Gurn's Classical Corner

[chasmaniac]

LvB on rehab:



Pensive, but still gracile. I dig this.

[chasmaniac]

By the way, you can find Immerseel's Beethoven on youtube if you want to sample it before you buy.

Should have it sometime this weekend. Also plunked for some Naxos Beck, Richter and Stamitz pere symphonies. Probably won't buy again till Xmas, so I might have to listen to my back catalogue! Poor me, eh?

[Elgarian]

Should have it sometime this weekend.

Hope you find it a good deal better than 'alright'.
Recommendations:
1. Start with the 5th.
2. Warm up your air-punching arm beforehand.

[Elgarian]

When I stopped trying to listen and just listened, I enjoyed myself much more (and the music too).

Skimming down through these recent posts several times in the last few days, this has stopped me in my tracks every time. Not only is it reassuring, but it's excellent advice: a reminder to ensure that the right brain is engaging with the listening activity, as well as the left.

I think the reason your comment stands out particularly for me is that I have periods where I decide something like : 'OK, now come on, let's really focus and get to the bottom of this.' And I can guarantee, when I enter one of these phases, that a few days later I'm feeling a bit low, and discovering: 'Oh how crushing! After all these years, I don't know how to listen to music!' And sure enough, I don't: because I've been trying to reduce the business to a purely left brain, 'I will understand' activity. Like Orpheus, hoping to lead Eurydice up from the Underworld, I'm peering too closely down into the gloom to see if she's there, and I lose her.

Tomorrow's Thought For the Day will be about how it's not a good idea to keep taking the bandage off every five minutes to see if the cut is getting better. But for now, back to Beethoven.

[chasmaniac]

LvB rehab. #2 in Gm, #4 in C, 1st movement of #3 in A. Haven't listened to these for several years, maybe since I bought them. Just letting it happen. Finding Gurn's delectables now.

[chasmaniac]

A query re. the 1st movement of sonata #3 in A, op.69. (By the way, I didn't hear the rest of the piece this morning because I had to leave the car to come in to work.) The main theme, or first subject or whatever, is not just beautiful but very familiar to me. Has it been used elsewhere, in a movie or commercial? Maybe Beethoven himself recycled it in another work?

[Gurn Blanston]

A query re. the 1st movement of sonata #3 in A, op.69. (By the way, I didn't hear the rest of the piece this morning because I had to leave the car to come in to work.) The main theme, or first subject or whatever, is not just beautiful but very familiar to me. Has it been used elsewhere, in a movie or commercial? Maybe Beethoven himself recycled it in another work?

Chas,
You did find my soft spot there. I love the cello sonatas, I have way more performances of them than I'll ever need but doesn't bother me a bit. The cello/piano as equal partners was a Beethoven invention, and one that served well for the next 200 years.

I can't answer you question, beyond the last bit; no, I strongly doubt that B himself recycled the theme earlier or later. However, the possibility of its use in a movie or commercial is certainly great. That's what he was doing you know, writing movie music way before its time. What a freakin' visionary.... alright, that last bit was a complete sanitization, of course, but you get what I mean.

[Leo K.]

The Beethoven Cello Sonatas are sublime. My favorite is the A major one, and my favorite recording is the  Yo Yo Ma and Ax account when I got to meet Yo Yo Ma some years ago, I had him sign that cello sonata set

[Leon]

The Beethoven Cello Sonatas are sublime. My favorite is the A major one, and my favorite recording is the  Yo Yo Ma and Ax account when I got to meet Yo Yo Ma some years ago, I had him sign that cello sonata set

I am listening to these right now by Anner Bylsma and Jos van Immerseel

[Gurn Blanston]

I am listening to these right now by Anner Bylsma and Jos van Immerseel

I like that one a lot too, although my favorites are Bylsma with Malcolm Bilson. Not only is Bilson just right for Beethoven, but Bylsma seems to be putting a bit more heart into it on that set. Either way, it's win-win, both are very nice, no need to split hairs.

[chasmaniac]

LvB rehab. Piano Trios 1 & 2, op.1. The long largo in #2 is special.

[chasmaniac]

LvB rehab. Concentrating on chamber was a good idea.

[Gabriel]

Gabriel! Such a pleasure to have you drop in!

Well, I have been looking at them for quite some time, wondering if I could ever get the entire set without selling off grandchildren. Seems not, and they've hidden the little rascals from me, so I guess it will be Vol. 3 for now...

Well, I haven't done, despite knowing about it, and its quality for quite some time. My ability to multitask seems to have diminished with time, so now that I am concentrating on Haydn, only the high points of Mozart come to the fore. Well, lots of those, aren't there?

Hope you are well, and will be more conspicuous soon!

Cheers,

Gurn, I'm sure you have already an immense trouble cataloguing Haydn's bariton trios...

[Gabriel]

Hi Gabriel - nice to see you back & hope all is going well -

Concerning the Jadin, I like all of those 3 discs shown before; the string writing is particularly well accomplished for such a young composer and the performances are excellent.

Your comment on the Abert book on Mozart interests me, too - both a reinterpretation, a translation, and an update from a multi-volume book published back in the mid-19th century at Wolfie's centennial - a little of a longer quote below from Amazon; the book is $40 there at the moment - appears that extensive 'updated' notes are made throughout; 1500+ pages!  Dave

Dave, I'm really sorry I can't be connected as often as I used to be. But be sure I keep on exploring Classical music!

Abert's book is one of the old Mozart essentials, together with Wyzewa/Saint Foix (which I don't know if it is available in other language than French). Considering the price, do not hesitate to buy it if you can.

[Gurn Blanston]

Gurn, I'm sure you have already an immense trouble cataloguing Haydn's bariton trios...

Only the ones in A major...

Of all the remarkable things, the Baryton Trios are almost the only part of his oeuvre that is self-cataloging. Lucky me. 0:)

[Leo K.]

A very nice recording! The highlight is the double horn concerto, which is rather romantic and serious in tone, especially the second movement.

Of course, I got this to add to my 18th Century Clarinet Concerto collection, and find Rosetti's clarinet concerti rather subtle.

[Gurn Blanston]

Where would we be without cpo? They deserve to be on the Top 5 labels list of any serious Classical Era listener!

I already knew I was a Rosetti fan (from the Naxos efforts) and so I went all out and got this:



which contains your disk among a few others. Super listening treat. I'm surprised that Rosetti has kept such a low profile here at the corner, he is such a strong recommendation for people like us!

[Gurn Blanston]

Back cover/contents if anyone is interested.

[Leo K.]

Back cover/contents if anyone is interested.

Right on regarding CPO!

That looks like a fine set Gurn, thanks for the heads up! More double horn concertos too!   


Also, Rosetti's symphonies are a great recommendation. His symphony in F, as heard on this CD:



...is one of my favorite symphonies, right up there with Mozart's last three, and Haydn's late symphonies.

[Gurn Blanston]

Right on regarding CPO!

That looks like a fine set Gurn, thanks for the heads up! More double horn concertos too!   


Also, Rosetti's symphonies are a great recommendation. His symphony in F, as heard on this CD:



...is one of my favorite symphonies, right up there with Mozart's last three, and Haydn's late symphonies.

Absolutely right! That disk is the sum total of my Rosetti symphonies, not sure what others are out there, but that one is a peach.