Well, might as well do the Weekly Media Check before heading to bed:
DVD - Empty - The same pile from four weeks ago is still on stand-by.
VCR - Empty - I hardly ever use it now anyway.
CD Player - Here we go again...
Cast Recordings:
It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman (OBC-reissue)
Sherry! (Studio Cast)
Bugsy Malone (NYMT)
Flower Drum Song (OBC)
Contact (OB?)
Anything Goes (Studio Cast - Kim Criswell, Cris Groenendaal, etc. - John McGlinn)
Notre-Dame de Paris - (English Language recording - I don't have any other recordings, so I'm not sure if there's a French recording, but there probably is - and I may track one down sometime in the future... The English lyrics are just plain bad in some places, and awful in others. And the music... Hmmm...)
Classical:
-Lutoslawski - Piano Concerto and other works (Zimerman, Lutoslawski) - I could do without the "other works", and I think the Piano Concerto works better on paper than on disc - imho. *It really is a fascinating score to follow.
-Arleen Auger (soprano) - "The Art of Arleen Auger" - Songs of Larsen, Purcell (arr. Britten), Schumann and Mozart. Sadly, Miss Auger passed away in 1993 after a battle with cancer - I believe she had a brain tumor, if I'm remembering correctly.
-Marilyn Horne - "Rossini Recital"
-Emanuel Ax - "Haydn Piano Sonatas", Nos. 29, 31, 34, 35, 49. His third disc of Haydn sonatas.
-Jose Van Dam - Orchestral Song Cycles by Martin, Ravel, Ibert and Poulenc (Opera Orchestra of Lyon, Kent Nagano). -It's nice having the "competing" Don Quichotte settings of Ravel and Ibert on one disc. Martin's "Sechs Monologe aus Jedermann" are fascinating - I need to try and track down the piano and voice originals one of these days; and Poulenc's "Le bal masqué" is quintessential Poulenc.
Pop, Jazz and Other:
-"Appalachian Journey" - Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer and Mark O'Connor
-Rare Silk - "New Weave" - I saw this vocal group a few times at Blues Alley while I was in high school. Three woman, one man. However, the best time was when when they were the opening act for Freddie Hubbard at the Carton Barron Amphitheatre. It was a free concert! They did a full hour for their opening set. Then Freddie Hubbard played almost two hours non-stop. -Oh, and Michel Petrucianni was touring with him at the time. And then for the first of a couple of encores, Rare Silk came back out and performed Mr. Hubbard's "Red Clay" with Mr. Hubbard.
-Billy Joel - "52nd Street" - So many great songs on this album, my favorite being "Until the Night".
-Janis Siegel and Fred Hersch - "Short Stories"
-Ben Folds Five - "Whatever and Ever Amen"
