Classical Music for Aficionados

The sound is way, way better here:

E.N.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSmc0pDXlxc

I am a big fan of pianist Laurent Martin.
Just "discovered" his recording (with Claudine Simon) of Mel Bonis'
"Le Songe de Cleopatre"

I think Martin has recorded more Alkan than any other composer, so in my book that’s a feather in his cap. I noticed a Mompou disk that should be investigated. BTW, any strong Mompou recommendations?

On the strength of her Schubert recital, I got Buniatishvili’s Liszt disc. The lyrical passages are splendid; I wonder if the contrasts between the slow, delicate, pp passages, and the faster, boisterous ff passages are a bit overdone. Jury is still out on that one.

@twoleftears     The biggest Mompou plug I could give is Arkady Volodos , Stunning!!!

@twoleftears, there are 4 albums of Mompou playing his own music, on the Ensayo and Brilliant labels. Available on streaming (Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, Apple).

 there are 4 albums of Mompou playing his own music, on the Ensayo and Brilliant labels. Available on streaming

Less refined playing than Volodos, but a more spontaneous direct and simple approach.... The 2 are the best possible....

re Mompou, please do not forget

Aethur Rubinstein, Music of Spain

also The Rubinstein Collection

Stephen Hough, Piano Music of Mompou

Jenny Lin, Silent Music

Andrew Tyson, Landscapes

Josep Colom, Momou - Piano Music

Mompou himself, Complete Piano Works (4 cds)

Volodos plays Mompou

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Michelangeli Performance
also Great Pianists of the 20th Century

Alicia de Larrocha, Great Pianists of the 20th Century

Alexander Thaurand, Chopin Preludes, also Chopin Waltzes

Alexandre Tharaud
 

I've been comparing Buniatishvili’s Rach 2 with Valentina Lisitsa's Rach 2 back to back, movement by movement.  The verdict: Lisitsa's is clearly superior.  Ironically, this has very little to do with the pianism.  Lisitsa's orchestral accompaniment is distinctly better and, above all, the recording is head and shoulders better than what they managed for Khatia.  VL is highly recommended.

Dmitry Masleev, winner of Tchaikovsky competition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYehCPsIgKw

Rachmaninov – Variations on a theme by Corelli in D minor, Op. 42 Rachmaninov – Etudes-tableaux, Op. 33
Shostakovich – Prelude and Fugue No. 3 in G major, Op.

thoughts on this pianist ? 

I'm looking to switch from Tidal to a more specialized streaming service for classical. There are two competing services: Idagio and prime phonic. Anyone with experience in either please let me know. 

Idagio has numerous search engines to find whatever your looking for quickly.
Tremendous catalog of classical works, including, in some cases, multiple versions of the same performance.
And the SQ to my ears is superior to Qobuz.
Wonderful service.
From what I’ve seen of Primephonic, it’s not nearly as extensive.

Idagio is in BERLIN , case closed!

I’ve discovered another great Russian pianist on Idagio: Zlada Chocheva.
She’s recorded the complete piano works of Rachmaninoff and the complete Chopin Etudes plus a deliciously played compilation of piano transcriptions of orchestral works.
Her discography is on Idagio if you’d like to hear her.

I feel I have to restate my admiration and love of Mikhail Pletnev as pianist and conductor. By way of a review, I just discovered his definitive performance of Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Symphony.  IMHO, Not since Rachmaninoff himself have we had such genius in performance AND conducting.
 (Of course R wasn’t bad as a composer as well.)
Just about everything I hear from Pletnev in both capacities is first rate and inspired.

One might put Ashkenazy in the same category.
But I think Pletnev has the edge.

Listening to Jordi Savall Beethoven 1-5 in multichannel.  Simply superb.  You fall in love all over again

RV    I heartily second your Pletnev admiration. I have seen him a few times at The Edinburgh Festivals as pianist, just have to see him as conductor now and it'll be complete.

There’s a lovely new recording of the great Liszt B minor Sonata by the 28 year old British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor on Qobuz.
He really does it justice.

@RV     I have just opened the discussion to see anything new and discovered your news re Grosvenor I shall search for it first thing tomorrow and get back in touch. I love the Liszt Sonata and I love young Grosvenor's playing so here's looking forward to tomorrow.
Good night all. 

Enjoying the Valentina Lisitsa Liszt recital hugely.

The Bm Ballade is something else, and the Schubert transcriptions just beautiful.

@rvpiano     RV have had a few listens to young Grosvenor's Liszt recital and yes he certainly does great things with the Sonata and most other things. I don't think he has the way with the three Petrarch Sonnet's though as they seem quite distant and detached, have a listen to Arrau and it's a different ball game.

"

Ross, by then adept at the organ, entered the Nice Conservatory, where he delved into — and increasingly concentrated on — the harpsichord.

“A friend and I used to let ourselves get locked in the conservatory at night,” he told an interviewer in 1986, “and we’d play Bach’s ‘Art of Fugue,’ four hands on a single instrument, until the janitor would kick us out at dawn.”

" He Was a ‘Bad Boy’ Harpsichordist, and the Best of His Age

Scott Ross, who would have turned 70 this year, died young of AIDS — but not before recording all 555 Scarlatti sonatas.

"I am not much into harpsichord, but this man really had the touch.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/arts/music/scott-ross-harpsichord-classical-music.html?action=cli...

I have the Scarlatti collection of Ross's and very rewarding it is although many of the individual sonatas may be played with more panache by other soloists the collection as a whole is a great recording achievement.

Ross also recorded Couperin (12 cd), Soler, Rameau (3cd).

I have the Scarlatti collection of Ross's and very rewarding it is although many of the individual sonatas may be played with more panache by other soloists the collection as a whole is a great recording achievement.

I listen to it right now....

I like the sound and interpretation...

 I dream to bought a piano integral also....

This is probably musical heresy but I much prefer Scarlatti played on the piano.

RV    I've just had a chance to listen to Zlata Chochieva and have to say she is superb. She has technique in abundance and a superb musical mind. Her rendition of the three Rachmaninov transcriptions are wonderful especially the Gigue which is very fast and a technical marvel.
I'm going to look forward to hearing more from her.
This is definitely my kind of recording.

@schubert       Len I don't know if you know or not but Theodor Currenzis has a wonderful recording of Tchaikovsky's Pathetique symphony and the conducting  and recording quallity are wonderful.Some of the transients on full orchestra are frightening making you jump out of your seat. Have a listen if you can I am sure you and all others here will enjoy it.
I hope you are keeping well Len during this monstrous lockdown , keep your spirits up my friend. Alba forever.

It’s hard indeed jim , get my 2nd vac tomorrow at the huge Vets hospital in Minneapolis .

I will certainly buy the Currenzis if available . Conductors are always interesting to me .
Right now I just play Brendel or Arrau . The ones I’ve heard in person ,I loved them when I heard them and  still do.
Scarlatti sounds good on a Tuba .

Now is the hour for Scotia , she will be welcomed with open arms to the EU .

Currentzis’ Pathetique is a little (maybe a lot) over the top, but very effective nonetheless.

Thanks rv !  Just going to hunt it.
Received my GRAMOPHONE .

On cover. "Alfred Brendel at 90: looking back over a glorious career" .

Happy birthday Alfred and I really mean it. He more than any other pianist who I have heard live taught me more about Schubert and Beethoven.
I was always going to Glasgow or Edinburgh each week of the concert season and Edinburgh Festivals to hear him but oh how pained he made it look , but like Mitsuko Uchida you just had to suffer it. Bless you Alfred.

@rvpiano      RV you are so right about Currentzis but I think that's why I like him. At least he is not anaemic like so many other conductors of today. He reminds me of some of the old conductors of yesteryear the likes of Stokowski and Reiner and so forth. 

Vladmir Feltsman
Truly great pianist, love his Bach, Chopin, Beethoven, Scriabin.

Jim,

I agree with you.  He’s not afraid to take a chance.

Vladmir Feltsman
Truly great pianist, love his Bach, Chopin, Beethoven, Scriabin.

His Well tempered klavier and Goldberg are my favorite at last.....

Brendel was the first artist that made me see what Classical music 
can be with Schubert over 50 years ago. Will always  be my hero.

Great minds think alike 
jim,  I sat  not  20 feet away from Uchida at an outdoor festival in the Green Mountains of Vermont . It was a cool day in the mountains but 
her blouse was sopping wet  as she played Schubert. Got to talk to her
about Schubert , I spent 3 years in Japan in the Army but even for a 
Japanese she was very humble as she said " I love Schubert very much.". 

My 6th is on the way from Amazon , chose the 13$  CD version 
over the 55$ Vinyl  but might go back for seconds .

Best of Scottish luck,
Len 

P.S. I read the Tory Clown won't touch the Scottish Regiments on cuts .
Any more cuts and UK won't  have an Army .

All the Army Scotland really needs is one the size of the Irish .
And that's from a old war dog who gets his Enfield out of the closet
when the pipes whirl . Young Scots need to lose being cannon fodder
is somehow noble .It Ain't !

Mahler 2nd with Bernstein.....wonderful sound 

ftm
Feltsman's "Tribute to Tchaikovsky" is superb.

@schubert        Len  I hope Currentzis doesn't disappoint as being a canny Scot I hate wasting money ( grew up with none so do not want to waste what has taken me a lifetime to accrue).
You are so right about the state of the army here. We no longer have any Scottish regiments as everything was made into a national force with all officers now coming from Sandhurst. The ones I remember,
Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders
Cameron Highlanders
Cameronians
Royal Scots Fusiliers 
Black Watch
Royal Scots Greys
The Seaforth Highlanders
Highland Light Infantry
Gordon Highlanders
Kings Own Scottish Borderers
Royal Scots
Ayrshire Yeomanry
Atholl Highlanders

There are more which don't come to mind at the moment.
I will always remember those early films about World War One with those glorious charges on the German lines and nothing but a mass of kilts getting mown down by the German Maxim guns, it was absolute bloody slaughter. All the English Generals were 20 miles away in a French Chateau getting pissed on wine from the cellar.
Keep a light in your heart for Scotia.

It has burned bright since I was a wee’un on granny’s lap,jim, and always
will.

I’m a penny tight, pound foolish semi-Scot myself .
Had one granny from the Groble’s and one from Florida area .
Both were in "The Daughters of Scotia " in Syracuse N.Y. and were very different but friends .

Can’t forget the Black Watch, my Great-grandfather died in it in 1915
which is why I am American .

Living in Germany I heard this and confirmed it my self.
The Germans had to get new machine gunners every few weeks
as most broke down in a few weeks .
By 1916 both sides seldom fired on wounded trying to drag , limp back to the own lines .
Exception were the Canadians which gave no quarter and were the ones
the Germans feared most .


Reason: Canada had 8 million population at the time and a million men
went through the grinder of WW 1.Most were immigrants trying to become real Canadians in the eyes of the English Canadians .

Canada had the best battle record in both WW1 and W ll but made sure
that never happened again in WW 11 in which they took the most
POW’s .


P.S . An analogy might be the London Scotts who had a great record .

You are right schubert about SS fearing most the canadians...

The most extraordinary canadian in the war liberated one city from SS by himself... His story made Rambo a chicken....His story is too incredible in world war II and korean war to be believed  in a movie ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFf1UfVa8Lc

True, but circumstances had a lot to do with it.

IMO General Currie in World War 1 had that crown .
A reserve officer and math teacher who using math
turned the Canadian Army into the greatest force
on either side . Without him and he alone the war
would have been longer and a million more dead.

All done by a teacher from Winnipeg who went from a Lt. Col reserve to
A General Who was going to be Commander of ALL British and Colonial
troops just as the the Canadians broke the last great repost of the Germans and they surrendered two days later.

You never hear about him because the Brits still think they have an Empire .(NOT a joke )

Wow.... Incredible story.... thanks shubert....

Yes Len the Canadians certainly were a very brave bunch  and the Scots could be the same if only they could get rid of that very big chip on their shoulders.

Well jim, not a few were Scottish immigrants ,


If you ever see the films showing the British troops getting readily off the landing boots on D -DAY ( I think every American has)got news for you,
they were Canadian and they got miles ahead of Brits and Americans
that grim day.

But must be said the Americans did have by far the worst beach .



In any event , perhaps the truest thing old Nappy ever said
was " There are no bad soldiers, just bad Generals " .

General Currie proved that ! In spades .

Wee snip for Jim.
For many years and still I always watch to see if the players
sing the National Anthem . Seldom not haft do.

This is THE only one of many hundreds that ever all did !



https://youtu.be/DtnZxso4V3Y

P.S. have you had your needles yet ?   Had my 2nd  three days ago , all seems well . UK seems to be ahead .

Len have you ever heard The Corries sing Flower of Scotland ?.
Roy Williamson wrote the song and before it became our second national anthem when he and Ronnie were doing a concert anywhere the crowd would not let them leave the stage until they sang it and sometimes twice. A wee poser for you what's our first anthem, I say that because I haven't came across someone born after 2000 who could tell me our official anthem was.
I'm glad you have had you second jag as I have had my first and don't know when I get my second as it could be up to twelve weeks.
You take care Len.