Past Purchases (CLOSED)

[Wanderer]

I pre-ordered this, it will be released in mid-August. I already have a number of these recordings, but for the sake of those I don't, it's a good bargain.

I haven't heard it (I mean the Petrushka) but I know that Matsuev is one of those super virtuosi , like Pollini, like Volodos, Sokolov, Gekic, Pogorelich and so on. Of course that's not to say it's going to be a vivid, colourful or sensitive account. It will be impressive, but then this is the sort of piece you don't play unless you can play the pants off it, no?

Exactly. That disc also includes Tchaikovsky's Seasons. I'm willing to give it a listen at some point in the future...

[Renfield]

I pre-ordered this, it will be released in mid-August. I already have a number of these recordings, but for the sake of those I don't, it's a good bargain.

Aha! That had slipped under my radar. Many thanks for the heads-up, Wanderer.

Purchased Today:








And also this:




I had the 3rd and 8th from this cycle, but since I've in the meantime heard good things about his 5th (from M IIRC), and am also keen to sample his 2nd, I passed the lower numerical limit of symphonies that prompts me to buy a whole Mahler cycle, therefore I did.

Now, only Sinopoli's cycle remains, among Mahler cycles currently of interest to me...

[ezodisy]

Exactly. That disc also includes Tchaikovsky's Seasons. I'm willing to give it a listen at some point in the future...

Ignore my ridiculous list of pianists, I don't know what I was thinking mixing some of those different types together (I had in mind more of the Volodos sort of virtuosity and got carried away). I guess Tchaikovsky's Seasons will be a real test of his musicianship. I've been listening to some of the Pletnev recording lately, very much under its spell.

[Wanderer]

Aha! That had slipped under my radar. Many thanks for the heads-up, Wanderer.

You're most welcome. Two more sets (with concerto and chamber music recordings respectively) are to follow.

A good choice.

Awaiting your impressions on these two! 

I had the 3rd and 8th from this cycle, but since I've in the meantime heard good things about his 5th (from M IIRC), and am also keen to sample his 2nd, I passed the lower numerical limit of symphonies that prompts me to buy a whole Mahler cycle, therefore I did.

The Fifth is indeed exceptional, although I can't say the same about the Second (which is still quite good). Is the Tenth included in the set? Chailly's rendition is my favourite interpretation, along with Barshai's.

[Wanderer]

I've been listening to some of the Pletnev recording lately, very much under its spell.

Thanks for reminding me of this recording. It's been some time since I last listened to it.

[Renfield]

Is the Tenth included in the set?

It is indeed.

And impressions on the Haitink and Klemperer to come as soon as their turn comes in the rotation.

[Renfield]

Double-posting, but I just put in what is likely my final amazon order before leaving Greece, and it's something of an interesting mix:




(Many thanks to the contributors in the relevant thread for the discovery - and the reminder! )




(I'm also going for the Naxos discs locally. Since I was placing an order, I thought: "why not?" )




(I long had my eye on this one.)




(Ditto - and somehow it never turned up in any local record stores, oddly.)

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Downloaded only the Sonata by Elliott Carter, a composer I am going to explore.

[M forever]

I haven't heard it (I mean the Petrushka) but I know that Matsuev is one of those super virtuosi , like Pollini, like Volodos, Sokolov, Gekic, Pogorelich and so on. Of course that's not to say it's going to be a vivid, colourful or sensitive account. It will be impressive, but then this is the sort of piece you don't play unless you can play the pants off it, no?

I guess nobody keeps you from playing - or even recording - it even if you can't actually play it. You can be the Florence Foster Jenkins of the piano if you like! But that just as an aside. My actual question was, what is your point here?

[M forever]

Great! Sinopoli's first recording in Dresden, when he was not yet principal conductor of the orchestra, and the first of quite a few, even if ultimately too few great recordings of this partnership. DG's sound here as on the 3rd which followed it is maybe a little bit too distant, a little bit too set back in the big reverberant space of the Lukaskirche, but then the orchestra fills that big space with sound in the climaxes. Still, a little closer would have been better, I think, and DG adjusted that later in the 90s and got some very good results in that location.
You chose wisely.



A great cycle of recordings, too. The 5th from this set is my favorite recording of the piece (more or less, since there can never be one single favorite for such a vastly complex piece of music) and the other performances are all very decent, too. I am not a big fan of the 3rd in this set though, for me the only performance of the cycle which doesn't quite reach the level of the rest.
Still, you chose wisely.

[Renfield]

Thank you, M.

[ezodisy]

I guess nobody keeps you from playing - or even recording - it even if you can't actually play it. You can be the Florence Foster Jenkins of the piano if you like! But that just as an aside. My actual question was, what is your point here?

My point is that his Petrushka is bound to get good reviews, that it's inevitable. Nice one about Jenkins though, that was funny.

[rubio]

I'm soft for Klemperer's way with Beethoven and it tempted to hear him with the Concertgebouw .

[marvinbrown]

  I finally bought my 2nd Mahler Cycle (Solti CSO was my first).  I am really excited about this purchase and I hope and pray that it really does turn out to be UNLIKE Solti's CSO cycle in every conceivable way.

 

 
  marvin

[PerfectWagnerite]

  I finally bought my 2nd Mahler Cycle (Solti CSO was my first).  I am really excited about this purchase and I hope and pray that it really does turn out to be UNLIKE Solti's CSO cycle in every conceivable way.
 

 
  marvin

Not to worry, it is about as different from Solti as you can get. There is probably no "better" cycle than Bertini, just "different" ones. You won't hear anything outrageous from Bertini. What he offers are warm, detailed, and balanced readings that sound more "right" every time you listen to it. It is also amazing how consistent Bertini is across the entire set as every single symphony is outstanding. This one and Gielen are probably my favorite but hey this one cost about 1/2 the Gielen.

[marvinbrown]

Not to worry, it is about as different from Solti as you can get. There is probably no "better" cycle than Bertini, just "different" ones. You won't hear anything outrageous from Bertini. What he offers are warm, detailed, and balanced readings that sound more "right" every time you listen to it. It is also amazing how consistent Bertini is across the entire set as every single symphony is outstanding. This one and Gielen are probably my favorite but hey this one cost about 1/2 the Gielen.

  Thank you PerfectWagnerite  .  It might interest you to know that it was you that alerted me to this set many weeks ago.  I have always had a bit of a problem with Solti's "abrasive" for lack of a better word approach to Mahler's symphonies.  These works are massive and lend themselves to various interpretations. I have become desperate over the past years to hear a fresher, different approach to these works.  I can not wait to hear this set!

  marvin 

[PaulR]

Bruckner: Symphony #8 Tennstedt/LPO
Schuman: Symphonies #3 and #8, symphony for Strings Bernstein/NYPO
Liszt: Les Preludes, Mazeppa, Hungarian Rhapsody #4 Karajan/BPO
Scriabin: the 3 symphonies, Le Poeme De l'Extase Ashkenazy/DSO Berlin
Verdi: Nabucco Muti/Philharmonia Orchestra

[PerfectWagnerite]

  Thank you PerfectWagnerite  .  It might interest you to know that it was you that alerted me to this set many weeks ago.  I have always had a bit of a problem with Solti's "abrasive" for lack of a better word approach to Mahler's symphonies.  These works are massive and lend themselves to various interpretations. I have become desperate over the past years to hear a fresher, different approach to these works.  I can not wait to hear this set!

  marvin 

Sometimes you will see the Chailly set on Ebay for under $30 including shipping because it is the Canadian release and the cover looks a little different. So if you are curious it might be a worthwhile investment as well. In general I like the Chailly set but the 2nd is pretty much lackluster and the 6th isn't great but the rest are excellent. The Chailly set has the complete 10th while the Bertini does not. But the Bertini has an absolutely knockout Das Lied which more than compensates for it. In fact I suggest you listen to Das Lied first on the Bertini set (try the orchestral interlude on the final track) and tell me it isn't the most atmospheric thing you have heard.

I think from time to time the Tennstedt set is pretty cheap also (like under $40) but I can't really say the London Philharmonic has close to the orchestral splendor of the Concertgebouw or Bertini's Cologne Radio SO. But you do get Tennstedt's very personal view of Mahler and some of the readings you get the feeling wring the last ounce of strength out of him and the orchestra.

[Renfield]

  I finally bought my 2nd Mahler Cycle (Solti CSO was my first).  I am really excited about this purchase and I hope and pray that it really does turn out to be UNLIKE Solti's CSO cycle in every conceivable way.

I think you've made a very good choice, Marvin.

(Even though the "exact opposite" to Solti would probably be Gielen.

Still, Bertini's is an unqualified triumph of a Mahler cycle in my opinion; don't worry! )

[Sergeant Rock]

Due to Holden's ongoing Beethoven sonata threads I've been listening to, and comparing various versions of the sonatas--which hasn't satiated my hunger to hear more. These sets came today from amazon.de:






Sarge