@jcazador Jeremy thanks for posting that film of Arrau it was an absolute hoot to watch. I have looked for it for years and was very pleased to see it . Of course as a biopic account what to film and what to leave must have been a major consideration in such a long and packed life. Poor Claudio hardly aged a bit , only his hair getting greyer. It is great to see your heroes when they are young and realise that they were just as impulsive as the young of today , but even there you could see an astonishing technique and what a stretch he had . Thanks for that I only wish I could speak Spanish.
Classical Music for Aficionados
I would like to start a thread, similar to Orpheus’ jazz site, for lovers of classical music.
I will list some of my favorite recordings, CDs as well as LP’s. While good sound is not a prime requisite, it will be a consideration.
Classical music lovers please feel free to add to my lists.
Discussion of musical and recording issues will be welcome.
I’ll start with a list of CDs. Records to follow in a later post.
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique. Chesky — Royal Phil. Orch. Freccia, conductor.
Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Vanguard Classics — Vienna Festival Orch. Prohaska, conductor.
Prokofiev: Scythian Suite et. al. DG — Chicago Symphony Abbado, conductor.
Brahms: Symphony #1. Chesky — London Symph. Orch. Horenstein, conductor.
Stravinsky: L’Histoire du Soldat. HDTT — Ars Nova. Mandell, conductor.
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances. Analogue Productions. — Dallas Symph Orch. Johanos, cond.
Respighi: Roman Festivals et. al. Chesky — Royal Phil. Orch. Freccia, conductor.
All of the above happen to be great sounding recordings, but, as I said, sonics is not a prerequisite.
I will list some of my favorite recordings, CDs as well as LP’s. While good sound is not a prime requisite, it will be a consideration.
Classical music lovers please feel free to add to my lists.
Discussion of musical and recording issues will be welcome.
I’ll start with a list of CDs. Records to follow in a later post.
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique. Chesky — Royal Phil. Orch. Freccia, conductor.
Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Vanguard Classics — Vienna Festival Orch. Prohaska, conductor.
Prokofiev: Scythian Suite et. al. DG — Chicago Symphony Abbado, conductor.
Brahms: Symphony #1. Chesky — London Symph. Orch. Horenstein, conductor.
Stravinsky: L’Histoire du Soldat. HDTT — Ars Nova. Mandell, conductor.
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances. Analogue Productions. — Dallas Symph Orch. Johanos, cond.
Respighi: Roman Festivals et. al. Chesky — Royal Phil. Orch. Freccia, conductor.
All of the above happen to be great sounding recordings, but, as I said, sonics is not a prerequisite.
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http://www.cinetecavirtual.cl/cineteca/index.php/Detail/objects/4523 link to 1935 movie "Dreams of Love" starring Claudio Arrau as Liszt more about this movie here https://www.thepianofiles.com/claudio-arrau-plays-liszt-literally-in-1935/ |
The Buniatishvili phenomenon is quite interesting. I searched professional reviews of the Schubert disc, and just about all the critics disliked it or struggled to say something nice about it. On Amazon it has something like 175 reviews, and 95% of those are 5 stars. I guess I'm with the hoi polloi. I agree that her technique in the Impromptus is phenomenal. |
I had the fortune of attending Buniatishvili’s Schubert concert about two years ago and can say her playing is very consistent with this recording. She is indeed creative with a magical and soft touch, yet powerful at the same time. I agree with rvpiano, just like her colleague Trifanov, she will mature with time. I would rank her Schubert right up there with Sokolov, Volodos and Radu. Sofronitsky, of course, is on another level. |
A god play and teach children.....If someone know a best version i must know but i doubt it.... 😊 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIgSWhiLq00 |
The Schubert Bb Sonata D 960 to me is one of the most profound pieces of art in existence. It’s greatness lies in it’s simplicity. If one tries to do too much with it, to overly emote as Buniatishvili does, it loses something. As much as I respect and admire Buniatishvili, I think she needs to mature into this music. No doubt she is a major talent and more creative than most of her contemporaries. The Impromptus go very beautifully under her fingers. |
@twoleftears I haven't sampled this disc yet but tomorrow I'll surely do so. I have very high hopes for the future of this pianist but like Trifonov she has masses of technique but they need time to grow into the stars they will be in the future. I also think she has an enormous pallet of colours to fall on as exhibited in Pictures at an Exhibition. When I look at the You Tube video of her playing this piece every time I catch a closeup of her face her eyes are tightly shut and a rapturous look on her face (Liszt would certainly approve) I also like her rendering of Standchen but can I point you to another recording of it from Kissin who I think makes more of the virtuousity in it and therefor making the piece sing more and there are many footfalls in that piece so a transcendental technique is really needed in those Schubert/Liszt pieces. |
Listening to Buniatishvili's Schubert disc: Sonata D 960, Impromptus D 899 capped with the delicious Liszt Standchen transcription. I am entranced by her playing. Rermarkable lyricism and delicacy in the p and pp passages. The piano sound is interesting too; don't know if it's the piano she's playing or the recording, or both. Compared to the string of Hyperion recordIngs I've been listening to of late, it's softer, warmer, more rounded. It suits her meditative style of playing, I think. Has anyone else sampled this disc? |
For me the Russian school is the best example of a teaching that exemplify in his pupils and masters the 3 main factors i listen to in a pianist: The first factor is the one linked to the hues and "NUANCES" in color , ONE NOTE says all....Moravec, the pianist’s pianists ( he is not Russian i know) is an emblematic master of this colors and pastel mastery of note where the timbre playing of the instrument fuse with the microdynamic timbre gesture of the body....This is the seeds of the pure beauty, ethereal and/or incarnated .... The second factor manifest itself between TWO NOTES : by constrasting, balancing, polarizing,attenuating, etc it is the INTENSITY... The abyss where gods and magicians transform crowds and the world....The hungarian Nyiregyházi and Sofronitsky playing Scriabin are supremum examples...For me this factor is linked to the ethos and/or the pathos.... The third factor is the dynamical and rythmic, and motoric mastering with THREE NOTES and more ... Pure VIRTUOSITY....Too many examples here and not necessary to give one... But Hamelin and Earl Wild or Horowitz for example own enough of the first 2 factors to exemplify the third without any negative coming from it....Here it is between the living logos versus the logical formula or the mechanical and the rythmical.... Artistry, Demonic power, and virtuosity.... An artist must slowy feel his artistry first , more than he can practice it, but he can practice his virtuosity and invoke then the circonstance when he feel it at his best.... The demonic power is linked to the miracle of the moment and cannot be practiced at all, it can only exploded....We may learn virtuosity, but nobody learn how to be a god and improvising and throwing miracles on listeners.... Artist, gods or magicians we can also call them.... We can all argue about our evaluation on this 3 factors scale of any pianist....It is relative to our own internal alchemical balance and then perception.... Never mind this subjective fact, these 3 factors can be use to describe the piano playing for me....1-2-3 notes.... Mozart and Chopin are supremum artist, Listz and Scriabin more on the demonic side for example, and Beethoven more in equilibrium between these 2.... it is only my way to communicate how i listen to pianists.... |
One day someone make the observation that the piano with which he must play this evening is in a very bad shape, to whom Ervin Nyiregyházi replied, "it is me not the piano which will make sound".... I always were amazed by this pianist and it is the same for Russian pianists.... Music is never only sound.... Just to pull your beard.... By the way i prefer good piano sound but....i prefer Neuhaus on a bad piano or Sofronitsky to almost anyone... |
Yes, she studied with Neuhaus. quote (Virsaladze) A bad pianist can either play a Steinway well or ruin it. It doesn't bother me to play any instrument, and not just because of that. But unfortunately the pianos provided at Moscow Conservatory are in the worst condition. If you came, you'd understand. The pedals squeaked, they were out of tune, and the left pedal of the instrument in the classroom where Prof. Neuhaus taught was always creaking and squeaking. Every piano they had was a real embarrassment. Even now [laughs]. (Kobayashi) That kind of instrument was even in Prof. Neuhaus' class? (Virsaladze) Even in Prof. Prof.Neuhaus' lesson room. |
Eliso Virsaladze This pianist is truly incredible. She is almost as old as I am. From Tbilisi and then Moscow. quote What are you conscious of when you approach, for example, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, etc.? (Virsaladze) Well, you can't express the music of any one of these composers without playing many of his works over many years. Beethoven has it all. If you can process Beethoven correctly, you will be able to understand the works of other composers in theory, that is. Take a look at Beethoven's sonatas and in them you can find Chopin nocturnes, various theme s and variations, Schumann, and Brahms, as well as even Prokofiev and jazz in them . For example, you can even hear his Op. 101 sonata (Sonata No. 28), Hammerklavier (Sonata No. 29, Op. 106), and the later string quartets in Webern and Schoenberg. . . . On the other hand, how difficult the technique for playing Mozart is! The fewer the number of notes in a sonata, the more difficult it is, because it's as if you are naked and exposing yourself in public. Still we have to make something out of nothing. In that sense, Mozart is more difficult than Beethoven. Beethoven is a dictator. He tells you what to do and it's all written on the score. Mozart does not do that for us. But there are a variety of reductions [meaning "various editions" of Mozart's work, and subsequent generations of people have been saying, “ play it like this” and “play it like that” and adding various things. People always want to put in something extra here, and add something new there. For example, today many people say that to play Chopin, you should use the Ekier editions. However, there were many wonderful performances of Chopin's music in the past. They say that Cortot was a Chopin player, but of course he wasn't using the Ekier editions. Anyway, regarding editions of Mozart's music, I think there is a great deal of nonsense out there. www.tokyo-ondai.ac.jp › cms › uploads › 2019/11PDF https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Eliso+Virsaladze+ hint: if you are looking for her recordings, be aware that her name is spelled several ways: "Eliso" and "Elisso", "Virsaladze" and "Wirssaladze" |
My putter died . Interesting younger violinist very romantic and harmonic to the teeth .Born of Korean parents in Germany. https://youtu.be/EmULX9QHCUU?t=1 Raised and studied in Germany lives there as German Ciitizen(smart lady} . Chausson, Poeme Op25 |
@schubert Len, if of any interest to you there is a glorious madrigal recording on Qobuz at the moment. Verdelot : Madrigals for Four Voices.by Profeti Della Quinta. It is some of the finest singing I have heard in a very long time with perfect diction so in tune with each other. I'm afraid to say I hadn't heard of Philippe Verdelot before this but I will definitely be looking him up for more . |
Mendelssohn's 'Songs Without Words' was my first attraction to his music for solo piano (many years ago). I started with Barenboim's and most recently acquired Shelley's in the 4 vol set. All good - I think I still like Barenboim's more of these two. But, forgetting anything but the shear beauty of the sound, I can't resist 'pigging out' with Kyoko Tabe's recording on Denon. It just 'sings'! To me anyway. :-) Try it if you haven't already. |
Now here is a d.960 for you rv . I call her goldylocks, not too much , not too little! (with a 58+9 first) https://youtu.be/c3gQhCsPZ8w?t=1 A lot of people play Schubert , few understand him like her . |
Mendelssohn: complete piano works, Howard Shelley, 4 vols.i have only the three cd but i concur with your enthusiasm Mendelssohn is an always underestimated genius like Haydn, compared to some others, but save for personnal taste, it is truly a great composer.... Shelly is sure a very great pianist....This music can be listen all day long... |
Mendelssohn: complete piano works, Howard Shelley, 4 vols. Honestly, I don't know why M's piano music, beyond the Romance sans paroles, isn't more widely played. Excellent. Also excellent performance and excellent piano sound from Hyperion. Hyperion are on a roll. Brahms, complete Variations for piano. Garrick Ohlsson. Wow! Some, err, muscular music here. Extraordinarily good piano sound. |
Maria Tipo, Chopin Nocturne >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGnLj4F0yas |
I would never challenge Milstein on Bach, or anything else for that matter. Of late I like to listen to this British lady as well. https://youtu.be/wTVJ0BtIoMA . And I will never not drop in to hear this good man. https://youtu.be/ZOm4DlsqvcU |
I heard Nathan Milstein play Tchaikovsky concerto with Eugene Normandy and Philadelphia Orchestra, Thanksgiving 1960. His bow began shedding, concertmaster offered his, offered shaken off, music proceeded with NM pulling loose hair off the bow whenever he had a 2 second break. When it was all over, thunderous applause of course, and Milstein reached up to Ormandy on the podium, who lost his balance on his bad leg, and nearly tumbled, but Milstein saved his fall. Never forgotten. Meanwhile, now listening to Maria Tipo (born 23 December 1931) play Bach on her piano. So fine. |
I heard the Barenboim several times Jim.Like everything he does it was done very well. I heard his orchestra many times when it had other names and he has lifted to a higher level. But , I still think E-P Salonen is a better conductor and Cho-Liang Lin gives an immacaculate performance from the first to last note, second to none ! Of course we all hear what we hear. I hope Scotia hears they had better get off the T- vessel built on Clyde-Side / i |
@rvpiano RV I noticed your comment abut Milstein and yes I would definitely put him with the other two but I doubt if there was anyone who could play the sonatas and partitas of Bach like him his sense of structure and ability to land on a note after the most ferocious arpeggios with perfect intonation is nothing short of staggering. I listen to the D Minor Partita from him at least once a week |
A great big yes to Julia Fischer for me , she is a supreme virtuoso and probably the best of todays bunch . She is dammed near as good on the piano also. My love affair started with her a number of years ago when she was playing the Dvorak Concerto at the Proms and got a rapturous applause from the audience. She came back on a number of times and then came back with her violin and stood stock still as if pondering something. After a short time she looked up and apologised for saying nothing so she told us that when she walked on she didn't know what to play and since there was twenty four of the we knew then that it would be Paganini's 24 Caprices but she said it so matter of factly that we all knew she had them all at her fingertips. What a performer, no other today like her. Now about the Sibelius Violin Concerto for me it's another young lady I listen to , it's Lisa Batiashvhili who captured me . She is wonderfully accompanied by Daniel Barenboim at the helm of the Staatskapelle Berlin. there are parts that the playing just takes your breath away. |
I had not heard this till now. Will need a few takes on the Sibelius with this band. That said , I believe Julia Fisher is the greatest violinist alive . https://youtu.be/hiwd2TUZ9gM?t=3 You Tell Me. |
Great as Oiistrakh was/is I can think of 2 others I think better in the Sibelius. Kyung Wha Chung , London SO/ Andre Preven/ Decca Cho-Liang Lin Esa-Pekka Salonen/Philharmonia Orchestra /SonyThe Finn really brings it home . To me this young lady, who died young, is the best of them all . Plane crash in 1940’s. https://youtu.be/gWV6gkeUUyo?t=26Philharmonia/ Walter Susskind This was made in 1945 and though the recording was not great she was . In this recording everything is Great ! https://youtu.be/A2gni0hiIz4?t=5 |