement, which are mixed to the rear for a ghostly, disembodied sound. If you want a performance in which adrenaline runs high, choose one of the three mentioned above; but if you like your Berlioz to sing, this reading should suit you very well….Rad Bennett

Herbie Hancock: Gershwin’s World
With Joni Mitchell, Kathleen Battle, Chick Corea, Kenny Garrett, Stevie Wonder.
Verve B0001379
Format: Hybrid Multichannel SACD

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This eclectic mix, recorded in 1998, ranges from traditional interpretations of such songs as "The Man I Love" to a progressive romp through Duke Ellington’s "Cotton Tail," with many interesting guests dropping in along the way. Joni Mitchell is formidable in her two tracks, "The Man I Love" and "Summertime." The multitalented Mitchell is no stranger to jazz, but here she dives in as if she’s been singing jazz all her life. She is joined in "Summertime" by Stevie Wonder, who is given his own solo turn on "St. Louis Blues." Yes, this disc is not all Gershwin, but includes some of his friends and admirers as well, including Maurice Ravel, who is represented by an interpretation of the second movement of the Piano Concerto in G in which Hancock is joined by members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. The surround mix puts performers in all four quadrants of the 360 degrees surrounding the listener. Occasionally I felt nervous at hearing an important melodic line from over my shoulder, but largely the choices are well taken. The high resolution of the SACD format allows every nuance of each talented artist to be heard without the listener having to strain….Rad Bennett

Citizen Cope: The Clarence Greenwood Recordings
RCA 82876 52114-2
Format: CD

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Citizen Cope is Clarence Greenwood, a multi-instrumentalist, DJ, and songwriter who first appeared on recordings by Maryland rapper Basehead. The prominence Greenwood has given the lower-register drum and bass lines in the mixes on The Clarence Greenwood Recordings, his third disc, gives it the visceral impact of hip-hop, but Greenwood’s music also shows the influences of rock, blues, and soul. Though his stories of urban life are often harsh, a strong current of hope runs through them: the delusional homeless man who falls in love with a 40-foot-tall woman is defiant and, in his way, dignified; the expectant father driving his wife to the hospital to have their baby tells us, "Man she saves me / To this day I don’t know why." Greenwood’s voice doesn’t have a wide range, but it’s pleasant and emotionally expressive. Some songs are built on a few simple elements to which he adds sonic details, while others are more carefully constructed; nearly all are memorable and deeply moving….Joseph Taylor