Beethoven THE LATE STRING QUARTETS Takacs Quartet Decca 2003 - 2004 3CD set with booklet From the notes: The quartet was formed in 1975 in Budapest and since 1983 has been in residence at the University of Colorado, Boulder. "Beethoven's series of late string quartets formed his main creative preoccupation during the final years of his life. To many listeners these five works contain the most profoundly personal and spiritual music he ever wrote." -- Misha Donat Just a Sample: String Quartet No. 12 in E-Flat Major, Op. 127 - Scherzo: vivace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyxiKYEhEEs
String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131 - 5. Presto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA5_j2QCVIACheers |
frogman,
You are so right. The remaster is screechy and just about unlistenable. The original reveals the wonderful performance and does justice to the piece. |
Mspot,
‘’Thanks for the info.
‘I suspected as much. |
Btw, since on the subject of sound quality and as a point of interest. Here is what I believe is the version from the original master, not the remastered version above. I believe it to be so because I own both versions and I hear the same issues. An example of perhaps needing to not tamper with success and leave well enough alone. The remaster “improves” clarity at the expense of a bit of digititis with a slight thinness in the upper registers and less well integrated vocal sibilants. The original sounds slightly covered up top, but sibilants are well integrated and don’t sound like artifacts; and the performance sounds even more relaxed. We pick our poison. Neither gets in the way of the fabulous performance. https://youtu.be/pyeE7zcJkSc |
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@rvpiano, it sounds like you installed the Roon Remote app on your iPad and expected it to connect with your streamer. Roon doesn’t work like that. You must install and run Roon Core on a computer (PC/Mac/Linux), which connects with your streamer. The iPad would be used like a remote control for the Roon Core on the computer. See the Roon website: https://roonlabs.com/howroonworks |
Just listening to Ravel’s “Scheherazade” for soprano and orchestra, maybe the most sensuous piece of music ever written.
Found it on Qobuz on an album including other Ravel works played by I’Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.
A feast for the ears.
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Listening to Magnard's symphonies 1 and 2 on Hyperion. He's no Bruckner and no Mahler, but they definitely have their moments. Apparently he studied under d'Indy and died, rather tragically, at the beginning of WW1. |
Well, although I downloaded the Roon app and my streamer says it’s Roon ready, no Roon devices were located by the app. |
I don’t use a PC, I use an iPad.
‘I tried to download the app for a trial subscription. Am having technical problems with the App Store. |
RV Do you use Roon on your setup ?
I have my PC tuned with Roon playing Qobuz through it and It is a huge difference to Qobuz playing on it's own. Roon has been much improved lately and the sound quality is now very clean and dynamic. I would certainly recommend it. |
Jim,
Thanks for your observations. I certainly concur Idagio is the far superior search engine.
I just acquired a new streamer that allows me to listen in hi res using Qobuz.
Oddly enough, however, there are times when Idagio sounds better to me, even though it’s not capable of hi res.
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@rvpiano I have had both Qobuz and Idagio and I have noticed a difference between the two in that on CD quality 16/44 files there is not much difference. I do notice that Qobuz definitely has the edge in the higher resolution files with a blacker noise floor and a more dynamic presentation. The Idagio site on the other hand is far superior in the sheer diversity in it's classical library compared to Qobuz. If I look up something on Qobuz it will come up with a few different Artists and bands. If I look it up on Idagio there are a whole lot more to chose from and if your tastes are a bit eclectic then Idagio is certainly for you. |
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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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart SINFONIA CONCERTANTE IN E-FLAT K364 Vilde Frang (violin) Maxim Rysanov (viola) Arcangelo -- Jonathan Cohen Warner Classics 2015 allegro maestoso https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXdYvB3rACsandante https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zfSICtEEIMpresto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0A896-KCG4From the Notes: "If Mozart was a good but unwilling violinist, he was more comfortable with the viola. It was on this lower-timbred, usually supporting instrument that he played in string quartets with Haydn, and for which he composed some of his most personal works, including the 'Kegelstatt' Trio K498 and the Sinfonia concertante K364...is a milestone of compositional maturity." Cheers |
Johann Sebastian Bach
ENGLISH SUITES 1, 3 & 5
Piotr Anderszewski (piano)
Warner Classics 2014
Seems like a lot but they are all very short pieces.
The notes give an account of the history of these works. They also talk about 'repeats', for example -- "when all the repeats of the pieces are observed, the revised version can make for a rather awkward structure, skewing the formal balance of the suite away from the other movements"...Anderszewski
I have read other accounts of composers being criticized for using repeats. I guess Bach, Beethoven etc... would say, "do you know who I am?"
Suite No. 3 in G Minor, Prélude
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM8cP6tzKIY
Suite No. 3 in G Minor, Gigue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-td1Cw3OBgSuite No. 1 in A Major, Prélude
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSSdoR03KmsSuite No. 1 in A Major, Gigue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQPiknYhggs
Suite No. 5 in E Minor, Prélude
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUej83R4sng
Suite No. 5 in E Minor, Gigue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH2gCpa9hI0Cheers |
HI-FI FIEDLER Boston Pops Orchestra - Arthur Fiedler RCA Living Stereo SACD Recorded in 1956, 1958 and 1960 This man did as much as anyone to popularize Classical Music. Always came across as, ’this should be fun’. It was for everyone to enjoy, not just the self-appointed ’elites’. Worked in my case. His cover art and musical selections said it all. Some say, ’light’ Classics, I say, ’the good stuff’. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (Franz Liszt) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaVL6uhZ7xA William Tell - Overture (Gioachino Rossini) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ3xTFmYOwA Marche slave (Piotr Tchaikovsky) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl9VzrciZUkCheers |
If you want to know if your system is good acoustically... Listen to the voices surrounding you in this magnificent recording...A studio recording where the singers walk and plays together, one can hear when they turn their head singing... in some part the voices come from behind my back... The interpretation is in german inimitable... One of my loved modern opera....With the Busoni Faust.... The soul of an era.... Kurt weill with Lotte Lenya the best recording of the three pennies opera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR33bL5aNTk&t=850s |
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Another:
Pre 1600 !!!!! Stunning use of chromaticism and dissonance:
One of my favorite composer... the Scriabin of the human voices.... He wrote like Scriabin not to move the human heart only but to make it more vast and livelier... Monteverdi use his art to express all there is, he create opera, but Gesualdo sometimes tear the human heart in two parts...One who suffers and the other who recreate.... Thanks for the magnificent unknown to me French interpretation... |
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Bach is so great that we tend to act as if classical started with him .
Truth is that from the 11th to 15th century there were composers at his level but they wrote things we don't listen to much today, as in religious
music .
You are right... Obrecht and Tallis and one hundred other geniuses... Hildegard of Bingen is older but what a creative mind... |
BOLERO - ORCHESTRAL FIREWORKS Minnesota Orchestra -- Eiji Oue Reference Recordings HDCD Recorded 2000 From The Notes: Extremely interesting snippets on the origin of each piece on this disc. "I have written only one masterpiece," Ravel said, toward the end of his life; "that is the bolero. Unfortunately, it contains no music." Eiji Oue became the ninth music director of the Minnesota Orchestra in 1995. A native of Hiroshima, Japan. The Orchestra was founded in 1903. Has had some big time music directors over the years. Including Marriner, Dorati and Ormandy. Rimsky-Korsakov: Tale of Tsar Saltan, Op. 57: Flight of the Bumblebee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YJDbVJoRJk Klemperer: Lustiger Walzer (Merry Waltz) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWK-MVlNshgBrahms: Hungarian Dance No. 3 in F Major https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kETy5k6ipiQRavel: Bolero https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO_AFmqLbZUNot my idea of ’Orchestral Fireworks’, but a nice collection. Cheers |
Johann Sebastian Bach
PARTITA NO.1 IN B-FLAT MAJOR, BWV 825
Murray Perahia (piano)
Sony Classical 2008-2009
Tidbits from the notes: In Bach's day music was treated as a consumable commodity, here one day, gone the next, so new pieces were required on an almost daily basis. -- Bach's music was rarely performed, but widely studied by academics and composers-including Mozart. -- There is scant evidence that Bach played any of his music in public. -- The set of six Partitas were the first works Bach published with the designation "Opus 1."
Praeludium
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml4mw0L-0EgMenuet I & II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyMEKW3zF3QGigue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vle0Jc7of-ECheers |
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D, OP. 35 Julia Fischer -- violin Russian National Orchestra -- Yakov Kreizberg Pentatone Classics SACD 2006 Excellent Booklet. Lots of info on Tchaikovsky, Fischer and Kreizberg. Notes: Talks about the most profound crisis in Tchaikovsky’s personal life, i.e. his marriage to Antonia Milyukova in 1877: "The marriage had only just taken place, and I had been left alone with my wife, realizing that fate had linked us inseparably, when it suddenly came upon me that I did not feel even simple friendship for her- rather, an aversion in the truest sense of the word." Maybe it’s possible to know too much about these guys. Allegro moderato https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI6MnhNJedU
Finale: Allegro vivacissimo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1NyEV-7ZgAJulia Fischer, born in Munich in1983. has worked with almost every top tier conductor in the world, except Karajan. She was only 6 when he died. Started playing before age 4. Her instrument is of Italian origin made by Jean Baptiste in 1750. Cheers |
Aaron Copland COPLAND 100 Minnesota Orchestra -- Eiji Oue Reference Recordings HDCD Recorded 2000 The Notes: "In 1942 Eugene Goossens and the Cincinnati Symphony commissioned and premiered eighteen new fanfares over the course of the symphony's 1942-43 season. "It is my idea," explained Goossens, "to make these fanfares stirring and significant contributions to the war effort." Copland's 'Fanfare for the Common Man' premiered on 12 March, 1943." "The special qualities of Copland's 'Appalachian Spring(1944), one of the composer's most popular works, owed much to choreographer Martha Graham, for whom it was written." ... "there's something prim and restrained, simple yet strong, about her which ones tends to think of as American." Fanfare for the Common Man https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku3kH7-sUTs
Appalachian Spring
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3luGMG3PoYThe music definitely has that 'American' sound to it. Optimistic, like, everything will be alright. We can do it. Cheers |
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Ferrandez, two r's only one n, in case anyone is searching... |
rvpiano -- yeah, been lovin' that Currentzis Figaro. Yeah, eventually the rapid tempi tire me out a little but all told it's a recording to treasure. |
@rvpiano RV just to let you know I have listened to the recording of
Pablo Fernandez cello recording. Rachmaninov's music never sounded better than on the cello as he had a great affinity with it . Yes all in all a great recording to while away the hours , literally. You are so right about the tone Ravishing it is. |
Beethoven PIANO TRIOS VOL. 1 Ashkenazy, Perlman, Harrell EMI 1979-1984 2CD set. Notes: Standard fare. No good gossip. Synopsis of each Trio. Does point out that Haydn thought this trio, in C minor, was too 'advanced' for a Viennese public; most musicians would now consider it the finest of the set. -- Andrew Huth Well, it's not too advanced for us Aficionados!! :)
Piano Trio No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 1 No. 3: I. Allegro con brio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dvBJKlA_94Cheers |
Beethoven PIANO CONCERTO No. 5 Leif Ove Andsnes (piano) Mahler Chamber Orchestra - Andsnes Sony 2014 Notes: Talk about the events happening during the time this music was written. Esp Napoleon's rampage across Europe. Tells the story of Beethoven seeking shelter in his brother's basement when Vienna came under fire from Napoleon's cannon. Beethoven pressing pillows to his head in an effort to protect his sensitive ears. "If I understood as much about the art of war as I do about the art of music," he is reported to have exclaimed,"I would have defeated him!" Of that, there is no doubt.
piano concerto no. 5 in e-flat major, op. 73 "emperor": I. allegrohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE7RSyCfMyUCheers |
Beethoven SYMPHONY NO.7 IN A MAJOR, OP.92 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Manfred Honeck, Music director Reference Recordings SACD Recorded 2015 From the Notes: "Critics did not comment on the poetic melodies, but rather on the rhythm as the main element of this symphony. Richard Wagner would later famously refer to the Seventh as "the apotheosis of the dance" and Carl Maria von Weber even remarked that with this work, Beethoven was certainly "now ripe for the madhouse." also As Beethoven wrote in his diary,... there were 18 first violins, 18 second violins, 14 violas, 12 cellos, 7 concert basses and 2 contra bassoons. We have likewise played both the fifth and the seventh symphonies in Pittsburgh with a similarly large cast. ... Additionally, we have used the Viennese classical setting of the orchestra, with the violins sitting on opposite sides of the stage, thus making it possible to bring to life the strong Orchestral drama. -- Manfred Honeck I think they succeeded.
Allegro con brio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPzR6kaRsAcCheers |
Beethoven EROICA - VARIATIONEN Bruno Leonardo Gelber (piano) Orfeo Label Recorded 1984 In the notes, they talk about and use the word 'improvisations' a lot. Maybe this should have been posted on JFA. Seems like here, the improvisations are done by the composer, not the player. 15 Variations & Fugue in E-Flat Major, Op. 35 "Eroica"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMt8IgOMjMcAnother one from the dawn of the CD age. Made in West Germany DM35.80 Cheers |
@frogman
Thanks for the info. I am beginning to appreciate the structure and hierarchy of the orchestra. I had no idea, except that I knew about the Principles and the violin Concertmaster.
Cheers |
Each string section (1rst violins, 2nd violins, violas, cellos and basses) has a “Principal” (“Concertmaster” in the case of the 1rst violins), an “Associate Principal”, and in some orchestras an “Assistant Principal” in addition to the “Principal” and the “Associate Principal”. In some orchestras a player auditions for and would hold a specific chair in a specific stand (usually two players) in the section and that is where they will always sit.
A very smart alternative method is the revolving seating method. In this method, with the exception of the “Principal” players, who will always sit in the first stand of the section, the other section players will rotate and take turns sitting in the various stands. The rotation can take place for different concerts or for different works within a concert. This allows each player to have an opportunity to sit in closer proximity to the section’s principal (and conductor) and avoids any one player having to sit in the last stand of the section which is sometimes comprised of a single player. There are very real musical advantages to this method.
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Questions to The Frogman:
At the end of the roster list of the NY Philharmonic there is this:
"The New York Philharmonic uses the revolving seating method for section string players who are listed alphabetically in the roster."
What does this mean?
Thanks
Cheers |
Beethoven VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MAJOR Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin) New York Philharmonic -- Kurt Masur DG SACD Recorded 2002 The Notes Consist primarily of a conversation between Joachim Kaiser and Sophie Mutter. ASM: "It was in 1978, a year after my debut with Hebert von Karajan. He thought I should study the Beethoven next, which I did for half a year with my teacher Aida Stucki. Then, as agreed, I traveled to Lucerne to play it for Karajan. But a little way into the piece he said to me:"Go home and come back next year." (This is so 'German' of the Big Guy.) "Beethoven certainly never intended with this concerto to oblige violinists' cravings for technical antics"
Beethoven: Violin Concerto In D, Op.61 - 1. Allegro ma non troppo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0Wc1cIJBREExcellent booklet with wonderful insights into ASM, HvK and Beethoven. Thick booklet with glossy color photos and LARGE type. :) Includes a Complete Roster of the NYP. Cheers |
I enjoyed the Hadelich Bach very much. You’re right, his approach is low key, very different from the usual. Effective though.
His bringing out of the contrapuntal lines at the beginning of the Chaconne was very impressive.
‘I have a further recommendation for you of another wonderful string player: cellist Pablo Ferrandez. His new recording entitled “Reflections,” is one of the top recordings of the year for me. It contains mostly Rachmaninoff, but also Spanish composers. His tone is to die for. He sounds like Piatigorsky, which is not surprising in that he’s playing on Piatigorsky’s Stradivarius cello. The playing and sound is really extraordinary. It’s also available on Idagio and Qobuz.
‘Enjoy! |
Jim,
Thanks for the recommendation.
‘I’ll certainly check it out.
‘I’m glad you liked the “Figaro.”
it really sent me flying. |
@rvpiano You are right the miracle indeed is Mozart but the sound is wonderful. This is the first I have listened to a complete opera in years, Mozart was indeed the greatest operatic composer of his age. My last Figaro was Herman Prey and we could be doing with his power and wit in this performance , the rest of the cast are very good by the way. The orchestra is very vividly recorded and three cheers for the forte piano and lute, a period performance but with a full blooded orchestra. Yes I have to say I have enjoyed this very much, Curenzis notwithstanding sometimes.
I have one recommendation of my ow this time , It's Bach - Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by Augustin Hadelich. I have sampled the D Minor and E Major Suites. Don't expect a Fischer, Kavakos or Vengerov as his virtuosity takes a different route. He has a softer tone than the previous three wonders. The great Chaconne of the D minor suite is a wondrous affair as it is played in a distinctly romantic style full and very soft playing. At the beginning of the piece I was reminded of Nathan Millstein with superbly clean playing and his arpegios and especially his double stopping superbly clean. Although not for everyone at least his intonation and tone are beyond reproach. |
The miracle is Mozart, not Currentzis.by the way.
‘Really nice recording, though. Beautiful sound as well.
On Idagio and Qobuz (in hi res.) |
@rvpiano I must look into that one RV. |
Just listening to Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” (in the recent Teodor Currentzis recording.)
A miracle of Western civilization. |
George Gershwin PORGY AND BESS (highlights) Simon Estes / Roberta Alexander Rundfunk - Sinfonieorchester Berlin Leonard Slatkin Recorded 1984 Another one with the German sales price sticker still attached. DM39.95 From the Notes: Talks about the deeper meaning of the piece. The ’complex’ relationship between Porgy, Crown and Bess. Porgy and Bess, Good and innocent, vs the evil Crown etc... They were not written by Gershwin, so they should be taken with a grain of salt. I think it was, just like most music, entertainment. A German Radio Band???? It will be played to 'perfection'. Act 1 - Introduction - Jazzbo Brown Blues - Summertime https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2btC1lleG5k Act 1 - My Man’s Gone Now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyGnw2aO6R4 Act 2 - I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L76mHyEIQCA Act 2 - I Ain’t Got No Shame - It Ain’t Necessarily So https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVv-GgJtlMQCheers |
One would think so but Americans seem to ignore him .
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