Spinning Today (Classical version)

[MartinT]

Brahms - Piano Concerto No.2, Gilels, Jochum, BPO, DG [vinyl]

[MartinT]

Bach - Keyboard Concertos 1,2 & 4, Perahia, ASMF, Sony [cd]

[MartinT]

Brahms - Ein Deutsches Requiem, John Eliot Gardiner, Orch Revolutionnaire et Romantique, Philips [cd]

[Eremite]

Vivaldi - Gloria, Preston, AAM [vinyl]

Perfect for Christmas morning.

Funnily enough, Santa brought me this for Xmas...

[Eremite]

Maybe for specialists of this period only, but this is beautifully sung by the Sixteen:

[MartinT]

Funnily enough, Santa brought me this for Xmas...

Nice. I've never come across that performance. How is it?

[Eremite]

Nice. I've never come across that performance. How is it?

Extremely good. I've been trying the identify my "building a library" choice for the Gloria for a while and this is it. Among other things it benefits from the singing of Sara Mingardo, who is a true contralto - and very fine with it. If you want to get a flavour of the performance, there are substantial samplers on the Presto Classical website here.

You might like to do a direct comparison with the Preston performance featured earlier in this thread; there are samples here. This is a notably different approach to the work; being very "English" and quite laid back (and features the wonderful Emma Kirkby!) Alessandrini's performance is much more driven; a style that I think suits Vivaldi better.

Incidentally, Alessandrini did an earlier recording of the Gloria (which you can hear samples from here); I'm afraid he really overdid the adrenaline for this one! But his later recording is much more considered.

[MartinT]

It was me who was listening to the Preston performance.

The version you have sounds fast and with a quite dry acoustic. The choir is much smaller and closer, too. I like the accentuation of the brass section. I doubt that anything will displace the Preston for me, but I shall look it up.

EDIT: that earlier version is insanely fast, you could imagine the players bent double with breathlessness by the time they've completed a movement!

[jandl100]

CD starts with a selection of short pieces, and ends with a truly masterly performance of Schubert's last piano sonata.

I can't put it better than the editorial review on Amazon.com --

In pianist Leon Fleisher's return to playing with both hands, an indomitable spirit has triumphed over physical adversity. Not that he has been absent from music since losing the use of his right hand to focal dystonia in 1965: in addition to forging a successful career as teacher and conductor, he performed the left-hand literature with peerless mastery, enlarging it with new commissions. However, he persisted in searching for a cure, and his determination has now borne fruit: this is his first record of the two-hand repertoire in 40 years. It is altogether extraordinary. Always a great pianist and musician, Fleisher has lost none of his powerful, consummate technique (not surprisingly, his left hand is enormously strong), his rhythmic and tonal control, his expressive projection. His sound is ravishingly beautiful, rich, full, singing, delicate, capable of infinite variations of dynamics, color and nuance; his intellectual and emotional concentration are riveting. The program features familiar short pieces and Schubert's great last sonata. Two Bach transcriptions, one by Myra Hess, one by Egon Petri, are overloaded and artificial, but played with reverential simplicity; a Scarlatti Sonata is scintillating without being fast; a Chopin Mazurka and Nocturne and Debussy's "Clair de lune" are frankly sentimental, very poetic, free, slow and dreamy. They invite the listener to focus on the playing rather than the music. The Schubert is monumental. Fleisher's vitality and exuberance belie his 75 years, though his impetuosity sometimes leads to jerkiness (in the Scherzo), and rushed tempi (in the Finale). His dynamics can be wayward, but the texture, even at its richest, is always crystal clear; every line stands out, indeed some seem newly discovered. There is plenty of time for reposeful rests, poised transitions, changes of harmony, color and mood; the sense of depth, breadth, coherence and continuity never falters. --Edith Eisler

A wonderful disc.

[Eremite]

It was me who was listening to the Preston performance.

I really should pay more attention...

Another recording worth a listen is that by the Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi. This is the group featured in the documentary "Vivaldi's Women" that was about Vivaldi's time at the Ospedale della Pietà and about the possibility of performing some of his vocal works with all female choir. A youtube search on "Vivaldi's women" brings up quite a lot of interesting stuff, but this, in particular, is a sampler for the Gloria.

Trouble is, this recording seems only to be available as an MP3 download...