Forgot to mention: several of the threads listed in the post above are general introductions to exploring classical music, others focus on recommendations about specific recordings to explore within a genre of classical music.
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For classical music recommendations, there are some good threads in the Audiogon archives. Here are links to some of them: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?gmusi&1116521882 http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?gmusi&1073617755 http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?gmusi&1147046515 http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?gmusi&1062540707 http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?gmusi&1101783544 http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?gmusi&1026012732 For an extensive listing of recommended classical LPs based on sound quality (and I happen to think that most are superb performances, as well), see Arthur Salvatore's website and look at his "Supreme LP Recordings" list: http://www.high-endaudio.com/index_ac.html . |
Rushton, Another thank you. I am not familiar with Classical music, but there is LOTS to enjoy. I did not grow up with that experience. However, I am seeking music which will move me. Tonight I listened to Bach violin concertos. Great music and well recorded. The LPs are from the Musical Heritage Society. Also some Mozart and Ravel. |
Yesterday was a listening adventure at Walker Audio listening to some enhancements Lloyd has made to his incredible Proscenium Turntable with his new Black Diamond ceramic tonearm. Among the many LPs we listened to were: Stravinsky: Petrouchka, Oscar Danon/RPO, Chesky reissue (CR42) from the Reader's Digest series, recorded by Kenneth Wilkinson. The recording continues for me to be the best record Chesky ever issued. The recording by Wilkinson is simply a phenomenal capturing of an orchestra, one of the best in my rather large collection. The presentation is rather laid back, in the traditional Wilkinson way (which I enjoy and find very natural), but the instruments are captured with superb resolution and tonal accuracy, with no unnatural spotlighting. There are portions of this music where all of the instruments come into play in a cacophonouss fortissimo that cause most turntables to shut down into a congested mush. Not the Walker! which sailed through the passages with clear articulation of all the overlaid competing sounds. If you enjoy Stravinsky, and if you value have fantastic performances in great sound, you owe it to yourself to have this recording in your collection. (Note that this performance uses the original 1911 orchestration, so it may sound a bit different to what you may be used to hearing in this piece. Another good reason to have it in your collection.) Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 ("Scottish"), Maag/LSO, Speakers Corner 45 rpm reissue of Decca SXL 2246. Another Kenneth Wilkinson recording, from 1960 in Kingsway Hall. I've posted about this recording before, but my enthusiasm for the performance, the engineering, and this particular mastering/pressing has not waned. Some reviewers of the "earliest original pressings are always the best" ilk have not liked this 45 rpm pressing, and I am completely at a loss to understand why. The sonic presentation of the orchestra is superb, the tonality of the instruments is captured supremely well, and the harmonic overtone structures are well reproduced. The 45 rpm mastering additionally brings all the expected benefits of 45 rpm, making this an extremely satisfying LP of a great symphonic performance. This LP is still available new: Highly Recommended. Therese Juel, "Levande" Opus 3, 7917. The "Tiden Bara Gar" cut on side two of this record has always been a simple, and utterly consistently accurate test for my and my wife as to whether a system is going to rise to our expectations. This cut is also found on the Opus 3 "Test Record 1: Depth of Image" (7900). My wife first described this to me: there is a "chuckle" in Therese Juel's voice as she sings certain phrases. Systems that "get it" are able to reproduce this "chuckle," other systems just don't: they leave her voice flat. Once you've heard that chuckle reproduced correctly, it's easy to pick it out and deadly noticeable when it's not there (even though she's singing in Swedish and we don't have a clue what she's saying). Add to that the simple natural miking, the huge variety of acoustic instruments, both string and percussion, and you've got a great single test cut that quickly differentiates they systems that will make the cut from those that won't. (Oh yes, Lloyd's system made the cut in spades.) Eva Cassidy, "Songbird" S&P Records reissue, SNP 501. Yes, it's really good, and she's really good. My wife likes this album for the song "Fields of barley" - a great example of how a single artist in a very simply arrangement can make compelling music that just "sucks you in" because she is such a good musician and performer. A great lesson in simpler often being better. The reisses from S&P have been extremely good and consistent in quality. Highly recommended. Other LPs included: Laudate II, Drottingholm Baroque Ensemble with Anna Sophie von Otter, Proprius 7860. Marvelous. Get the LP just to listen to the supremely good von Otter when she was starting her career. Il Cornetto, Klimo Open Window OW004. Baroque music that is very subtle and very fine, highlightly the unique timbre of the baroque cornette, accompanied by viola da gamba. Another outstanding recording from this too-short-lived Klimo series of extremely natural sounding recordings of baroque music. Louis Armstrong, "Satchmo Plays King Oliver: St. James Infirmary," Classic Records 45 rpm reissue. And Satchmo was in the room! Enjoy your listening! |
Aretha in Paris- FANTASTIC ALBUM. I consider it in the top 5 Lps in my 1000+ collection. I always wondered what she sounded like live when she could still belt out her vocals, singing those great hits of hers (and others). Recorded in May, 1968, it was her first European tour and the crowd treats her with the love and admiration she deserves. Her voice and the vocals are strong, the recording is superb! On my Lenco, this is an all time hit. It does have a bad skip on one of the songs, I know there is nothing we can do about it, but if you have any ideas...my ears are open. BTW, I paid 2.00 for this. Cheers! |
After a spur-of-the-moment Saturday evening run to Princeton Record Exchange with fellow Agoner Sbank, we made off with some goodies. The "new arrivals" bins were full of good stuff, and we also picked up some nice recordings from the $1.00/record classical bins on the floor. Here is a sample of what I played this evening from last nights haul: Handel "Water Music" Van Beinum/Concertgebouw Orchestra (Philips 6570 171) Mussorgsky "Pictures At An Exhibition" (original score for piano) Michel Beroff (Angel S-37223) Barber "Adagio for Strings" Marriner/Academy Of St. Martins-In-The-Fields (Argo ZRG 845) Joni Mitchell "Miles Of Aisles" (Asylum AB 202) Rickie Lee Jones "Rickie Lee Jones" (Warner Bros. BSK 3295) |
I pulled out my old copy of Jade Warrior "Floating Worlds". I don't think I've played it in 20 years. It's got surprising dynamics and a really deep soundstage. Some nice melodies and rythms too. I also scored 3 albums from Modern Jazz Quartet on ebay last week - 3 albums for $8 including shipping. They're all mint and sound great - "Under the Jasmine Tree", "Best of MJQ"; "Live at the Lighthouse". what a deal. Finally Bert Jansch "Rosemary Lane" also an excellent recording, and great music all through. |
RFS, obviously you 'get it' about the Lips, and might enjoy checking out the thread I mentioned, and I'd be glad if you felt moved to contribute, it's been dormant for a while now. I've been waiting for AWWTM to sink in for a while longer before I commented there -- slowly I've been easing up some in my opinion of it lately. Not that I thought it was terrible or anything, or very surprising either -- no one can be expected to climb forever at the heights these guys had been scaling recently. |
... In the way that many felt the lose of XTC for what they once were when they made "Skylarking" of 1986 with production by Todd Rundgren (personally IMHO, one, if not THE crowning achievement of their carrier) many may fall away from the Lips now due to their last two endeavors because refinement of the craft in all its aspects is confused with commercialism or the lose of some raw edge. If so then why note trash the fab four of "Abbey Road"?! I like what I hear, for what it is worth. Cheers! |
Zaikesman, I find "At War With the Mystics" to be a great continuation of where "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots" left off. Mind you, some of the Lip's greatest work "Transmissions from the Satellite Heart" of 1993 or maybe "The Soft Bulletin" of 1999 IMHO but not one, not one of their releases has fallen on deaf ears in this house. Wayne Coyne and the fellows seem to continually up the ante with every mind-bending encounter. Rare are they who reinvent themselves and walk the fine line for their entire carrier as these folks have so poignantly. At their worst I genuinely love them and what they do. At their best I find them to be psychedelic geniuses. I also love them live, which adds a whole enhanced other element to what they do. Happy Listening! |
RFS: That sounds like a playlist I'd make, except I'm missing a couple of those titles (but not artists). What do you think of the new Lips? I once authored an archived thread devoted to them, but I'm mostly underwhelmed by AWWTM although I do like much of it pretty well. Still, IMO not in the same catagory for me as their best recent work, including their last two albums. |
Hi Foster, yes I *have* replaced the Magic Diamond with another Magic Diamond cartridge. The Magic Diamond does so many things so well I continue to be very impressed with it; from top to bottom it is has a consistency of sound quality that I've never heard another cartridge better. It just makes incredible music. Slipknot got the same Magic Diamond cartridge with his new Walker turntable, so there's certainly some common listening biases being shared in this neck of the woods. I'm delighted to see Speakers Corner delving in to reissue the Harmonia Mundi catalog. They have several out or on their way. All are superb recordings in their original issues, so given Speakers Corner's track record for quality, I suspect the reissues will be well worth getting if you like the music. The "Danses Anciennes de Hongrie" is one of my favorites. I'm just hoping they will reissue a Harmonia Mundi I don't have in my collection already but have been searching for! . |
New acoustic room treatments and everything is dialed in! Miles Davis -Porgy and Bess on Columbia 6-eye Mono. Rahsaan Roland Kirk -Rahsaan Rahsaan on Atlantic. Cannonball Adderley -Quintet at the Lighthouse on Riverside. Yusef Lateef- Eastern Sounds on Prestige OJC. (Just grabbed it up still sealed in the shrink wrap) Flaming Lips -At War With the Mystics on WB. Rushton! Good to see you back with vinyl... this must mean you have replaced the trusty 'ol Magic Diamond, may it RIP. Hey, Have you seen the Danses Anciennes de Hongrie, Clemencic Consort conducted by Dr. René Clemencic is being released by Speakers Corner end of this month? Thanks to you and Slipknot1 for the many recommends to the Clemenic Consort back some time ago. I'm starting to find a few selections. More later. Happy Listening! |
Today (so far) David Gilmour "On An Island" EMI import LP. This is an LP that grows on you with repeated listenings. Very well recorded, excellent packaging, quiet surface, and great sonics. Kind of like an introspective Pink Floyd work. Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here" CBS Half Speed Master. This release has a rounder, less tizzy top end than either my Japanese or standard domestic pressings. Falla "Nights In The Gardens Of Spain" Rafael de Burgos/Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conseratoire, Gonsalvo Soriano (piano) From the Time/Life 10 volume box set: "The Story Of Great Music" Good sonics typical of many of the Time/Life issues. These box sets represent an excellent way to develop a collection of the basic repertoire in classical music. |
DCC Compact Classics Limited Edition of Queen "At Night at The Opera". I paid a pretty penny for this LP but it is better than 95% in my LP collection (and the collection is excellent in quality and content). Mastered by the great Steve Hoffman on an all vacuum-tube cutting system. Who, but Freddie Mercury, could have sung "Love of My Life" with so much emotion and precision? Surely, this is one of the most underrated songs of all time. It will always live large in my heart. Cheers! |
Mostly some old Columbias... Miles Davis Quintet - Round About Midnight (6-eye mono, '57) His first for the label, with Coltrane, Garland, Chambers and Philly Joe. "Ah-Leu-Cha" is the highlight for me, managing to both slither and kick. Miles Davis - Milestones (6-eye mono, '58) His next small-group effort for the label, following the orchestrated "Miles Ahead" with Gil Evans. Same lineup as previous but add Cannonball to make a sextet. Seems not quite as distinctively Miles in comparison, fine but also a tad generic, although the title tune's a stone classic. Trane gets off best of all. Of course, headier things were right around the corner. Jimmy Rushing - The Smith Girls (6-eye mono, '61) Songs 'made famous' by Bessie and her sisters, this joint rocks and jumps. Featuring Coleman Hawkins and Buck Clayton with a full band. Big Bill Broonzy - Big Bill's Blues (Columbia Adventures In Sound gold label mono, '58) Solo acoustic vocals + guitar, simply mic'ed with good presence, includes many between-songs spoken asides and even the sound of a bottle pouring into a glass to open "When I've Been Drinking". Derek & The Dominos fans, note "Key To The Highway"! Gerry Mulligan-- "Presenting The Gerry Mulligan Sextet" (EmArcy, '55) The first of a trio of LPs the Sextet recorded for EmArcy in '55-'56. Featuring Zoot Sims, Bob Brookmeyer and Dave Bailey. Mesmerizing, swinging arrangements meld with sympatico group improv reminiscent of vintage dixieland in spirit. Has a Mulligan-penned tune y'all dig the punning title of: "Nights Of The Turntable" -- get it? Like some other 50's jazz EmArcys I own, this (pristine) disk sounds fairly muffled, but I've heard some of the CD remasters (not this one) and they've been significantly more open-sounding (as I'm sure the Mosaic LPs are), so it seems the session masters weren't the reason. |
completed some tweaks on my table, and bought and armload of lps at Joe's Record Paradise yesterday, so this is the lineup for today: Greatful Dead, "Europe '72" "Pablo Live", w/Stephane Grappelli, Joe Pass et al Chick Corea, "My Spanish Heart" Oregon, "In Performance" Hot Tuna, "Burgers" The Tubes, "The Tubes" The Doors, "LA Woman" Stomu Yamashta, et al, "Crossing the Line, Live from Paris" 45rpm Others from the collection: Philip Catherine, "Nairam" Bill Evans, "The Second Trio" Billy Cobham, "Spectrum" Brian Eno, "Before and After Science" |
I love finding still-sealed older records. The other day I broke the seal on Ravi Shankar's "Improvisations" in stereo on World-Pacific from 1962, found for $2 in a bargain bin. It really feels like a privilege to be the first one to spin pristine vinyl that's over 4 decades old, and this didn't disappoint. A couple of the tracks are collaborations between Shankar's Indian trio and a few of the WP West Coast jazz luminaries, Bud Shank, Gary Peacock, Dennis Budimir and Louis Hayes. Beautiful music and sound. Another SS one I found this week was The Church's "Sometime Anywhere" double LP on Arista from '94. I've had the CD for years, but hadn't seen it on vinyl before. I was very surprised to find this pressing may have one of the quietest surfaces I've ever heard -- more than once I've actually done a double-take to check whether I selected the right input or turned up the volume enough after dropping the needle in the groove, because I didn't hear anything before the music began. I'll be interested to compare it with the CD when I get a chance, as some of the extended tunes cover an usually wide dynamic range for a modern rock recording, particularly the epic "Two Places At Once", also released as an abridged single. (I believe this may also have been The Church's last recording issued on an American major label.) |
Slipknot, the comment Lloyd was supposed to have made about my Walker TT was a joke (worked verbally Tuesday night but not all that well in print :^). On topic, the following LP's were "on my turntable" for Lloyd Walker and the rest of my music loving group: Red Hot Chili Peppers "By The Way" Goldfrapp "Felt Mountain" Eels "Beautiful Feak" Eels "Electro Shock Blues" Kate Bus "Aerial" Lee Morgan "Candy" Reiner-Chicago "Scheherazade" Lonnie Johnson "Blues and Ballads" Royal Ballet "(Gala Performances) Ernest Ansermet" Cassandra Wilson "New Moon Daughter" Kate Bush "Sensual World" Ricki Lee Jones "Traffic From Paradise" Miles Davis "Siesta" Miles Davis "Tutu" Donald Fagen "Morph The Cat" Jan Jelineck "~Scape 007" Bjork 'Debut" Dave Brubeck "A la Mode" Jellyfish "Bellybutton" Man Jumping "World Service" Yello "Flag" Dead Can Dance "Aion" The Streets "Original Pirate Material" Actually quite a few more than these, we listened all day Saturday and again Tuesday night. Lloyd did say (and this is the truth) that he was pleased I played a variety of music. Seems he's bombarded with (only) audiophile LP's when visiting most audiophile groups. He now has a copy of Kate Bush "Aerial" and wrote down titles of several other LP's. |
