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.
Fascinating thread, too much to recommend from my side. To avoid taking too much space, I'll stick to a few Mahler & Brahms "specials" going by performance, not sound quality *which is not always bad!)Mahler symphonies 1-8: Tennstedt, LPO, Live (the live is better) -- (EMI and other labels); also Tennstedt live with NYPO, from 1980.Mahler-5: Barbirolli, NPO, emi; Mahler-9 Barbirolli, Berlin SO, (Warner Classics)Mahler - Klemperer: 2, Philarmonia (EMI) // 4 Bavarian RSO (EMI)Mahler - 8 : Horenstein, LSO, (BBC)Mahler-9 : L Bernstein, Berlin SO, live (DG) Regards
I saw Yuja Wang at Geffen Hall last winter, filling in for Pollini, who called in sick. She is an amazing technician. I have to say, she is definitely selling the outfits, the bravura showmanship, and the extra-low yoga bow at the end. I think that’s just her.
She played two encores after the Schumman - before intermission!. Including this one:
agree with you Jim and i will take it a step further and say i resent all the distractions that are so common, including the histrionics of the performers themselves Sv. Richter once said he preferred simple lighting, eg, a couple candles,because he did not want the audience distracted from the music by his personality
As for Yuya Wang I really think like RV she could some day be one of the greats but I do wish they would stop sexualising these young female pianists and fiddlers as it really annoys me . You would like to think that these girls would be able to compete in the arena without resorting to that but we live now in modern times and their press agents jump on every opportunity to get them to wear the tightest things possible, it just really bugs me. Rant over !!!!
Holloway's recording referenced above collects several of the sonatas from that collection; Romanesca's (Andrew Manze) much-awarded set on 2 CDs records the entire book. If forced to choose, I'd go with Holloway, but there is much to enjoy here, and really, the continuo in the two versions sounds so different that you'd be excused for thinking they were difference compositions. Great musicianship any way you slice it.
Re: Yuja Wang, not mentioned much on these pages, has the potential to be a great one. Right now, though with incredible technique, she can be a little glib in performance. As she is maturing (in looks, clothing and taste,) she’s beginning to play with more depth and understanding. https://youtu.be/Yxn8E6v8akQ
Check out this performance of the Brahms D minor Concerto.
Rachmaninov, Ireland, Yuja Wang, Hofman Interesting article praising Rachmaninov, describing his snail paced practice. Also praises Yuja Wang's performance.
"Rachmaninov wrote the Third Concerto for Hofmann and dedicated
it to him. The composer played the work for Hofmann in 1911, and the
response was negative: “A short melody which is constantly interrupted
with difficult passages; more a fantaisie than a concerto. Not enough
form.”
Hofmann, who had other works by Rachmaninov in his repertoire, never played the Third Concerto."
I just re-signed with Qubuz with another free trial offer. Its useful for Jazz and other music which I may listen to maybe 10% of the time. Maybe IDAGIO sounds better because of fewer listeners.
Yes I did the same and came to the same conclusion so I dropped Qobuz. I find Idagio to be more open despite the fact that they only stream CD quality.
Wow! Just wow! John Holloway, Biber, Unam Ceylum. ECM. Playing is fantastic, recording is fantastic, sound picture with just 1 violin, 1 harpsichord, and 1 organ is amazing. This is likely to become one of my audition discs for visits to audio stores. BTW, to explain the title, he gathers some of the more adventurous pieces from Sonatae a violino solo (1681) together with several unpublished sonatas. Pure joy!
Back on track? Another CD of The Rare Fruits Council, Biber,Tam Aris Quam Aulis Servientes, sonatas for both alter and table. Soundstage a little better, performance equally as good, music to me even more enjoyable.
7-Eleven will chase more young people away than the homeless . I have considerable experience with the homeless , you'd be surprised how many like classical .
No doubt Noriega would have surrendered in minutes if he'd been subjected to a few bars of Bach or Mozart...
Today, the ensemble that decided to call itself The Rare Fruits Council, performing Biber's Harmonia Artificioso-Ariosa. Delightful music. But geez, when you achieve a revealing system, you start noticing little faults in the recording engineering. This CD is excessively panned left and right, and doesn't convey a lot of stage depth. Enjoyable nonetheless.
To chase away homeless people, 7-Eleven stores in L.A. use classical music that's headline from LA Timesthey install speakers at entrance to the store, and play classical music to deter homeless people from hanging out
Well, having worked through several CDs of worthy but unexceptional music and/or performance, I'm back today with the group ACRONYM and their Biber CD entitled The Battle, The Bethel & the Ball. Music by Biber or (mainly) anonymous but attributed to him. Based on the one I already heard by them, I figured their other recordings would be something special, and I was right. Exceptional music, exceptional playing, and an exceptional playing. You only have to hear 5 second to know you're going to enjoy the whole disc. This is the first of several Biber CDs lined up for the coming days, and I'm hoping for a veritable cordillera of highlights.
Jeremy - Thanks for your info on the Richter CD's but as I don't buy any CD's nowadays I shall wait till it comes out on Idagio and sample it there. While on the subject of pianists can I recommend one to you , his name is Ivan Bessonov and we are going to hear a lot from him in the future. Think if you will a young Pollini and mix in a bit of Perahia and I think you have a wizard of a pianist. At the moment I am totally hooked on him and when these recordings were made he was only 16 !!!! . It is an all Chopin disc with three compositions of his own thrown in . On his original stuff I would think Chopin , Alkan and Scriabin without any atonal writing which all todays composers feel they have to do to get anywhere ( WELL I HATE IT ).
I think it was Jim who mentioned that most Richter recordings are technically below par. So I wanted to steer you to a set by Richter that is exceptional. It was published by Phillips, and is titled "The Essential Richter", consisting of 5 cds, and yes there is an audience, but their noise is downmixed to inoffensive. It is available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Richter-Sviatoslav/dp/B0000262ZN
Opera lovers, you really must read this article and gaze at the set designs by Maurice Sendak, including for Magic Flute. Blake's influence very clear. If you are in NYC, go see the exhibition at Morgan Library. https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/08/29/maurice-sendak-center-stage/
Yes, Brendel made admirable decision to quit playing piano in public, but succeeded as conductor. Richter suffered depression from his infirmity. He suffered changes in his
hearing that altered his perception of pitch. Died at 82.
@jcazador Jeremy I have just read your post about Arrau and Bach. Having famously said he deferred to the harpsichordists when it came to playing him he unfortunately relented and recorded some Bach before he died. Well it is sad to see ones heroes fail before your ears and I listened to him trying to play the partitas. I couldn't get by no 2 in B flat major as I was horrified to hear a man in his late eighties stumbling through them. I HAVE HEARD 2ND YEAR STUDENTS PLAY BETTER. Surely it was up to the recording company to hold it back and not release it as it sounds nothing like him. I am glad that Brendel retired when he did as he thought he wasn't playing as good as he once did, I really admire him for that.
Having played through a few recordings that were pleasant but unexceptional, here's another one more than worth mentioning: Ignazio Albertini's Sonatas, performed by Helene Schmitt et al. Albertini is right up there with Schmelzer, Uccelini, Pandolfi, Walther, Viviani and Biber. Excellent recording, with nice variation between sonatas of violin + theorbo and organ and violin + harpsichord. On another of these "small" labels, Alpha.
I take it all back Some time ago I wrote that I preferred Bach on piano rather than harpsichord. But now listening to Gustav Leonhardt play the English Suites, my opinion has changed. I think Arrau said he had quit playing Bach on piano because it was better on harpsichord. But I don't think he ever recorded it.
After being blown away by the first disc I heard by ACRONYM, of Bertali's sonatas, I immediately ordered some more of their recordings, and the first in, of Valentini (entitled Oddities and Trifles) in no way disappoints. This is lively, exuberant playing in a full, sonorous space. Thoroughly enjoyable.
The next high point: Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli's sonatas, performed by Andrew Manze and Richard Egarr. Extraordinary music, vigorously rendered. It is understandable how influential it was in the later 17C.
Here's another CD I really have to recommend. I don't know if it's available over streaming, as it appears to be one those more cottage-industry, limited edition, independent types of production.
It's titled Phantasia Musica. Violin Music of the 17th Century, and contains works from around the time of Biber (though not Biber himself). All of them are extraordinary, some culled from unique manuscript sources.
The leader, Antoinette Lohmann, plays superbly, the rest of the consort is just as good, and the recording is splendid. This is that kind of achingly beautiful chamber music, gorgeously dissonant at moments, here performed with extraordinary expressivity.
If you're into Biber's mystery sonatas, this is a must-have.
Normally I am more interested in pieces of music and less interested in who is performing. But there are exceptions. Last December I saw one of the most remarkable and memorable recitals of my concert-going career. It was a violin and piano duo consisting of violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and pianist Polina Leschenko.
I had purchased the tickets because I had seen the amazing Kopatchinskaja before and I wasn’t going to miss a chance to see her again, and she delivered the goods at this concert. But the most amazing thing about this concert was that both performers exhibit incredible virtuosity and both have energetic performing styles. Often the piano accompaniment to a singer or instrumental soloist is stolid and supporting. Not in this concert. Both performers were egging each other on and raising the roof as they went about it.
The program consisted of a Poulenc sonata, the famous waltz from Delibes’ Coppélia, the 1922 Bartok sonata, and Ravel’s Tzigane. Fortunately for everyone who was not at that recital, or the others in the tour, Kopatchinskaja and Leschenko were plugging their new CD. Which anyone can buy.
I don't understand why music like Schmelzer's Sonatae unarum fidium isn't more popular. I find it delightful and sometimes really exciting. Especially in the hands of Andrew Manze and Romanesca. Looking forward to comparing this recording with John Holloway's tomorrow.
A breathtakingly beautiful recording of various Bertali sonatas, superbly performed by a youngish US based early music ensemble, ACRONYM. They were new to me, but no longer, and I have four more of their CDs in my sights. BTW, the recording is excellent too. As good as the previous recommendation was, this leaves it in the dust--and there is little overlap in the pieces recorded.
Antonio Bertali, "Sonate Festive", performed by Musica Fiata.
The usual smallish Baroque ensemble (violins, continuo, etc.) is supplemented here by trombones, bass trombone, and dulcian, and the range of sonorities on this disk is remarkable.
and now it's Martha Argerich and Lilya Zilberstein playing Rachmaninov Suite No. 1 Op. 5 for two Pianos Incredible. This is CD 4 (of 6 CDs) from Martha Argerich Edition Solos and Duos on EMI Everyone wants to play with Martha!
To any who admire piano gymnastics, you have to hear Gyorgy Cziffra play. Born in the ‘20’s and died in the 90’s, he is perhaps the purist technician I have heard. Whistle clean playing of even the most diabolical pianistic challenges, he amazes. Idagio has a good collection of his playing.
With Uccellini you really begin to get into the "meat and potatoes" of the "stil moderno" / "stylus phantastics" that leads all the way to Biber and beyond. Romanesca is again fully up to the job on these delighful Sonatas
Now listening Martha Argerich and Sergei Babayan, Prokofiev For Two Romeo and Juliet, Eugene Onegin, Hamlet, Queen of Spades, War and Peace Superb! Includes great picture of them at their Fabrini/Steinway pianos. on DG
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
