Maria Tsakiri’s Yarlung article in “Yellowbox”

Yellowbox Editor in Chief Theodore Bafaloukas and Staff Reporter Maria Tsakiri reached out to me in 2020 to write an article about Yarlung and our upcoming anniversary. We communicated in English, but to read the original article in Greek, please click on the magazine cover image above. What follows is an English approximation of the topics we discussed (hyperlinks added by me after the fact). Hope you enjoy! Many thanks to the musicians, board members, volunteers and companies that make our work possible. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Yellowbox is a premium bi-monthly subscription-based Audio, Video, Home Entertainment and Music magazine published in Athens. –Bob Attiyeh, producer YARLUNG RECORDS IS A SMALL, INDEPENDENT RECORD LABEL FROM THE USA, BRAINCHILD OF A VISIONARY AND REMARKABLE MAN, WHO HAS BEEN RESPECTFULLY ADMITTING FOR 15 YEARS THAT THE HIGH QUALITY OF THE LABEL’S RECORDINGS RESULTS FROM A TRUE TEAM EFFORT. Continue Reading →

Jacob Heilbrunn, Stephen Estep and Michael Johnson wax poetic about “Korppoo Trio” in The Spectator, The Absolute Sound and Analog Planet

Executive Producer Jim Mulally’s 180 GRAM 45RPM release of Sibelius Piano Trio’s western hemisphere premiere performance of Sibelius’ Korppoo Trio excited audiophile listeners and writers around the world. Michael Leser Johnson reviews Korppoo Trio in Analog Planet, Stephen Estep writes about the release in The Absolute Sound, and Jacob Heilbrunn covers the pressing and more in The Spectator. From The Spectator: The Sibelius Piano Trio’s live concert, featuring Petteri Iivonen on violin, Juho Pohjonen on piano and Samuli Peltonen on cello, is a treat to hear. For one thing, Yarlung Records, which always goes to great lengths to ensure high recording quality, down to the microphone amplification and tape machines it employs, has produced another sonically stellar LP. The individual instruments are almost perfectly balanced and the timbral fidelity is impeccable. The pleasure that Sibelius must have had in playing with his siblings on a work that he himself had composed Continue Reading →

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

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 →

Catching up with Bob Attiyeh in The Absolute Sound

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 →

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

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 Super LP List 2020

Jonathan Valin’s famous resource for vinyl lovers, the Super LP List in The Absolute Sound, honored Yarlung’s Janaki String Trio release on 45RPM vinyl from executive producer Elliot Midwood in 2016.  Jonathan praises this Janaki disc for its particularly natural sound.  Since 2016, the Super LP list has added these additional Yarlung titles: Ciaramella Dances from executive producer Elliot Midwood Antonio Lysy at The Broad: Music from Argentina Smoke & Mirrors percussion ensemble from executive producers David & Margie Barry Sophisticated Lady Jazz Quartet from executive producers Ann & Bill Harmsen Sasha Cooke’s If You Love For Beauty from executive producer Jim Mulally Thank you to the superb musicians, lacquer engineers and pressing plants who have made this success possible.  We appreciate it! –Bob Attiyeh, producer

Jason Serinus reviews Antonio Lysy’s South America

Jason Serinus reviews Antonio Lysy’s South America in the April 2018 edition of Stereophile. One unifying factor is the Boulanger-trained Argentinean composer Piazzolla, whose infrequently performed Resurrección del ángel (Resurrection of the Angel), surfaces in an arrangement for four cellos by Emilio Colón. The work is heard in an ingenuous multi-track version on which, thanks to Arian Jansen’s all-analog Sonorus Holographic Imaging technology (SHI), Lysy plays all the parts. Please view Jason’s full article.

Jessica Duchen’s Classical Music Blog : Antonio Lysy

Reading Jessica Duchen’s Classical Music Blog today is a treat because she publishes an essay by cellist Antonio Lysy which is a tribute to his father, Alberto Lysy (1935-2009). In her post, Duchen talks about Antonio’s recent recording on Yarlung Records: Back in 2001 Alberto and Antonio recorded the Kodály Duo for violin and cello together. This recording was released for the first time just a few weeks ago. Hungarian as Kodály may be, the album is in fact called South America and features works by Piazzolla, Villa-Lobos, Coco Trivisonno and more – paying tributes to Antonio’s multifarious background and influences. The South American repertoire is irresistibly seductive and atmospheric, while the Kodály, performed with tremendous intensity, bravura and sensitivity, is more than a treat and a half. In this guest post, Antonio tells us about the coaching his father received from Yehudi Menuhin and Zoltan Kodály himself. Read Dunchen’s blog and Lysy’s Continue Reading →

Newsletter: Feb. 13, 2017

Dear Friends, Today we celebrate South America! Executive producers Carlos & Haydee Mollura join me in celebrating the release of Antonio Lysy’s new album South America this Friday. Amazon and iTunes are taking preorders for Friday, and HDTracks and Yarlung Records are live and delivering today. NativeDSD will follow shortly. Tom Caulfield, Cliff Harris and I are finishing the DSD files for you in stereo and in surround sound. I love this disc. GRAMMY® Award winning cellist Antonio Lysy performs with his father, the legendary Argentine violinist Alberto Lysy in the Kodaly duo, and Coco Trivisonno (one of the last living members of Piazzolla’s ensemble) performs bandoneon in three arrangements we commissioned from him of songs by Carlos Gardel. With tango milongas taking place all over the world, the timing of South America seems fortunate. Luxuriate also in the Casals and Bach/Villa Lobos cello choirs, performed all by Antonio Lysy Continue Reading →

How do talented musicians reach new audiences?

How do talented musicians reach new audiences? This is a question we ask every day at Yarlung.  As the music “industry” continues to “evolve,” we must reevaluate how we increase visibility for new music and our musicians on a regular basis.  (I use “industry” and “evolve” euphemistically, as you may have guessed.) The music industry of recorded music, especially in its more sophisticated forms of classical music and jazz, has largely ceased to be a “business” like it was in the heyday between say 1940 and 1990.  “Evolve” is a euphemism for “disintegrate.”  People no longer spend money on recordings the way we did in prior decades.  We acknowledge this, and find other ways to help our musicians reach new audiences. Five years ago, “Social Media” seemed to be the key.  Large print ads no longer sold albums in significant numbers, but interactive media did hold the promise of engagement Continue Reading →