Spinning Today (Classical version)

[jandl100]

Some rare/obscure Vaughan Williams, all of it excellent


https://open.spotify.com/album/2GDe0CpGF0sAPtVNOV5GIC

[jandl100]

A solo cello Bach evening yesterday.

After sampling 15 or so different recordings on Spotify - and finding that my usual fave, Onczay on Naxos, was a bit too smooth for my mood - I settled on these 2 to share the honours of providing my musical entertainment ...


https://open.spotify.com/album/1KUXUcwasnbK1jwik5UpLK


https://open.spotify.com/album/2SCDdw1Ux6E0AaX42tVs2U

Bliss.

[Marco]

Just bagged this on Amazon, 'cos I fancied it. It's arguably supposed to be the BEST recording of this (breathtaking performance):





It was £25, but hey-ho!

Check out this guy's glowing review:

Although this is available as an MP3 Download,interested purchasers will have to resort to amazon marketplace to locate a copy of the CD. This is nothing short of criminal, as it is the best recording of this work bar none! It crept under the radar so to speak, as it was released just when the CD market was going into decline, and catalogue shelf life became short lived. I was one of the lucky purchasers on its initial release, but I only found it by accident!
Ashkenazy's transition from pianist to conductor has not been an outright success-I did not like his Cleveland Strauss series at all, and similarly much of his RPO output was frankly dull. However, his earlier recordings with the Concertgebouw and the Philharmonia were often superb, and I aprroached this CD with optimism-which proved to be totally justified. For this recording, Decca used the same tactic as they did with the Concertgebouw-they removed the seating and recorded the orchestra in the body of the hall. The St.Petersburg Philharmonie, being a wood-lined hall, was notorious for its acoustic difficulties during recordings-the resultant sound was usually very dry, as typified by the series of recordings RCA made there with Temirkanov. There has been millions spent on improving acoustics in the last couple of years, but Decca solved the problem perfectly.
There is simply no other recording of this work that has the weight of tone, strings AND brass, power of percussion and plangency of woodwind-it is stunning! They used to advertises discs as "Sonic Spectaculars"-and this is certainly one. Not even the Gergiev or The RCO Jansons can match it for sheer visceral impact. Conversely, the SPPO strings have never sounded so radiant, shining beautifully in the upper register and deeply resonant in the lower. The Dynamic range is very wide, with stunning contrast between pp and ff.
Of course, none of this would matter if the performance were not persuasive, and I am happy to report that I prefer as a performance only the recent Temirkanov live recording with this same orchestra in Geneva, but by a hairs's breadth, and it far exceeds the likes of Bernstein and Gergiev.
Ashenkazy finds the perfect tempo for the first movement, takes a strict classical approach for the second, a touch slower than some with quite a staccato rhythm, the third is searing and he really gives the orchestra its head at the tempo increase, and the fourth is as triumphant and uplifting as it needs to be, with cataclysmic percussion at the raucous climax. An absolute triumph as a performance and a recording-just stunning (a word I use too often but fully justified in this case!)
There is a fascinating vignette as an extra-the first track features a 40-odd second extract of the broadcast made by Shostakovich before the first performance-it doesn't illuminate the work , but gives this St.Petersburg recording an extra poignancy!
All admirers-nay LOVERS-of this great work should make every attempt to obtain this recording, and there should be a concerted campaign to have it reissued, even if at full price. It is without doubt the finest recording, and the performance is superb and ranks with best. Totally and unreservedly recommended!10 Stars

Sounds positively yum-yum........

Marco.

[jandl100]

^^ Interesting. I've not heard Ashkenazy's Shosty 7th. It's available on Tidal hi-rez. I'll give it a virtual spin later and see how it does against my fave to-date, the Nanut. It's gonna have to go some to beat that.

_____


https://open.spotify.com/album/0gCEm3OpfkyH0z6IEnT4xH
I've not come across this guy before. The 1-Word-Review would be "exuberant" . Great fun, great sq, and some lovely tender sequences, too.

Then back to one of my fave Bach recordings (there are many!)

https://open.spotify.com/album/0P5tFIBL8VDtQoP65dNLr7

[jandl100]

Just bagged this on Amazon, 'cos I fancied it. It's arguably supposed to be the BEST recording of this (breathtaking performance):





It was £25, but hey-ho!

Check out this guy's glowing review:



Sounds positively yum-yum........

Marco.

Just listening now to the Ashkenazy.

Yeah, pretty good and way better than most (it seems a very hard work to do).

But do yourself a favour and invest a few £ in this http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-lis...condition=used

[Marco]

I've got it, mate. I mentioned that on the Shosty TV programme thread - and yes, it is superb

The Ashkenazy, on Decca, is supposed to be the best recording of that piece of music (sonically and musically), but I guess it's subjective. I'll certainly compare the two and give my verdict

I'd love it on vinyl, but I suspect that would be rather expensive, and not to mention like gold dust!

Marco.

[struth]

Heard that one ..excerpts Only... And it was very good. The allegro part was my fav.

[Marco]

It's the sheer grandiose drama, power/physicality and darkness, I love about top-notch Shosty, the best of which leaves you breathless... It makes the work of most other composers seem somewhat 'limp' in comparison!

Marco.

[jandl100]

I've got it, mate. I mentioned that on the Shosty TV programme thread - and yes, it is superb

Ah, right, yup. I missed that comment somehow.

Great - I'll be interested in how you rate the two recordings compared to each other. Both are way ahead of any of the many others I have heard, imo.

[Marco]

I was listening last night to two recordings I have on vinyl of his 5th (both bought for £1 from a charity shop), this one (from 1966):





...and this one, on a Russian label, (from 1985):





Whilst the Previn was good, the latter won by a considerable margin, in terms of the sheer emotion, intensity, majesty and power of the performance. Don't know if any of you have got it? If not, HIGHLY recommended, if you can find it, and the sonics are top notch, too!

Marco.