Is the Sudbin recital compositions by Liszt, Ravel and Saint-Saens?
If so, its listed as $25-$79 on Amazon. |
Bought it on Presto Classical in U.K. for $14.25 plus tax. |
Good recording. I like his performance of the 4th Concerto better than the 2nd.
My all-time favorite of the 4th is with Earl Wild and Jasha Horenstein.
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Me too, as far as Mahler goes. I have several complete cycles of the symphonies by different conductors.
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I recently got an amazing new recording of Mahler’s 6th with Teodor Currentzis and Music Aeterna on SONY. I’ve had mixed feelings about this conductor’s past releases, always extroverted, but this one is truly remarkable. Not a dull moment in the entire performance.
Inciteful and emotional to the extreme, this is Mahler playing at it’s best, in my opinion.
Excellent sound, too
I got it from Presto in England. It won’t be released in the States until December 5th. |
Bob,
if if you want a treat, listen to this one.
I’m going to pm you. |
An interesting question occurred to me that I thought I would pose to the forum:
What is the greatest single piano solo piece ever written? (Or, what is is your favorite? Maybe not the same question.)
I would like to exclude the Beethoven Sonatas from consideration, as there are too many clear winners there.
Other than those, I have one to nominate.
Although I’m not a big fan of this composer, I have one of his compositions to suggest:
Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor. A monumental achievement to me.
I’m really interested in what others might think.
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Jim,
You and I are in total agreement.
Rachmaninoff and Volodos, and I have to add Horowitz (and maybe Glenn Gould) are the greatest pianistic geniuses I’ve heard in my lifetime.
And just consider, with Rachmaninoff, his even greater genius was as a composer.
Just beyond belief!!!!!!
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That’s a good story.
I think he had that effect on a lot of people.
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Re: Rachmaninoff
Did any musician in history combine performance and composition to such a high degree?
And remember, he stopped composing in his early forties for decades, he said because his music was considered too old fashioned. Only then did he turn to concertizing seriously and become arguably the greatest pianist of his age.
Towards the end of his life, he returned to composition to write some of his greatest music: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Symphonic Dances, Third Symphony.
As late as the 1950’s the Groves Dictionary referred to his music as “warmed over Tchaikovsky!” Only lately has his time come to be recognized as one of the greats.
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Twolefrears,
Just received the Sudbin album.
Stunning SACD sound!
As I’ve said, aside from the B minor Sonata, a brilliant masterpiece, Liszt is not really my cup of tea.
But he does play Liszt brilliantly (shallow though I think the music is.)
A very good performance of Gaspard de la Nuit. (Pogorelich is my favorite in this.)
A dazzling performer, I think Sudbin could use more tonal color and imagination in his playing.
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Sorry for the misspelling of your name. Was certainly not intentional.
Very embarrassing for me! |
Jim,
Yes, I listened to that performance a while ago and was similarly impressed.
At his age, like his compatriot, Martha Argerich, he seems to have lost nothing in technique. What a musical genius! He conducts even the most complicated scores from memory.
What is there in the water in Argentina? |
I’ve copied this post of mine from another thread because it might be useful here:
Some observations about the different streaming services for classical music:
The best of course is IDAGIO because it is designed for classical.
In classical works oftentimes there is no gap in between the tracks.
Idagio, Qobuz and Spotify don’t insert any gaps, Tidal does. That ruins the continuity of the music. On Tidal, also, it is very difficult to find specific works by composers. Their search engine just doesn’t do that job well. Again, the best is IDAGIO, as it has many search engines. The other two services do a fair job.
I, at first thought SQ was the best in Tidal, but in classical music anyway, they all seem pretty equal.
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I have to amend my assessment of pauses between tracks in the various streaming services.
Upon further listening, I found that all the services had the pauses in varying degrees, unfortunately.
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On another thread I complained about my obsession with sound blocking out my love of music. Especially now that I’ve upgraded my set with several new components, it’s a real problem for me.
I really wish I could go back to listening to my table radio, on which, when I was younger, I learned much of the classical repertoire.
Does anyone else here have a similar problem?
Or is it just me?
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In a similar vein, I wish I could accept my system for what it is and stop worrying
“Is it good enough?” |
Twolefteats,
You know, I’ve been thinking of leaving for a while myself.
This hobby is such a pernicious thing. It really paralyzes you from enjoying the music most times.
Like every addiction, it’s very hard to break
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I really do think I am going to leave this forum for a while.
I’ve recently invested many thousands of dollars in various upgrades and feel my system is not sounding as transparent it should. It does, however, sound very musical, but so does Bose. I really don’t know which end is up at this point. So, it’s probably best to get my head out of the sound business for the time being and try to enjoy the music.
We’ll see if I can hold my resolve.
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Again, sorry for the typo! |
I think I’ve made a quick recovery.
I’m enjoying the music now.
Listening to the aforementioned Schumann Symphony #2 with Heinz Holliger on IDAGIO, which now sounds better than the CD, amazingly. In classical, anyway, IDAGIO is as good sounding as Tidal premium.
After this, will check out Litolff.
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Schubert,
Funny you should mention it. Right now I’m listening to Schumann’s complete orchestral works with Holliger. Not one rotten egg in the bunch. Even the unknown overtures are sublime works, especially in Holliger’s hands.
Recorded sound is wonderful too. Listening on IDAGIO. |
Correction: The title of the Grimaud album is “Memory”. Not “Memories.” |
Just heard Helene Grimaud in her “Memories” album on IDAGIO.
A lot of very familiar pieces (and some unknown) played ravishingly.
Undoubtedly, one of the great pianists of today.
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Yes, I have those CDs. They are amazing in every way. The piano roll captured his touch and pedaling. When I first heard the recordings, I said to a friend: “all the rest are like children.” And I wasn’t even speaking of his legendary technique. I was describing his phrasing and command of nuances that you can’t hear on pre-1948 acetate masterings, even with expert restoration. |
Spending the afternoon streaming Rachmaninoff performances as pianist.
Just finished listening to his own playing of his First Concerto.
Heaven on earth.
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I did some research. The pre-1948 78 rpm records were cut on a type of wax, not acetate. The 78’s themselves were made of shellac. |
Jim,
No reason to be sorry. i haven’t listened to the Goldberg for a while. Maybe the beauty of the music influenced my positive reaction |
Pete23,
Welcome to the thread!
You have good taste in music.
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The gorgeous Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata is finally fully realized in a new recording by two young musicians: Hee-Young Lim and Nathalie Milstein. It’s usually performed as a vehicle for cellists to shine. This rendering includes the pianist as, at the very least, an active partner. It’s heartbreakingly beautiful Rachmaninoff. I just discovered it on Idagio after seeing it listed elsewhere.
It’s on a brand new Sony release which contains the Prokofiev Cello Sonata as well.
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brownsfan,
Thanks for the feedback. You’re right, the pain can be brutal. Fortunately, if I stay in my elevated chair and listen to music, it’s tolerable. |
I agree Mahler 4 is the gateway, but I would posit Symphony 1 as the next step in the quest for Mahler prehension. And it’s last movement will certainly be a challenge for any system. |
Speaking of Mahler, although I have both the early (Sony) and late (DG) sets of Bernstein’s renderings of the symphonies, for some reason have avoided listening to them lately.
I just recently selected the DG set to listen to again and WOW! What wonderful interpretations. The sound is first rate as well. I guess I took for granted they would be great, but hearing them again I’m more impressed than ever.
I highly recommend this set as a great introduction for the novice.
I’ll return to the earlier Sony set when I’m finished with the DG set for comparison.
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Gdnrbob,
I’m impressed you got to know the 7th so early.
It took me years to crack it. But now that I did, I love it.
I think most people (including me) were introduced to Mahler through the First Symphony. |
Indeed!
Horses for courses! |
The Ninth Mahler Symphony is not only my favorite of his, but maybe my favorite of any composer. The first movement, especially, is heartbreaking.
I just listened to the 3rd Symphony with Bernstein on DG with the NY Phil.
Magnificent interpretation and state of the art sound on my system.
Having multiple versions of all Mahler’s symphonies, this interpretation is one of the best. |
Horses think?
newbee,
CARLOS Kleiber’s 5th (I haven’t heard his father Erich’s 5th lately) is indeed a very exciting performance. I concur that the Schubert Symphonies sound more alive with a lighter touch.
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An under appreciated genre of Beethoven’s output are his magnificent piano trios, crowned by the renowned “Archduke” trio.
The sparkling genius one finds in the string quartets can be found in the trios as well.
I’m now listening to the complete set recorded by the Beaux Arts Trio on Philips.
Highly recommended.
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I like the cello sonatas even more that the violin sonatas.
The second one in g minor, to me, is one of the glories of the classical age.
And the third, the most popular, is glorious as well.
The fourth, is more abstruse, more forward looking and wonderful.
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Schubert,
If I took your comments the wrong way, I apologize. |
- an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.
Xenophobia—Taken verbatim from dictionary. Certainly applicable to the despicable comment above. |
If you can’t see how your comments are prejudicial and offensive to an American (“rock culture”) music lover or musician, there’s nothing more I can say.
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I felt that way too, years ago when I first heard it.
But, I’m so tired of hearing #1, it sounds fresher to my ears. It’s not a bad piece at all. It takes some getting used to. Very different from #1.
#2 is especially good. |
Mahgister,
Are you sure you don’t mean IVAN Moravec?
A HANS Moravec is into robotics. |
Brayeagle,
Don’t worry about making a fool of yourself.
We do it all the time. |
Right you are, schubert.
I guess those five are a pretty safe bet.
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Thanks for tip.
As far as Schubert pianists go, there are many.
Brendel, Lupu, Richter and Perahia are a good place to start.
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Another controversial pianist besides Nyiregyházi, but in a completely different way, is Glenn Gould, one of my idols. Sheer genius to my mind. And a technique to match ANYONE!
Just listening to his recording of the late Beethoven sonatas recorded in 1956 when he was just starting out. Despite some idiosyncrasies, he gets to the heart of the music even at such a young age. Intellectually probing, intensely emotional with incredible technical execution.
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