Classical Music for Aficionados
@rvpiano, Yes, the Lalo concerto is a seldom played gem. Glazunov never rocked my boat. He was a little too romantic for my tastes. One recording of Oistrakh that I always remember is the Khachaturian Violin concerto. I got it on a MHS record decades ago, but have never forgotten how good a recording it was. I listened to other versions, but they never came close. I don't know if I mentioned it earlier, but Anton Rubenstein's 4th piano concerto is one my favorite 'Romantic' pieces. BTW, did you ever listen to the Schumann symphonies with Norrington that I loaned you? I listened to the Holliger versions, but I think Norrington got it down pat. Bob |
I would just like to cite two not very well-known concertos that I regard as sublime masterpieces of the Romantic era. First is Glazunov’s Violin Concerto. There are many recordings available, including Heifetz, but the most beautiful one, for me is a mono recording that Oistrakh made in the fifties, available on Amazon for about six dollars. Secondly, is Eduardo Lalo’s Cello Concerto, available in a great sounding Mercury Living Presence recording, played spectacularly by Janos Starker. To me, these works represent the pinnacle of Romantic music. Its really a pity they’re not better known |
Jim, you are so lucky to have heard him. Here are some nice pictures, including his XL hands and his XXL great dane. http://arrauhouse.org/content/phot_04_middleperiod.htm |
JC I have Conversations with Arrau and find it a fascinating insight from one of the greatest pianists in history and I was astonished at the photos of his hands , it actually showed him spanning an octave between thumb and forefinger. I read once about Colin Davis and his refiections of Arrau and he said that he was fascinated about his playing and he said you would see these massive paws kneading the keys but also playing some of the most beautiful sounds he ever heard from a Steinway. Although I never heard him play a piano concerto live I did hear him play Beethoven's last sonatas and I have never heard another pianist play with such a sound. A great loss indeed ! |
Now reading Arrau on Music and Performance by Jospeh Horowitz (1982) originally published: Conversations with Arrau This is not the complete book, but it is free, and marvelous. https://books.google.com/books?id=LRJQAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA281&lpg=PA281&dq=arrau+and+kempff&source=bl&ots=9UWQ2C1C2W&sig=ACfU3U3p5fvF7eBmj-F-3EDVNSecaWWeyQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjTxMjdlvzhAhXCIjQIHaKNBmQ4ChDoATAEegQICRAB#v=onepage&q&f=true |
reminds me of a story . . . In 1955 Yehudi Menuhin got Ali Akbar Khan to leave India and play in the "West". They went to recording studio, director said "OK start" and AAK played his sarod for an hour, accompanied by Chatur Lal on tabla. Then the director said "OK that's a good sound check, now play it again." They did not realize AAK never "played it again". The recording, unedited, was released on Angel. https://www.discogs.com/Ustad-Ali-Akbar-Khan-Pandit-Chatur-Lal-Music-Of-India/release/2977633 |
Hi JC That was a very interesting article on Pollini ,he is very fastidious, a complete opposite to Claudio Arrau who would arrive at the studio take off his jacket and sit down and play what he had to record and then go . some of the recording staff were frightened to ask him to play something for a mike check because they knew that he couldn't just play he had to REALLY play and that would mean the whole piece not just a few bars. I think in later years he relented a bit because his technique had softened a bit with age. |
Here is a fascinating article about Pollini preparing and recording in Germany with the help of Angelo Fabbrini. https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/album/pollini-complete-edition/working-with-pollini.html |
Jim almost all my music is on hard drive so easy to search, find and select just added a new 8Tb hard drive for security it is normally not connected to anything while another hard drive records new music and occasionally a copy gets transferred to the secure 8Tb another advantage: easier to maintain, no cleaning |
I am sorry I haven’t posted for a while but I found I was locked out of the forum for a while ( don’t know why as I havn’t sworn at anyone lately )I am at the moment digitising my CD collection and and storing them on Hard drive, 3000 so it’l take me a while. The problem with it is I am constantly finding something I’ve forgotten I had so I usually start listening and the archiving gets forgotten about fo a while . I am one for recording whatever I find interesting on Radio 3 and I record it also for posterity using Sound Tap, a great wee program that records anything you are playing on your desktop. I then usually edit them in Sound Forge or Magix Sequoia and then at first I made CD’s of them ( hence the 3000 ). Nowadays I only save them on a hard drive so I have a few recordings kicking about. What about everyone else do you digitise new recordings now or do you just keep saving up CD’s and discs. Hope you are all well Jim. |
my favorite Faure recordings are by Jean Martin
Fauré* -
Jean Martin
–
Nocturnes Nos. 1-6 / Theme And Variations, Op. 73
Label:
Naxos – 8.550794 Fauré* / Jean Martin – Nocturnes Vol. 2 Label: Naxos – 8.550795 |
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schubert thanks for the recommendation finally got a chance to listen to Stavy/Faure Stavy is wonderful, and it is so well recorded Born in 1975, he must be about 44 years old. There is hope for the future! https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=trans... |
Juho Pohjonen
? NYT: "He again conquered Mr. Salonen’s “Dichotomie.” The second part of the piece unfolds in passages of oscillating chords and pummeling repeated figures, until the music bursts into a long episode of sweeping glissandos, through which thematic lines and pungent chords must break through. As he did 15 years ago to ease the execution (and protect the fingers of his right hand), Mr. Pohjonen managed to quickly slip on a thin glove to dispatch the glissandos, then deftly slipped it off — a neat trick. " NYT also likes Pollini, still going at 77. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/arts/music/pollini-pohjonen-carnegie-review.html?action=click&... |
Newbee I love French classical piano music, have over a dozen french pianists in my collection. My favorites, the ones i play again and again are: Aldo Ciccolini (I know, he was born Italian, but became French citizen) Jean Martin Angela Hewitt Jean-Philippe Collard Jean Doyen Margeurite Long of course there are many others who were/are not French |
For those of you who love French piano music - A CD I just discovered when looking for a different version (I have Roge and the LaBeques’ versions) of Dolly Suite for piano by Faure. It is a compilation of French composer’s music, i.e. Milhaud, Ravel, Faure, and Debussy, for 2 pianos. ’La Belle Epoque’ by Duo Lechner Tiempo on Avanticlassic. It is available on Amazon and has quite a few very favorable views with which I do not disagree. IMHO, this is an outstanding recording for anyone liking this music. My ’purchase’ of the year I think. It is well reviewed on Amazon by some knowledgeable folks. |
have you read? Piano Lessons with Claudio Arrau: A Guide to His Philosophy and Techniques by Victoria A. von Arx https://www.amazon.com/Piano-Lessons-Claudio-Arrau-Philosophy/dp/0199924341 |
have you seen
Claudio Arrau, The Maestro and the Masters A film by Peter Rosen (1988)? Martin Bookspan narrator, filmed in Santiago, Chile includes: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10 No. 3 Schubert 3 Klavierstucke, D. 946 No. 1 in E-flat minor Chopin Ballade No. 3 in A flat major, Op. 47 Liszt Les Annees De Pelerinage, Seconde Annee: Italie, S. 161 Sonetto 104 del Petrarca Debussy L’isle joyeuse Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58* |
jim I have the 1998 Philips set of Arrau Beethoven, which includes the Sonatas and the 5 piano concertos, as well as some other Beethoven, including Szeryng, and Starker on the triple concerto (14 cd) It says it was recorded from 1962-66, 68, 70, & 85. "24 bit analogue to digital conversion" I also have an 11 cd collection with the sonatas and variations, also Philips (1991). I think these are the same performances in different packages. If I comprehend what you are saying, you have an analogue set.And these are different performances? Or the same performances in original analogue state? |
I like the O’Conor Beethoven sonatas, too. I also like a newer set by András Schiff on ECM. It’s been a while since I listened to them, but as I recall, the sound is typical ECM (slightly more beautiful than reality), and the performances reasonably energetic but not heart-on-sleeve. I would recommend anyone interested in this music give that set try -- it should be easy via Tidal, Qobuz, or even YouTube to see if you like them. P.S. Jed Distler said this, on Classics Today: " In sum, Schiff’s Beethoven interpretations may not suit all tastes, yet they invariably hold your attention, challenge your assumptions, and compel you to listen with fresh ears." |
For me my goto recordings of Beethoven sonatas are the Arrau Phillips Analogue Box Set from the sixties and seventies. These were recorded when Arrau still had a bit of devil in him, because his later digital series seem earthbound and stodgy by comparison. A great pity because the digital series are superbly recorded by Phillips. |
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Beethoven sonatas. I've so many of these of which most are highly acclaimed performances, I simply ignored Stevecham's endorsement of John O'Conor's set on Telarc (on 4-08-18). Well, long story short, I just finished listening to the complete set. IMHO, not only are these excellent performances, the recordings themselves are so much better than many of the performances/recordings that I prize... go figure. If you're interested Vol I is a great place to start. You can appraise these critically if you desire, or alternatively, just sit back and enjoy. |
yes, love Dershavina's Haydn, but could not finish her Metner as for Haydn v. Mozart, Sv. Richter made clear his preference for Haydn I am listening to Bart Van Oort's Mozart (14 cds), played on fortepiano as written/played by Mozart The package includes an explanation by van Oort of the differences between modern piano and 18th Century fortepiano, and "as a result many puzzling aspects of Mozart's style and notation fall into place." I also love Oort's Haydn piano sonatas, and his nocturnes including Field, Chopin, and others. |
Has anyone listened to Derzhavina playing Haydn Piano sonatas yet as I did yesterday and have to say I enjoyed them very much. She has a brilliant tecnique and she brings out the quirkiness of Haydn’s writing.Regarding Derzhavina’s Haydn disc, I have it and enjoy it very much. I agree about her technique and also about Haydn’s quirkiness. Regarding Haydn and Mozart piano sonatas, I far prefer Haydn’s. They are more interesting, more playful, more varied, and less foursquare. Of course, I recognize Mozart as a genius of the highest order; IMO his operas and piano concertos never have been exceeded. Still, in this genre, Haydn reigned supreme (until Beethoven). |
Has anyone listened to
Derzhavina
playing Haydn Piano sonatas yet as I did yesterday and have to say I enjoyed them very much. She has a brilliant tecnique and she brings out the quirkiness of Haydn's writing. I don't know if anyone else will agree or not but I think Haydn's piano sonatas give Mozarts a run for their money. By the way Len nice to hear you chipping back in again and thanks for the kind words. |
