“Fire & Fancy,” the new LP from Sibelius Piano Trio

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Michael Leser Johnson reviews Fire & Fancy in Analog Planet …Both sides of this record are a tour de force…. All the little details such as note decay, string bite, pizzicato tone, piano weight, are all here in spades. “Nene” by Diego Schicci takes the listener through four themed movements: I. Jumping on the Walls, II. Dozing on a Hanger, III. Riding a mosquito, and IV. Oozing Away. The compositional style is assuredly tonal, but with enough modern thematic elements to appear new and refreshing. The perpetual motion of the first movement; ‘Jumping on the Walls’, as well as mvmt 4 ‘Riding a Mosquito’, is masterfully played by the trio, particularly in the frantic and seemingly random string ostinato that weave in and out of the texture. On another note, I was very impressed by the depth of the recorded Steinway piano tone, which is almost always frustratingly difficult to Continue Reading →

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Catching up with Bob Attiyeh in The Absolute Sound

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Yarlung Records Catching Up With Bob Attiyeh Jeff Wilson Much has been made of the vinyl resurgence that began a little over a decade ago, but that was really part of something larger that had already started brewing.  Suddenly new audiophile labels were popping up that switched or added formats as tastes changed and new technology became available. When Yarlung Records released its first album in 2005, it was definitely ahead of the curve, and for a small, hands-on label, Yarlung quickly achieved an outsized presence, with both GRAMMY® nominations and awards and a large international audience.  Recently, we interviewed the Executive Director of Yarlung, Bob Attiyeh, whose passion for music and insight into the record process have served the label well.  The lockdown has thrown a curveball into the music industry, and I’m curious how it affected you. Did you stay busy, or did everything grind to a halt? Continue Reading →

Wind in the Willows

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ALBUM BOOKLET Yarlung celebrates two people close to us whom we have lost in the past few months.  My friend the veteran Yarlung executive producer Carlos Mollura passed away in February, and my sweet mother Linda Attiyeh died last November.  Both Carlos and Linda believed whole-heartedly in Yarlung and in our mission, and supported us unstintingly since our inception.  We dedicate Antonio Lysy’s Yarlung 15th Anniversary edition of his GRAMMY® Award winning Antonio Lysy at The Broad: Music from Argentina to Carlos.  He and his wonderful wife Haydee (my honorary sister) underwrote this album and serve as executive producers.   I have loved Wind in the Willows since my mother first read it to me when I was four years old, and we dedicate Yarlung’s first audio book to Linda Attiyeh.  Many thanks to executive producer Mike Rosell and audio engineers Cliff Harris and Scot Derwingson-Peacock for your talent and guidance.  Continue Reading →

Antonio Lysy at The Broad: Music from Argentina, Yarlung 15th Anniversary Edition

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ALBUM BOOKLET Yarlung celebrates two people close to us whom we have lost in the past few months.  My friend the veteran Yarlung executive producer Carlos Mollura passed away in February, and my sweet mother Linda Attiyeh died last November.  Both Carlos and Linda believed whole-heartedly in Yarlung and in our mission, and supported us unstintingly since our inception.  We dedicate Antonio Lysy’s Yarlung 15th Anniversary edition of his GRAMMY® Award winning Antonio Lysy at The Broad: Music from Argentina to Carlos.  He and his wonderful wife Haydee (my honorary sister) underwrote this album and serve as executive producers.   I have loved Wind in the Willows since my mother first read it to me when I was four years old, and we dedicate Yarlung’s first audio book to Linda Attiyeh.  Many thanks to executive producer Mike Rosell and audio engineers Cliff Harris and Scot Derwingson-Peacock for your talent and guidance.  Continue Reading →

The Absolute Sound Senior Reviewer Jim Hannon interviews Bob Attiyeh in honor of Yarlung’s 15th Anniversary

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Jim Hannon: Congratulations on your 15th Anniversary! I have enjoyed Yarlung’s superb recordings from the start. They are so well recorded. I use many of them as references for equipment reviews. Here’s hoping that the next fifteen years at Yarlung will be even more fruitful! Yarlung producer Bob Attiyeh: Thank you so much, Jim.  It makes me happy every time I hear that a musician and audiophile like you enjoys our musicians and the way we capture their performances.  It is hard to imagine this is already Yarlung’s 15th anniversary.  Extraordinary musicians and composers, generous corporate and individual underwriters, the finest family of distributors on the planet, and a terrific group of board members for our nonprofit have enabled this success.  Additionally, audiophile titans like Steve Hoffman, Bernie Grundman, Arian Jansen, Elliot Midwood, and yes, Jim Hannon, took us under their wings to make sure we would thrive.  JH: How Continue Reading →

The Absolute Sound Celebrates Yarlung’s 15th Anniversary

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“Congratulations on Yarlung’s 15th Anniversary! I have enjoyed Yarlung’s superb recordings from the start. They are so well recorded. I use many of them as references for equipment reviews. Here’s hoping that the next fifteen years at Yarlung will be even more fruitful!” –Jim Hannon, Senior Writer The Absolute Sound Yarlung thanks the brilliant musicians and team of people and companies who made these first fifteen years possible, including our valiant board members Kat Alder, Bob Attiyeh, Leslie Bigos, Aaron Egigian, Nick Goldsborough, Carol Henry, Sir Neville Marriner (in memoriam), Craig Martin, Donna Morton, Jim Mulally, Abby Sanger and J Schlichting, our all-important executive producers Randy Bellous, Lucile Grieder, Arian Jansen, Ann & Bill Harmsen, Craig & Diane Martin, Elliot Midwood, Carlos & Haydee Mollura, Jim Mulally and Russell Ward, and the generous foundations and corporations who have funded these recordings.  Special thanks this year to the California Community Foundation Continue Reading →

Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis vol 1

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Yuko Mabuchi – Yuko Mabuchi Plays Miles Davis, Volume 1  By Eddie Carter  Yuko Mabuchi has been making a positive statement on the jazz scene since her 2018 releases, Yuko Mabuchi Trio, Volumes 1 and 2.  She steps into the spotlight this morning to give her second live performance at Cammilleri Hall before an enthusiastic crowd.  Yuko Mabuchi Plays Miles Davis, Volume 1 (Yarlung Records YAR45588-171V) is a single 45-rpm audiophile album offering two jewels from Kind of Blue and two original tunes by the leader.  She’s working again with trio members Del Atkins on bass and Bobby Breton on drums, plus JJ Kirkpatrick on trumpet.  JJ is a member of Sophisticated Lady Jazz Quartet and my copy used in this report is the 2020 Stereo album. Yuko sets the groove for Side One with Miles’ All Blues, her enthusiastic notes on the introduction flowing as naturally as spoken words.  Continue Reading →

Laura Strickling triumphant in “Opera News”

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Congratulations Laura! Opera News remains the crème de la crème of publications for serious classical singers.  Opera News wrote a glowing review for Sasha Cooke’s Yarlung debut album If You Love For Beauty, and now Opera News celebrates Laura Strickling and Joy Schreier for their debut album Confessions.  Laura and Joy we are so happy for you. Many thanks for your great artistry Laura and Joy, and thanks to Randy Bellous for your support as our executive producer. Not only did Joanne Sydney Lesser label Confessions with the Opera News Critic’s Choice Award, but opens her article: Laura Strickling, an experienced interpreter of new music, has put together and exemplary recital of world-premiere recordings.  Strickling is a compellingly honest performer, whose rich, expressive soprano conveys vulnerability with a balance of shimmering tone and unaffected diction.  Both Strickling and her superbly emotive pianist Joy Schreier ring every nuance out of these Continue Reading →

Soprano Laura Strickling pays “homage to the feminine, gathering her audience in a warm and brilliant embrace of sisterhood” –American Record Guide

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American Record Guide  March/April 2021, pages 181-182 Confessions Laura Strickling, soprano; Joy Schreier, piano Composers: Assad, Lyons, Cipullo, Kirsten, Djupstrom, Larsen Randy Bellous: Executive Producer Yarlung catalog number 18798     61 minutes Laura Strickling dedicated this album to the memory of her aunt, Janet Strickling, who was a powerful supporter of the album but died from Covid-19 before she could hear the finished product. This album feels like an homage to femininity: the lovely, the messy, the American Record Guide 181 graceful, the rough-around-all-the-edges, and the sisterhood we share with others, with people who encountered it before us and have helped us navigate our own womanhood— and the legacy that we write in the colorful story of our actions and dramas and innermost contemplations. This is a collection of poignant works, pieces whose words and notes exhibit storytelling at its finest. If you see yourself in the texts, you’ll yourself feel Continue Reading →

The Absolute Sounds adds “Young Beethoven” to the famous SUPER LP LIST!

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The Absolute Sound celebrated six Yarlung vinyl titles on the TAS Super LP list again in 2020, and I’m delighted to say that Young Beethoven executive produced by Carlos and Haydee Mollura featuring performances both explosive and subtle by Janaki String Trio now joins as Number 7! Check out Young Beethoven in multiple formats here. Thanks also to Mr. Stephen Estep for his glowing article about Young Beethoven last March.