Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

[George]

Found this info today about the Haskil/Grumiaux Violin sonatas:
_____________________________

In early 2007, both Decca and Brilliant released three disc sets of Beethoven's complete Violin Sonatas played by Belgian violinist Arthur Grumiaux and Romanian pianist Clara Haskil. Recorded in 1956 and 1957 and originally released on LP by Philips, these performances have stood the test of time. Grumiaux's effortless virtuosity, elegant phrasing and impeccable intonation coupled with Haskil's soul and sympathetic if not always note-perfect accompaniment made for one of the most instantly appealing collections of these central repertoire works, and despite its age, anyone looking for a complete set should certainly consider this set.

Oddly enough, though, the sound seems to be quite different in both issues. Decca's is big and boomy with a healthy dollop of reverb while Brilliant's sound is dry and distant with minimal, or at least minimized, reverb. This is particularly odd since Philip's original LP sound was slightly dry but deep but a reasonable amount of reverb. Thus, those interested in Grumiaux and Haskel's Beethoven Sonatas are presented with two very different sonic alternatives in these re-issues; which they choose is, of course, up to the individual -- although old timers may decide to stick with their scratched LPs.

-All Music Guide
____________________________


I have the new Decca version and agree with the reviewers comments. Looks like this may be a case where Brilliant does a better job. I must say that I am upset and surprised by this.

[BachQ]

Hell, you're derailing this one right now! 

Ironically (and interestingly), the very act of pointing out a derailment is, itself, a derailment ........ 

[George]

Just read in the Wilhelm Furtwangler Society UK Newsletter that the 6 recordings of LvB symphonies featured in the above box are, with only one exception in their opinion, the very best available performances of each symphony that Furtwangler ever recorded. They give each recording a 0 to 4 star rating.

For #3, they cite 9 versions and rate the M&A the highest, at 4 stars.

For #4 they cite 6 versions and rate the M&A the highest, at 3 stars. (None of them got 5 stars)

For #5 they cite 11 versions and rate the M&A the highest, at 4 stars.

For #6 they cite 7 versions and rate the M&A second highest, at 3 stars (only because of the poor sound).   

For #7, they cite 5 versions and rate the M&A the highest, at 4 stars.

For #9, they cite 11 versions and rate the M&A the highest, at 4 stars.



Then I found this excerpt from a fanfare review about the transfers on the above set:

This is an important collection of Furtwängler's finest wartime Beethoven ?performances, well-transferred and generously fit onto four CDs. Music & Arts ?is selling it at the reasonable price of $39.92 (plus $3.00 shipping) on its ?website (www.musicandarts.com), and recommending $43.92 in stores. This ?certainly makes these performances available at a more reasonable price than ?the hard-to-find Tahra label, so the important question relates to the quality ?of the transfers. ?       
All of these performances have been available before, and on many labels, with ?four of the six having been released in a two-disc set by the same label (M&A ?CD-824) in different transfers. The new Furtwängler collector will simply want ?to know whether this is good enough to obtain, while the more experienced ?collector will want to know how it stacks up against previous releases of the ?same material. For the new collector, I think the advice is simple. If you ?don't have these performances in some other form, they are an essential part of ?the work of this conductor, and these transfers are good enough to warrant ?purchase. ?
...Maggi Payne has been responsible for some of the best transfer work Music & ?Arts has issued, and her results here are at a very high level. I performed ?direct comparisons with my favorite previous transfers, and these came close in ?each case, and exceeded the competition in some. If you have M&A CD-824, which ?contains the same performances of Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7, the transfers ?here are much clearer and cleaner, and would merit replacing the earlier ?release with this new one.... Interestingly, the transfers here are different ?even from Ms. Payne's work on Music & Arts 942, which is a complete Beethoven ?symphony cycle duplicating some of these performances. I don't know if the ?reason is that Music & Arts provided her with superior source material, or that ?she has simply refined her approach, but there is more bite and more clarity on ?this new set. The most consistent of other labels has been Tahra. Both M&A and Tahra are ?satisfying in different ways; Tahra provides a warmer sound, but M&A clarifies ?more detail and has more bite because of greater high frequency presence, and a ?bit less added reverb or "ambience." In the case of this famous Ninth, in fact, ?I find M&A's new transfer the finest yet published.... ?       
In addition to its fine sonic production, Music & Arts has provided ?stimulating notes taken from John Ardoin's excellent book The Furtwängler ?Record, and generally good documentation. You will, though, search long and ?hard before you find the listing for the soloists in the Ninth (it seems to ?only exist in Ardoin's comments, where the details of all of Furtwängler's ?recorded performances of the work are listed). ?       
This is, then, an extraordinary set of discs. It is generously filled (each ?disc is over seventy minutes) with high quality transfers of performances ?unique in the history of recorded sound, performances that will make every ?listener hear this music and think about music performance, in new ways. You ?might, in the end, find the intensity excessive, but you will certainly not be ?bored, and you just might wonder what it will take to again find conducting and ?orchestral playing so filled with a sense of event.

[Bogey]

George,
According to Que, this may be the best Furtwangler 9th:

[George]

George,
According to Que, this may be the best Furtwangler 9th:

From the aforementioned Furt Society newsletter:

Bayreuth August 9, 1954: Samy Habra has always considered this performance better than the 1951 Bayreuth [the other Furt LvB 9 that gets 4 stars]; unfortunately severe distortion makes the tape hard to listen to.

(Looks like they agree, though I don't think I want to hear a recording of lesser quality, with the M&A I'm already stretching my limit.)   

[Que]

From the aforementioned Furt Society newsletter:

Bayreuth August 9, 1954: Samy Habra has always considered this performance better than the 1951 Bayreuth [the other Furt LvB 9 that gets 4 stars]; unfortunately severe distortion makes the tape hard to listen to.

(Looks like they agree, though I don't think I want to hear a recording of lesser quality, with the M&A I'm already stretching my limit.)   

George, I don't know what tape they are talking about, but the LvB 9th '54 on Tahra has NO distortion of any significance - I can assure you. The sound quality is even better than the '51 recording on EMI!

Q

[George]

George, I don't know what tape they are talking about, but the LvB 9th '54 on Tahra has NO distortion of any significance - I can assure you. The sound quality is even better than the '51 recording on EMI!

Q

There's 2 from Aug '54. They aren't talking about the Aug 22 performance, they are referring to the:

From the aforementioned Furt Society newsletter:

Bayreuth August 9, 1954: Samy Habra has always considered this performance better than the 1951 Bayreuth [the other Furt LvB 9 that gets 4 stars]; unfortunately severe distortion makes the tape hard to listen to.

(Looks like they agree, though I don't think I want to hear a recording of lesser quality, with the M&A I'm already stretching my limit.)   

[Que]

There's 2 from Aug '54. They aren't talking about the Aug 22 performance, they are referring to the:

Ah, yes. Bayreuth! Sorry for the confusion.

Well, note that the recording Bill pictured and is on Tahra is the Lucerne performance, and that's the one you'll need! (And is of outstanding sound quality - for a live performance of the '50s, of course)

Q

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Found this info today about the Haskil/Grumiaux Violin sonatas:
_____________________________

Oddly enough, though, the sound seems to be quite different in both issues. Decca's is big and boomy with a healthy dollop of reverb while Brilliant's sound is dry and distant with minimal, or at least minimized, reverb. This is particularly odd since Philip's original LP sound was slightly dry but deep but a reasonable amount of reverb. Thus, those interested in Grumiaux and Haskel's Beethoven Sonatas are presented with two very different sonic alternatives in these re-issues; which they choose is, of course, up to the individual -- although old timers may decide to stick with their scratched LPs.

-All Music Guide
____________________________


I have the new Decca version and agree with the reviewers comments. Looks like this may be a case where Brilliant does a better job. I must say that I am upset and surprised by this.

That is not good news!

Blast...I guess I'll be holding on to my older Philips set.

[George]

That is not good news!

Blast...I guess I'll be holding on to my older Philips set.

I thought Decca was a reputable company....

[Sergeant Rock]

Blast...I guess I'll be holding on to my older Philips set.

And I won't be replacing my Zukerman/Barenboim and Mutter/Orkis. 

Sarge

[BachQ]

Beethoven Triple Concerto, released last month 



Concerto for Piano, Violin and Cello in C major, Op. 56 "Triple Concerto" by Ludwig van Beethoven

Performer:  Gautier Capuçon (Cello), Martha Argerich (Piano), Renaud Capuçon (Violin)
Conductor:  Alexandre Rabinovitch
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Flanders Symphony Orchestra

Symphony no 1 in D major, Op. 25 "Classical" by Sergei Prokofiev

Conductor:  Alexandre Rabinovitch
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Flanders Symphony Orchestra

Concerto for Piano no 1 in D flat major, Op. 10 by Sergei Prokofiev

Performer:  Martha Argerich (Piano)
Conductor:  Alexandre Rabinovitch
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Flanders Symphony Orchestra

Sonata for Violin and Piano no 1 in A minor, Op. 105 by Robert Schumann

Performer:  Martha Argerich (Piano), Renaud Capuçon (Violin)

[op.110]

my favorite recording of the ninth

[hornteacher]

my favorite recording of the ninth

YES!  YES!  YES!  YES!!!!!!  That is a marvellous recording (and so few people ever mention it).  The 2nd and 4th movements especially are beyond phenomenal!  It's also a live recording and has a great "vibe" to it.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Beethoven Triple Concerto, released last month 

That looks like a dandy! And not just for Argerich. Gautier Capuçon is fast becoming one of my favorite cellists. He can both dig into the instrument and caress it at the same time. All with a warm, husky, singing tone that is pure delight.

[Mozart]

Martha Argerich used to be hot man. See what smoking and aging does to a person? Ewww

[Gurn Blanston]

my favorite recording of the ninth

Gosh, I hope you're right. I just bought it on your rec...

(always can use a new 9th, never have enough)

[BachQ]

my favorite recording of the ninth

I want ........ I want ........

[Bogey]

I want ........ I want ........

D,
I wonder if there is a discount if we get enough of us together and buy in bulk?

Gurn,
Is this in your stack of 18?

[George]

Martha Argerich used to be hot man. See what smoking and aging does to a person? Ewww

Let that be a lesson to you.