New Releases

Started by Brian, March 12, 2009, 12:26:29 PM

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Maestro267

Quote from: amw on March 30, 2019, 11:51:56 PM



*adds to the ever-growing list of ways to spell this composer's name*

I've seen Wainberg, Vainberg, Weinberg, and now Wajnberg. Wouldn't surprise me if Vajnberg is also used somewhere.

amw

#8541
Mieczysław Wajnberg was his legal name in Polish (and he also preferred to be known by the diminutive of Mieczysław, 'Mietek', later in life). He made his early career in prewar Warsaw as Mojsze Wajnberg (משה װײַנבערג in Yiddish) and then in the Soviet Union as Мойсей С. Вайнберг. 'Weinberg' has become the most common transliteration not because the composer himself ever used it but because it's how the majority of people with that surname, including some in my family, spell it in English. 'Mieczysław' is used as his first name instead of e.g. Moishe or Mojsze at least in part because he came to identify much more with Poland & his Polish heritage later in life (i.e. while living in the USSR) as seen by works like the Symphony No. 8 'Polish Flowers' and the opera The Passenger; the utter devastation his hometown of Warsaw was subject to under the Nazis, and the heroic mass resistance & planned extermination of the non-Jewish Polish population, probably helped create this sense of solidarity.

(Since the fall of communism Poland has become significantly more antisemitic and reactionary w Polish identity linked much more to Catholicism, as before WWII. That's another story though—and evidently classical musicians are pitching themselves consciously in opposition to that political movement w the extensive promotion of Weinberg as a Polish composer by eg the Silesian Quartet, Antoni Wit, Jerzy Maksymiuk, the Polish Orchestra Sinfonia Iuventus, the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra etc)

Mirror Image

It would be nice if they just stick with one spelling. Weinberg is the most popular one I've seen and they should leave it this way. Of course, I'm in no hurry to buy any Weinberg recordings as he's a composer I barely listen to.

Madiel

#8543
I agree it would be good to stick with one, but I would go with authenticity over current popularity. Because sometimes it's about correcting an error and moving forward.

Using "Weinberg" seems to me a bit like using "Smith" for a composer that was actually called "Smyth" just because most people spell it with an "i". Of the various option, "Weinberg" is probably the one with the least claim to being authentic to the individual concerned.

If we can shift, say, the numbering of Dvorak's symphonies, then we can shift the spelling of a name.
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André

I started listening to W/Vain/jn/ein/berg 25 years ago. The only game in town back then were the Olympia discs (symphonies, ballets) and the spelling was Vainberg. Whatever prompted everyone and their cousins to come up with alternate spellings is moot IMO.

Brian

Found a new batch of MAY releases...



PR quote: ""The more one penetrates into the complex and mysterious universe of Ravel as revealed to us through his music, the more one is left with riddles never to be solved. I must confess, having played his music all my life, that there are aspects about him still puzzling me," says Austbø – who also contributes with an enlightening personal note for this release."



Szymanowski 2, Panufnik 3, Penderecki 3



Flute, oboe, clarinet sonatas, trio, sextet





"a recital with orchestra celebrating French songs from the period when they moved from the private salon to the concert hall."

JBS

I think this is the third recording of Hahn's Rossignol Eperdu

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

Todd

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71 dB

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 04, 2019, 06:53:20 AM
I'm in no hurry to buy any Weinberg recordings as he's a composer I barely listen to.

I discovered Weinberg a few years ago and he quickly became one of my favorite composers. His music is like Shostakovich modified to my taste. :)
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PerfectWagnerite

Quote from: Todd on April 06, 2019, 04:38:47 AM





Looking forward to this one.

The individual releases strangely couples each DSCH symphony with a Beethoven symphony which really makes you scratch your head.

André

Quote from: PerfectWagnerite on April 06, 2019, 03:46:00 PM
Looking forward to this one.

The individual releases strangely couples each DSCH symphony with a Beethoven symphony which really makes you scratch your head.

Beethoven was Shostakovich's musical hero. He kept a bust of LvB in his study. Other than that, I have a hard time figuring why they should be paired on disc.


Mirror Image

Quote from: 71 dB on April 06, 2019, 02:42:13 PM
I discovered Weinberg a few years ago and he quickly became one of my favorite composers. His music is like Shostakovich modified to my taste. :)

I barely listen to Shostakovich these days as well. :-\

JBS

Quote from: André on April 06, 2019, 04:31:39 PM
Beethoven was Shostakovich's musical hero. He kept a bust of LvB in his study. Other than that, I have a hard time figuring why they should be paired on disc.



I have one of the individual CDs, which paired DSCH 10 with LvB 3.  The extramusical associations, Bonaparte and Stalin, made some sense there.  But the actual performances I remember being decent, but not very distinctive.

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

Mirror Image

#8553
Brian mentioned this set of Ravel from Austbø in the May releases:



I've owned this set since Feb. 20th (I bought it from Amazon Germany). I wonder why Amazon US is showing such a long release date? In fact, according to Amazon Germany, the release date for it was November of last year. Amazon France showed a release date of January 2019 as did Amazon UK. Strange...

I really should buckle down and listen to Austbø's Ravel, but also his Debussy and Janáček, which I've owned for several months now.

Ghost of Baron Scarpia

I take it for granted that there is some delay in releases from Europe reaching the US, since they rely on a subsidiary or subcontractor to handle foreign distribution. It has been this way as long as I can remember.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Ghost of Baron Scarpia on April 06, 2019, 07:45:16 PM
I take it for granted that there is some delay in releases from Europe reaching the US, since they rely on a subsidiary or subcontractor to handle foreign distribution. It has been this way as long as I can remember.

Yes, indeed.

Mirror Image

I'm cringing at the very thought of this:

[asin]B07M6RW3NH[/asin]

I love Björk's music, but the whole idea of taking an album like Verspertine and having it sung and arranged opera style just doesn't work for me. It might work for some of you, however.

TheGSMoeller

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 07, 2019, 07:20:02 AM
I'm cringing at the very thought of this:

[asin]B07M6RW3NH[/asin]

I love Björk's music, but the whole idea of taking an album like Verspertine and having it sung and arranged opera style just doesn't work for me. It might work for some of you, however.

I've listened to it .Some songs work (Cocoon), some REALLY don't (It's Not Up To You). Bjork writes in a manner that fits her style, her tone. I don't necessarily think it translates well in covers, which I don't see many others covering her songs.
It's similar to Tom Waits, many of his songs are masterpieces, but they are more that way when he performs them.

Mirror Image

Quote from: TheGSMoeller on April 07, 2019, 07:47:49 AM
I've listened to it .Some songs work (Cocoon), some REALLY don't (It's Not Up To You). Bjork writes in a manner that fits her style, her tone. I don't necessarily think it translates well in covers, which I don't see many others covering her songs.
It's similar to Tom Waits, many of his songs are masterpieces, but they are more that way when he performs them.

Yes, agreed. I think I recall Renee Fleming singing some Björk on one of her albums and it just didn't work for me either. I think the best thing one could do is cover her music instrumentally and leave the vocals out, because no one is going to match her style or do the vocals justice, IMHO. I will say I was rather impressed by the Marcin Wasilewski Trio's rendition of Hyperballad. I'm not sure if you've heard it:

https://www.youtube.com/v/LREjE1M0qvo

Why this works for me is they're not trying to capture the original piece as it was originally heard. They're playing it in a jazz piano trio format with different aims, but still trying to keep the essence of the music intact.

Mandryka

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