Gurn's Classical Corner

Started by Gurn Blanston, February 22, 2009, 07:05:20 AM

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Gabriel

Quote from: Gurn Blanston on April 08, 2009, 03:13:01 PM
For those who might not have it, I would also add that this one, by Savall et al is a very fine disk too. :)

Gurn, that Savall CD is pure delight. If I had to introduce Boccherini's music to someone, I would certainly choose that CD: it is a winner.

SonicMan46

#381
Quote from: Gabriel on April 08, 2009, 02:15:22 PM
Thanks, Dave, for showing that CD. I didn't know any Vanhal string quartet recordings. In what keys are they written?


Hi Gabriel - just returned home from work & decided to give that Vanhal disc a spin - also, scanned in some pics below, better showing the cover & the back notes w/ the SQ listing & their keys; the Kubin Quartet have been together since forming after their student days in 1972; don't believe that I have any other recordings by this group (although a statement in the booklet excited me, i.e. a recent release by Multisonic, containing a complete set of string quartets by Karl Ditters - I already have a couple of discs of von Dittersdorf's String Quartets/Quintets, and not sure how many of these chamber works he wrote?

As can be seen from the listing, these works are in 3 movements and in various keys - composed between 1769 and 1773; recorded in 2002, and stated to be 'World Premiere Recordings' - just is amazing 'how much' of this stuff was either lost, lays undiscovered, or even known but not recorded - thank goodness their are performers willing to research these now more obscure composers and record their music; Dieter Klöcker is an artist that I greatly admire not only for his wonderful skills on the clarinet, but his diligence & persistence in recording this type of repertoire!

Again from the liner notes, the statement is made that Johann Dlabač, who had met Vanhal, and published a lexicon in 1815 attributes 100 symphonies, 100 string quartets, and nearly a hundred church compositions to Vanhal - boy, where is this stuff!  Dave  ;D

P.S. that disc is just wonderful - great sting playing by an obviously experience group & excellent sound by this Czech Republic company!

 


SonicMan46

Quote from: Gabriel on April 08, 2009, 03:28:48 PM
Gurn, that Savall CD is pure delight. If I had to introduce Boccherini's music to someone, I would certainly choose that CD: it is a winner.

Yes, agree w/ both of you about Boccherini - I now have about 3 dozen discs of his music (just one vocal), and could easily obtain more!  Luigi's output was just phenomenal - for those interested, check out THIS CATALOG of his works (Gurn & I have provided this link before, and probably in both the new & old forums!) -  :)

Gabriel

Quote from: SonicMan on April 08, 2009, 03:43:58 PM
Hi Gabriel - just returned home from work & decided to give that Vanhal disc a spin - also, scanned in some pics below, better showing the cover & the back notes w/ the SQ listing & their keys; the Kubin Quartet have been together since forming after their student days in 1972; don't believe that I have any other recordings by this group (although a statement in the booklet excited me, i.e. a recent release by Multisonic, containing a complete set of string quartets by Karl Ditters - I already have a couple of discs of von Dittersdorf's String Quartets/Quintets, and not sure how many of these chamber works he wrote?

As can be seen from the listing, these works are in 3 movements and in various keys - composed between 1769 and 1773; recorded in 2002, and stated to be 'World Premiere Recordings' - just is amazing 'how much' of this stuff was either lost, lays undiscovered, or even known but not recorded - thank goodness their are performers willing to research these now more obscure composers and record their music; Dieter Klöcker is an artist that I greatly admired not only for his wonderful skills on the clarinet, but his diligence & persistence in recording this type of repertoire!

Again from the liner notes, the statement is made that Johann Dlabač, who had met Vanhal, and published a lexicon in 1815 attributes 100 symphonies, 100 string quartets, and nearly a hundred church compositions to Vanhal - boy, where is this stuff!  Dave  ;D

P.S. that disc is just wonderful - great sting playing by an obviously experience group & excellent sound by this Czech Republic company!

Dave, thank you so much for such an informative post. Looking at the back notes makes me hesitate a little bit about my statement that I hadn't seen the CD... I'm afraid I had it once in my hands and I didn't buy it. I'm sure there's excellent music in it.

All that stuff is waiting to be played after so many years! Luckily we have some champions of this kind of repertoire. For example, there's a recent CD of Vanhal's piano quintets in Hungaroton. I wonder if any GMG member has bought it.

Finally, on Ditters von Dittersdorf, Dave, as far as I know he just composed the set of six string quartets that you probably own in a couple of discs. They are not a non plus ultra in chamber music, but they are very enjoyable, light-spirited works.

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: Gabriel on April 08, 2009, 03:59:33 PM
Dave, thank you so much for such an informative post. Looking at the back notes makes me hesitate a little bit about my statement that I hadn't seen the CD... I'm afraid I had it once in my hands and I didn't buy it. I'm sure there's excellent music in it.

All that stuff is waiting to be played after so many years! Luckily we have some champions of this kind of repertoire. For example, there's a recent CD of Vanhal's piano quintets in Hungaroton. I wonder if any GMG member has bought it.

Finally, on Ditters von Dittersdorf, Dave, as far as I know he just composed the set of six string quartets that you probably own in a couple of discs. They are not a non plus ultra in chamber music, but they are very enjoyable, light-spirited works.

I haven't bought that yet, not because I am not interested in it, but because I read a review by someone (on the Mozart Forum) who has taste similar to mine, and he was very disappointed in the playing of the Authentic String Quartet. Poor intonation, bad bowing, poor ensemble; the whole sad story. While his reaction may have been extreme, it sort of scared me off. I do like Spanyi on the keyboard though... :-\

8)

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Listening to:
Boccherini Op. 23 - Sextets - Nos. 1,2,5 - Chiara Banchini - Ensemble 415 - Boccherini Op 23 #1 Sextet in Eb for Strings 1st mvmt - Allegro molto
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: SonicMan on April 08, 2009, 03:56:26 PM
Yes, agree w/ both of you about Boccherini - I now have about 3 dozen discs of his music (just one vocal), and could easily obtain more!  Luigi's output was just phenomenal - for those interested, check out THIS CATALOG of his works (Gurn & I have provided this link before, and probably in both the new & old forums!) -  :)

Dave,
Here's a 2 disk set with all of Ditters 4tets HERE

I think I will pick this one up myself next time I order from BRO. I still have one order in the mail... :)

8)


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Listening to:
Boccherini Op. 23 - Sextets - Nos. 1,2,5 - Chiara Banchini - Ensemble 415 - Boccherini Op 23 #1 Sextet in Eb for Strings 1st mvmt - Allegro molto
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

SonicMan46

Quote from: Gurn Blanston on April 08, 2009, 04:44:50 PM
Dave,
Here's a 2 disk set with all of Ditters 4tets HERE

I think I will pick this one up myself next time I order from BRO. I still have one order in the mail... :)


Good evening, Gurn - thanks for that link from BRO - just checked my collection and have the 2 CDs from CPO shown below; both w/ the Franz Schubert Quartet, who perform quite well; includes the 6 SQs & 2 String Quintets, both clocking in at just over an hour - guess that I'm OK for the moment - Dave  :D

 

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: SonicMan on April 08, 2009, 05:00:25 PM
Good evening, Gurn - thanks for that link from BRO - just checked my collection and have the 2 CDs from CPO shown below; both w/ the Franz Schubert Quartet, who perform quite well; includes the 6 SQs & 2 String Quintets, both clocking in at just over an hour - guess that I'm OK for the moment - Dave  :D

 

Ah yes, I saw that at Amazon this afternoon. You like, eh? Well, I might just go ahead and pick those up instead. I didn't know the performers in either case, so I didn't have a preference. :)

8)

PS - the disk I'm listening to now is pretty excellent, too! ;)

----------------
Listening to:
Boccherini Op. 23 - Sextets - Nos. 1,2,5 - Chiara Banchini - Ensemble 415 - Boccherini Op 23 #2 Sextet in Bb for Strings 1st mvmt - Allegro moderato
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

SonicMan46

Quote from: Gurn Blanston on April 08, 2009, 05:04:58 PM
Ah yes, I saw that at Amazon this afternoon. You like, eh? Well, I might just go ahead and pick those up instead. I didn't know the performers in either case, so I didn't have a preference. :)

PS - the disk I'm listening to now is pretty excellent, too! ;)

Boccherini Op. 23 - Sextets - Nos. 1,2,5 - Chiara Banchini - Ensemble 415 - Boccherini Op 23 #2 Sextet in Bb for Strings 1st mvmt - Allegro moderato

Gurn - those two CPO discs are quite nice - don't think that you would be disappointed, plus both offer a 'full' disc of music - decent prices on the Amazon Marketplace (unless, of course, BRO picks them up as offerings?).

The Boccherini recording mentioned above looks enticing - I have a Capriccio CD of the Sextets w/ only one 'overlap', so would be a nice fit; unforutantely seems to be OOP for us in the USA -  :-\  Now, I own a disc of the same group performing in some of Luigi's Quintets - excellent, so what to do?  :'(  Dave

Sorin Eushayson

That Boccherini disc is fantastic.  A definite recommendation from me as well.  ;D

Gabriel

Some words for my impressions, as announced, on Biondi's recent Boccherini CD. It reaches the standards of the previous two releases; it is almost unbelievable to notice how they are figuring out with utmost care every detail of the works recorded. The acid violence of op. 45 n. 1, the ambiguous, rhythmical drama of op. 23 n. 4, the splendid pathos of op. 41 n. 1, are shown as vividly as possible. And the potentially "less striking" work of this selection, trio op. 14 n. 4, is so wonderfully balanced, crafted and articulated that it almost seems that the players are singing instead of playing.

The Boccherini-Biondi association is proving to be really extraordinary. Supported with great sound, this is almost unbeatable.

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: Gabriel on April 09, 2009, 05:26:39 PM
Some words for my impressions, as announced, on Biondi's recent Boccherini CD. It reaches the standards of the previous two releases; it is almost unbelievable to notice how they are figuring out with utmost care every detail of the works recorded. The acid violence of op. 45 n. 1, the ambiguous, rhythmical drama of op. 23 n. 4, the splendid pathos of op. 41 n. 1, are shown as vividly as possible. And the potentially "less striking" work of this selection, trio op. 14 n. 4, is so wonderfully balanced, crafted and articulated that it almost seems that the players are singing instead of playing.

The Boccherini-Biondi association is proving to be really extraordinary. Supported with great sound, this is almost unbeatable.

Sounds outstanding, Gabriel. I will need to get the other 2 disks in this series. I relistened today to the Op 25 quintets disk. Stuck away at the end of that disk is a single movement, known even in its own time as "The Famous Minuet", it is the minuet movement of quintet Op 11 #5 in E. Even if one doesn't know it by name or description, one has only to hear the first 4 bars to know exactly which piece I am talking about. In any case, I have several versions of this work, so I hadn't given it a deep listening. Turns out, I was missing a treat. It is replete with small, very expressive changes in tempo, especially where the trio starts out, when it goes from Allegretto to Allegro seemingly. It is a very nice move, and one that no one else I have listened to has done quite like it. So I agree, Boccherini + Biondi = great listening enjoyment. :)

8)



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Listening to:
Accademia i Filarmonici di Verona / Bronzi - G 474 Concerto #05 in Eb for Cello, 2 Oboes & 2 Horns 1st mvmt - Allegro
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

karlhenning

How's your Czerny collection, Gurn?

Anne

Quote from: SonicMan on April 08, 2009, 06:37:12 PM
Gurn - those two CPO discs are quite nice - don't think that you would be disappointed, plus both offer a 'full' disc of music - decent prices on the Amazon Marketplace (unless, of course, BRO picks them up as offerings?).

The Boccherini recording mentioned above looks enticing - I have a Capriccio CD of the Sextets w/ only one 'overlap', so would be a nice fit; unforutantely seems to be OOP for us in the USA :-\  Now, I own a disc of the same group performing in some of Luigi's Quintets - excellent, so what to do?  :'(  Dave

Dave, did you try amazon.ca or amazon.uk?  I have ordered things from both places with no problem.  We also don't get charged with extra taxes.  The only thing one has to be careful about is ordering DVD from England - Canada and we use NTSC and England uses PAL.  Unless we have a universal player, we cannot use PAL.

SonicMan46

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on April 09, 2009, 08:09:49 PM
How's your Czerny collection, Gurn?

Karl - is Gurn the only one that can respond?   ;) :D

I should get some more Carl Czerny, myself - currently:

Symphonies Nos. 2 & 6 w/ Nowak on Hanssler - states No. 6 a 'Premiere Recording', so yet another 'forgotten one'!

Horn & Foretpiano Music w/ Andrew Clark & Geoffrey Govier on Helios

Nonet & Grande Serenade, Op. 126 w/ Tanski on piano & Consortium Classicum on MDG

Any other recommendations - anyone?  Thanks - Dave  ;D

SonicMan46

Quote from: Anne on April 09, 2009, 08:21:01 PM
Dave, did you try amazon.ca or amazon.uk?  I have ordered things from both places with no problem.  We also don't get charged with extra taxes.  The only thing one has to be careful about is ordering DVD from England - Canada and we use NTSC and England uses PAL.  Unless we have a universal player, we cannot use PAL.

Hello Anne - I've used Amazon.UK in the past, but will give both a look - thanks!  Dave  :-*

karlhenning

Quote from: SonicMan on April 10, 2009, 04:23:42 AM
Karl - is Gurn the only one that can respond?   ;) :D

Not at all, Dave  8)

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on April 09, 2009, 08:09:49 PM
How's your Czerny collection, Gurn?

Actually, it is fairly representative of his variety, Karl. I have 2 of his piano sonatas (in Ab and f (Lovely!)), a 4 hand concerto, symphonies #1, 2 5 & 6, and a solo piano piece "Grand Funeral March for the Death of Beethoven". As you know, Czerny was a student and confidant of Beethoven, and also Liszt's teacher, so his career spanned the end of classicism and the beginning of Romanticism. He is hard to buttonhole. He was a superb pianist, but didn't necessarily believe that he was. He didn't perform in public as a result. But he was a preeminent teacher, and his "Piano Method" is still taught today. A lot of his works (nearly 1000 opus numbers!) are thus etudes or whatever else he chose to call them.  Generally I am quite fond of his music and ought to get more of it. I have been looking at that disk that Dave mentioned, the sonatas for fortepiano & horn. I suspect that's a peach. :)

8)

----------------
Listening to:
Accademia i Filarmonici di Verona / Bronzi - G 481 Concerto #04 in C for Cello & 2 Horns 2nd mvmt - Adagio
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

Gurn Blanston

Valentino.
You asked last week about classical composers who wrote fugues. I had a brain fart at the time, but our discussion about Boccherini reminded me of this disk. It now seems to be OOP, but I would be surprised if it was the only recording ever made of these works. I listened to them just a few minutes ago and they were as nice as I remembered. :)



8)

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Listening to:
Boccherini - Cello Sonatas - Fugues For 2 Cellos - Anner Bylsma / Kenneth Slowik / Bob van Asperen - Boccherini G 009 Sonata in F for Cello 1st mvmt - Andantino
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

Antoine Marchand

Quote from: Gurn Blanston on April 10, 2009, 05:21:04 PM
Valentino.
You asked last week about classical composers who wrote fugues. I had a brain fart at the time, but our discussion about Boccherini reminded me of this disk. It now seems to be OOP, but I would be surprised if it was the only recording ever made of these works. I listened to them just a few minutes ago and they were as nice as I remembered. :)



8)

----------------
Listening to:
Boccherini - Cello Sonatas - Fugues For 2 Cellos - Anner Bylsma / Kenneth Slowik / Bob van Asperen - Boccherini G 009 Sonata in F for Cello 1st mvmt - Andantino


Off-topic: Curiously on Monday I received a disc with Kenneth Slowick playing the fortepiano (a Rodney J. Regier, Freeport, ME, 1985 after Conrad Graf). He established his reputation as a cellist and viola da gamba player; but here his playing on the pianoforte is excellent. He and Max van Egmond built an extraordinary disc. The session producer was Peter Watchorn.