Jim204,
I listened to Mariam’s Liszt Benediction, and find it quite beautiful.
Maybe she’s the one to turn me around about Liszt.
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David_ten,
While on vacation, i never received emails from this thread. So here is a belated recommendation: On HDTT, is sonically the best Gerswin disc and maybe the best sounding CD of any kind I own: Jerome Lowenthal with Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony Orchestra. It can be obtained as a download, but I bought It as a gold disc from them. It will really show off a high resolution system.
Now, I have to figure out why I’m not getting emails from Audiogon.
I’ve missed some interesting posts. |
Mariam plays a kinder and gentler List. Evidently the album showcased by Idagio is inspired by Chopin. Not as shallowly bombastic as the Liszt I’ve grown to dislike. |
Jcazador,
I must admit, even as a pianist, I’ve given Liszt a wide berth. Aside from the Mephisto Waltz, which I performed as a concession to audiences but disliked, i played almost no Liszt.
I am listening to some of your suggestions and finding some gems.
Thank you.
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Jim,
Yes, I’m aware of Chopin’s admiration and envy of Liszt’s technique.
And, I agree and have always thought Liszt’s B minor Sonata a supreme masterpiece. By a wide margin, the foremost romantic piano sonata, surpassing Chopin’s own and Brahms’ youthful efforts.
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Not to mention Perahia’s lovely perusal of the complete Mozart Piano Concertos when he was a kid! |
I must confess I feel the same way about Bruckner.
I share Brahms’ low opinion of him.
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Just received set of 75 Bach cantatas conducted by Karl Richter on two Blu-ray discs in 24/192 resolution. Wonderful performances in crystal clear sound.
Extraordinary buy at $79. |
Those Russian basses!!
Thank you for this excerpt from the master. |
Schubert,
Thanks so much for sending this to me.
It indeed is a distinguished performance!
One of the very few pieces written in the second half of his life.
Makes one wistful for what could have been.
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Yes.
Happy New Year to you,
and all others on this forum.
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Schubert,
Wow!
Fabulous piano playing!
I really like the music too.
Hiromi is a name I have to remember.
Also, my system never sounded so good! |
Schubert,
I’d like to think that the universality of Rachmaninoff’s music moved the audience,
but you might be right.
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I attended a very interesting concert last night in a local venue with a not very sophisticated audience.
Royal Philharmonic, Wigglesworth conducting.
Soloist was Khatia Buniatishvili, one of my favorite pianists playing Liszt’s 2nd Piano Concerto, my least favorite concerto in the literature. {That’s the nicest thing I can say about it.) She was brilliant, as was expected. Audience barely applauded enough for her to squeeze out one encore (a ravishingly played Schubert impromptu.)
Second half of the program was Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Symphony, in my opinion (possibly aside from Mahler’s,) undoubtably the greatest 20th Century symphony.
Performance of the great work was so-so, but to my great surprise, the audience who inappropriately clapped after each movement, was wild with enthusiasm at the end, eliciting several returns to the stage by the conductor.The spontaneous reaction of this audience to Rachmaninoff brought tears to my eyes.
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Although, there were more canes and walkers at the concert than I could count! |
So, it wasn't RocknRollers cheering the Rachmaninoff.
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Just listening to the force of nature that was Richter, on Idagio.
Playing the slowest and most profound version of the Schubert Bb Sonata, D. 960, and the Wanderer Fantasy.
Awe inspiring doesn't begin to tell the story.
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Real virtuoso playing in the Strauss. |
I shall try to find the Bolet-Liszt on Idagio. |
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Concerning Bolet, just listening to him in a 1974 Carnegie Hall recital playing Liszt transcriptions and other virtuoso fare on Idagio.
Almost super-human immaculate dexterity. |
jcazador,
Thanks for all that info. |
i’m not at all religious, but the cantatas are still very meaningful to me on a musical and spiritual level |
I can’t stop listening to them. They’re so well done on this recording that they’re addictive. |
I want to pose a sort of philosophical question about our listening to music.
The obvious answer to the question is that we should listen to whatever we damn please. But the query is: should we be happy listening to our favorite composers and compositions, or should we feel guilty about not exploring new horizons and music we’re prone to hate? For me, the obvious bitter pills are such as Liszt, Neilson and Bruckner, not to mention the Second Viennese school. We run the risk of close-mindedness by ignoring that which we don’t know and missing out on what what glories might be out there. On the other hand, we only have so much time, and there is a universe of more accessible music available.
I just wonder if this dilemma has crossed anyone else's mind. |
Len (if I may call you that,)
I do believe you are right about your deeper insight.. |
Jim,
I just happened to listen the Babayan Rachmaninoff album yesterday.
I like the fact that he doesn’t play the pieces in order. Just skips around between Preludes, Etudes Tableaux etc.
Particularly beautiful is his rendition of the Volodos arrangement of the Cello Sonata 2nd movement. Almost as great as the master Volodos himself. |
This has nothing to do with music but I have a question about sound. If you’ve heard both Qobuz and Idagio, do you notice a difference in SQ between the two services?
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Jim204,
Thank you for your salutation, though undeserved, and for your good wishes.
A very, very wonderful holiday season to all who participate in this thread.
And thank you all for your contributions!
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jcazador,
Thanks for the tips.
For some reason, opiates have never helped me in the least with pain.
I take them and nothing happens. So, i don’t take them anymore.
you’re right, other knee not likely!
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Thank you all for your good wishes and suggestions.
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Found it on Idagio. Listening now.
Pletnev orchestrations of Chopin very nice.
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I’ve listened to most of the Trifonov compilation.
Very competent playing. I wish I could be more enthusiastic about the interpretations. He certainly has the chops to play this music. In fact, he chooses slower tempos to bring out the incredible melodic beauty of Chopin’s writing even in runs. I just feel he doesn’t yet capture the magic of Chopin.
He is still very young.
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Jim,
I had the same thought vis a vis Pletnev.
One of the greats.
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Jim,
Thank you for your kind thoughts.
Thankfully, The unspeakable pain is gone, just normal pain.
And, I’m starting to walk without too much difficulty.
Sorry I didn’t respond to you sooner. I just read your post
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For Schumann, try Richter. |
I, too love Barbirolli’s Mahler 5th. A little on the slow side but very effective.
I find the sound both on CD and streaming to be quite good.
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Just listening now to the secular cantatas of J.S. Bach.
Delightful! |
Not trying to sound too politically correct, but black or white he was a pretty good composer. |
Nice list.
I see you’re a Bernstein lover. |
Jim5559,
I own the GoldenEar Triton 1 speakers.
With my setup they sound magnificent for classical.
I imagine further down the line the sound has the same signature.
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Jim,
I haven’t listened to Martha’s Chopin Mazurkas yet, but I will and let you know my impressions.
I actually do agree with Rubinstein’s observations about how fast she plays. At times it’s a little disconcerting and interferes with the natural flow of the music.
However, she’s an extraordinary talent and, at her best, is unparalleled.
Speaking of pianists, I’m just now listening to a new album by Daniel Trifonov containing Russian composers called “Silver Age” (available on Idagio.)
Again, as we’ve discussed before, aside from his formidable technique, I just don’t find him very interesting, despite all the hullabaloo. |
Speaking of Kondrashin, I believe he is one of the great conductors of the 20th century and somewhat underrated. He was superb not only in Russian music. His Mahler performances, especially the 9th Symphony, are truly admirable. |
I’m so happy his time has finally arrived. |
My favorite recorded versions of the Etudes are by Alexis Weissenberg and Ivo Pogorelich.
Of course Pletnev is great in whatever he does.
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On the same disc as Pletnev’s recording of Symphonic Etudes, is a magnificent performance of the Schumann Fantasy. Best I ever heard. |
I attended a concert by Pogorelich at Carnegie years ago. He acted as though the stage was the last place he wanted to be, and almost totally ignored the presence of an audience. He nonetheless played magnificently.
His wife was his longtime teacher and, I believe, much older than he.
I remember being surprised when he married her. |
