L.A. Debut: Calling the Woodwinds

Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 from Berstein Century (w/ NY Philharmonic)

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MP3: I. Moderato

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MP3: II. Allegretto

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MP3: III. Largo

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MP3: IV. Allegro Non Troppo

Fresh from what was hailed as “back-to-back triumphs of a truly historic nature” in San Fran, pianist Martha Argerich didn’t miss a beat. In San Fran, her prelude was Gyorgi Ligeti’s ultra-haunting Requiem…in L.A.’s Disney Hall, that whizzing exercise in Belle Epoque decadence – Ravel’s La Valse - lubed us up for some Martha-Lovin’.

For that, thank Yannick Nézet-Séguin.  This 34-year-old conductor’s Los Angeles debut destines him for conquering.(Boston had him first. Cleveland’s getting him next, and I’m fixing to catch him when he debuts at the Met.) If he stays sharp, he’ll prove the Kurt Masur or Charles Dutoit of our era.

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Easily the most striking thing about the new Abe Vigoda album is its production, which is downright poppy relative to tour-mates No Age. Spindly guitars with bizarre effects take up odd angles against each other and tumble from the speakers like Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s used to do when he played in a rock band. Vocals are occasionally intelligible in the mix, performed with a discernible charisma, sometimes chanted, with a dedication to pitch and harmony that recall Eric Gaffney. They’ve also clearly taken a textural shade from another Pride of Baltimore, Animal Collective, minus their obvious influence of that fucking catbird that sits outside my Parkton window every morning and insists upon squaking until I wake.

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Download the whole set as a ZIP archive in MP3 or FLAC audio format.

Abe Vigoda
Floristree
Baltimore, MD
July 9, 2008

Source: Peluso CEMC6/ck4(card)>PS-2>AD-20>NJB3
Transfer: NJB3>PC>SF-7>Wav>FLAC
Taper: Jeff Mewbourn (jm292@yahoo.com)
http://baltimore-taper.blogspot.com

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