Recordings That You Are Considering

[Octave]

Another slew of things I'd love to know about, yea/nea/whatever.  I take ya'll's recommendations more seriously than might be evident from my "Purchased Today" posts!  Sometimes the buying queue gets rearranged, but there are ways and then there are ways.  I also listen to more than I mention.

1. Beethoven: SYMPHONIES [Mackerras, w/Scottish CO #1-8 and Philharmonia #9; live Edinburgh 2006; Hyperion]
I have read a couple positive opinions on this collection at GMG, mainly from Clever Hans, who shortlisted it as a foil to the Harnoncourt cycle, which I love immoderately.

2. Henry Purcell: 87 SECULAR SOLO SONGS [Robert King & King's Consort - Hyperion, 3cd; w/Bonney, Covery-Crump, Bowman, et al]

3. Purcell: COMPLETE AYRES FOR THEATRE [Roy Goodman & Parley of Instrumemnts - Hyperion, 3cd]

4. C.P.E. Bach: Herrn Professor Gellerts Geistliche Oden und Lieder [Dorothee Mields & Ludger Remy - Hyperion, 2cd]

5. Faure: REQUIEM b/w Verdi FOUR SACRED SONGS [Giulini - BBC; w/Janet Baker]
I actually need to find a great Faure REQUIEM, period; but I can do some footwork on that front, myself...

6. J.S. Bach: GOLDBERG VARIATIONS [A. Weissenberg - EMI]

7. Cristobal de Morales: LAMENTATIONS, MAGNIFICAT PRIMI TONI etc [Stephen Rice & Brabant Ensemble - Hyperion]

8. Handel: Overtures, Arias, and Duets [Emma Kirkby w/Roy Goodman - Hyperion, 3cd]

9. Dvorak: STABAT MATER [Sinopoli, DG]

10. Dukas & Decaux: PIANO SONATA IN Eb and CLAIRE DE LUNE (resp.) [M-A Hamelin - Hyperion]

11. Vivaldi: COMPLETE WORKS FOR ITALIAN LUTE [Jakob Lindberg - Bis]
I'm pretty I have heard these works and like them, unless there are other sets of lute pieces and I am confused.  I've heard this album is a bit short by CD standards, so if it's the one to have and there's another edition, that would be nice to know.

12. Bach: GOLDBERG VARATIONS [Tatiana Nikolayeva - Hyperion]

[Bogey]

11. Vivaldi: COMPLETE WORKS FOR ITALIAN LUTE [Jakob Lindberg - Bis]
I'm pretty I have heard these works and like them, unless there are other sets of lute pieces and I am confused.  I've heard this album is a bit short by CD standards, so if it's the one to have and there's another edition, that would be nice to know.

Excellent disc.  I have it on the MHS label and go to it often.

[kishnevi]

7. Cristobal de Morales: LAMENTATIONS, MAGNIFICAT PRIMI TONI etc [Stephen Rice & Brabant Ensemble - Hyperion]

Well, how deep are you into Spanish Renaissance liturgical music?  I have one or two other Morales recordings on Hyperion, and found he just doesn't stand out enough for me.

The Herreweghe Lassus recordings you posted in the Purchases thread (as long as I'm on the topic of Renaissance) are extremely good, btw.

10. Dukas & Decaux: PIANO SONATA IN Eb and CLAIRE DE LUNE (resp.) [M-A Hamelin - Hyperion]

I have yet to find a Hamelin recording I didn't like, and this one is nice if only to prove that Dukas wrote some very good music that had nothing to do with Disney soundtracks.

11. Vivaldi: COMPLETE WORKS FOR ITALIAN LUTE [Jakob Lindberg - Bis]
I'm pretty I have heard these works and like them, unless there are other sets of lute pieces and I am confused.  I've heard this album is a bit short by CD standards, so if it's the one to have and there's another edition, that would be nice to know.

If this is the concerti, it's short because Vivaldi actually didn't write that many concerto for lute and/or mandolin.   I have the Rolf Lilsvand recording that became part of Naive's Vivaldi edition.  ( I have everything in that series that was issued up to the middle of last year; have to get cracking to get the most recent releases.   They're all good--that's a blanket recommendation for the whole series.)

[Octave]

Thanks for the input, Bogey and Jeffrey.  I have a number of Naive Vivaldi Edition discs, and I have greatly enjoyed all of them.  I even went hogwild ~2011 and bought the nice but awkwardly designed box set collection of a big batch of operas from that series, and that was an ear opener.  Those and Handel's operas have opened up later opera to me, without a doubt.

[Expresso]

http://www.amazon.com/Gustav-Leonhard-Plays-Bach-Leonhardt/dp/B007AR7QQC/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1358960947&sr=1-1&keywords=gustav+leonhardt+plays+bach

I'm having problems on finding any info on this box set.

Does it contain the 69' version of art of fugue or the 53'
Which version of the Goldberg's?

As for Well-Tempered Klavier , i think he has only recorded one version, am i right?

[Octave]

A question about some HIP Schubert chamber music and an edition of Brahms choral music.

+ =

1. I'm interested in La Gaia Scienza's recordings of Schubert's trios etc.  For a while at least, the Winter & Winter label, in spite of really nice packaging and graphic design, was housing its discs in cases that were terrible to extract the discs from.  My experience with their Biber MYSTERIENSONATEN (Ronez) 2cd has been logistically terrible.  Is there any advantage to getting the two single discs instead of the 2cd collection (blue)?  I am certain there is no price advantage at all, oddly.  [thanks for the images, Bunny]

[asin]B005JWX7KE[/asin]
2. I have been doing a fair amount of Brahms research at GMG, but I don't really see any opinions on the collection of choral works directed by Niccol Matt, boxed up by Brilliant.  How good are they, as this repertoire goes?

[Octave]

3. And while I am asking about Brilliant boxes, are there any opinions about Brilliant's original recordings of the Brahms lieder?  The advantage for me is comprehensiveness, but I don't think I know these musicians at all.
ASIN (GMG won't accept ASIN image, for whatever reason): B002NS5HR8

The singers and pianists, courtesy of a kind Amazon reviewer who did like the set:

Singers:
Christian Elsner - Tenor
Simone Wold - Soprano
Ingeborg Danz - Alto
Michael Volle - Baritone
Stephanie Iranyi - Mezzo-soprano
Letzia Scherrer - Soprano
Franziska Gottwald - Alto
Robert Morvai- Tenor
Lenneke Rutten - Mezzo-soprano
Antonia Bourve - Soprano
Rebekka Stohr - Mezzo soprano
Daniel Sans - Tenor
Michael Nagy - Baritone

Pianists
Burkhard Kehring
Gerold Huber
Helmut Deutsch
Karl-Peter Kammerlander
Ferenc Bognar
Adrian Baianu
Andreas Lucewicz
Hans Adolfsen
Tobias Hartlieb
Ronald Glassl -viola on two songs
Hartmut Volle - narrator in Die Schoene Magelone

[jlaurson]

A question about some HIP Schubert chamber music and an edition of Brahms choral music.

1. I'm interested in La Gaia Scienza's recordings of Schubert's trios etc.  For a while at least, the Winter & Winter label, in spite of really nice packaging and graphic design, was housing its discs in cases that were terrible to extract the discs from.  My experience with their Biber MYSTERIENSONATEN (Ronez) 2cd has been logistically terrible.  Is there any advantage to getting the two single discs instead of the 2cd collection (blue)?  I am certain there is no price advantage at all, oddly.  [thanks for the images, Bunny]

Winter & Winter: Same system - except single CDs: soft paper crevasse from which you have to tease it and into which it 'snaps' back. Your general struggle with that system in double-decker-mode will tell you how well you manage with single discs. Depends a bit on thickness of fingers, steadiness of grip, and fine motor skills. I think it's a little fancy, but I kindof really like it, too.

Brahms: Christian Elsner,  Ingeborg Danz, especially Michael Volle and Michael Nagy (who must have been very -- too? -- young then) are very fine singers, indeed. Gerold Huber (the pianist-partner of Christian Gerhaher) is among the very best pianists for Lieder, Helmut Deutsch a fine veteran, and Andreas Lucewicz has a rightly fine reputation. The others I don't know well or not at all.

The older version of the Brilliant Box had all Fischer-Dieskau in these songs, with Sawallisch, Barenboim, Moore, and S.Richter accompanying. Not that that was necessarily better... it's pretty dour upon dour.

It's a lot of that kind of music (same for choral), if you don't already know if you are into it. I'd recommend small doses and focus on single works and songs... But that's based on preferences that may not be yours.  My problem is: The way I respond to such boxes is to dutifully listen from disc 1 to 13... and go: well, very nice that was. I suppose.

The only series (of songs) I could wholeheartedly recommend (and then only one disc at a time) is the one on Hyperion... or the single Bernarda Fink disc (HMU).

Especially vol. 2:


Johizzle Brahms
Songs / Lieder
C.Schaefer / G.Johnson
hyperion
German link - UK link

And then, although this one isn't JUST Brahms but also Schumann, there's one disc that makes it impossible NOT to fall in love with these songs and that's this one:

Schöne Wiege Meiner Leiden
http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2005/01/schne-wiege-meiner-leiden.html

[prémont]

http://www.amazon.com/Gustav-Leonhard-Plays-Bach-Leonhardt/dp/B007AR7QQC/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1358960947&sr=1-1&keywords=gustav+leonhardt+plays+bach

I'm having problems on finding any info on this box set.

Does it contain the 69' version of art of fugue or the 53'

The 69´.

Which version of the Goldberg's?

His third.

As for Well-Tempered Klavier , i think he has only recorded one version, am i right?

Yes.

[mc ukrneal]

3. And while I am asking about Brilliant boxes, are there any opinions about Brilliant's original recordings of the Brahms lieder?  The advantage for me is comprehensiveness, but I don't think I know these musicians at all.
ASIN (GMG won't accept ASIN image, for whatever reason): B002NS5HR8

The singers and pianists, courtesy of a kind Amazon reviewer who did like the set:

Works for me (maybe it was temporary problem)?
[asin]B002NS5HR8[/asin]

Alas, I cannot help you with this particular set as I do not have it. I have the DFD that Jens referred to and enjoy it (but it is only 6 discs).

[Octave]

MCU, the forum software likes you better; a number of times now, I have been unable to post messages, getting a "the message body is blank" [not true] warning.  Then I remove the ASIN and the message posts!  Not sure what I am doing wrong, as the tags seem to be in place.

Thanks for that information, Jens.  I really liked Christine Schaefer's WINTERREISE, so this surprise recommendation for the Brahms is a shoe-in.  I'm on it.

[Brian]

Octave, there is a software bug where the ASIN tag cannot be the FIRST thing in the post. So if you're starting with the ASIN tag, put a . in front of it. That's why a lot of posts in "What are you listening to?" start with a dot.

[mc ukrneal]

Octave, there is a software bug where the ASIN tag cannot be the FIRST thing in the post. So if you're starting with the ASIN tag, put a . in front of it. That's why a lot of posts in "What are you listening to?" start with a dot.

It also occurs to me that if you copy and paste the ASIN, you have to delete the space that comes after the ASIN if you do it this way.  SO it could be:

...sin]B002NS5HR8[/asi...

but not

...sin]B002NS5HR8 [/asi...

[Mirror Image]

Other possible purchases with birthday money...

[TheGSMoeller]

Other possible purchases with birthday money...

I finally got this after seeing it flooding the GMG pages, you won't be disappointed. A real treat.

[Mirror Image]

I finally got this after seeing it flooding the GMG pages, you won't be disappointed. A real treat.

Thanks, Greg. I'll probably get this set, the opera set with Gergiev, and Dohnanyi's recording of Berg's Wozzeck. I need a better recording than Abbado's. Depending on how much I'll have left over, I'll throw in the new Dutilleux recording with Salonen.

[kishnevi]

It also occurs to me that if you copy and paste the ASIN, you have to delete the space that comes after the ASIN if you do it this way. 

[experiment with posting an ASIN with a space after the ASIN number]
[asin] B008975XDU [/asin]

It may not show the image, but it doesn't seem to keep the post from being posted, which is Octave's problem.  Nor does Brian's observation apply, since Octave's problematic ASIN was in the middle of a post.

I suggest Octave post a question in the Bug Report thread (in the Administrative area, IIRC) so that the Great and Exalted Dungeon Master aka Rob aka The Guy Who Makes This Forum Work can see it.

Meanwhile,  speaking to John (Mirror Image)
the only reason I would not heartily recommend the Raekallio set to you is your diffidence with piano music in general.

[Mirror Image]

Meanwhile,  speaking to John (Mirror Image)
the only reason I would not heartily recommend the Raekallio set to you is your diffidence with piano music in general.

I'm starting to warm up to solo piano music, though it's still not a favorite and I doubt it will ever be. I bought a Debussy solo piano set a few weeks ago (Ogawa on BIS). I also own Bavouzet's Ravel set, all of the Mompou solo piano recordings on Naxos, all of Villa-Lobos solo piano recordings on Naxos, and several others. I like to have at least one set of solo piano works from my favorite composers.

[Octave]

I suggest Octave post a question in the Bug Report thread (in the Administrative area, IIRC) so that the Great and Exalted Dungeon Master aka Rob aka The Guy Who Makes This Forum Work can see it.

Sure shot.  Thanks for the assistance, guys; I could have sworn that I'd begun successful posts with an ASIN, but it seems I might not have noticed that being the problem.  <smack head>

MI, that Prokofiev/Raekallio was one of the most exciting things I listened to last year; I think I listened to the whole thing three times inside of a week before shelving it to prevent burnout.  But it is a WHOLE LOTTA PIANO.

[kishnevi]

I'm starting to warm up to solo piano music, though it's still not a favorite and I doubt it will ever be. I bought a Debussy solo piano set a few weeks ago (Ogawa on BIS). I also own Bavouzet's Ravel set, all of the Mompou solo piano recordings on Naxos, all of Villa-Lobos solo piano recordings on Naxos, and several others. I like to have at least one set of solo piano works from my favorite composers.

How is that Villa Lobos set? I've had it on my radar for a long time but never pulled the trigger.

You have none of Shostakovich's piano music?  When you do your Christmas shopping, get at least the recording of the  Preludes, Sonata 1 and Aphorisms on Naxos, and the 24 Preludes and Fugues by--well, I've got Scherbakov, Lin and Melnikov and I'd say they're all good, and there seem to be some other highly regarded sets out there.

Also I'd suggest the CD of Ligeti's Etudes performed by Aimard.  (Yes, I know it's Ligeti, but I think these piano works are great ones, and I'm not fan of Ligeti in general.)