LATEST ADDITIONS

Classical Companion
Carlo Gesualdo: Prince Of Darkness
Peter Quantrill  |  Apr 02, 2024
It's both impossible and essential to put the composer's life-story to one side when listening to this music of love and loss, and life and death, says Peter Quantrill

Denis Stevens was a British musicologist who, in the early 1960s, began persuading people to listen to Gesualdo's music rather than marvel at the composer with horrified fascination. One night, after rehearsing the Sixth Book of Madrigals, he was so stunned that on his way home he caught the right train going in the wrong direction.

Continue Reading »
Loudspeakers
Quad Revela 1 Loudspeaker
Review: Ken Kessler,  |  Apr 01, 2024
hfnoutstandingQuad's first new speakers in some seven years feature an evolved version of the ribbon tweeter seen in its 'Corner Horn' of 70 years ago. Now, of course, they come in pairs!

For nearly nine years, I have been listening to Quad's ribbon-hybrid S-1 speaker – the brand's smallest two-way box-type system – as part of my day-to-day desktop set-up. When they were launched, I revelled in the realisation that they were a throwback to Quad's first ever loudspeaker, the Corner Ribbon of 1949, and the all-new Revela 1 tells you that the company's boffins, based in the UK and China, haven't been sitting idle since 2015.

Continue Reading »
Audiophile Vinyl
Audiophile: Vinyl, March 2024
Ken Kessler  |  Mar 29, 2024
This month we review: Dr. John, Art Farmer, Madness and Whitesnake.
Continue Reading »
Audiophile Digital
Audiophile: Digital, March 2024
Ken Kessler  |  Mar 29, 2024
This month, we review: Bryan Ferry, The Long Ryders, Alice Cooper and Henning Sommerro.
Continue Reading »
Rock
Rock, March 2024
Mike Barnes  |  Mar 29, 2024
This month we review: Laetitia Sadier, Black Grape, epic45 and The Fallen Leaves.
Continue Reading »
Jazz
Jazz, March 2024
Steve Harris  |  Mar 29, 2024
This month we review: Erskine & Kavuma, Joel Harrison, Ethan Iverson and Rymden.
Continue Reading »
Classical
Classical, March 2024
Peter Quantrill  |  Mar 29, 2024
This month we review: Bergen PO, ET AL/Sir Mark Elder, Bavarian RSO/Bernard Haitink, Bertrand Chamayou and Borys Fedorov, Anna Fedorova, Mikhail & Dana Zemtsov.
Continue Reading »
Hi-Res Downloads
Hi-Res Downloads, March 2024
Andrew Everard  |  Mar 28, 2024
This month we review and test releases from: Daniel Knaggs, Edward Vesala, Inger Marie Gundersen, My Life Story and Amaro Freitas.
Continue Reading »
Classical Companion
Olivier Messiaen: Vingt regards sur l'enfant Jésus
Peter Quantrill  |  Mar 26, 2024
The jazzical nature of this ostensibly religious piano cycle invites an array of approaches that range from reverential grandeur to gaudy showmanship, finds Peter Quantrill

In the summer of 1944, the head of music at French radio asked the 35-year-old Olivier Messiaen, and the Catholic writer Maurice Toesca, for a reflection on the Nativity in words and music, to be broadcast over the Christmas season. Beyond its title, there is nothing very Christmassy about the piano cycle that became Vingt Regards, which may be why Messiaen's contribution was eventually shelved.

Continue Reading »
Turntables, Arms & Cartridges
Luxman PD-191A Turntable
Review: Ken Kessler,  |  Mar 25, 2024
hfnoutstandingFew brands can match Luxman when it comes to blending traditional engineering values with timeless elegance, and the new PD-191A flagship is an exemplar of the art

There is a coterie of Japanese brands whose products never fail to delight. Along with Air Tight, Denon, SAEC, Stax and a smattering of other high-end producers, Luxman has provided gem after gem, from valve amps of undeniable desirability to great turntables. Luxman's latest flagship deck, the PD-191A, honours the brand's traditional mix of beguiling sound, superior build quality and stunning looks.

Continue Reading »

Pages

X