A bit of serious evening listening
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Pre and post tea appetiser
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Printable View
A bit of serious evening listening
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Pre and post tea appetiser
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From a new charity shop haul (14 LPs :)) yesterday ....
LP
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LP
http://www.ambergreen-classical.co.u...7-8-1827-p.jpg
LP
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Todays charity shop haul £1 5Cds
Good version of Tchaikovskys Pathetique Very good sound
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and 4CDs of Dowland had a good kip to the first CD earlier
hopefully the second will help me sleep in a bit
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LP
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I was so pleased to find this Shosty - I had never even heard of the recording.
But sadly I have to agree with the reviewer who has posted ...
"Whatever his prowess in 19th- and 20th-century Romantic music of Eastern European origin, Kertész simply does not connect with Shostakovich’s frenetic, highly strung idiom. He emphasizes the symphony’s classical structure, employing crisp phrasing and rendering the music with a strangely chilly detachment."
And the sq is rather mushy and unfocussed. Ah well, it does have its points of interest.
LP
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Ahhh, that's more like it - lovely music previously unknown to me - I was particularly impressed with the Borodin piano quintet.
LP
http://assets.rootsvinylguide.com/pi...ductor_2465509
Wow - love the Mayr piano concerto - I've never even heard of the guy before! Played it 3 times now - I want to hear the Ries as well, but the Mayr always draws me back.
http://www.khrisrecords.com/catalog/...2-a_3659_1.jpg
Fantastic! What a pianist. :thumbsup:
[img]
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--- absolutely phenomenal playing - probably the very best Liszt sonata I have heard. Jaw dropping.
But in stereo the sound is 'atmospheric' rather than focussed - I listened in Mono. :thumbsup:
Thanks, I will keep a look out.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Not sure what you mean about mono though in the Houston
The Houstoun (note the 2nd u) recording stretches the piano all the way from the left to the right speaker and is very unfocussed and 'billowy' in stereo. I guess some folks will like it but I find it very distracting.
In mono you get a nicely focussed and precise central image which works well, for me, with piano.
Does that make any more sense?
All amps should have a mono switch
not heard the recording but there can be too much stereo sometimes
OK, I think I get it - you played a stereo record in mono? I guess that was, as David says, via a mono switch on the amp. Another option I suppose it to mute one channel and now you would be listening from the position of the unmuted microphone. Having listed to a piano recital recently I was impressed the way the sound filled the room - so I am rather surprised that listening in mono could be an improvement.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Incidentally although he is a kiwi I have not heard him play live.
Ah sorry - yes, mono button on pre-amp. I was still being obscure! :doh:Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrei
Yep, Michael Houstoun, he's a Kiwi - Check Him Out ! - superb Beethoven sonata recordings as well. But with the same blown-up wishy washy sound quality - maybe that's what you guys like Down Under?
I hear quite a few recordings - and in my estimation Houstoun is one of the great pianists of our time.
Check out his Shostakovich piano concertos on Naxos as well - that CD was my intro to him and set me investigating other recordings by him. I've been in search of a great recording of the Shosty piano concertos and have tried pretty much all of the 'usual suspects' - some of them very good, but not quite nailing the exquisite slow movements - then for 1p plus postage from Amazon I thought I may as well try the Naxos offering even if the pianist is not a Big Name; Houstoun ... who? :scratch: F**k me, it's near as damn perfect! Forget the rest, Houstoun's the best! :D
I picked the next CD up at a charity shop for 50p.
Just one of those naff cheapo labels with pseudonymous orchestra and conductor names, I thought.
But, well -- 50p -- charity -- why not? - who knows what it's like?!
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Well, blow me down. It is very, very good indeed.
Different performers for each symphony. And you can hear that from both sq and interpretation.
#40 - a measured tread, but superbly held together rhythmically. Somewhat warm sonics with good clarity and wide stereo spread.
#41 - faster, quite incisive. Slight disappointment in that there is no repeat in the fugue finale, it would have been welcomed! Slightly lean recording, but that suits the interpretation. Narrower stereo spread.
I've played this CD 3 times now - You know, I think these may well be my favoured versions of these symphonies! :eek:
I've never worked out how to upload pictures of the cover art, so here's the information on what I'm listening to as I type:
Georg Philipp Telleman: Quadros and Trios
Ensemble Senario (recorded in Utrecht June 1998)
Globe GLO 5154
on CD
Fairly recent charity shop acquisition - well recorded, and you can get a real feel for the acoustic in the church where they recorded.
Here you go, Graeme :)
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Yes - that's the one!Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Thanks Jerry.
Yum, I do like Telemann.
Last night ....
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Something of a Respighi binge recently ....
CD
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--- suite for organ & strings, and organ solo pieces
CD
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--- violin sonatas
CD
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--- string quartet & soprano !
CD
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Mega LP haul yesterday in a couple of charity shops. :)
Played so far ....
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Heifetz is technically sizzling, even in his early 70s, especially the Ravel Tzigane :eek:. Astonishing, really. But his playing still sounds robotic to me, emotionless. Others hear it differently, though.
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Nice stuff there, Jerry! Have you been back yet to Hay-on-Wye? :)
Marco.
No, not done the HoW thing yet, Marco - my wife is recovering from taking the quick way down a short flight of steps :doh: so can't really hack it round town yet and she'll want to look at the book shops.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Anyways. I'm finding more than enough LP bargains elsewhere!
Just played from the same LP stash ...
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Ooops... Sorry to hear about Mrs J. Please send her my best wishes for a speedy and full recovery! :)
Marco.
:thumbsup:
Sorry to hear that Jerry. Hope the missus is OK quickly.
Not sure I would agree with you regarding Curzon. He was often criticised for not "just playing the notes". Anyway, just listen to his playing of the Grieg piano concerto on Decca - it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand!Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
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PS Trust your wife is recovering from her accident.
Ah, fair enough, Barry - I guess I'm really going on Curzon's later recordings when he seemed to be ultra-careful.
I have since come across some of his earlier efforts and they are indeed very eventful and (to me) much more enjoyable.
Just now ...
LP
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Magnificent!
LP
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My top performance of the concerto. :)
LP
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-- classical transcriptions for balalaika and the occasional piano on Melodiya. Great fun. :)
Liszt hungarian rhapsody #2,SaintSaens Danse Macabre etc ...
http://www.selections.com/media/cata.../H/AH274_1.jpg
This bargain price 3 CD set is a major find.
Mono recordings by pianist Clifford Curzon - after hearing his later stereo recordings I wondered what all the fuss about him was ... now I know!
Superb readings, in decent to excellent mono sound, of 2 Mozart piano concertos, the 2 Mozart piano quartets (with members of the Amadeus Quartet) and the 2 Brahms piano concertos.
Fabulous!
Available here http://www.selections.com/clifford-c...lass-3cds.html
And here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clifford-Cur...on+masterclass
LP
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LP mono
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LP mono
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I am generally averse to orchestral mono recordings but the last 2 of the above were greatly enjoyed, perhaps largely due to the excellent condition of the LPs as well as superb performances.
CD
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Wowzer! What a recording! :thumbsup:
My BWV582 of choice remains the Stokowski transcription with the Czech Phil, though. Stokie just draws out all the inner voices so lucidly in a triumphant spine tingling peroration! :wowzer:
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My Desert Island disc. :)
In my experience, some of the mono classical recordings on vinyl can not only sound stunning, but in general the arrangements and performances are of a consistently high level, especially those on the RCA labels, Living Voice being the crème de la crème :)Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Oh, and I have the same album on vinyl, and agree it's superb!
Marco.
Jerry,Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Thanks for the links - I've gone and spent lots of money at the first site (www.selections.com) the prices are amazing!!!
Thanks again.
Yep, Selections is a bargain hunter's paradise - I've used them for a decade or two!Quote:
Originally Posted by Desmo
They also sell on Amazon under various nom de plumes - sometimes even cheaper than on their main site, especially if you want just a single CD, as the Amazon postage rate is less! It's always worth checking for titles in Amazon Market Place. ;)
LP
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Excellent - I much prefer Igor Oistrakh to his more famous dad, David, on the violin. Igor has soul!
CD
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What a fine piece of music - doesn't raise the rafters like Verdi's Requiem, or explore the nether regions of emotional depth like Mozart's - but still just nice to listen to! :)
CD
http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/894080142...1_s260x420.JPG
LP
http://store.acousticsounds.com/imag...43356-1975.jpg
LP
http://www.deccaclassics.com/imgs/s300x300/4777486.jpg
... probably my fave version of the Brahms VC
LP
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Hear my first Curzon yesterday: Mozart PC K466. I must have 20 versions but I think this is the best. Every single note seems to have significance, tempos perfect, orchestra absolutely spot on too.Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Now on the black stuff.....
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Sublime! :)
Marco.
Have you got his Schubert 'Moments Musicaux'? I've got that on vinyl, on a recording from 1971, and it's superb! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by jandl100
Marco.
Nope - not yet! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
That Decca Strauss LP looks a tad interesting, as well, Marco! :drool:
___
Obtained for £3.99 the other day from a local Oxfam charity shop - minty 12 LP set, with 1 missing. Gradually, working my way through it. By gum, old ArturR could play Chopin! :eek:
http://eil.com/images/main/Chopin-Ru...ays-537701.jpg
And another wonderful 8 LP set obtained the same day for £2.99.
http://assets.rootsvinylguide.com/pi...lps-nm_4122962
Gradually working my way through that one as well.
Wonderful stuff! :)
Rachel Podger's recordings of Bach violin concertos and Radu Lupu Schubert piano works
Emperor was the only classical music in the house as I grew up - a tape of of DG recording. I want to say Karajan but really it's so long ago it would be pure guesswork.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Listening now to Tasmin Little's Chandos recording of Britten's Violin Concerto with Ed Gardner. Wonderful piece which remains under-rated and under-exposed in my view,
Quite likely to be Kempff / Leitner, I should think.Quote:
Originally Posted by GeezerChap
LP
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LP
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-- hmm, not keen. The youthful Rattle rather pulls it around, little accelerandos leading up to the exciting bits etc ... :rolleyes: and overall a bit fast for me. Too excitable, the music is magnificent enough without yanking it around to highlight the 'good bits'.
CD
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Jean-Baptiste Lully: Atys (a 5 act French opera from 1676)
Les Arte Florissant conducted by William Christie (recorded 1987)
Harmonia Mundi (3 CDs)
I know nothing about classical music but i got these in a charity shop today
Bachs greatest hits - 50p
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and this for £2 - seems to be a collection of Beethoven symphonies. Has 7 LPs inside.
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Hey, excellent, Keith!
Give them a spin and see what you think.
the Bach disc looks a great introduction to his music. A very varied selection!
The Beethoven set conducted by Kletzki - an old set of recordings but he was a very fine conductor - I just hope they are in decent condition!
Start with the 5th symphony - I think everyone would recognise the beginning of that!
Nice bit of Bach for a sunny winters morning
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Listend to this while in bed last night great stuff
Disc one of a nine disc set
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never been much of a paino fan but do like Andras Schiff