Past Purchases (CLOSED)

[Drasko]

Q

And who is this Conductor Laureate soprano? Never heard of her.
Or is it the boy treble version? Conductor does sound more like a male name.

[George]

I like both ways, Bill. Internet shopping when I want a particular item for the best price. But "real" shopping, especially for bargains and cuts outs, has made me discover many, many wonderful recordings, performers or repertoire, I wouldn't have encountered that easily in any other way.

Q

Absolutely. Not to mention all of the interesting people to meet and chat with at these stores.

[Harry]

Lucky you.

Havergal Brian never did seem to do the trick.

Brian's works for men, but I never met a woman that liked his music, ever.
They all love Vivaldi though.......

[George]

I agree. Being at my local shop however I get depressed. No cd's I wanted, ordering almost impossible, they say it will take months, and at unacceptable prices no less. How much easier to browse JPC, and get what you want from all over the world, without hassle.
I miss the hunt, if there was anything hunting that is.....

I go to brick and mortar stores when either I have no idea what I want or if I am reasonably certain that they will have what I want.

[Bogey]

I take that back.  Finding a much sought after cd in a shop is nearly my favorite way to obtain that cd.  My favorite still remains getting one from a friend should it be from one that lives close by, across the country, or even half way around the world.  Nothing like opening those hand lettered parcels!  

[Harry]

 

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Brian's works for men, but I never met a woman that liked his music, ever.
They all love Vivaldi though.......

Well - the woman I eventually married does like Brian. Today I have been married to her for sixteen years...

[Harry]

Well - the woman I eventually married does like Brian. Today I have been married to her for sixteen years...

I would love to meet her, honestly.......

[George]

I take that back.  Finding a much sought after cd in a shop is nearly my favorite way to obtain that cd.  My favorite still remains getting one from a friend should it be from one that lives close by, across the country, or even half way around the world.  Nothing like opening those hand lettered parcels! 

I shoulda hand marked mine, sorry. 

[Que]

And who is this Conductor Laureate soprano? Never heard of her.
Or is it the boy treble version? Conductor does sound more like a male name.

The participating soprano is Christine Schäfer - no less. 

Q

[Wanderer]

"Real" (as in non-virtual) shopping this afternoon:



Q

Que, I eagerly await your impressions on that one, when you have the time. 

[PerfectWagnerite]

This ! Is finally mine:

[Heather Harrison]

I have been taking advantage of the coupons and sales that increasingly-desperate stores are putting out.  So I'm getting back into making good-sized purchases.  I have bought a few classical CDs, opera DVDs, and world music CDs lately.  Here is the first group.



Kiran Ahluwalia - Wanderlust.  This is a CD of ghazals (a North Indian form of poetry) performed by Kiran Ahluwalia, a specialist in this popular style.  I liked her first CD, so I was interested in this one.  Here, she brings in influences from various parts of the world, but always chooses wisely.  In particular, she makes use of Portuguese fado, a style that blends well with this North Indian music.

Kartik Seshadri - Guruvandhana.  Kartik Seshadri, sitar; Arup Chattopadhyay, tabla.  Here is a student of Ravi Shankar, and a very worthy successor.  The core of this CD is an approx. 40-minute performance of the raga Madhuvanthi.  This is perhaps my favorite style of North Indian music - a long, highly improvisatory classical performance that never gets dull despite its length.

Hariprasad Chaurasia - Maestro of the Indian Flute.  This is a budget-priced 2-CD compilation of Chaurasia's recordings.  He is an impressive virtuoso on the Indian bamboo flute.  There is traditional classical music, and also lighter classical music that has some modern influences.  As would be expected, everything is impeccably performed.



Dobet Gnahore - Na Afriki.  Every now and then, I get in the mood to listen to West African pop music, so when I see something that looks interesting, I buy it.  This is a good example of the style, featuring good melodies, interesting rhythms, and emotional singing.  Dobet Gnahore is a young singer who shows considerable promise; it will be interesting to hear how she develops in the coming years.  I find this sort of pop music to be considerably more interesting than the simplistic stuff that occurs on Top 40 radio.



Chinese Taoist Music.  Taoist Music Orchestra of the Shanghai City God Temple.  This is traditional Chinese music played by a small orchestra of traditional instruments.  The music features many beautiful melodies, and the pentatonic scale has an exotic sound.  It is performed well, and the recording quality is good.



Mahler - Symphony No. 1 - Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich/David Zinman.  I was impressed with Zinman's recording of No. 3, so I decided to try this one.  Symphony No. 1 was my introduction to Mahler.  These days, I listen to some of the other symphonies more often, but I like to return to this one every now and then.  This performance shows a great deal of clarity and discipline; it may not be as expansive and overtly emotional as some other performances, but I find the clarity of this performance to be quite welcome - for me, it seems to breathe some new life into the music.  As an added bonus, the discarded "Blumine" movement is included as the last track.  Sound quality is excellent on the CD layer; the clarity of the recording matches the clarity of the performance.  I haven't played it at home yet, so I haven't listened to the SACD layer.  I also bought Zinman's No. 2, but I haven't played it yet.  I will post a review when I have.

Webern - Symphony, Concerto for 9 Instruments, etc.  Robert Craft, et. al.  I have previously found Webern recordings difficult to evaluate after just one hearing - this austere and beautiful music requires some serious thought.  So far, I find this to be a good recording, and the Symphony is a highlight.  I love that piece, and I find this performance to be at least as good as others I have heard.  An interesting contrast to the austere music of Webern is the set of six German dances by Schubert that he orchestrated.  Schubert's very different style comes as a bit of a surprise after listening to an hour or so of Webern's music.

Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 2; Four Piano Pieces, Op. 119.  Marc-Andre Hamelin; Dallas Symphony Orchestra/Andrew Litton.  For some reason, it has taken me a while to get around to the Brahms piano concertos, and when I saw this I decided that it was finally time to add Concerto No. 2 to my collection.  I don't know this concerto well, so I don't have anything with which to compare this, but I like what I heard.  I found the performance to be quite powerful, and the recording quality is very good.  The Op. 119 piano pieces were also given good performances here.



Grieg - Lyric Pieces (selection) - Leif Ove Andsnes.  This CD presents a good representative selection of Grieg's Lyric Pieces; it is performed in Grieg's house on his piano.  So this might be close to what the composer had in mind, but of course this is impossible to know with certainty.  The pieces are beautifully played, and the smaller piano gives them an intimate feel.  I don't know these pieces well, although I have heard a few of them.  This CD leaves me wanting more - perhaps a recording of all of them is out there somewhere.

Bach - St. Matthew Passion.  John Eliot Gardiner.  A coupon brought the price of this 3-CD set down to a very reasonable level, so I decided to get it.  This may not be for everyone - if you like the big, Romanticized performances of this piece, you will want to look elsewhere.  It generally moves along quickly, and it exhibits great clarity, but it is perhaps a bit lacking in overt emotion.  I like this style, so it works well for me.  (I find the Romanticized performances to be too muddled.)

This is all for now, but there are more in my backlog, and I will post them when I listen to them.

Heather

[Harry]

Great collection you bought there Heather....

[AnthonyAthletic]

This ! Is finally mine:

Great buy, I have had this set for about 5 years now and return to it when I need Bruckner to be white hot, agressive and brutal.

It won't be to everyone's taste, especially if you like to wallow in Bruckner as Schuricht is like shit off a stick with his tempi.  Amazing performances.

[Bogey]

Great buy, I have had this set for about 5 years now and return to it when I need Bruckner to be white hot, agressive and brutal.

It won't be to everyone's taste, especially if you like to wallow in Bruckner as Schuricht is like shit off a stick with his tempi.  Amazing performances.

One of the most concise and helpful reviews I have ever read.  I will stay away from this one Tony as I enjoy Bruckner, at least the little I have, as "slow" as I can find him. 

[AnthonyAthletic]

One of the most concise and helpful reviews I have ever read.  I will stay away from this one Tony as I enjoy Bruckner, at least the little I have, as "slow" as I can find him. 

Schurict's tempi are on the whole appx 10-12 minutes faster than most other interpreters of the 8th symphony.  His 9th in comparison being only a 3 mvt work also gets the fast lick treatment.  His 8th clocks in at 71 minutes which is pretty amazing timings, but honestly there is a strong possibility that you may love this way.  Its a far cry from Giulini, Karajan, Horenstein et al but well worth the hearing 

[George]

One of the most concise and helpful reviews I have ever read.  I will stay away from this one Tony as I enjoy Bruckner, at least the little I have, as "slow" as I can find him. 

Then I suggest you get some of Celibidache's EMI recordings of Bruckner. 

[71 dB]

Wow, Tangerine Dreams, that brings back some fun women memories.
Man, I seduced quite some ladies with this music.......

I didn't know you listen to Tangerine Dream Harry.

I never thought it is "romantic" music...

This is my first Tangerine Dream album.

[Harry]

I didn't know you listen to Tangerine Dream Harry.

I never thought it is "romantic" music...

This is my first Tangerine Dream album.

Are you kindin? In my youth I had all TD records.....