In this weekly series of articles you will discover what are the business insider’s favorite albums and tracks. We have contacted a broad selection of industry experts and each Wednesday you can discover one of those guy’s favorite albums and why this is so. To make things easy, VE didn’t fully play along and the artist, album and track aren’t related, just so you know. Check out our previous “Favorite album of” articles here: https://www.headfonia.com/category/fav-album-of/
This week’s honor goes to KK of Venture Electronics. We have reviewed their sublime Monk units on Headfonia already:
VE Monk: https://www.headfonia.com/review-ve-monk-4-99-miracle/
Who am I:
KK (梼昧狂客 in Chinese ), I work for Venture Electronics with Wild Lee
The Band :
Borodin Quartet
Website: http://borodinquartet.com/
The Borodin Quartet is a string quartet that was founded in 1945 in the then Soviet Union. It is one of the world’s longest lasting string quartets, having marked its 70th anniversary season in 2015. The quartet was one of the Soviet Union’s best known in the West during the Cold War era, through concert performances in the United States and Europe and through distribution of their recordings. The quartet had a close relationship with composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who personally consulted them on each of his quartets. They also performed with the pianist Sviatoslav Richter on many occasions. They have recorded all of Shostakovich’s string quartets as well as all of Beethoven’s quartets. Their many recordings include works by a wide range of composers on the Melodiya, Teldec, Virgin Records, and Chandos Records labels. The original Borodin quartet’s sound was characterized by an almost symphonic volume and a highly developed ability to phrase whilst maintaining group cohesion.[citation needed]Although it has seen many changes in personnel over its life span, all members of the quartet have been graduates of the Moscow Conservatory. (Wikipedia)
The Album:
Eight Seasons – Vivaldie & Piazzolla.
A unique disc from one of Scotland’s most dynamic and versatile groups – the Scottish Ensemble is a tight-knit band of outstanding string players from around Europe who perform regularly together under Artistic Director, Jonathan Morton. This disc – one of their first solo releases following acclaimed discs with artists such as Alison Balsom and Toby Spence – contrasts Vivaldi’s timeless Four Seasons with Piazzolla’s tango-inspired The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. Combining Vivaldi and Piazzola together like this underlines the meteorological and cultural differences between Mediterranean Europe and the heart of South America. To have them performed side by side creates a fascinating programme of similarities and contrasts. – signumrecords.com/
The Song:
Le Grand Tango (I think he means the track from Astor Piazzola)
In 1982 he wrote Le Grand Tango for cello and piano, dedicated to Russian cellist, Mstislav Rostropovich which would be premiered by him in 1990 in New Orleans. (Wikipedia)
Why this choice?
Its luxurious presentation of the creator & performers’ deepest inner emotions is the perfect combination of individuation & modesty
Listening preference
I prefer to enjoy them with near-field monitor speakers end this is my current setup:
SHANLING T3.2 CD TRANSPORT
dCS Rossini D/A Converter
Antelope SATORI
NEUMANN KH120A
SolidSteel S5-
Discover
If you want to check out KK’s’ favorite album, you can do so here:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhzP61wTj8A
TIDAL: https://listen.tidal.com/album/4773169
Qobuz: http://player.qobuz.com/#!/album/0885686354162
Enjoy!
Thank you KK for being on the series and for giving us a little insight in what you like to listen to. If you have suggestions of who we should feature in this article series, let us know in the comments!
Up to next week…
