Recordings That You Are Considering

[Mandryka]

Yes, I see now. I thought the talk was about the ordinary Mass, hence my puzzlement. I stand corrected.

Just go and listen to that Sanctus!  And indeed the Agnus Dei!

[Florestan]

Just go and listen to that Sanctus!  And indeed the Agnus Dei!

I just did. It's great indeed.

[San Antone]

I'm considering getting several items in this series with Ensemble Organum recordings:



But... could anyone confirm that there are NO texts with the CD issue? 

Q

The Harmonia Mundi website has a PDF document with the texts:

http://www.harmoniamundi.com/doc/organum/HMO8901538-GB.pdf

[Que]

The Harmonia Mundi website has a PDF document with the texts:

http://www.harmoniamundi.com/doc/organum/HMO8901538-GB.pdf

Now, that is really helpful - I assume the rest of the series works the same.
(And I guess they still payed copyrights.)

Thanks! 

Q

[San Antone]

Now, that is really helpful - I assume the rest of the series works the same.
(And I guess they still payed copyrights.)

Thanks! 

Q

Their entire HM discography is on the website and I would assume so are the texts. 

You are welcome!

[Madiel]

Looking at getting some orchestral Ravel.

This volume is of interest because it happens to have exactly the 3 main works I'm wanting to pick up (Rapsodie, Sheherazade overture, Bolero). But is it any good?...

[Brian]

Looking at getting some orchestral Ravel.

This volume is of interest because it happens to have exactly the 3 main works I'm wanting to pick up (Rapsodie, Sheherazade overture, Bolero). But is it any good?...

I am a fan of Slatkin and of Naxos, but this series has only gotten good in the most recent volumes. The reason is the Lyon orchestra, which was not strong at all when Lenny took over and which is also cursed with an all-world bad hall acoustic that sucks the power out of the playing and saps the energy level. It's hard to properly appreciate the band, to be honest.

Slatkin has been slowly whipping them into shape and bringing them to a higher tier, so the new piano concerto album with Dumont is pretty good. But as admirable as that may be, a better starting point for orchestral Ravel would be an older Frenchman like Cluytens (continually reissued by EMI/Warner and now down to just $10 for the complete works), Martinon, or Monteux. I also like the precision and style of Boulez on DG but not everyone does.

Will relisten to the Slatkin this morning and update again. Could change my mind!

Edit: Cluytens is Belgian. I think I just offended Hercule Poirot.

[Brian]

Listening again, I would say I'm still in the camp of thinking Slatkin/Lyon is pretty "meh". It sounds like any generic orchestra from any part of the world at the final rehearsal before the concert: not very French, not very exciting, but technically proper. The sound isn't bad; the clarity is good. But there's a little bit missing at both top and bottom; like in a 1960s recording, the bass drum gives you a thwock but doesn't produce a boom. I think most listeners would be able to understand the appeal of the music but there is not the "special" hum of excitement and French idiom which you can find in some of the older versions.

[Madiel]

Yeah, to be honest as I've kept looking I've not seen a lot of positivity about the recording.

Now discussing options on the Ravel thread.

[ritter]

Looking at getting some orchestral Ravel.

This volume is of interest because it happens to have exactly the 3 main works I'm wanting to pick up (Rapsodie, Sheherazade overture, Bolero). But is it any good?...

I don't know this recording, so can't help.

Just in case you missed it, here is my comment regarding the question you made in the Ravel thread:

I wholeheartedly recommend the first Boulez traversal (i.e., the CBS / Sony recordings). The fact that this was my introduction to this music may make me a bit partial, but in any case the clarity of these performances is exemplary, and the set in its most recent incarnation (pictured below) is quite comprehensive, as it includes some smaller, lesser works not available elsewhere, and is nicely complemented with an outstanding disc of Ravel songs (with e.g. Jessye Norman unparalleled in the Chansons madécasses, and Jill Gomez ravishing in the Trois poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé). FWIW, in an interview I read many years ago I remember Krystian Zimerman referring to Boulez's NYPO Daphnis et Chloé as "the most successful orchestral recording he had ever heard" (or something to that effect). I personally prefer these earlier recordings to the lusher DG remakes (great as those are, of course).

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Boulez never recorded the Piano Concerto in G for Columbia, but the recording with Philippe Entremont conducted by Ormandy (which complemented the same pianist's rendition of the Concerto for the Left Hand under Boulez) is included in this set. In any case, the Concerto for the Left Hand is the one exception where the later DG recording with Zimerman is (vastly) superior to the earlier version, and is actually for many the reference recording of the work. An even later version of both concertos with Pierre-Laurent Aimard is not as convincing, in my view.

I believe that Boulez's relation to Ravel is an interesting one; he wouldn't mention that composer's name when referring to the "giants" of 20th century music (essentially, in his view, the three Viennese, plus Stravinsky, Bartók and Debussy), but I also sense a close affinity between Boulez the conductor and Ravel's compositions, and his famous "precision" suits these works very well, bringing to the forefront all the marvels of the orchestration. Interestingly, the only published arrangement by Boulez of a work by another composer is his orchestration of the enigmatic Frontispice (originally for 2 pianos, 5 hands!). Unfortunately, that has not been recorded (but is available on YouTube). In short, I get the feeling that Boulez, regardless of any other considerations, really loved Ravel's music, and this shines through his recordings.

I must confess I was rather disappointed by the Martinon cycle, which I found "mushy" (for lack of a better term). An interesting , antithetical approach to that of Boulez, but very satisfying IMO, is that of Manuel Rosenthal (but with 1950s vintage sound and almost impossible to find these days). I should listen to the Cluytens (which I have in the big Erato box of that conductor's recordings, but haven't approached so far).

Regards,

[Madiel]

Thanks Ritter, yes I did see your post.

[vers la flamme]

What are some great recordings of Franz Schubert's Quartettsatz? It's an excellent unfinished work of chamber music. But I don't like the recording I have (the Elias Quartet on BBC Music)

[Jo498]

The 1970s Juilliard recording does even have a short fragment of an Andante that apparently was supposed to follow the Quartettsatz. Don't think I have ever compared Quartettsätze and it's even hard to see what I have because they are so often fillers. Besides Auryn in the complete box, I have Juiliard twice, once with the other late quartets (CBS) and once as filler for a Haydn disk on Testament. I remember liking the Hagen Q but this was on some anthology I cannot find now.

[Madiel]

I've always been happy with this, which I think I got because it's generally well regarded.

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[vers la flamme]

I've always been happy with this, which I think I got because it's generally well regarded.

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Thanks. I ordered a copy, even though I already have the Chilingirian Quartet recordings of the other three quartets. I like what I heard of the Quartettsatz here.

[Mandryka]

What are some great recordings of Franz Schubert's Quartettsatz? It's an excellent unfinished work of chamber music. But I don't like the recording I have (the Elias Quartet on BBC Music)

This

[vers la flamme]

What are some great recordings of Bizet's Carmen?

What are some great recordings of Liszt's Années de pèlerinage?

Two composers I'd like to get into more.

[JBS]

What are some great recordings of Bizet's Carmen?

What are some great recordings of Liszt's Années de pèlerinage?

Two composers I'd like to get into more.

1) There may be no bad recordings of Carmen, so pick whichever catches your fancy.
2) There are so many pianists who have recorded parts of Annee but not the whole thing that limiting yourself to the full three years leaves out a lot of Really Good Stuff. But for the whole set, this seems unbelievably cheap
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Musically it is one of those sets that don't have a definitive performance of any individual piece, but is uniformly good in all of them.

ETA
This may be a better choice since it has more
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[Daverz]

What are some great recordings of Bizet's Carmen?

This may be helpful:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2019/Jul/Bizet_Carmen_survey.pdf

His top recommendation is Solti with Troyanos.

[mc ukrneal]

This may be helpful:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2019/Jul/Bizet_Carmen_survey.pdf

His top recommendation is Solti with Troyanos.

That would be one of my top choices. It's well cast all the way through and in great sound. But there are several good versions. Of the rest, I might go for Maazel or Beecham.