SWR Classic — New Titles/Journal

Baltikum concert. Marcus Creed conducts the SWR Vokalensemble. Here is the program:

Veljo Tormis: Kaks laulu Ernst Enno sõnadele
Rytis Mažulis: Canon solus
Pēteris Vasks : Litene
Andris Dzenītis: Four Madrigals by e.e. cummings
Justė Janulytė: Plonge
Arvo Pärt: Dopo la Vittoria
Arvo Pärt: Ja ma kuulsin hääle…

See the back cover art for more details about the pieces sung. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

The correct full name in English for the performers would be “ SWR Stuttgart Vocal Ensemble”. SWR stands for Southwest Radio, one of the most important sources in Germany for classical music broadcast and recordings. Under Marcus Creed, this ensemble has an international reputation, especially for a cappella performance of new, rare, or virtuoso choral works. This is the first HDVD published of a cappella singing—

What's New

Here's news about high-definition video disc ("HDVD") recordings of opera, ballet, classical music, plays, fine-art documentaries, and paintings. In the journal below are independent (and hard-to-find critical) reports on hundreds of HDVDs. Pick the best titles for your excelsisphere.

Feb 25. We have just completed one of our most ambitious reviews: Einstein on the Beach opera, the surreal 4 and 1/2 hour cult legend. Kudos, encomiums, and accolades to Opus Arte for giving us this authoritative and weirdly fascinating recording, which we grade A+. Absorbing and learning Einstein is uniquely challenging. We try to help out by providing aids not included in the keepcase materials: an accurate libretto and a list of segments in the opera with correct Opus Arte time stamps. Good luck!

We have some other good grades with an A for the recent Met The Pearl Fishers (Les pêcheurs de perles) and a B- for an earlier The Pearl Fishers from Naples. Also, we recently gave an A- for the new Don Quixote from the Vienna State Ballet.