Customer Reviews

Groovebox

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the finest work the Ahn Trio has done. With this recording the trio has set themselves far beyond the fray of other groups in many ways. The collection of music they have assembled on Groovebox is amazing. It is intense and intelligent. Even 'Riders on the Storm' is done with class and verve. It is far beyond the creative reach of any other classical chamber group. Their technical mastery and profound musicality surpass most pop offerings. The entire CD holds the listener's attention. Most of the composers from their 'Ahn-Plugged' CD are back for return engagements on Groovebox. The new piece by Kenji Bunch is magical and driving all at the same time. The Ahn trio should be getting mainstream airplay with this piece. Nyman's 'Yellowbeach' somehow manages to be even better than his 'Piano' arrangement. What separates the Ahn Trio from all the smoke-and-mirrors crossover groups is their ability to achieve a thoroughly modern sound without resorting to electronic tricks or musical cheese. This recording is wonderful.

I can't stand seeing a couple of malcontents bring this tremendous disc's average down to just three stars. Maybe the sexy photo created an expectation other than for top-notch piano-string trio music. This is Ahns' second recording of modern trios, some composed just for them, and it pegs them right at the creative core of the evolution of this classical genre. It takes courage to showcase the new and unfamous, but the Ahns have done so while avoiding the pitfalls of other champions of contemporanaity: (a) The tired assumption that you can't be 'modern' without atonality [I've tried hard for years to be truly inspired by anything 12-tone, but at age 50 I've about decided it can't be done, and the New Viennese School was an 80-year dead end -- though I'm still open to argument]; (b) The snobbery that holds that a composition with pop/folk elements can't be 'serious' [Hey, Bach & Mozart did it!]; and (c) The academic prejudice against film composers [There's an excellent number here from Maurice Jarre of "Laurence of Arabia" fame]. But the rising star of this disc is plainly Kenji Bunch, whose "Swing Shift, flawlessly executed by the Ahn sisters, is a creative delight for both intellect and emotions. A worthy [and groovey] heir to the line of Ravel, Korngold, Shostakovich & a.

I just got to see this wonderful trio perform here in Fargo, ND. Their musicianship was great, and to see them play some of the pieces of this album and their other album, Ahn-plugged, (plus a live version of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust!), was absolutely marvelous. It was double the pleasure to have never heard of these girls before, discovering them completely live for the first time!

I picked up this CD after the concert. Even the concert's price of $20 was worth it for this album (not to mention autographs from the girls!). For a Doors fan like myself, hearing Riders on the Storm interpreted with strings and acoustic piano is simply stunning. Hearing a solo originally played by a single organ player distributed over 3 different players and instruments, all in *one* performance, is quite pleasantly unexpected. Reproducing a solo, especially the feeling of that same solo, is probably more difficult than creating your own!

Elsewhere on the album they nail Piazzolla's composition, playing with a beautiful, expressive tone that characterizes good Piazzolla.

The most ambitious, interesting, and possibly breakaway new sound on "Groovebox" is the "Swing Shift" suite, written by Kenji Bunch. Bunch obviously knows these girls well, especially their dynamics as musicians. The CD states it was specially composed for the Ahn Trio, and it really shows.

As Angella, the youngest sister, explained to us at the concert, the "Grooveboxes" portion of Swing Shift is an attempt to duplicate a beat box (groovebox) of a DJ. I daresay - even if you hate techno, you'll love this. It's especially a stomping good time live! This song will either attract techno fans to string music or make classical lovers scowl a little less at techno music - more likely the latter.

The Ahn Trio seems to fundamentally understand what makes music work for styles as diverse as The Doors, David Bowie, Astor Piazzolla, and even techno. The Ahn Trio is an exciting direction in classical music - I will follow them, waiting to see what's next from these three delightful performers.

Extra note: talking with them after the show briefly indicated that they're perfectly charming young women, too. They talked of how amazingly cold it was here, but how they were glad to get some new winter clothes. Fargo in January is quite... chilly. They were good sports about it, though!

The Ahn Trio, who, I believe, are based in Vienna, have released their third CD and they just keep getting better and hotter. Absolutely the sexiest trio in Classical music, they have a take no prisoner's approach to their music that is breathtaking.
As with the previous AHN-PLUGGED, the women cover a pop tune with a 21st century sensuality that makes the concept of chamber music a much steamier affair than one usually thinks. Poor Ludwig would have lost his concentration for sure writing for 3 dearly beloveds as these. So, while the previous effort took a very creative spin with David Bowie's "Heroes", this one begins with the Doors' chestnut "Riders on the Storm." The interplay among piano and cello on this tune showcase the warmth these women bring to their material.
From there, they essay the romantic leanings of Micahel Nyman's "Yellow Beach," passionately tango with Piazzolla's "Milonga del angel" and stretch out on the more adventurous and avant garde treatments of suites from Maurice Jarre and Kenji Bunch, who wrote his composition for the Ahn sisters. It all concludes with the mysterious lullabye from Ronn Yedidia.
I listen to this disc a lot, and though there might be some high brow skepticism when you have 3 very hot Korean women casually gracing the cover, the music is absolutely top notch, and I'd stand in line for days for the opportunity to catch them live. They are the real deal, and a careful listen to any of their three CDs will convince you that there's juice left in classical music to spare.

I am writing this review in response to the other reviewers whose have rated this CD obscenely low. Riders on the Storm is one piece that I found to be particularly fascinating. To hear this classic redone in such an outstanding is just one of the many aural pleasures on this CD. This CD takes its listener on a wonderful musical journey through modern classical music. The pieces by Jarre and Piazzolla are excellent. The Ahn trio is providing a wonderful glimpse into the future of classical music in not only this CD but others as well. The future is very bright. Here's to hoping the Ahn-trio will keep bringing forth more passionate and inspired music in the future. Groovebox is a great CD one listeners from a variety of backgrounds will enjoy.

I picked this album on a whim. I recieved it and listened to it nonstop for a 4 hour drive. Excellent work. The blending of eastern themes in western classical music with a hint of jazz thrown is is superb.
The music is upbeat and energetic. They have a modern sound while maintaing a certain homage to baroque influences.

I suggest this for anyone who is a fan of modern classical music.

First of all-

My faiv peices on this CD are-

1.Riders on the Storm-This number dazzles and shimmers, you would never guess what the song is called since they breath so much new life into it.

2. Yellow Beach-This number goes back and fourth between sweet mornfull melodys and fervent searching, fervent thought. It reminds me a great deal of the score for A Beautiful Mind.

11. The Club Crawl-This number is very cool, it is very contemporary, its the kind of music you would like to hear in a cozy cafe, even if you don't drink coffee. Its like city lights reflecting in rain drenched payvement.

12. Magic Hour-This number is exsquisite, its short, but its beautiful.

13. Grooveboxes-This number is what drew me to the CD, its so modern, its like a city coming to life in the morning, or a machine slowely coming to life, very modern, very alive, very wonderful.

I am not sure what genre this CD would fall into, the talented pianist plays her classical themes in a jazzy and human way, the strings are where most of the classical feelings come through, but like the piano, they handle the classical themes with a very contemporary skill.

This CD is amazing, weather you like classical music or not, it is too alive, too new to be defined as classical music, and it is too origional and too real to be in a catagory with modern computer musicans.

I have many CD's, 78 to be exact, but I always return to this one, its not like anything I have ever heard before.

Inside of the CD the Ahn Trio gives a short description of this album, I think they describe it best.

"Groovebox is about contradictions and fusions. Here in the 21st century, explorations of electronic music are delving even deeper into the genre of classical music. Still, we strive to hold on to the older, traditional art forms, which are becoming rarer. Today's sounds don't always need to be created by electronic means; in Groovebox contemporary composers achieve new and modern sounds with beautiful melodies and tradional instrumentaion."

-Lucia, Angella, Maria Ahn

Out of 3000+ cd's (and still counting) in my collection thus far, this disc gets a lot of playback. Those who are looking for the fusionesque takings of Vanessa Mae and Bond, look elsewhere for these girls stay strictly acoustic, demonstrating that contemporary works need nothing more than a pianoforte, cello and violin.

These works are incredibly moving, though having said that I didn't care much for the Rataj arrangement of "Riders on the Storm" but it is a nice beginning for what comes next.

Maurice Jarre's "Engadiner Suite" for me evokes memories of the first time I heard Vivaldi's "Four Season". Except that this suite leaves me dreamy, wanting more. Thankfully, there is always the track before button.

Nyman's "Yellow Beach" is melancholy, taking my mind on a journey to the yellow sands of one of the beautiful beaches here on the Queensland coast that are about 30 minutes drive from where I live.

The stand out works on this for me are Piazzolla's "Milonga del Angel" and Kenji Bunch's "Swing Shift".

I've heard many arrangements of this Piazzolla composition (for bandoneon + orchestra, classical accordion + orchestra or in a trio or quartet arrangement), but this for me is the one I always return to. Dreamy, seductive, sensuous and intensely romantic are the only words I can use to describe it. The perfect accompaniment to a glass of red wine on a cold night with your lover.

Bunch's "Swing Shift" may not be to everyone's liking (friends of mine have labelled it as "trying too hard to sound modern"). While Bunch admits that he's not much of a night owl, I believe he has encapsulated the hours of the night in the Big Apple quite well. The 'Prelude', 'Club Crawl' and 'Magic Hour' are my favorite movements within this work. 'Magic Hour' simply is delightful music to play late at night as one goes to sleep.

'Grooveboxes' (the namesake of the album) is an intriguing movement. Being a club music listener (especially house and techno) and geek, this is certainly an interesting experiment in recreating the effect of live use of a groovebox. It takes time to get used to, but I think the Ahn Trio certainly has succeeded in pulling off what Kenji Bunch intended to highlight with this movement. After all, NYC still is a place where one can go to an all night dance party.

The final work, Yedidia's "Lullabye" is a fitting close to this album; an intensely moving tribute to the composer's generation before (not only his, but our own today) who are slowly departing from this world and taking with them life experiences and knowledge that we will never find out about.

All in all, the three Ahn sisters play with passion, drive, intensity and delicacy on each of the works here. Was an album that has been worth every cent of its price. Now if only they would come down here to Australia so we here can experience the musical virtuosity of the Ahn sisters live.

I only give this 4 stars instead of 5 because the recording itself at times is a bit lacking (recording levels are a bit too low in certain parts for my liking, this does not detract from the inherent beauty of the performance itself in the studio).

Definitely a recommended buy from me.

I love this group. They played a family friendly concert in St louis recently and really showed their talents on their instruments and how their music comes together. They use multiple talented musicians on different instruments, voice, digital. It's great listening music. For any occasion. I love it. I've ordered all their CDs, even my 7 year old son listens to it after seeing them live.

This CD is, in my opinion, not as good as AHNplugged, but I would buy it just for their version of "Riders on the Storm". Their arrangement of "Riders" is very bluesy - the violin trills and bending of notes and the wild cello solo are great. The other pieces of the CD are not as strong as "Riders" except, certain movements of "Swing Shift" which are very moody and evocative.