All Reference Recordings SACDs are hybrid and will play on any CD player.

Multichannel Hybrid SACD / HDCD


RR129CD Cover

Elgar: Enigma Variations
Vaughan Williams: Greensleeves/The Wasps


Kansas City Symphony
Michael Stern



RR-129 SACD
[Hybrid Multichannel SACD]

Hbrid SACD Logo TM A new symphonic tour-de-force from the Kansas City Symphony! This colorful, beloved English music has been captured in brilliant HDCD sound by GRAMMY®-winning engineer Keith O. Johnson.

The Kansas City Symphony garnered tremendous critical acclaim for their first project on Reference Recordings, incidental music for The Tempest by Sullivan and Sibelius (Shakespeare's Tempest, RR-115).   Their second release on Reference Recordings, Britten's Orchestra, received a GRAMMY for Best Surround Sound for both the engineer and producer, as well as rave reviews everywhere! (Britten's Orchestra, RR-120 is now unfortunately out of print).

We are thrilled to work again with Conductor Michael Stern, the son of famed violinist Isaac Stern.   Now in his eighth season as music director, the Kansas City Symphony has been much praised for its remarkable artistic growth and development since his tenure began.   He is also the founder of the Iris Chamber Orchestra in Memphis, Tennessee, and in addition to Reference Recordings, has recorded for Sony, Hyperion, Denon, Arabesque and Naxos.

Producer David Frost has won Grammy awards in 2005,2009 and 2011 for Classical Producer of the Year.   He has produced a large roster of stars and Grammy-winning titles.   We are most honored to work with him again on this project.

NOTE: This album will be released, at a later date, in the following formats: 200-gram half-speed mastered LP; HRx high-resolution DVD Data Disc containing 176.4 kHz/24 bit WAV files and surround-sound hybrid SACD. Downloads will not be available.

      RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
      The Wasps—Aristophanic Suite:

  1. Overture     8:53
  2. Entr'acte, molto moderato     2:46
  3. March Past of the Kitchen Utensils     3:03
  4. Entr'acte, andante     4:10
  5. Ballet and Final Tableau     6:24

  6. Fantasia on “Greensleeves”
      (pub. Oxford University Press, U.K.)

      SIR EDWARD ELGAR
      Variations on an Original Theme: “Enigma,” op. 36

  7. Variation I (C.A.E.) Alice
  8. Variation II (H.D. S.-P.) - Hew David Stuart-Powel
  9. Variation III (R.B.T.) - Richard baxter Townsend
10. Variation IV (W.M.B.) - William Meath Baker
11. Variation V (R.P.A.) - Richard Penrose Arnold
12. Variation VI (Isabel) - Isabel Fitton
13. Variation VII (Troyte) - Arthur Troyte Griffiths
14. Variation VIII (W.N.) - Winifred Norby
15. Variation IX (Nimrod) - August J. Jaeger
16. Variation X (Dorabella) Intermezzo - Dora Penny
17. Variation XI ((G.R.S.) - George Robertson Sinclair
18. Variation XII (B.G.N.) - Basil G. Nevinson)
19. Variation XIII (***) Romanza - Lady Mary Lygon
20. Variation XIV (E.D.U.) Finale - Edward Elgar




Reference Recordings are distributed in Australia by Rockian Trading