Past Purchases (CLOSED)

[The new erato]

And amazon.co.uk:

[The new erato]

And mdt (ordered some time ago, but released and sent yesterday):

[The new erato]

And amazon.de:

[Scarpia]

This one:

[asin]B000174LOI[/asin]

[The new erato]

This one:

[asin]B000174LOI[/asin]

I've been eyeing the complete box for some years. The Toch CDs on Naxos certainly are good.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

I guess half of my buying is vocal (including 20th century + baroque opera, church music and lieder), of the remaining half solo piano, chamber and orchestral takes ever honour, with a slight preference for chamber).

From Hyperions please buy me:

The Szymanowski, played by Dennis Lee, is something of a find. Excellently played, although the music was not easy for me to digest. The Four studies opus 4 with which this CD begins took my breath away though!

[jlaurson]

Listen what the EMI Cat dragged in:


D. Scarlatti (1685 – 1757),
Keyboard Sonatas
Alexandre Tharaud
Virgin

Aahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! genius. and tharaud is marvelous, too.



C.G.A. Monteverdi (1567 – 1643),
Vespro Della Beata Vergine
L'Arpeggiata
Christina Pluhar
Virgin + Bonus DVD

Pluhar is crazy... love her. Am much looking forward to what she does to Monteverdi.


G. Mahler (1860 – 1911),
Symphony No.2
Simon Rattle / BPh / K.Royal, M.Kozena
EMI



R. Strauss (1864 – 1949),
22 Orchestral Songs
Diana Damrau
C.Thielemann / Munich Philharmonic
Virgin

Was at the concert where most (but not all) of this was recorded: http://www.weta.org/fmblog/?p=562

[Opus106]

And amazon.de:

Do tell me if you hear bird sounds at the beginning of one of the tracks. But I don't remember which one.

[MishaK]

G. Mahler (1860 – 1911),
Symphony No.2
Simon Rattle / BPh / K.Royal, M.Kozena
EMI



R. Strauss (1864 – 1949),
22 Orchestral Songs
Diana Damrau
C.Thielemann / Munich Philharmonic
Virgin

Was at the concert where most (but not all) of this was recorded: http://www.weta.org/fmblog/?p=562

Curious what you think about these two. I heard Rattle conduct a M2 with Philly a number of years ago that featured some plainly bizarre phrasing. Wonder if he's mellowed in the meantime.

[Mirror Image]

Well, to tell you the truth, I haven't gone off orchestral completely - probably only in terms of buying stuff. Today, I borrowed Suk's Asrael Symphony from the library. The Ondine disc conducted by Ashkenazy. Listened to half of it before coming to work today. I liked how, although Suk was dealing with much personal grief, the music doesn't sound self-indulgent or too bombastic. It's quite restrained in many ways. I like how he pulls the violin out of the body of the orchestra for some very searching & affecting solos. I understand he was a violinist. This is a work you have raved about in the past & I look forward to hearing it in full during the week when I have more time...

Yes, I love Suk's Asrael Symphony. I'm a fan of Suk's music in general anyway. I think he developed his own personal language that was as distinct as Martinu's or Janacek's. He certainly isn't discussed enough for some odd reason.

[DavidRoss]

Curious what you think about these two. I heard Rattle conduct a M2 with Philly a number of years ago that featured some plainly bizarre phrasing. Wonder if he's mellowed in the meantime.

If you hurry you can hear them for yourself at http://viertakt.radio4.nl/plaatpaal-overzicht/1/plaatpaal.html

[Mirror Image]

Just bought:

[asin]B000003G4A[/asin]

[asin]B001MTBVL0[/asin]

[Sid]

Just bought:

[asin]B001MTBVL0[/asin]

That's a great disc. I didn't warm to Tippett's music straight away, but now he's one of my favourite UK composers (I like him loads more than say Vaughan Williams). The Concerto for Double String Orchestra has influences of blues, Beethoven, Stravinsky, and a touch of folk music in the last movement. I especially like the lyrical middle movement. The Piano Concerto was inspired by Beethoven's 4th concerto. I like the clever touch of the piano and celesta having a duet in the last movement. The Fantasia Concertante was inspired by not only Corelli but also J.S. Bach - there's a Bachian fugue towards the end. What I like about Tippett is that he wasn't really an experimental composer by the conventional sense of the word, but the way in which he engaged with the past (& present) is always stimulating and interesting to me...

[Mirror Image]

That's a great disc. I didn't warm to Tippett's music straight away, but now he's one of my favourite UK composers (I like him loads more than say Vaughan Williams). The Concerto for Double String Orchestra has influences of blues, Beethoven, Stravinsky, and a touch of folk music in the last movement. I especially like the lyrical middle movement. The Piano Concerto was inspired by Beethoven's 4th concerto. I like the clever touch of the piano and celesta having a duet in the last movement. The Fantasia Concertante was inspired by not only Corelli but also J.S. Bach - there's a Bachian fugue towards the end. What I like about Tippett is that he wasn't really an experimental composer by the conventional sense of the word, but the way in which he engaged with the past (& present) is always stimulating and interesting to me...

I'm still in awe of RVW. I think he was one of those rare composers that was able to transcend the confines of Romanticism and Impressionism to find his own unique voice. His music is both melodic and forward-looking, but we both feel different things about this composer. I don't think my opinion of him will change much over time even though I might not listen to his music as much as I have in the past.

Tippett is an interesting composer. I absolutely hate his so-called "symphonies." I think Tippett was at his best when he was composing for a solo instrument or a string orchestra hence why I enjoy his Piano Concerto, Fantasia on a Theme by Corelli, and Concerto for Double String Orchestra much more than a work like The Rose Lake which doesn't sound like anything and the music goes nowhere. I like music with a purpose or some goal in mind. I also favor the oratorio A Child of Our Time. This is an utterly compelling work from start to finish.

[Scarpia]

It also has taken me some considerable effort to recover my ability to appreciate Tippett after encountering his symphonies. 

[Mirror Image]

It also has taken me some considerable effort to recover my ability to appreciate Tippett after encountering his symphonies.

I try not to think about these dreadful works and focus on the works that made me appreciate him.

[Sid]

I'm still in awe of RVW. I think he was one of those rare composers that was able to transcend the confines of Romanticism and Impressionism to find his own unique voice. His music is both melodic and forward-looking, but we both feel different things about this composer. I don't think my opinion of him will change much over time even though I might not listen to his music as much as I have in the past.

Tippett is an interesting composer. I absolutely hate his so-called "symphonies." I think Tippett was at his best when he was composing for a solo instrument or a string orchestra hence why I enjoy his Piano Concerto, Fantasia on a Theme by Corelli, and Concerto for Double String Orchestra much more than a work like The Rose Lake which doesn't sound like anything and the music goes nowhere. I like music with a purpose or some goal in mind. I also favor the oratorio A Child of Our Time. This is an utterly compelling work from start to finish.

Vaughan Williams was good to kind of introduce me to UK music, but I've greatly gone off him now. I suppose I like his works for string orchestra the most, & his symphonies the least. I haven't heard Tippett's The Rose Lake, but I want to get it at some stage. His songs are pretty good as well, I have heard some on the radio. I do remember hearing either the 3rd or 4th symphony on radio a while back, & I think it wasn't too bad. My favourite works of him of those that I have heard so far are his string quartets. I particularly like the 3rd, which similar to Beethoven's Op. 131, has several fugues. It's in five movements and there's a feeling of transcendence and renewal in the coda which gets me every time. He was a master, imo...

[Mirror Image]

Vaughan Williams was good to kind of introduce me to UK music, but I've greatly gone off him now. I suppose I like his works for string orchestra the most, & his symphonies the least. I haven't heard Tippett's The Rose Lake, but I want to get it at some stage. His songs are pretty good as well, I have heard some on the radio. I do remember hearing either the 3rd or 4th symphony on radio a while back, & I think it wasn't too bad. My favourite works of him of those that I have heard so far are his string quartets. I particularly like the 3rd, which similar to Beethoven's Op. 131, has several fugues. It's in five movements and there's a feeling of transcendence and renewal in the coda which gets me every time. He was a master, imo...

As I stated, I like music that has purpose and this is very much a subjective thing as with anything. Some of Tippett's music is quite good, but a lot of it does little for me on an intellectual/emotional level. He has some very interesting musical ideas though, but they're not always well executed.

The brutal truth is I'm more into composers who use hard-hitting rhythms to drive their musical ideas (Bartok, Stravinsky, Martinu, Villa-Lobos, Janacek, Szymanowski, etc.). I guess a lot of this stems all the way back when I played percussion in the school band. I also remember an early experience as a child when I heard the sound of fireworks exploding. I heard one particular row of fireworks which sounds like a huge drum line in a marching band. This experience has stayed with me to this day.

[not edward]

One of the more enterprising DG productions of recent years

[asin]B002L5IKHW[/asin]
It's also great to see Kaja Danczowska cropping up again--her Szymanowski/Franck disc with Zimerman still is my first choice in those works.

[Coopmv]

Ordered this 6-CD set late Sunday evening to add the 13th version of Nocturnes to my Chopin collection ...