Recordings That You Are Considering

[San Antone]

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

Bertrand Chamayou

Two composers I'd like to get into more.

Two composers: Maurice Duruflé , start with Requiem, op. 9 and Leonard Bernstein, Mass.

[JBS]

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.

I'll be Tsaraslondon for once.

CALLAS!

[Brian]

There are a lot of great Liszt Annees cycles. If I can offer some notes to help you decide on what you want:

- Julian Gorus: Personally I love this. Gorus favors a soft touch, poetry, lyricism - can be slower at times. In the Italian set, there are piano versions of Petrarch sonnets, and Gorus' playing here is some of the most exquisitely controlled quiet playing I have ever heard. Ever. In any music.

- Bertrand Chamayou: totally the opposite. Direct, fast, energetic, powerful. No frills, but in a good way. This is probably how Liszt played it; not sentimental, but not vulgar either. Like an arrow zipping into the bulls eye.

- Muza Rubackyte: probably too rare and hard to find to be worth mentioning, but kind of mystical and monastic, similar to Gorus in some ways.

The Annees are a work where I can enjoy lots of different styles because the music itself has so much variety. There's so much mysticism but also raw virtuoso energy (Dante Sonata should be bangin') and cute dances and prettiness and pieces that at first leave you kind of confused. So...get hooked and buy a few!

Some notable performances of specific excerpts:
- Vallee d'Obermann: Arnaldo Cohen (BIS)
- Dante Sonata: Daniel Barenboim (DG) or anyone faster than 16 minutes

[SimonNZ]

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.

A big +1 for Maazel. Either as the film or the audio set.

[ritter]

What are some great recordings of Bizet's Carmen?
...

Carmen is not an opera I really care for that much, but Claudio Abbado's classic performance makes a very strong point for it:

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[Mandryka]

Carmen, like Magic Flute and Fidelio, you're better off with a highlights recording, there's too much spoken dialogue and opera singers are not much good at speaking text.

[vers la flamme]

Bertrand Chamayou



Two composers: Maurice Duruflé , start with Requiem, op. 9 and Leonard Bernstein, Mass.

Duruflé is awesome, but I have not heard the Requiem. Do you think that is the one to get? I'm sure these English choral forces do not disappoint. As for Bernstein, I have been slowly exploring his music, but I haven't gotten around to Mass yet. I shall have to pick up that Alsop recording. Speaking of Alsop's Bernstein, I just got her CD with Bernstein's 1st and 2nd symphonies, for dirt cheap, and when I got it I noticed it was signed by the conductor. 

This may be a better choice since it has more
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Whoa, that looks great. I've been meaning to get more into Ciccolini, anyway.

Damn, I didn't realize how many recordings of Carmen and les Années there were. I will need to sift through some of this before making any purchases.

[Mandryka]

This approach to Liszt caught my imagination

[Florestan]

Great recommendations so far. I will add this



and this (although incomplete, only the 1st and 2nd years):



For Carmen, get this:

[Florestan]

Also, recently acquired these:



but haven't listened to them yet. Given Lewenthal's credentials, they must be at least very good.

[Mandryka]

but haven't listened to them yet. Given Lewenthal's credentials, they must be at least very good.

If you haven't heard his Hexameron you really should.

[Florestan]

If you haven't heard his Hexameron you really should.

Thanks for the tip, listening right now.

[San Antone]

Duruflé is awesome, but I have not heard the Requiem. Do you think that is the one to get? I'm sure these English choral forces do not disappoint. As for Bernstein, I have been slowly exploring his music, but I haven't gotten around to Mass yet. I shall have to pick up that Alsop recording. Speaking of Alsop's Bernstein, I just got her CD with Bernstein's 1st and 2nd symphonies, for dirt cheap, and when I got it I noticed it was signed by the conductor. 

There are three versions of the Requiem, for choir, soloists and 1) organ (often with cello); 2) chamber orchestra and 3) full orchestra.  I like the organ version the btes, but many people prefer the chamber orchestra.  The original was scored for full orchestra and was Durufle's preferred version.  The Phillip Ledger is for organ, Matthew Best has a very good recording with chamber orchestra and Robert Shaw's full orchestra recording is highly thought of, but there are many others.



Often you can find the Faure coupled with the Durufle, but I prefer the ones that add either the motets and/or the Messe "cum jubilo".

This is a very good recording with all three:

[JBS]

Also, recently acquired these:



but haven't listened to them yet. Given Lewenthal's credentials, they must be at least very good.

It is a great performance but may not meet Vers la Flamme's needs. Lewenthal did not record the Third Year, and it's available only as part of the Lewenthal set. The whole set is good, but has stuff he may not be interested in.

[ritter]

...
Damn, I didn't realize how many recordings of Carmen and les Années there were. I will need to sift through some of this before making any purchases.

To the bolded text: do take into account that Carmen was composed as an opéra comique with (sometimes long) stretches of spoken dialogue. This may be unpalatable to those who do not speak French--or even to those who do  --, but it is the way the work was conceived. Later on, other composers (Ernest Giroud, and other names after him) published versions that added sung recitatives to replace the dialogues. It's a matter of taste, of course, but IMHO this disfigures the work, which from being a fresh (despite its subject matter) opéra comique , turns into some sort of grand tragedy (not in tune with its, let's admit it, rather pedestrian subject matter  ). The Callas recording is of this revised, one could even say spurious version, and is only saved--if at all--by her presence.

[Florestan]

It is a great performance but may not meet Vers la Flamme's needs. Lewenthal did not record the Third Year, and it's available only as part of the Lewenthal set.

Not necessarily, I got them separately. 

[Daverz]

Carmen, like Magic Flute and Fidelio, you're better off with a highlights recording, there's too much spoken dialogue and opera singers are not much good at speaking text.

I suggest supplementing with an "authentic" French recording like Cluytens:

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In good mono sound.

[Madiel]

How do we feel about Mitsuko Uchida's Schubert?



Views seem to vary widely.

Sampling one sonata at the moment and concluding that I prefer her to Andras Schiff on Decca, as I gradually realise that my issue is probably more with Schiff than with Schubert.

Also, am I right in thinking that Uchida recordings labelled as Phillips and as Decca are the same thing, just rebadged later on?

[Jo498]

yes, the Philips label vanished as a separate label 10 years ago or so, therefore all older recordings, incl. Haitink, Arrau, Brendel etc. have been relabeled in re-issues.
Cannot say anything about Uchida. A highly regarded partial set on Decca is Radu Lupu's but there are a few sonatas missing and not only early or fragmentary ones (the latter will be missing in many sets labeled as "complete").

[SurprisedByBeauty]

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

My favorite - by some distance - is Daniel Grimwood's. Might be tricky to get physical copies at this point.

It's not just I who has been praising this: Apparently also Editor's Choice - Gramophone Magazine, July 2009 & CD of the Week - The Daily Telegraph, January 2009

It's like hearing Liszt all new again. Don't know Lewenthal; have and like Chamayou (2nd favorite, probably), have and am so-so on the Haenssler release (mentioned above: Gorus) that's received great praise elsewhere. Ditto Lortie/Chandos. Berman's (famous, long standard-setting) recording put me off Liszt. Neither Bolet nor Arrau, two wonderful Liszt pianists (but VERY different from Grimwood) have recorded the whole thing but I like a lot of what I hear from them.