Ahhhh, I'm in love with your listening evening, e! Such wonderful music. How did you slip in to borrow from my shelves? :-)
.
.
Showing 50 responses by rushton
Mahler, Symphony No. 1, Horenstein/LSO, Unicorn RHS 301 (a masterpiece of a recording by recording engineer Bob Auger. One of the greats!) Den Romantiska Orgeln I (Collection of organ music from Vierne, Lundquist, Skold and Olsson), Lundquist -org, Gustaf Vasa Organ, Stockholm - Proprius PROP 7750 (Proprius is one of the few labels that consistently captures an organ and its acoustic environment exceptionally well. Very well done, indeed!) . |
e, I was listening to the Deller Consort performance of "Songs from Taverns and Chapels" just a few days ago (Harmonia Mundi HM 242). How can one not like songs such as "Come let us drink" or "I gave her cakes and I gave her ale"! Bawdy for sure. Hmmm, I don't have a copy of the Hyperion "English Cathedral music of the 20th Century." Something similar on Argo, but not Hyperion. Of course, one never escapes lots of Howell from other records. :-) I seem to have been on a LARGE ORCHESTRAL bent recently. Today it is... Arnold Schoenberg's "Gurre-Lieder" with Kubelik conducting the Sinfonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks,with Herbert Schachtscheider and Inge Borkh, DGG 139 984/85. A wonderfully big sweeping performance . |
To tempt the spouse down this evening... Italian Violin Music 1600-1750, Chiara Banchini -vn, Gerhardt Darmstadt -vc, Alfred Gross, hpd - Klimo Open Window OW 004 (Just scrumptious. Find it!) The Cozens Lute Book, Anthony Rooley -lute - L'Oiseau-Lyre DSLO 510 (another excellent LP from L'Oiseau-Lyre) e, I'm very fond of Britten's performance of the War Requiem and have not sought others. Rattle has never been a favorite conductor here. If you like his performance of the WR, I should try to find a copy and give Sir Simon another listen. You are the only person I've met who also enjoys the Gesualdo's "Lecons de Tenebres." Amazing! . |
e, given the alignment of so much of our musical tastes, another LP in the Klimo Open Window series may also appeal to you, and it is still available. This is a collection of Baroque music for the cornett, called "Il Cornetto, Music for Baroque Cornett" on OW 004. The capture of the timbre of the instruments is superb; a record to be savored for it's delicacy and for the intricacies of the instrumental harmonics. Slipknot1 and I have mentioned this record several times in the past and Elusive Disc still has a few copies in inventory: http://www.elusivedisc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AEOW%20004 . |
Zaikesman, always nice to see a little more classical music listed, especially something as nice as Britten's Symphony for Cello and Orchestra!! Today was an afternoon of music with friends in the local Richmond audio group. Vinyl lovers gathered and the focus was music, not gear! We ran the gamut from Monk & Coltrane Live at Carnegie Hall to Mendelsshon's Symphony No. 3 (Maag/LSO), to Suzanne Vega, to Louis Armstrong, to The Doors, to Monteverdi's "Vespro della Beata Vergine" with Gardiner. A great afternoon. . |
If you ever have a chance to pick up "Buddy Holly Legend, from the original mastertapes" on MCA2-4184, I recommend this set for its great sound quality. Remastered by Steve Hoffman, the sound is the best I've heard from these recordings even though the remastering is digital. Haven't heard the complete box set you found, though. Great music! (Mastering is definitely an art.) . |
Vivaldi, Concerti, op8,1-4 (Four Seasons) - Fone Ensemble - Fone 007 (2LPs) - a refreshing performance, full of energy. Superbly recorded. Heading over to join our local group of music enthusiasts for the afternoon. Looking forward to hearing some music "new to me" as always happens with these gatherings. . |
Herold-Lanchbury, "La Fille Mal Gardee" - Lanchberry/ORO, Decca SXL 2313 (Speakers Corner) - my listening partner says "Wow!" Tomorrow night I will play the 45 rpm copy of this same music to see what she says then! A beautiful Decca recording from 1962. Il Cornetto - works for Baroque Cornett - Klimo Open Window OW 004 - I keep putting this back on the table, and enjoying it time after time. . |
The 45 rpm version of Herold-Lanchbury, "La Fille Mal Gardee" - Lanchberry/ORO, Decca SXL 2313 (Speakers Corner). Oh yes! Listening partner agreed: even better. (see post above) Lee Morgan, "Tomcat" - Blue Note 1058-45 (Music Matters 45 rpm reissue. I wish I could simply subscribe to the entire series! These are all so incredibly good.) . |
Lee Morgan - Tomcat - Blue Note 1058 -45 (Music Matters 45 prm reissue) Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat - Cypress 661-111 -45 (Cisco 45 rpm reissue) (After listening to "Joan of Arc" over and over this afternoon in a cable shoot out with the local audio group, I had to come back and get the sound of good vinyl back in my ears. Relief!!) . |
A evening with mono... Duke Ellington - Ellington Uptown - Columbia ML 4639 (Pure Pleasure reissue) Duke Ellington and Rosemary Clooney - Blue Rose - Columbia CL 872 (Pure Pleasure reissue) Brahms - Symphony No. 1 - Walter/NYP - Columbia ML 4958 Bartok - Violin Concerto No. 1 (1908) - Dorati/MinnSO, Menuhin, vn - Mercury MG50140 . |
e, Do you know the performance of the Poulenc "Organ Concerto" by Pretre (with Durufle on organ) on EMI ASD 2835? It has a wonderful performance of the Gloria for Soprano Solo, Chorus and Orchestra on the reverse side. This version of the Organ Concerto has always been my favorite, even in the Angel pressing incarnation. . |
An evening with friends included: Ravel: Rapsodie Espagnole, Rachmaninov: Isle of the Dead ...Reiner/CSO, RCA LSC 2183-45 (Classic Records 45 rpm reissue) Duke Ellington & Ray Brown: This One's For Blanton ...Pablo 2310-721-45 (Analogue Productions 45 rpm reissue) (At age 74, Duke Ellington was still superb on piano and the music making is wonderful!) Louis Armstrong: "St. James Infirmary" and "I Ain't Got Nobody" from Satchmo Plays King Oliver - Audio Fidelity ST-91058-45 (Classic Records 45 rpm reissue) Winds of War and Peace - Graham/National Symphonic Winds - Wilson W 8823 (this LP has *impact*) . |
Witches' Brew - Gibson/NewSOLondon, RCA LSC 2225 -45 (45rpm reissue from Classic Records)... Great impact and tonal color, and a far superior mastering to the earlier 33rpm reissue from Classic Records. While this is a Kenneth Wilkinson engineered recording from 1958, it clearly is an early experiment in multi-miking. And with that multi-miking comes great instrumental impact. Probably why is has been so famous over the years. Yet, unlike the amazing orchestral sound staging found the the "The Power of the Orchestra" RCA VICS 2659 also engineered by Kenneth Wilkinson for RCA, Witches' Brew has little to no sound stage depth and instruments pull forward to the front edge of the orchestra as the miking knobs are diddled. If you value a natural perspective on the orchestra, by all means get the remarkable "The Power of the Orchestra" in a superb 45rpm reissue from Analog Productions. And value Witches' Brew for the instrumental color and slam it provides with some wonderful pieces of music very nicely performed by Gibson and the New Symphony Orchestra of London. . |
Tomorrow is a BIG day - we've added a new member to the Walker Audio turntable family and several of us are descending on him for the day with lots of vinyl in tow. Three Walker owners, one TW-Acustic Raven owner and friends - vinyl nuts all. What vinyl am I hauling with me for the day? Ah, all wonderful stuff: Royal Ballet Gala Performances, 45rpm reissue The Reiner Sound (Ravel:Rapsodie Espagnole), 45rpm reissue The Jung Trio, Dvorak Trio, Groove Note 45rpm Rossini Overtures, Fone 45rpm Rota, Concerto per archi, I Musici on Fone Lee Morgan, Search for the New Land, Blue Note/Music Matters 45rpm reissue Eric Dolphy, Out to Lunch, Blue Note/Music Matters 45rpm reissue Louis Armstrong, St. James Infirmary, 45rpm reissue Holst, Savitri, Argo Holst, Double Concerto, Lyrita Great day coming up! |
"Instruments of the Middle Ages and Renaissance" - David Munrow and the Early Music Consort, EMI SLS 988 (a multi-LP collection of short pieces, each highlighting a different instrument or collection of instruments, but marvelous MUSIC, not just demonstration of instrument sound. Includes a marvelous book on the music and the instruments of the middle ages.) . |
Chopin - Selected Mazurkas, Nocturnes and a Ballad performed by Ivan Moravec, piano - Connoisseur Society CS 2122 (I confess an abiding love of listening to Ivan Moravec play Chopin. His playing is so intelligent, so beautifully wrought. For me, his interpretations and playing are perfection. Add to this the superb production values brought to these Connoisseur Society recordings by the inimitable producer Alan Silver and you get a marvelous listening experience.) |
Shostakovich, The Bolt (RCA by Decca) Respighi, Church Windows (Reference Recordings) Rossini-Respighi, Overture to ÂLa Boutique Fantastique (RCA by Decca) Herold-Lanchberry, La Fille Mal Gardee Enescu, Violin Sonata No. 3 (Altarus and Wilson Audio) Vivaldi, Seasons (Fone and CRD) Laudate II (Proprius) |
The local audio group is meeting this afternoon and members asked for "an introduction to classical music." Not wishing to teach music history class, a few of us put our heads together and decided to offer simply a sampler based "classical music we enjoy, perhaps you'll find something here that strikes your fancy..." We'll only be playing snippets, unfortunately. Nothing longer than 8 minutes. Here's the planned playlist, that will surely change based on requests... Copland, ÂAppalachian Spring, Dorati/LSO Debussy, ÂSonata for Flute, Viola & Harp Chopin, ÂBallade No. 3, Moravec Bach, ÂBrandenburg Concerto No. 3, Pinnock/English Consort - Allegro Moderato (5:33) Copland, ÂFanfare for the Common Man, Johanos/DallasSO BREAK  Vivaldi Four Seasons: La Primavera in background Dvorak, ÂPiano Trio No. 3, Jung Trio Gershwin, ÂRhapsody in Blue, Slatkin/StLouisSO (LP) Albeniz, ÂSuite Espanola, De Burgos/NewPhilO Gershwin, ÂVariations on "I Got Rhythm" Slatkin/StLouisSO, Gershwin, ÂAn American in Paris Slatkin/StLouisSO - the Paris street scene sounds in the first several minutes Mussorgsky, ÂPictures at an Exhibition, Reiner/ChicagoSO - Baba-Yagá and The Great Gates of Kiev finale (8:45 min for both) Berlioz, ÂSymphonie Fantastique, Munch/BostonSO - March to the Scaffold |
Last night's listening... Beethoven Symphony No 2 ..Karajan/BerPO, DGG ..Norrington/LCP, EMI .....always interested to hear two so VERY different performances of the same piece back-to-back. Ravel, Piano Concerto in g d'Indy, Symphony on a French Mountain Air ..Munch/BSO, Henriot-Schwirzer -pf, LSC 2271-45 (Classic Records 45rpm reissue)(Delightfully different, excellent sound quality) Country Dances: J.Playford's English Dancing Master ..Barlow/Broadside Band, Harmonia Mundi HM 1109 ....A delightful collection of 17th Century English dance music, with sonics to delight one's ear! Recording engineer: the inimitable Jean-Francois Pontefract, who created so many of the Harmonia Mundi sonic marvels. Bill Evans, Portrait in Jazz, Riverside 1162 -45 Analogue Productions 45rpm reissue. Oh yes! Excellent in this incarnation. . |
Hi Zaikesman, The recordings made by Vox with Skrowaczewski conducting the Minnesota Orchestra in 1974 are some of my favorite recordings of Ravel's orchestral music. Vox engaged the marvelous Nickrenz/Aubort recording team and Marc Aubort's capture of the orchestra is marvelous. And the performances verge on legendary. The complete box set is on VOX QSVBX 5133. This series was partially reissued by Reference Recordings in their regrettably short-lived "Reference Mastercuts" reissue series. The results of the much better mastering and pressing allows the wonderful sonics on the master tape to shine. If you ever come across Reference Recordings RM 1001 and RM 1004, grab them at virtually any price. (Other reissues in this Reference Mastercuts series feature music of Copland and Gershwin performed by Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Orchestra, also recorded by Marc Aubort, and are equally scrumptious.) Analogue Productions made yet another reissue of some of these recordings on APC 007. Both this AP reissue and the earlier Reference Mastercuts reissues were mastered by Sax and pressed at RTI. The earlier Reference Mastercuts sound better for some reason. (The LPs have different music on them, so they are not cut from the same metal work.) Paray's and Ansermet's recordings are also excellent on Mercury and Decca respectively. If you enjoy piano, I suggest very highly the Reference Recordings LP of Ravel's piano music performed by Minoru Nojima, "Nojima play Ravel," RR 35. Sublime playing and an exceptional recording. . |
Jerico, See if these threads on classical music will give you something of interest to start with: Classical music - starting points Classical fans, I need advice Phenomenal Classical Recordings Classical Starting Points - Links . |
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers - Caravan - Riverside RLP 9428 -45rpm Analogue Productions (Oh yes, just amazing. Its hard to imagine that Wayne Shorter and Freddie Hubbard were so young when they cut this record with Blakey.) Loius Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald - Ella and Louis - Verve 4003 Speakers Corner (what joy! in this record) Maria Callas - Callas Portrays Puccini Heroines - Angel 35195 (it's not the voice, it's the phrasing and ability to communicate the meaning. Love her or hate her, she's mesmerizing.) Lorraine Hunt Lieberson - Neruda Songs - okay, its a CD, but the music and her voice are marvelous. . |
It's turning into a Martin Simpson evening here: Grinning in Your Face, Topic 12TS430 A Cut Above, with June Tabor, Topic 12TS410 Leaves of Life, Shanachie 97008 True Dare or Promise, Topic 12TS446 What, you don't know Martin Simpson? Perhaps the best finger style guitarist our generation has produced. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Simpson . |
e, Nice to see a few of my favorite recordings in your recent playlist, including particularly: Gustav Holst "Savitri" Argo Shostakovitch "Age of Gold","Symphony #1" Decca LSO/Martinon My listening partner and I are currently working our way through our collection of alternative performances of Mahler's symphonies. Finished through the 1st through the 4th symphonies at this point (21 different recordings), on to Barbirolli's performance of the 5th tonight, with Kubelik and Solti to follow at some later time. . |
Last night with some friends over: Jack DeJohnette, Zebra - MCA John Coltrane, Crescent - Impulse June Tabor & Martin Simpson, A Cut Above - Topic 12TS410 Julie London, Julie is her name - Liberty LRP 3006 Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Ella and Louis - Verve 4003 SpeakersC Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Ella and Louis Again - Verve MG V-4018 Peggy Lee, Is That All There Is? - Capitol ST 386 PurePleasure . |
Horace Silver, Song For My Father  BN 84185 (Music Matters 45 rpm reissue) Grant Green, Solid  BN LT 990 (Music Matters 45 rpm reissue) Exceptional sound quality on both! Musically, hmmmm... I found some of the individual cuts captured my interest, but overall not so much. OTOH, listening to Grant Green on Solid caused me to reappraise just how incredibly good an artist he was. . |
This evening with friends over: Walton, Belshazzzar's Feast, Previn/LSO, Shirley-Quirk - EMI SAN 324 (Wilson AGAT reissue) Walton, Violin Concerto Stravinsky, Violin Concerto -- Previn/LSO, Kyun-Wha Chung -vn - London CS 6819 Lee Morgan, Leeway - Blue Note ST-84034 (45rpm Analogue Productions reissue) Eva Cassidy, Songbird - S & P Records SNP 501 Neil Young, Live at Massey Hall 1971 - Reprise 43328 (Classic Records reissue) David Crosby, If I Could Only Remember My Name - Atlantic AATC 7203Q (Classic Records reissue) Sonny Boy Williamson, Keep It To Ourselves - Alligator AL 4787 ZZ Top, Tres Hombres - London XPS 631 (Rhino reissue) . |