The 5 Browns: No Boundaries
Ryan Brown, Melody Brown, Gregory Brown, Deondra Brown, Desirae Brown, piano.
RCA 73339-2
Format: DualDisc

Musical Performance
Sound Quality
Overall Enjoyment

Watching this disc’s three video performances by these five siblings playing an equal number of grand pianos, I was reminded of the Cowsills. That family group brought a wholesome attitude to rock music that made it palatable to cautious parents and united generations. The 5 Browns present just such a wholesome image, making classical and concert music enjoyable to their peers and their parents. The group’s second DualDisc follows the pattern established in the first: All five Browns perform special arrangements of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Stravinsky’s Firebird, and a composite of Copland’s "Simple Gifts" and "Going Home." In between, various duo and solo performances address music by Lecouna, Liszt, Ravel, Lutoslawski, Ginastera, and Rachmaninoff. But the Browns are no circus act. Each of these young pianists is an assured virtuoso with a thorough grounding in technique and style. Together or separately, they bring an uncommon joie de vivre and abandoned lyricism to every piece they play. The finale of the Stravinsky loses none of its symphonic grandeur, and the arrangement of "Simple Gifts" and "Going Home" has as much lyrical expression as any performance by a full orchestra. The sound, too, is better this time around. Though I miss the 5.1-channel DVD-Audio sound on this DualDisc’s DVD side, the compressed Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks are much cleaner than I would have thought. Considering the complexity of recording five grand pianos, this mix is the clearest, though the 2.0 PCM and CD mixes are quite acceptable in their own rights. The video for the Stravinsky, Gershwin, and Copland is clean and clear -- widescreen but not anamorphic.…Rad Bennett

Nielsen: Symphony No. 2, "The Four Temperaments"; Symphony No. 4, "The Inextinguishable"; Helios Overture; The Fog Is Lifting
Chicago Symphony; Morton Gould (Symphony 2), Jean Martinon (Symphony 4, Helios), conductors. James Galway, flute; Sioned Williams, harp (Fog).
RCA 76237-2
Format: CD

Musical Performance
Sound Quality
Overall Enjoyment

The music of Carl Nielsen was all but unknown when I started collecting LPs. There were only a few recordings here and there, badly recorded and poorly distributed. In the early 1960s, Leonard Bernstein began a Nielsen revival that has continued to the present. Bernstein’s recordings of four of the symphonies still grab one’s attention, and there have since been excellent complete cycles from a number of maestros, but none come close to these readings in intensity, and none surpass them in execution. The Chicago Symphony was in peak form in 1966, when Symphonies 2 and 4 were recorded, and both Morton Gould and Jean Martinon, the latter the CSO’s Music Director at the time, bring energy, unbounded lyricism, and drama to these thrilling readings. In fact, Martinon’s Fourth is the definitive recording. The sound, too, is spectacular. Seldom has the duel between the left and right sets of timpani in Symphony 4 sounded so clean and savage. This disc, one of RCA’s Classic Library Series, has been transferred using the DSD system. As I noted in a previous review of a CD in this series, this method sounds closer to SACD reproduction than any other CDs on the market. DSD apparently makes a big difference. The excellent program notes, by the way, are by our own Richard Freed.…Rad Bennett

Chabrier: Piano Music (Impromptu, Dix pièces pittoresques, Aubade, Habanera, Bourée Fantasque, etc.)
Monica Hewitt, piano.
Hyperion 67515
Format: Hybrid Multichannel SACD

Musical Performance
Sound Quality
Overall Enjoyment

If you want some summertime listening that’s lively but not bombastic or loud, this disc would seem to be just right. The music is by Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894), one of the most jovial and friendly composers who ever lived -- a man who enjoyed life to the hilt. His works are known today largely in orchestral versions, but the original piano scores -- and certainly as played here -- seem even better. Monica Hewitt realizes the good nature revealed by this music, and her playing is in the same vein. Her prodigious technique lets her toss off the mercurial Ronde Champètre and the famous Bourée Fantasque with ease. She’s also able to get inside the music to capture the undulating, voluptuous nature of such Spanish-influenced compositions as Habanera and Aubade. Hyperion’s sound is excellent throughout. The CD layer is clean, but the multichannel tracks provide more presence and allow one to more easily hear the many subtleties in Hewitt’s remarkable performances.…Rad Bennett

Wolfmother: Wolfmother
Modular MODCD041
Format: CD

Musical Performance
Sound Quality
Overall Enjoyment

Leave it to the Australians to awaken the slumbering Rock Dragon. While America sits obsessing over Idols and the next celebrity pregnancy, this power trio from Sydney has not so quietly unleashed the beast and the best rock album of the year. Bassist-keyboardist Chris Ross lays the heavy foundation for the album’s 13 tracks, and guitarist-vocalist Andrew Stockdale channels as if by decree the spirits of Ozzy Osbourne and Robert Plant. Round this out with the solid rhythms and orgiastic fills of drummer Myles Heskett and you’ve got yourself one mother of a rock band. Rock music of this nature sounds best when turned up loud, and Wolfmother is no exception. The tight bass and double-layered vocal effects are fully realized at high volume. Fans of the fantastic, behold: The opening track, "Dimension," sings of purple hazes, angel eyes, prophetic horses, and lightning bolts illuminating other dimensions. And if that’s not enough to convince you, try "White Unicorn," or "Where Eagles Have Been." You’ll have visions of golden rainbows. They’re a bit mystical, but definitely worth a close, loud listen. Word to your (wolf)mother.…Shannon Holliday

Beegie Adair: Sentimental Journey
Village Square VSD 3055
Format: CD

Musical Performance
Sound Quality
Overall Enjoyment

Pianist Beegie Adair has released more than ten albums in only nine years, and her latest, Sentimental Journey, is exactly what you’d expect: straight-ahead, pleasant piano playing accompanied by her capable duo of bass and drums. The album is a collection of World War II tunes, words omitted and replaced by Adair’s instrumental interpretations. While her renditions of such classics as Cole Porter’s "Begin the Beguine" are skillfully executed, they lack the sort of interpretations that could make this album a standout. Regardless, Sentimental Journey has a pleasant, nostalgic feel, though Adair could be a significant artist if she took more risks. The recording itself could have been much better; the sounds of the bass and drums are nearly nonexistent.…Katherine Silkaitis