James Matheson on “New Music Box”

Posted on by

BY JAMES MATHESON OCTOBER 19, 2016 Originally Published on NewMusicBox.com If experience is the primary generator of wisdom, it’s unfortunate that wisdom often comes at a high and sometimes painful price. All told, I can recall moving 22 times since I was an undergraduate, with at least another half dozen moves before then. Usually I would throw everything I owned in a car and drive. Eventually I started renting U-Hauls.  The last couple of moves I hired movers, like grown-ups do. Everywhere I went I took my crates of LPs. AC/DC, Zeppelin, Psychedelic Furs, Solti’s complete Ring Cycle with Birgit Nilsson, Dorati’s complete Haydn Symphonies, most of Zappa’s records – and many more. In one of the later moves, my Denon turntable broke. And I now had crates of CDs to drag around, too. Perhaps, dear Reader, you can feel where this tale of too-late wisdom is heading… In 2012 Continue Reading →

Laura Strickling shines in James Matheson’s “Times Alone”

Posted on by

October 20, 2016 Voices from the Heart Mark Estren reviews Yarlung’s new CD “James Matheson” on INFODAD.com: …it is the vocal work, Times Alone, that is most immediately striking. It is a setting, in English, of five surrealist poems from the 1907 collection called Soledades, galerias y otros poemas by Antonio Machado (1875-1939). The emotional progression of the poems is handled particularly adeptly by [soprano] Laura Strickling and [pianist] Thomas Sauer: the first three poems are on the light, even playful side, but the last two become more thoughtful, serious and introspective, and the works’ imagery is well-reflected in Matheson’s nicely proportioned settings. Like the other works here, Times Alone was recorded live in performance…. …Matheson is a highly interesting composer whose work genuinely seeks to reach out to audiences, and this recording is as good an introduction to (or exploration of) the forms in which he works as anyone Continue Reading →

Uwe Krusch reviews James Matheson in “Pizzicato”

Posted on by

Yarlung | Amazon | iTunes | NativeDSD | HD Tracks The original review in German James Matheson: String Quartet, Konzert für Violine und Orchester, Times Alone; Color Field Quartet, Baird Dodge, Violine, Laura Strickling, Sopran, Thomas Sauer, Klavier, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen; 1 CD Yarlung 25670; Aufnahmen 12/2011 und 11/2015 (77’59) – Rezension von Uwe Krusch When European orchestras perform in Asia, the audience generally looks forward to hearing European compositions.  When American or Asian orchestras travel to Europe, however, European audiences normally hear only a smattering of American or Asian music on those programs, perhaps an overture or so.  For these reasons, it is rare to hear a concert in Europe made up of music written elsewhere.  Even classics like those written by Leonard Bernstein rarely show up on serious programs, except perhaps for dances from West Side Story.  One feels very fortunate to hear the occasional work by Copland or Adams.  If Continue Reading →

James Matheson Review: Stephen Greenbank, MusicWeb International, United Kingdom

Posted on by

This is my first encounter with the music of James Matheson, an American composer whose music is both colourful and accessible. What better introduction could there be – a concerto, a string quartet and a song-cycle. The recording was sponsored by J and Helen Schlichting of California, who also commissioned the String Quartet. At 18 minutes the Quartet’s opening movement is the most substantial and ambitious. It begins with a swirling coruscation of sound, persistently driven and underpinned by motoric rhythms. There’s a feel of forward momentum and purposeful direction. In the central section, where the music is more relaxed, each instrument is given the opportunity to state its case. Then the energy returns in the form of declamatory sweeps. The slow movement is intensely lyrical, but the emotion is tinged with melancholy and sadness. At one point it reaches a passionate climax. The finale is, as it states on Continue Reading →

Andrew Quint reviews “James Matheson” for The Absolute Sound

Posted on by

Matheson: Violin Concerto, String Quartet, Times Alone. Music, Video and Downloads Yarlung Record’s program produced and financed by the musical philanthropists J and Helen Schlichting of Southern California, is an excellent introduction to the notable American composer James Matheson. Matheson, now in his mid-40s, wrote his Violin Concerto for Baird Dodge, principal second violinist of the Chicago Symphony — and once the composer’s roommate at Swarthmore College. All of Matheson’s music has a bold, cinematic flair. His writing for solo violin is highly idiomatic and virtuosic; the orchestral contribution is extravagantly colorful. Matheson employs an advanced tonal syntax and confidently cites other styles as he makes his argument: the central Chaconne of the Concerto references the slow movement from Mahler’s Sixth Symphony and the energetic finale strongly suggests bluegrass. Esa-Pekka Salonen was on the podium leading the CSO for the world premiere recorded here in December of 2011. Dodge joined Continue Reading →

James Matheson

Posted on by

Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Baird Dodge, violin Color Field Quartet (members of CSO and Chicago Lyric Opera orchestra) soprano Laura Strickling & pianist Thomas Sauer Executive Producers: J and Helen Schlichting Music Samples Video Album booklet James Matheson | Esa-Pekka Solonen | Chicago Symphony Orchestra | Baird Dodge | Laura Strickling | Yarlung | Music Publisher NativeDSD | HDtracks | CD Let us know what you think. Matheson’s concerto is a supercharged showpiece for virtuoso violinist and orchestra that connects with the listener on a visceral as well as intellectual level. It keeps the soloist extremely busy as he negotiates a maze of vivid, colorful orchestral …. While neo-romantic in overall flavor, Matheson is original enough to shun the feel-good bromides that constitute so much of today’s “new” classical music. –John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune Unlike many younger composers who have a basic idea and then try to orchestrate it, Matheson writes in full orchestral Continue Reading →

Yarlung Records files using SonoruS Holographic Imaging

Posted on by

Thank you for your interest in SonoruS Holographic Imaging.[1] Some people say it feels like the sonic equivalent of virtual reality. Friends who have heard demonstrations of SonoruS Holographic Imaging have remarked on a realistic three-dimensional sound stage and have appreciated the natural presence of the musicians and their placement within the acoustics of the concert hall.[2] If you have set up stereo speakers in your room correctly, this format can fill the room with musical information.  The free downloads on this page can help you decide if you like Holographic Imaging and if it works well in your stereo system.  If you don’t like the effect, or if the effect doesn’t work, please choose our regular stereo version of the same music. Please note! Yarlung’s SonoruS Holographic Imaging files do not work on headphones.  Moreover, they only work for one person sitting in the center.  Two people listening side-by-side on Continue Reading →

Yarlung Records: An Audiophile Label With a Greater Purpose

Posted on by

by Bob Attiyeh and posted on The Absolute Sound, April 15, 2016. The Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society, the world’s largest such organization with nearly 2000 members, honored at their annual Gala dinner and awards ceremony in December 2015, Yarlung Records founder Bob Attiyeh with its Humanitarian Award. Yarlung Records is a nonprofit organization that provides recording opportunities to up-and-coming artists. Many illustrious careers have been jump-started by exposure from Yarlung recordings. The recordings, which span a wide range of musical genres, are made to the highest audiophile standards, with many releases issued on vinyl including 45rpm discs. Upon hearing Bob Attiyeh’s acceptance speech at the LA&OC awards ceremony, I was struck by the tremendous contribution Bob Attiyeh and Yarlung Records is making in support of music and young musicians. I asked him to send to me his speech so that TAS can share with its readers the Continue Reading →

Classics Today Review: “Sasha Cooke’s Captivating Orchestral Songs”

Posted on by

Yarlung| Amazon | NativeDSD | HDTracks | iTunes  Excerpts from a review on Classics Today of Sasha Cooke — “If You Love for Beauty” — by David Vernier American mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke… has a voice of substance, lustrous and silver-toned, especially rich and vibrant in the lower register, with the assured technique of one who has the goods and just knows what to do with her gift…. She characterizes the mood, various colors, and moments of rising intensity, or more “dreamy” or reflective passages in the Chausson Poème particularly well, expertly abbetted on all counts by a very fine orchestra and its sensitive music director Yehuda Gilad. Cooke’s voice has the size and expressive range to sustain focus on and interest in whatever she is doing, in true collaboration with an orchestra that’s sizable and exceptionally colorful in its own right. Throughout the Chausson, and also in the Mahler (excellent solo horn and Continue Reading →

Taku Kurosawa interviews Yarlung’s Bob Attiyeh for e-onkyo Music

Posted on by

Introducing one of the world’s leading high sound quality record labels: “Yarlung Records” Taku Kurosawa interviews Yarlung’s Bob Attiyeh for e-onkyo Music, April 1st, 2016 translated from the Japanese by Mika Sasaki Yarlung Records is a label based in Los Angeles (in the United States) which has received extremely high recognition for its producing and recording work, primarily in classical music. Cellist Antonio Lysy’s album, “Antonio Lysy at the Broad Music from Argentina,” – which included a commission from Lalo Schifrin, among others – received the 11th Latin Grammy Award in 2013. For this article, we interviewed Mr. Bob Attiyeh, who represents Yarlung Records as the executive director, producer and recording engineer. We asked him about the characteristics, goals, recording equipment, musical goals, and any recommendations for albums that might be of interest to our readers. − What are some characteristics of Yarlung products? Are there any policies and values which Continue Reading →