Recordings That You Are Considering

[NJ Joe]

I'm considering a bunch of stuff by Bruno Walter:  Mahler, Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert 9.  I'm basing this on my fondness for his Beethoven and Brahms cycles with Columbia. Any thoughts?

[Ken B]

I'm considering a bunch of stuff by Bruno Walter:  Mahler, Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert 9.  I'm basing this on my fondness for his Beethoven and Brahms cycles with Columbia. Any thoughts?

Pass on Mozart.
Walter knew Mahler, worked as his assistant and should be heard by anyone serious about Mahler.

[Moonfish]

I'm considering a bunch of stuff by Bruno Walter:  Mahler, Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert 9.  I'm basing this on my fondness for his Beethoven and Brahms cycles with Columbia. Any thoughts?

I would just get "The Box" if I were you. Definitely a worthwhile endeavor in terms of exploring Walter's recordings. Go for it!!!!

[asin] B00BNZN27E[/asin]

[NJ Joe]

I would just get "The Box" if I were you. Definitely a worthwhile endeavor in terms of exploring Walter's recordings. Go for it!!!!

[asin] B00BNZN27E[/asin]

Good point.  This is cheaper than the individual recordings I was considering.

[Moonfish]

Good point.  This is cheaper than the individual recordings I was considering.

Always fun to explore with a sense of serendipity! 
Hmm, there is always the icon box if you like the earlier recordings (which is pretty affordable as well). You probably have it already.

[asin] B006MO0O0Y[/asin]

[Daverz]

Pass on Mozart.

What?!  No.  Walter's Mozart is some of the best on record.

[Octave]

What are your thoughts around this large size monster Vivaldi opera box from Naive?  I am leaning towards separate releases, but would love to read your opinions..... 

The contents are marvelous, just like ~100% of the Naive Vivaldi Edition stuff I've heard.
The packaging is little vexing, cf. an Amazon US review.  I have not had a problem with discs falling off the little foam nipples (behave!) that hold them against the cardboard pages, in the 2 years I've owned it; but I have listened to most of the recordings only once.  Repeated removal/replacement might become an issue.  I actually like the LP+-sized dimension of the box with thick large booklet with libretti.

That Harmonia Mundi OPERA BAROQUE set is quite nice, even if they put it in a lacquered shoebox.

[Ken B]

What?!  No.  Walter's Mozart is some of the best on record.

I knew this would be controversial. People have fond memories.
We had a similar discussion on the on another thread today about Klemperer conducting Bach.
Walter doing Mozart is not remotely like Klemperer doing Bach, which is actually bad, and one his boosters changed his mind on rehearing the recording. But Walter's big fuzzy Mozart is not worth buying a box of. Even modern orchestras, not HIP, take a cleaner sharper approach.

[DavidW]

Clarification: Favorite Klemps.

Brahms German Requiem, the Bruckner symphonies that he did, Mahler's 2nd, Mahler's 9th.

[DavidW]

I'm considering a bunch of stuff by Bruno Walter:  Mahler, Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert 9.  I'm basing this on my fondness for his Beethoven and Brahms cycles with Columbia. Any thoughts?

His Mahler 9th is fantastic.  This was back when I would play things on my walkman and didn't mind old mono recordings, I wonder if I could still listen to it now like I did back then...

[Philo]

I'm considering a bunch of stuff by Bruno Walter:  Mahler, Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert 9.  I'm basing this on my fondness for his Beethoven and Brahms cycles with Columbia. Any thoughts?

Walter is amazing in both Mahler and Bruckner.

[Todd]

Walter is amazing in both Mahler and Bruckner.

And Beethoven (mono, United Archives and other sources), Brahms (mono or stereo), and Mozart (stereo symphonies, PC 20 where he plays piano, Le Nozze).  When Bruno Walter is in any way diminished, classical music and classical recordings are diminished and replaced by lesser lights.  Fond memories nothing.  Serious listening in the here and now reaffirms Walter's stature.

[Daverz]

I knew this would be controversial. People have fond memories.

I don't listen to this on a Victrola.

Even modern orchestras, not HIP, take a cleaner sharper approach.

Clean! New!  Improved!  Modern!

Are we talking about music or dish soap? 

[DavidW]

I always loved that affection Walter had in Beethoven for those luftpauses.  If there ever was a pregnant pause in music... that is it.  I never found it distracting, it heightens the tension.

[Ken B]

I don't listen to this on a Victrola.

Clean! New!  Improved!  Modern!

Are we talking about music or dish soap?

Well if you want to get snippy, we're talking about following the composer's intent, of playing what he wrote. We know rather more about that now and it informs some performances. And playing it with instruments he knew and orchestras the size he knew bring out things. It's rather like reading Chaucer in the original rather than a modern translation. Or rather than in an 80 year old translation.

[Bogey]

All my Walter on mono Columbia platters.  Top marks!

[TheGSMoeller]

I love L'Arpeggiata/Pluhar's two Monteverdi discs, from what I've heard so far this one is quite a departure from what I'm used to hearing from Purcell, but it has my interest.
A Jazzy "When I am Laid in Earth" anyone? 
Just realized it includes Leonards Cohen's Hallelujah. 

[Octave]

Very late thanks to Erato, Justin, Jeffrey, and Daverz for comments on the Sabine Meyer set.

Some Naxos discs (some of which I've seen in GMG passing reference):
1. Toshio Hosokawa: FLUTE MUSIC
2. Mauricio Kagel: DAS KONZERT, PHANTASIESTUCKE, PAN, etc
3. Lei Liang: VERGE, TREMORS OF A MEMORY, etc
4. Tveitt (the 'Hardanger' suites, including maybe the disc for wind ensemble/band) (maybe also Piano Concertos 1/5, I onyl know the disc with #4 and I liked it)
5. Franck/Chausson disc with Michael Levinas (the Cristina Ortiz disc is supposed to be good, too...but I kind of want this Chausson 4tt, and I've not heard Levinas' playing yet, he's supposed to be dynamite in this Franck)
6. Karlowicz: two symphonic poems discs
7. Dallapiccola: violin/piano works (I only know a cluch of orchestral music)
8. maybe one more Havergal Brian disc (among Naxos offerings, I only know the #1 reissue and the disc with 22-24)
9. Charpentier: Vespres à la Vierge (Niquet)  [or another of his Naxos discs?  I think there is very little overlap w/Charpentier that I already have]
10. Morten Lauridsen: looking at the Naxos choral music disc and also a Hyperion disc, between which there is some overlap, though I cannot remember how much...maybe 1/3 of the material?
11. Joseph Martin Kraus: one disc for starters, maybe just the first symphonies disc

[Octave]

Do we already have Hyperion/Helios label recommendations/favourites/essentials thread?
I have done a bit of searching, but not found such a thing.  Once and a while, this kind of thread is useful to me, e.g. the Naxos recommendations thread.

[North Star]

Do we already have Hyperion/Helios label recommendations/favourites/essentials thread?
I have done a bit of searching, but not found such a thing.  Once and a while, this kind of thread is useful to me, e.g. the Naxos recommendations thread.

I don't think so.
There definitely is a lot of great recordings on that label, so such a thread might not be a bad idea.