Thanks for that, Jerry. I've never heard of him, but I shall rectify that shortly.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Printable View
Thanks for that, Jerry. I've never heard of him, but I shall rectify that shortly.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Shossie 7 and Beethoven 5/7 by Nanut on their way :)
I couldn't find the Bruckner anywhere.
Yep - the Nanut Bruckner 8 is rare, it comes up on eBay now and then. Last one I saw went for over £10! ... maybe that's because I have been singing its praises on other fora. :eyebrows:
The Beethoven 7 gets off to a slow start, Nanut takes the slow introduction slowly! ... but if you aren't dancing around the room after about 5 minutes I will be amazed! :)
I'm a bit nervous with folks spending ££ based on my reccies - I hope you like them, Martin! :goodluck:
Yesterday's classical choons ...
Chopin piano sonata #3. Perahia, CBS LP. Hey, I like Perahia in Chopin! Imaging is curious on this LP though - mostly from the left channel, and spreads a bit to the middle now & then. :scratch: I need a mono button on my pre-amp!! So good, that I played it twice. :)
Chopin - 14 Waltzes. Krystian Zimmerman - DG LP. Perfect Chopin playing? - supreme delicacy of touch and a wonderfully flowing line. Just yummy. :drool:
Richard Strauss - 4 Last Songs
- Jessye Norman (following recent discussions) on Philips CD. Ooo-err, missus - she screeches on my 2 valve-output stage CDPs but sounds fairly smooth on my Audiolab 8200CD! ... not what I expected! I think the valve jobbies are simply more resolving.
Unlike MartinT, I run a bit hot & cold about this performance. It's VERY slow, which Ms Norman seems to think means deep feeling. Must confess I mainly hear her trying to be technically perfect (and, to be fair, succeeding!) ... but for me there's more to this wonderful music than Our Jess portrays. I find her voice a bit impersonal and cold and find the precision with which she changes the dynamic line to be clinical and calculating, a bit like a robot's rendition of the printed score. Ah well, it takes all sorts, eh! - we can't all like the same things. :argument: In music as in audio! :)
Hmm ... that comes across as overly negative. :hmm: JN's is a very fine performance, and is technically immaculate and has astonishing vocal range and technique, but I prefer others for the reasons given. YMMV!
- next up was Soile Isokoski in the 4LS on an Ondine CD. Speed is more typical here (SI's Im Abendrot is 7m41s compared to JN at 9m54s - a huge difference!!). It seems to me that SI has a warmer tone and a more fluid line than JN and, for me, puts more feeling into the music. It's one of my fave versions - my top faves are Christine Brewer and Felicity Lott. With Lotty probably going to my desert island. :thumbsup: ... her Im Abendrot is 7m30s.
Gabriela Lena Frank - chamber music. Naxos CD. Interesting stuff - she's a contemporary (b. 1972) American of Peruvian/Chinese/Lithuanian/Jewish ancestry :stalks: ... and she melds those cultural influences in her music, making it a bit of a roller coaster ride. Worth exploring, I think.
I have her version, too. It is persuasive and I prefer hers to Lucia Popp's, probably the closest in style. A little lightweight for me, but then I am used to Jessye's version now. I will take Jessye to the desert island with me :)Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Fair enough, Martin. If you have been smitten by Jessye's 4LS, then I can imagine that nothing can compare! :)
Yesterday's tunes ...
Some Beethoven piano sonatas played by John Lill. I have the complete set on Brilliant Classics. His playing doesn't always hit the spot, but when it does (quite often, to be fair) the sparks really fly. I can imagine Beethoven himself playing like that - leonine, powerful, incandescent ... inwardly brooding, violent, passionate ...
Lill's is the only complete set I now have, and I wouldn't part with it. I've loads of single discs by others, of course ... Gilels, Pollini, Kempff, Backhaus, Brendel, Magaloff, Peter Serkin etc ... but somehow I always return to Lill. :)
Robert Hermann symphonies 1 & 2 - again. I still rate these highly - but then I like discovering obscure stuff!
Beethoven Sextet for string quartet and 2 horns op. 81b, Duo for viola and cello WoO 32, Quintet for string quartet & extra cello Op. 47 "Kreutzer".Early stuff that is quite fun in an easy listening kind of way .... and .... Wow, really quite strange ... the famous Op. 47 Kreutzer violin sonata (violin and piano) arranged for extended string quartet a la Schubert string quintet :scratch:
All played by Archibudelli - a re-release on Brilliant Classics from a Sony recording. A bit of Googling research indicates the arrangement is probably not by Beethoven. Must admit that it doesn't supplant the original, no surprise really, but is enjoyable nonetheless.
Yesterday ...
Handel Agrapinna - an opera! Jerry listening/watching an opera - whodathunkit?
Yeah, not bad. Quite enjoyed it. I prefer Xerxes, though.
Delius - Walk to the Paradise Garden - Barbirolli / LSO 1965
Hmmm. I like the music. I know I do. But ... "Glorious John" Barbirolli I have problems with. Over the years I have built up the impression that I have never really heard a Barbirolli performance that ignited much interest in me ... so a month or so ago I bought a 10 CD EMI box set of his recordings, and have been slowly making my way through them. Barbirolli is pretty much worshipped as a Great Conductor, at least in England. I wonder if that last sentence explains all? We English don't have much in the way of Great Conductors, maybe calling Glorious John one was just wishful thinking?
Anyone here have opinions on Barbirolli?
I like Barbirolli's Mahler 9th very much, I haven't got a lot else conducted by him.
I've just bought a 7-LP Reader's Digest box set "The Great Barbirolli" - 6 LPs of bits and pieces + a complete Dvorak 9th. Looks unplayed, so thought it worth a punt at £3.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Might take me a while to get round to listening to it though.
http://pixhost.me/avaxhome/2007-11-04/braveheart1.jpg
A bit different... ;)
Yesterday ...
Tchaikovsky symphony #4 - Ashkenazy / Philharmonia - Decca LP. I'd not even heard of this recording before I found it in my recent charity shop haul. Very Russian - you can tell it's in A's blood. A Wilkinson / Decca recording too :thumbsup: .. not the last word in dynamic excitement, but wonderfully natural 3D recording, full tonality, you're placed toward the front of the rear stalls, I guess.
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto #4 - Vasary, Ahronovitch / LSO - DG LP. Hmmm :hmm: ... bit of a disappointment really. Didn't exactly set my world on fire, partly due to the somewhat warm and blurred sonics, but Vasary was not at his considerable best.
Chopin piano concerto #2. Zimerman, Giulini / LAPO. DG LP. Great playing - Zimerman is a superb pianist, but let down by DG's overly warm and rather unfocussed sound.
Beethoven piano sonata Op 110 - Pollini - DG LP. Wow. :drool:
Beethoven Symphony No. 5 & 7, Nanut, Ljubljana SO, Stradivari
I listened to the 5th tonight after a recommendation from Jerry and it made for some interesting listening. This performance is so very different from my all-time favourite (Carlos Kleiber, VPO, DG) that I had to rewind and set some reference points. The performance is best described as stark, without melodrama and is performed in a dry acoustic. There is little sense of the orchestra having a conversation and none of the glow of the Kleiber. When I first played it I thought it was performed in a very dry studio, but actually there is a bigger space there and the effect is more due to the playing style of short, staccato sections and more obvious pauses in the flow.
I suppressed my grimace at points and continued with it, trying to understand what Nanut was doing. Did he just want a wilfully different performance than the thousands of others on the market, or was he trying for an effect akin to a smaller orchestra or ancient instruments or even just playing Beethoven in a style of, say, Haydn?
I remain puzzled. I played the Kleiber immediately afterwards and an enormous sense of rightness descended on me, together with a big grin. Now this is rhythmic, powerful, infectious.
Sorry, I don't think the Nanut is for me.
Gosh - amazing. The Nanut Beethoven 7th has me dancing around the room!
Different strokes for different folks, eh! :)
Certainly is, Jerry. Unfortunately the 7th paired with the 5th is not conducted by Nanut so I'll have to wait to hear it.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Ah - I misunderstood - I thought you were talking about the 7th !! ... re-reading your post, you didn't say what you were actually referring to!
Sorry - now edited to make it clear :rolleyes:
Aha - I didn't actually recommend Nanut's Beethoven 5th (although I think it is quite good) - I was raving about his 7th! :)
"And now for something completely different":
George Frideric Handel - 'Six Sonatas for Oboe and Continuo HWV 380 - 385'
Burkhard Glaetzner and Ingo Goritzki: oboe, with Walter Heinz Bernstein: harpsichord, Seigfried Pank: viola and Achim Beyer, violin.
1986, Cappriccio 10 066
This is Volume 1 of a two part issue. Quite frankly, six oboe sonatas is sufficient.
Sorry Jerry, I thought you had listed it in an earlier post. It was interesting to listen to and always fascinating to hear how different a familiar piece can be made to sound.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Big Symphony day yesterday :) ....
Mahler 3rd symphony. Maurice Abravanel conducting the Utah SO on a Silverline DVD-Audio disc, so the entire 98 minute symphony is on a single disc, recodring produced by the late/great Seymour Solomon.
Very very (very very) good - marvellous actually! - good recording too, if a bit lefty-righty.
I could live with this as my only version, although I also love Tennstedt EMI and Zander Telarc.
And an Adrian Boult extravaganza ...
Schubert 8th symphony (quite good, if a bit over-controlled and restrained), Sibelius 7th symphony (Boult is fairly clueless here, imo).
Schubert 9th symphony. Yaba-daba-do! Pay dirt! After a very slow slow-introduction, Wonderful!
Yesterday:
Mahler 5th symphony. Tennstedt / LPO from a 16 CD set of all the symphonies that arrived yesterday. :) (A full set of studio recordings, and live recordings of 5 6 & 7). I played the studio 5th. Marvellous stuff.
Dvorak 9th symphony (New World) - Anton Nanut conducting the Ljubljana SO, An excellent performance and very natural recording ... just a muffed edit half way thru the final movement mars it slightly! :doh:
Beethoven 'Kreutzer' violin sonata. Perlman/Ashkenazy Decca LP. Another from my charity shop haul. Mint, but I really don't like the performance - just note spinning to me. But then I rarely get on with Perlman's violin playing.
Beethoven 6th symphony (Pastoral). Karl Bohm VPO DG LP. Ah, now this is real music making! It must be one of the great classical recordings.
I was very lucky to see Tennstedt perform live at the RFH before he fell ill and died. His 2nd is superb and so is the 6th.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Whoops, I've broken my belated New Year's Rez already! ...
So here's the listening report for 2 days ago, quite a busy day so not much time for music ....
Dvorak Cello Concerto - Rostropovich Karajan DG LP. What a great performance - my fave, I think. Sound isn't too bad either - orchestra is a bit muffled but the solo cello is nicely caught.
And yesterday, another busy day :( ...
Rimsky Korsakov Scheherezade. CD with Anton Nanut conducting the Ljubljana SO (I do like Nanut!) ... but Mackerras / Telarc is unbeatable in this work, I think.
Holst The Planets - Solti / LPO Decca LP. Great stuff! :)
It's Paul Tortelier for me. Superb music, very thrilling to listen to.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Today:
Arvo Part - Fratres, Spiegel, Cantus etc - Tasmin Little CfP CD. Mesmerising!
Rachmaninov Symphony #2 - Ashkenazy - Decca LP. Glorious tunes!
Handel - Coronation Anthems - Preston DG ... a bit tedious apart from Zadok the Priest.
Stravinsky Rite of Spring - Dorati - Detroit SO Decca LP. Cor Blimey! :eek:
Yesterday ...
Good Haydn can come from some surprisng sources - I recently picked up a 1972 EMI LP of Klemperer conducting symphonies 92 & 95 with the Philharmonia. More out of morbid curiosity than anything, and the fact that the LP looked completely mint! - and it was only £1 in a charity shop.
I played it yesterday for the 1st time ... Otto Klemperer - dull, plodding, slow .... :zzz: Right?
Not a bit of it! - amazingly taut rhythms and a very infectious joie de vivre that swept me happily from the opening chords to the end!
A keeper for sure.
You never can tell! :)
Burgmuller symphony #2 on a MDG CD. Poor bugger only lived from 1810-1836. :( But he didn't waste much time! The 1st movement clearly pays hommage to Beethoven (who died in 1827) - with a straight knock-off of a passage in the finale of Ludwig's 9th! :) But lots of original thought as well - only received the CD yesterday and I played it thrice. Really enjoyed it - and it gets better as familiarity gains a hold.
Burgmuller piano concerto from the same MDG CD - well, blow me - contemporary with Chopin and very similar in many ways. Great stuff!
I've had no time to play classical music in the last few evenings :(
Must dig out something stonking for tonight. I feel a Shossie 7th coming on.
Beethoven - 'The Late Quartets, Nos. 12 - 17', vinyl.
The Hungarian Quartet: Zoltan Szekely, 1st violin; Michael Kuttner, 2nd violin; Denes Koromzay, viola and Gabor Magyar, cello.
1966, EMI SLS 857 (a 10 LP set of all the Beethoven string quartets)
Regarding the Dvorak Cello Concerto, it's Rostropovitch for me. :)
Shostakovich - Symphony No. 7, Nanut, Ljubljana SO, Stravidari [cd]
http://www1.alibris-static.com/cover/l477956otr0.jpg
This is good. A very fine performance, well played and built up to a suitably overwhelming crescendo in the first movement. The orchestra do the necessary Shossie dissonance very well while keeping it tight. I could only wish for a little more of the bass drum in the mix.
Thanks to Jerry for the recommendation.
Hey, I'm happy that you enjoyed Nanut's Shosty 7, Martin. :) It's very very fine, I think.
Do try an get hold of his Mahler 6th (quite fast, but very exciting, the only drawback to my ears being a somewhat too fast slow mvt, but even that is in keeping with the overall conception) and also his Beethoven 7th. His Bruckner 8 is another fave of mine, but rather rarer.
Yesterday's classical choons ....
Granados Piano Trio - Chandos CD. Gorgeous.
Haydn keyboard sonata #12 played on the harpsichord by Janos Sebestyen on a 4 LP Hungaroton box set. Sparkling and delicious! Superbly alive recording, too. An Oxfam £3.99 minty bargain. :thumbsup:
Duparc - 5 songs with orchestra - EMI LP. Janet Baker / Previn / LSO. The more I listen to this the more I love it ... I'm not usually a fan of Dame Janet, but she is absolutely yummy here!
Ravel - 'Bolero'
Boston Symphony Orchestra, cond. Seija Ozawa. 1974 DGG
Usually dismissed as 'juvenile', 'entry-level' or 'trite', Ravel's Bolero is surprising sophisticated and a great piece of music to demonstrate dynamic control and resolution - placing the various instruments in the overall sound stage as they come in and out of play.
After the 15 minutes, the hairs are standing on the back of by neck and I'm covered in goose bumps.
Beethoven - 'Symphony no. 3 ('Eroica')'
Berlin Philharmoniker, cond. Von Karajan. 1984 DGG
When Haydn first heard the 3rd he was said to remarked "Beethoven has done what no other composer has done" "From today everything has changed".
Listening to it this afternoon, I can hear what he meant.
Howard Blake - Violin Concerto - ASV CD. Haven't played this for a while, but I got quite entranced by it last night and played it 3 times on the trot! A very fine piece, well recorded. Performed by violinist Christiane Edinger, who just happens to be the soloist in my fave version of Bach's partitas and sonatas for solo violin on 2 Naxos CDs!.
Followed by Blake's "A month in the country" a suite for strings, and the Sinfonietta for ten brass instruments - the latter being a bit of a tour de force and huge fun.
A CBS CD of Blake's piano concerto then followed. Luvverly-jubbly, some simply wonderful piano writing here - from barn-storming to heart meltingly delicate. That'll be on my playlist for today as well. :thumbsup:
A very fine composer, Howard Blake - I shall be investigating more of his work.
And yes, t'was he who wrote the music and words for the animated film "The Snowman" including the beautifully poignant song 'Walking in the air". :)
Julian Bream and John Williams Together Vinyl
Of late:
Tom Cullivan - violin sonata 1 &2, piano quintet. On a Far Western CD. I picked this up on a whim about 15-20 years ago in a Tower Records sale for £2.99. It's been one of my fave CDs ever since. Cullivan is a contemporary Irish composer - the music is just brimming with wonderful Irish melodies and, at times, toe-tapping excitement. Just wonderful. This CD is impossible to get now, I think - so if anyone would like a copy, just drop me a line with your address. This really is too good to miss. :)
Benjamin Britten Cello Symphony. Naxos CD. Hmmm .. every now and then I dig this out and play it. I'll be b*ggered if I get the point of it, but I keep trying!
Happily it is partnered by Britten's genuinely fab violin concerto - so all is not lost! :)
Duparc songs with Janet Baker and Andrew Preview / LSO on an EMI LP. Re-playing this with my new Acoustic Zen speaker cables in place (Thanks Chris / technobear! :thumbsup:) Dame Janet's voice is now so much more real and focussed and there. Yummy.
Yesterday:
Stephen Wolpe piano music - on a CPO CD. Hmm. Interesting. Definitely of the 'modern' variety - a challenging listen. I enjoyed it, but not sure if it's a keeper.
Bernard Stevens violin concerto and 2nd symphony on a Meridian CD. British composer 1916-1983. Why isn't this guy's music better known? ... probably because his Marxist views were rather unpopular back in the days of WW2 and the cold war. Fine, well constructed music, though.
Gilbert and Sullivan The Mikado. A Canadian CBC live DVD Video. Watched it with the missus. What a wonderful way to end the day. :)
Mozart
Symphonies No. 35 ("Hafner") and No. 36 ("Linz") 1963/1962 Wiener Philharmoniker, cond. Rafeal Kublik.
Symphonies No. 39 and No. 41 ("Jupiter") 1981 Staatskapelle Dresden, cond. Colin Davis.
I have numerous versions of these works. This one was first to hand - I was only listening to it in the 'background'. :o
http://boxset.ru/wp-content/uploads/...over_small.jpg
Amandine Beyer & Gli Incogniti - The Four Seasons (Studio Master 96kHz / 24bits)
I've finally lost my cherry to Hi Res audio and this performance sounds absolutely wonderful. These people might as well be here playing in my room this is so real. I am utterly blown away by this, my first real experience of Vivadi's Four Seasons. There is no sense of distortion at all, the strings are full of life and vigour, the Harpsichord quills can be heard plucking the strings, every instrument is alive with delicious aural nuances, and the ambience is tangible.
Here sits one very happy camper... :champagne:
Gilbert & Sullivan Pirates of Penzance on DVD. Canadian CBC live recording. Pretty good overall, although Caralyn Tomlin as Mabel doesn't really have the voice for the amazingly high vocal line, but surely this is the best Major General's patter song ever! (I am the very model of a modern major general ...) - the speed is astonishing, the diction superb. Bravo, Douglas Chamberlain! And any connoisseur of the male buttock will surely be impressed by Jeff Hyslop as Frederic. :stalks:
Howard Blake violin sonata and piano quartet etc on a Naxos CD. Hmm .. the viloin sonata is excellent in a post-romantic way, but the rest of teh disc fall a bit flat on first listen.
Vaughan Williams Dives & Lazarus, Symphony #6 - Abravanel / Utah SO on a DVD-Audio disc. Excellent performances. Wow Sound - a bit bass light but superb soundstage, dynamics and rez.
:lolsign: Jerry, I love reading your reviews they are so entertaining and informative. I guess you really liked this one then? :)Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Vaughan Williams symphonies 8 & 9. Haitink on EMI CD. Hmm - not bad for a Dutchman! I had previously bought the bargain full set of 9 symphonies by Haitink - but to my ears the single CDs sound so much better, I found the 'bargains' a bit forward and shrill. The original issue EMI CDs sound superb to my ears.
Much underrated, these particular symphonies - they well repay repeated listening.
John Kinsella String Quartet #3. On a Chandos CD of 'Contemporary Irish String Quartets'. Bought in an Oxfam shop a couple of days back :) Well, this is interesting - def one for the re-visit soon pile. Definitely 'modern' but an interesting and varied sound.
On vinyl:
Beethoven - String Quartets nos. 1 - 6
Maybe a little intellectual sounding, these string quartets are calming, soothing and a pleasure to listen to.
Vaughan Williams 8th Symphony - Haitink LPO, EMI CD (again)
Martinu 3rd Symphony - Jarvi - BIS CD. An interesting symphonic cycle with a very distinctive sound all its own. It doesn't sound like Beethoven or Brahms or Mahler or Sibelius or, well, anyone else really .... it just sounds like Martinu! Certainly worth sampling if you haven't tried them - but I'd avoid the bargain priced Naxos series, as they don't really capture Martinu's soundworld. Try the 1st symphony by Belohlavek or Jarvi or Thomson or Flor.
Jeepers Creepers !! - you can get all 6 symphonies conducted by Neeme Jarvi in stunning sound on 3 CDs for £8 delivered! :eek: ...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Martinu-Symp...1952799&sr=1-1
Snap it up, guys. Snap - it - up !! :thumbsup:
... or £3.24 delivered for just the 1st CD in the cycle with symphonies 1 & 2. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-lis...condition=used
* Bach - Tre Sonate, Concerto Italiano, Quattro Duetti, Capriccio - Sviatoslav Richter, Stradivarius label, STR 33323- very reflective late Richter
* Haydn String Quartets Opus 20, "The Sun Quartets" Schneider Quartet, Haydn Society Records LP, HS-9086
* Boult conducts Butterworth, Howells, Hadley, and Warlock - Lyrita cd, SRCD 245
Ah, Barry, the Haydn Op 20 string quartets. Lovely stuff. :thumbsup:
Yesterday for me:
Eckard - keybaord sonatas played on original instrument pianoforte on a Zigzag CD. Bracing stuff!
Mahler 9th Symphony - Tennstedt EMI CDs. The adagio finale is a bit upbeat really ... could do with a bit more angst and despair. :eyebrows: But I guess it's as valid an interpretational approach as any.
Mahler 10th Symphony - the opening 25 minute Adagio - Mahler croaked before he completed the rest. Tennstedt again on EMI CD. Lovely lovely lovely. :)
Others have completed the whole symphony based on sketches that Mahler left, I have a couple of recordings in my collection, but Tennstedt's Adagio was just fine for last night. :)
Both wonderful, Jerry. As alternatives, Barbirolli's 9th is suitably doom-laden and Rattles 10th a superb realisation of an incomplete work.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Ah, Barbirolli - :hmm: I'm not usually sympathetic to his interpretations. Nor to Rattle's come to that!
It's been ages since I had a serious Mahler period, and I think I feel one coming on now. :eek:
Just checked my shelves for other 9ths - Bernstein DG on CD and Abbado / Lucerne on DVD. That's all. :scratch: :( I really can't recall Lennie's 9th - I haven't heard it in ages - but seems to me there could well be a grief-laden finale to be had there!
I shall have a listen later today. :)
I'll check out the Barbirolli if I can find one cheap.
My favourites go:
2nd - Tennstedt or Rattle
3rd - Haitink
5th - Abbado
6th - Abbado
7th - Klemperer
8th - Solti
9th - Barbirolli
10th - Rattle
OK - here's mine ...
1st - Litton (leaves the rest far behind!
2nd - Tennstedt, Rattle, Solti (2nd recording), Kaplan's 1st recording (surprisingly good -and great sound!)
3rd - Tennstedt EMI
4th - meh! -who cares? Quite a few are good.
5th - Inoue
6th - Nanut (although I would like a slightly slower slow mvt), Zander
7th - Abbado
8th - I detest the work
9th - currently being investigated!
Yes, I have Kaplan's recording and it's very good, if a touch dry.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
8th - seriously?! Perhaps you might try Solti's final half - absolutely awesome and the choir & organ really raise the rafters at the end.
Mahler 8th? Nah - I've tried and tried. It sounds gruesomely falsely joyous to me. I don't believe that Mahler meant a note of it! I can't bear to listen.
Anyhoo, that's just one of my little foibles. :)
.... yesterday's choons ...
A Stanford-ian evening.
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford - clarinet sonata, piano trio #3, symphonies 4 & 7. All on 2 Naxos CDs.
It baffles me why this guy isn't better known! - marvellous music. :clap:
Followed by a sonata by Silvius Weiss for solo lute from Naxos's wonderful CD series.
Then off to bed, a happy lad. :)