Recordings That You Are Considering

[PaulSC]

(Note that I am only interested in pianists facing to the left...)

[Bogey]

Any thoughts on Tharaud and/or Blechacz in the Chopin preludes?

[asin]B0016AK0N0[/asin]
[asin]B00103E2EG[/asin]

Hope you don't mind, but I quoted you here.  You might pick up more comments that way.

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,21.1220.html

[PaulSC]

Hope you don't mind, but I quoted you here.  You might pick up more comments that way.

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,21.1220.html

I don't mind at all, that was very thoughtful of you...

[DavidW]

After Sarge's post I think I might buy Kuchar's cycle too...

[Sergeant Rock]

Dadfrazzanabbit, Sarge! ; )

After Sarge's post I think I might buy Kuchar's cycle too...

Keep in mind that this is a Hurwitz/Sarge recommendation. I wouldn't trust it 

Sarge

[SonicMan46]

Buy with confidence (and with little damage to your bank balance  )  Each symphony is superbly performed with some amazing brass detail. I have ten complete cycles and this is the one that goes to the desert island. I completely agree with Hurwitz:  "Kuchar's conducting really does sweep the board."

Sarge - just placed in my Amazon cart!     Checked my collection and only had the San Franciscans - thought that I owned several sets?   

[Mirror Image]

Another complete Nielsen Symphonic Cycle {I already have the Blomstedt}, this one featuring Kuchar and the Janacek Philharmonic. For about 15 dollars on Amazon, it is extremely tempting!

Kuchar's is pretty good but can't quite match Chung and Schonwandt IMHO. You can buy Schonwandt's cycle cheap as hell now since it's been reiussed on Naxos (I bought the original set on Dacapo). In fact, it can also be bought in a recent Nielsen reissued box set on Dacapo too:

[asin]B005FF2U2Q[/asin]

There's also great orchestral recording with Thomas Dausgaard in this newly reissued Dacapo set that will knock your socks off. It's just that good. Of course, when talking about Nielsen we can't forget Bernstein's unbelievably good performances of Symphonies 2-5. They're out-of-print, but I'm sure you can find them for a good used price.

[Todd]

Any thoughts on Blechacz in the Chopin preludes?[asin]B0016AK0N0[/asin]

Zzzzzz.

[PaulSC]

Zzzzzz.

Oh dear, that won't do!

[DavidW]

You know Blomstedt, the gold standard... his Nielsen cycle is the cheapest!  That seems like a good pick.

[Brian]

You know Blomstedt, the gold standard... his Nielsen cycle is the cheapest!  That seems like a good pick.

Really? I used to see Kuchar's for $12. Now it's apparently $10 plus shipping:

[asin]B008E8XTZ8[/asin]

[CriticalI]

You know Blomstedt, the gold standard... his Nielsen cycle is the cheapest!  That seems like a good pick.

The EMI set is cheap, but the SF cycle is the recommended one.

[DavidW]

Really? I used to see Kuchar's for $12. Now it's apparently $10 plus shipping:

[asin]B008E8XTZ8[/asin]

Thanks Brian, I only saw the oop previous edition which is MUCH more.

[North Star]

Thanks Brian, I only saw the oop previous edition which is MUCH more.

+1, I hadn't seen this release before.

[DavidW]

I think I'll order this set on payday.  I've bookmarked it.  Does it get your thumbs up as well Brian?

[Brian]

I think I'll order this set on payday.  I've bookmarked it.  Does it get your thumbs up as well Brian?

Hey, I'm thinking of ordering it myself! I have Schonwandt's 2&3 (big thumbs up) and have heard and loved Gibson's 4th but that's my complete exposure to the Nielsen symphonies.

[Karl Henning]

You know Blomstedt, the gold standard... his Nielsen cycle is the cheapest!  That seems like a good pick.

FWIW, that was my first exposure to the Nielsen symphonies [the SFSO cycle, I mean], and I still think very well of it.

[Sergeant Rock]

FWIW, that was my first exposure to the Nielsen symphonies [the SFSO cycle, I mean], and I still think very well of it.

You know Blomstedt, the gold standard... his Nielsen cycle is the cheapest!  That seems like a good pick.

Half the Blomstedt is good (1, 2, 6) but I think 3, 4, and 5 are weak, with the first movement of the Third being the worst I've ever heard. I believe Blomstedt didn't actually conduct it. I've heard rumors he put a metronome in front of the orchestra, turned it on and then stepped out for coffee. That's what it sounds like to me anyway: utterly stripped of an interpretive point of view, the music just laid out mechanically and coldly. The build up to the climactic waltz is given with no sense of suspense or anticipation (and where are the trumpet tremolos?). When the climax does come it's is the most anti-climactic I've ever experienced. But even if you like Blomstedt's way (and there certainly are a lot of you, here and elsewhere), what really ruins this performance is the recording's lack of orchestral detail (one of the things that makes Nielsen uniquely Nielsen). If you've only heard Blomstedt, you have no idea what you're missing.

Sarge

[Opus106]

Hey, I'm thinking of ordering it myself! I have Schonwandt's 2&3 (big thumbs up) and have heard and loved Gibson's 4th but that's my complete exposure to the Nielsen symphonies.

Ah, then the best is yet to be heard!


[To all you Nielsen snobs who might be out there: no, I'm not referring to referring to the 6th. And by musical logicism, no first symphony can ever be the best.]

[Karl Henning]

Half the Blomstedt is good (1, 2, 6) but I think 3, 4, and 5 are weak, with the first movement of the Third being the worst I've ever heard. I believe Blomstedt didn't actually conduct it. I've heard rumors he put a metronome in front of the orchestra, turned it on and then stepped out for coffee. That's what it sounds like to me anyway: utterly stripped of an interpretive point of view, the music just laid out mechanically and coldly. The build up to the climactic waltz is given with no sense of suspense or anticipation (and where are the trumpet tremolos?). When the climax does come it's is the most anti-climactic I've ever experienced. But even if you like Blomstedt's way (and there certainly are a lot of you, here and elsewhere), what really ruins this performance is the recording's lack of orchestral detail (one of the things that makes Nielsen uniquely Nielsen). If you've only heard Blomstedt, you have no idea what you're missing.

Most interesting, Sarge.  I must needs revisit these.

To be sure, much as I like the set overall, I should not assert that Blomstedt's is the only cycle one should have.

At that price point, too, the Kuchar piques my curiosity well.