[Bob Attiyeh]

Many of us know Steve Hoffman's mastering work and the gems he's created and remastered in the jazz world. But Steve is equally adept in classical music, be it mastering recordings with soloists, small ensembles or full orchestras. (Steve is a classical pianist, you know....) If you're interested, you can sense Steve's legacy in the new Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Czech National Symphony releases that came out this month on Yarlung Records. We're very proud of both! If you like them, send Steve a thank you note.

First there's A Tribute to Pierre Fournier with 'cellist John Walz and the Czech National Symphony, and then there's Sir Neville Marriner conducting the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in LACO's 40th Anniversary Album. My friend Ted Ancona, the engineer of KUSC fame, recorded the LACO album during live concert performances.

John Walz plays Martinu, Vivaldi and Couperin, and Sir Neville conducts pianist Jeffrey Kahane in Beethoven's piano concerto No. 1, coupled with Pierre Jalbert's Chamber Symphony. CDs available at www.yarlungrecords.com.

But here's the most recent news:

I'm delighted to announce that Yarlung Records is honored to be the first American label chosen by renowned Linn Records in Europe for high resolution 24 bit downloads. Many of you in the Music Circle asked me "when will Yarlung offer music in high resolution?" We begin with Martin Chalifour in Walt Disney Concert Hall, and LACO's 40th Anniversary album.

High resolution downloads available at www.linnrecords.com, as well as previews of each track. Type "Yarlung" in the Linn search field. And browse the Linn collection; you will enjoy it. Linn remains one of the great audiophile record labels in the world.

Closer to home, we celebrate David Fung's Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra debut last month playing Ravel's piano concerto in G Major. Many of you know David's playing from his two solo Yarlung albums (one of which is the first time Steve Hoffman mastered for us), and David's recording collaboration with 'cellist Elinor Frey on Dialoghi and Inner World CDs.

Alicia Kibbey writes in the Los Angeles Times: "David Fung is exceptionally good. After having heard Martha Argerich perform the Ravel Concerto with the Phil last month [this was the Los Angeles Philharmonic], I was sure Fung would appear lackluster to our beloved Martha. Instead, his performance outshone hers in rhythmic excitement, orchestral ensemble (partly due to Carneiro's expressive conducting), and in the nuancing of the solo passages throughout. I must add, however, that Martha had the same youthful exuberance as the 25 year-old. There are few young pianists that have the unassuming charisma, charm and natural talent of Fung, and he will certainly be welcomed back by his audience in Los Angeles."

Bravo David! David has just moved to New Haven Connecticut, but we hope he returns for more concerts in Los Angeles soon.

Best wishes to all of you and happy summer,

Bob Attiyeh
   

[Bob Attiyeh]

By the way, to my friends in Audio Circle: 

What's your take on the best online retailer for new 180 gram vinyl? We shall be releasing some of our analog recordings on vinyl over the next few years, and we want to make sure we do it right, with the right company handling the catalog and shipping and so forth.  Your insights much appreciated.

Many thanks,

Bob

[lonewolfny42]

What's your take on the best online retailer for new 180 gram vinyl?

Two come to mind...

http://store.acousticsounds.com/

http://www.elusivedisc.com/

Good luck Bob...

[Bob Attiyeh]

Dear Lone Wolf,

Thank you very much.  I had a great experience with Elusive Disc.  They sent me a copy of Ella's Let No Man Write My Epitaph that I treasure.  Someone is pressing it again, fortunately, but not currently available. 

And of course Acoustic Sounds releases the fabulous work that Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray do with the Blue Note series. 

Have you had good experiences with both companies as a buyer?

Great recommendations both, thank you.

Much appreciated. 

[lonewolfny42]

Have you had good experiences with both companies as a buyer?

Yes I have Bob.....

[Bob Attiyeh]

So far so good.  After your note I sent Elusive Disc an email, and received a personal and positive response within an hour.  Sounds like excellent service to me.

Thanks for the good tips!

Meanwhile, I'm preparing for a recording with Antonio Lysy and Pablo Motto at the new Broad Stage, a great new concert hall in Santa Monica.  This will be an Argentine album.  I'm greatly looking forward to it. 

Happy weekend to all of you,

Bob.

[Bob Attiyeh]

Last night was the premiere of a work Lalo Schifrin wrote on commission for the Argentine album I mentioned.  We record next week, but last night was the first live concert performance.  Wow.  Schifrin has written another winner. 

I should also mention, for those of you who live in Southern California, that The Broad Stage, in Santa Monica, is a real gem.  It is a small theater, only about 500 or 600 seats, and the sound is extraordinary.  It is warm yet transparent.  I'm excited about the recording. 

I mention the theater to you because any of you who want to hear music in a great hall should take advantage of this new space.  We'll see how the recording turns out too, but in the meantime I have high hopes!

[KT88]

I found a copy of the Yarlung John Walz CD in honor of Pierre Fournier.  If the album with Antonio Lysy is even half as good, you will make a lot of cello enthusiasts happy.  Lysy is so well known in Europe.  Will the Lysy album be available in Europe as well?

[Bob Attiyeh]

Dear KT88,

Our recording sessions for the recording with Antonio Lysy and Pablo Motta begin early tomorrow morning, so here's a quick answer for you (We're in the midst of packing the gear that isn't already warming up in the theater). 

First of all, thanks for the enthusiasm! I hope (and trust) that this next recording makes you and our other cello-enthusiast friends happy.  Fingers crossed. 

And yes, this recording, and our other upcoming albums (Ciaramella: Music from the Court of Burgundy and Petteri Iivonen: Art of the Violin) are also scheduled for release in high resolution on Linn Records' site in Europe. 

I'm glad you enjoyed Tribute to Pierre Fournier.  John is an extraordinary 'cellist. 

Thanks and a happy rest of the weekend to all of you,

Bob

[KT88]

What's on the Lysy Recording? I want one....   

[Bob Attiyeh]

Thanks KT88! Coming soon.

To answer your question about Antonio Lysy, I have to say that not only is he one of the great 'cellists in the word, but he assembled a fabulous group of musicians. This is a project celebrating music by Argentine composers including Ginastera, Piazzolla, Bregato and Schifrin (a world premiere that Lalo Schifrin wrote for Antonio... and it's very good by the way).

Pablo Motta (bass) flew up from Argentina to join Antonio, The Capitol Ensemble and Bryan Pezzone on piano. Bryan is the only one of these musicians with whom I've worked before, on Martin Chalifour in Walt Disney Concert Hall. (He plays the Stravinsky ballet transcriptions, and there's a lot more of Bryan on volume two from WDCH coming out later).

Antonio and our other musicians were fabulous, and the recording and sound worked very well in this new space. The Broad Stage is a good theater, and it is a great addition to the west side of Los Angeles.

Once again, we recorded this week in high resolution digital and a separate path for analog tape. So we have flexibility and the possibility of a true analog release as well.

This album is a benefit for the new Sol LA Academy in Santa Monica http://www.sollamusicacademy.org/ so if we can raise enough money, vinyl is possible. All wholesale proceeds of this project go to the school directly to support their programs with kids.

I mention this because anyone who might want to become a sponsor of this project (and wouldn't mind a little thankful publicity, including your name in the album) please let me know privately, and I can put you in touch with the school. Any support you might want to give would be tax deductible to the full extent of the law. (It supports the school, not Yarlung Records). Sol La is a worthy cause, which is why we are doing this project.

I think we are going to have another winner with this album, and Antonio and I already discussed future possible projects. Thumbs up!

Best wishes, and many thanks,

Bob

[Bob Attiyeh]

Wow!  Remember that album I mentioned oh so many months ago? Antonio Lysy at The Broad: Music from Argentina just won the Latin GRAMMY award!

We can hardly believe it. We were so happy with the nomination. It felt like a trip to the moon, and now to win is almost inconceivable. Yarlung Records is a tiny label, and this is our first "Latin" album. The album is actually classical music from Argentina, but I guess that makes it "Latin American," even if not "Latin."

We were prepared to congratulate the Assad Brothers, who had two albums in our category. I enjoy and respect them so much, and they're powerful in the industry. I wish you could have seen Jacob's face (Jacob Horowitz is my assistant producer). He was sitting next to Antonio and Antonio's wife Margaret. When our album was announced as the winner, Jacob looked like someone had just removed all the oxygen from the room. The grin that followed stuck on Jacob's face for about three days.

Actually, we are all still grinning, and delighted with the results.

Thank you to so many of you who are Latin Academy members. Your vote made this possible for us. We are grateful, as you can imagine.

And thank you to the rest of you for being so supportive of our little label from the beginning. With enthusiasm like this we'll persevere no matter what happens in the economy.

By the way, if you would like to hear Pampas (our winning track) for free in its entirety, go to our website www.yarlungrecords.com, scroll to the album, and click the "Listen" button.  The Yarlung player will open, click "Antonio," and you can scroll down to a low or higher resolution version of the work.  Enjoy!

And thanks to all of you who made this possible.

Bob

Cheers,

Bob.