Selected: Kurt Masur and The New York Philharmonic's performance of Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 "From the New World." The strings here have a much more balanced sound in the soft sections, particularly in the opening of the first movement and throughout the second movement. The dynamics do not swing as widely within movements as Batiz's version, but rather the volume builds consistently across all the movements to the end. This dampens some of the energy of the piece and almost makes my favorite descending brass run in the third movements indistinguishable. Masur also keeps a more clockwork-analytical pace that seems artificially restrained.
Random: Jethro Tull's "Roots To Branches" sounded a lot like just another 90's Tull album when I purchased it on release day. Listening to it now on a good sound system the subtleties of Anderson's voice and flute as well as the emotive guitar work by Martin Barre really stand out. Barre is greatly under appreciated by the public. There is a warmth and resonance to their playing that passionately supports Ian Anderson's razor sharp observations of human nature. The backing instruments do not detract although at times they can seem a bit synthetic, probably the result of numerous overdubs. I noticed for the first time the great musical work on "Valley"; although more quiet and subtle, it is currently my favorite track on the album.
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