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Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) – Stravinsky: L’Oiseau de feu; Feu d’artifice; 4 Etudes (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 59:39 minutes | 521 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The orchestra’s most recent music director is Riccardo Muti, whose tenure spanned 13 seasons, from 2010–2023. The CSO is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the “Big Five”.
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Rachel Kolly d’Alba, Christian Chamorel, Spektral Quartet Chicago – Franck & Chausson: Fin de siècle (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:08:51 minutes | 1,22 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Aparté
This new album by Rachel Kolly d’Alba takes us to the heart of this Fin de Siècle and we learn all its secrets. Accompanied for the occasion by his partner of always: Christian Chamorel, and Spektral Quartet Chicago. A glowing interpretation, deep and visionary!
Few works of the period are more recognizable than César Franck’s magnificent Violin Sonata. The work has been transcribed for nearly every instrument on the planet and is a permanent staple of the repertoire. Franck’s influence on Ernest Chausson’s Concerto is unmistakable. A late-Romantic hybrid, the work blends elements of piano quintet and string quintet styles.
Rachel Kolly d’Alba signed worldwide with Warner Classics in 2010. Her first release of six sonatas by composer Eugène Ysaÿe burst onto the musical scene receiving unanimously high praise from international press. Her Wigmore Hall debut in April last year was reviewed in Musical Opinion as ‘virtuosity of the most brilliant and effortless kind, with Christian Chamorel, time and again, proving himself to be a truly exceptional partner’.
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Wilbur Ware – The Chicago Sound (High Definition Remaster 2023) (1957/2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 38:37 minutes | 380 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © J. Joes J. Edizioni Musicali
The Chicago Sound is the sole album led by American jazz bassist Wilbur Ware. It features a quintet with the saxophonist Johnny Griffin and was recorded in 1957 for the Riverside label. It was subsequently re-released by the Jazzland label as: Johnny Griffin & Wilbur Ware with Junior Mance and renamed “The Chicago Cookers” in 1960.Allmusic reviewer Scott Yanow considered the album “a fine debut by Ware. It seems strange that in his remaining 20-plus years the bassist never led another album”.
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Chicago Symhony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner – Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition, A Night On Bald Mountain & Other Russian Showpieces (2004)
SACD ISO: 3,38 GB | FLAC @ 24bit/88.2kHz: 1,35 GB | Full Artwork | 3% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: RCA Red Seal “Living Stereo” # 82876613942 | Country/Year: Europe 2004, 1957/1959
Genre: Classical | Style: Various, Russian, Romantic, Early 20th Century
Comparing RCA’s new Reiner Mussorgsky Pictures SACD to its previous Living Stereo CD incarnation is similar to the experience of viewing a television screen after wiping away accumulated dust. Everything appears clearer, with enhanced detail and impact. The noticeably improved stereo separation creates a solid, three-dimensional effect–even though this is the two-channel version. [Editor’s Note: The three-channel remastering is equally successful, and even more vibrant overall.] Listen to The Old Castle and hear the precise placement of instrumental groups in the sound picture, especially the percussion, with its crisp cymbals and powerful, punchy bass drum. This is even more the case in The Hut on Fowls Legs, where the strings take on a newly detailed articulation. In the Great Gate of Kiev you can now hear the fabled Chicago brass sound in its full, unrestrained splendor. The remaining selections are just as impressive sonically. But of course, marveling at the sound quality of these 40-year-old recordings is only a secondary consideration. Reiner’s magnificent and still-unequalled performances remain the real reason for acquiring this disc. For newcomers, these new SACD transfers should remove any hesitations regarding sound quality, while veterans will feel an old romance rekindled. — Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com
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Mei-Ann Chen, Chicago Sinfonietta – Project W: Works by Diverse Women Composers (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 01:14:06 minutes | 1,27 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Cedille
Conductor Mei-Ann Chen and the Chicago Sinfonietta — the adventurous, MacArthur Award-winning orchestra that champions racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in classical music — give world-premiere recordings of newly commissioned American works by Jennifer Higdon, Clarice Assad, Jessie Montgomery, and Reena Esmail on Project W: Works by Diverse Women Composers, the capstone project of its 30th anniversary season.
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Makaya McCraven – Where We Come From (Chicago x London Mixtape) (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 46:21 minutes | 522 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © International Anthem
Drummer/producer Makaya McCraven traveled to London in October of 2017 to record material for a new album (which has since been titled Universal Beings & will come out on International Anthem in Fall of 2018). Over the course of 3 days in London, Makaya connected with first time collaborators (Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia, Joe Armon-Jones, Soweto Kinch, Ashley Henry, Daniel Casimir and Kamaal Williams), and in addition to the Universal Beings studio sessions, did 2 improvised performances as part of a 2-night showcase called CHICAGOxLONDON presented by International Anthem & EZH Mag at legendary UK Jazz hub Total Refreshment Centre (TRC). The following Sunday afternoon five producers (LeFtO, Ben LaMar Gay, Quiet Dawn, Earl Jeffers & Don Leisure of the Darkhouse Family) were invited to TRC to participate in an event called Fresh Roasted: Live Beat-Making & Battle, where they did live remixes of the recordings from Makaya & co’s CHICAGOxLONDON performances. In the subsequent months, remixes by Emma-Jean Thackray and Lexus Blondin were added to the pool, at which point Makaya took all the remixes and the raw live recordings from TRC back to his home studio in Chicago, chopped everything up and re-composed the music into two continuous side suites for this CHICAGOxLONDON mixtape.
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Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado – Mahler: Symphony No. 5 (1981/2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:12:26 minutes | 2,02 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
As with just about all the Mahler symphonies, Abbado has made multiple recordings of the Fifth, but this, his first, remains his finest, and an exceptional performance by any standard. It has all of the famed Chicago virtuosity but also a welcome attention to detail and willingness to savor a phrase that you almost never find with Solti’s Chicago Mahler. It’s great to hear a coda to the second movement that for once does not sound anti-climactic. We expect the horn playing in the scherzo to be stunning, and so it is, but the music also has grace, charm, and plenty of atmosphere at an appropriately relaxed basic tempo that, as you can hear, leaves plenty of space for the big moments to expand.
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King Crimson – Live In Chicago, 28 June 2017 (Collector’s Club Special Edition) (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 02:35:50 minutes | 3,22 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Discipline Global Mobile
Two CD set, taken from the band’s most recent US tour. Media-book presentation with 24 pages booklet featuring photography by Tony Levin & David Singleton. Featuring many iconic King Crimson pieces performed live by this line-up for the first time – some being played live for the first time ever, including: Islands, The Lizard Suite, The Errors, Fallen Angel, Cirkus & more.
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Junior Wells’ Chicago Blues Band – Hoodoo Man Blues (2009) [Analogue Productions]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 39:57 minutes | Scans Included | 1,31 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Full Scans Included | 879 MB
Hoodoo Man Blues is not only Junior Wells’ initial LP appearance, it is damn near the first LP by a Chicago Blues Band. Chess and a few other labels had reissued 45’s by Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howling Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Elmore James, etc., but virtually no one had tried to capture the Chicago Blues sound free of the limitations of juke-box/airplay promotion.
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Artur Rubinstein, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner – Brahms: Piano concerto No. 1 (1955/2005)
SACD ISO (2.0): 765 MB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 840 MB | Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: RCA Red Seal “Living Stereo” # 82876-66378-2 RE1 | Country/Year: US 2005, 1955
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic
Artur Rubinstein’s elegant 1954 recording of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor with Fritz Reiner & the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is a bona fide classic from the earliest days of stereo; this sumptuous album has been available for decades & has earned a permanent place in RCA’s catalog. It reappears here in the SACD format & sounds cleaner & more detailed than ever before; yet the advanced technology only goes so far & this disc may disappoint audiophiles. Because RCA has carefully preserved its Living Stereo master tapes, it is relatively easy to reproduce them through DSD & render a terrific ADD version. However, the original 2-channel tracks have not been altered for multichannel systems, so the sound comes only from the front channels on the left & right. In essence, this is glorified stereo with remarkable presence — one feels quite close to Rubinstein, & the CSO seems only feet away — but there is no additional surround sound depth. For the sake of authenticity, this is just as well, & Rubinstein & Reiner at least are not misrepresented through creative engineering. One may regret, however, that this SACD has no bonus tracks & find that it offers less value than other titles in the line.
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Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra – Brahms: Violin Concerto (1955) [APO Remaster 2015]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 34:32 minutes | Scans NOT included | 1,38 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans NOT included | 716 MB
RCA Living Stereo Series from Analogue Productions. Another of the rare performances of violinist Jascha Heifetz and conductor Fritz Reiner together with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This stunning recording of Brahms’ Violin Concerto is nothing short of breathtaking. The original 30 ips 2-track analog tape was used to master these LP and SACD reissues. Remastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, these new versions are clearer than the originals and warmer and richer than past reissues.
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Jacqueline Du Pre, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim – Dvorak: Cello Concerto & Silent Woods (1971) [Japan 2011]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 49:12 minutes | Basic Scans included | 1,97 GB
or FLAC 2.0 (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Basic Scans included | 1,05 GB
At a young age, cellist Jacqueline du Pre achieved mainstream popularity. She is regarded as one of the most distinctive cellists of the last half of the 20th century. Her career was cut short by a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis which stopped her performances at the age of 27. This release was recorded in November 1970 at the Medinah Temple in Chicago & contains Dvorak’s 3 movements: Allegro, Adagio ma non troppo & Finale: Allegro Moderato as well as the additional piece of music Silent Woods, Op. 68. This is a pure analogue tape recording re-mastered for SACD.
Read more![Jack DeJohnette, Muhal Richard Abrams, Larry Gray, Roscoe Mitchell, Henry Threadgill - Made in Chicago: Live at the Chicago Jazz Festival (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz] Download](https://i0.wp.com/imghd.xyz/images/2023/04/03/0060253780937_600.jpg?resize=500%2C500&ssl=1)
Jack DeJohnette, Muhal Richard Abrams, Larry Gray, Roscoe Mitchell, Henry Threadgill – Made in Chicago: Live at the Chicago Jazz Festival (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:17:38 minutes | 808 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © ECM
With Made In Chicago, an exhilarating live album, Jack DeJohnette celebrates a reunion with old friends. In 1962, DeJohnette, Roscoe Mitchell and Henry Threadgill were all classmates at Wilson Junior College on Chicago’s Southside, pooling energies and enthusiasms in jam sessions. Shortly thereafter Jack joined Muhal Richard Abrams’ Experimental Band, and Roscoe and Henry soon followed him. When Abrams cofounded the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians in 1965, DeJohnette, Mitchell and Threadgill were all deeply involved from the outset, presenting concerts and contributing to each other’s work under the AACM umbrella. Jack brought them together again for a very special concert at Chicago’s Millenium Park in August 2013, completing the group with the addition of bassist/cellist Larry Gray. The concert recording – featuring compositions by Roscoe, Henry, Muhal and Jack, plus group improvising – was mixed by Manfred Eicher and Jack DeJohnette at New York’s Avatar Studio. Made In Chicago is issued as the AACM begins its 50th anniversary year.
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![Scott Speck, Chicago Philharmoic, Jory Vinikour - 20th Century Harpsichord Concertos (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download](https://i0.wp.com/imghd.xyz/images/2023/03/31/dtsketngootrb_600.jpg?resize=500%2C500&ssl=1)
Scott Speck, Chicago Philharmoic, Jory Vinikour – 20th Century Harpsichord Concertos (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:15:37 minutes | 1,53 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Cedille
Two-time Grammy Award-nominated harpsichordist Jory Vinikour joins the Chicago Philharmonic, “one of the country’s finest symphonic orchestras” (Chicago Tribune), and its artistic director Scott Speck in a program of 20th-century harpsichord concertos spanning more than six decades.
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