Recordings That You Are Considering

[PerfectWagnerite]

Cheers,

Or perhaps I could pick up those Rowicki recordings on Philips? for not much more 

At £10 the Suitner is appealing and I have heard great things about the Rowicki cycle.

You can just pick up #1-3, and #4-6 on the Rowicki set on two Philips DUO sets. FOr the final three symphonies there are probabaly at least two dozen excellent recordings and you really don't need Rowicki.

[PerfectWagnerite]

[Steve]

Uchida for Beethoven? Hmmm, sounds like a good buy to me 

[Sergeant Rock]

You can just pick up #1-3, and #4-6 on the Rowicki set on two Philips DUO sets. FOr the final three symphonies there are probabaly at least two dozen excellent recordings and you really don't need Rowicki.

I agree with this. I think Rowicki's early Dvorak is unbeatable (especially 1-4) but I'm less enthusiastic about the late symphonies...not that they are bad or even mediocre but just that the competition becomes much keener.

Sarge

[George]

I agree with this. I think Rowicki's early Dvorak is unbeatable (1-4) but I'm less enthusiastic about the late symphonies...not that they are bad or even mediocre but just that the competition becomes much keener.

Sarge

Are you a Kubelik or a Kertesz  fan in late Dvorak symphonies, Sarge?

I really like Kertesz's work in Dvorak. 

[Sergeant Rock]

Are you a Kubelik or a Kertesz  fan in late Dvorak symphonies, Sarge?

Neither, George. My preferred set for 30 years had been Rowicki but I marginally prefer Suitner now while still insisting on Rowicki's dominance in the early symphonies. However, when including single or double discs of the middle and late symphonies, I'm sticking with my Cleveland homeboys (Dohnányi and Szell). Kertész and I have never gotten along. That might have changed had he lived longer and re-recorded the set...who knows. He was the Cleveland orchestra's number one choice to succeed George Szell....but then he died in that swimming accident.

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

Cheers,

Or perhaps I could pick up those Rowicki recordings on Philips? for not much more 

At £10 the Suitner is appealing and I have heard great things about the Rowicki cycle.

Tony, grab the Suitner. They're giving it away and really, it's a great set (I think more of his 7th than PW does). One caveat: there's some extraneous noise in one of the movements of the Fourth. Annoying but it eventually goes away. And get Rowicki too

Sarge

[George]

Neither, George. My preferred set for 30 years had been Rowicki but I marginally prefer Suitner now while still insisting on Rowicki's dominance in the early symphonies. However, when including single or double discs of the middle and late symphonies, I'm sticking with my Cleveland homeboys (Dohnányi and Szell). Kertész and I have never gotten along. That might have changed had he lived longer and re-recorded the set...who knows. He was the Cleveland orchestra's number one choice to succeed George Szell....but then he died in that swimming accident.

Sarge

Added to wishlist. I trust you've heard Richter and Rowicki in the LvB PC 3?

[Sergeant Rock]

Added to wishlist. I trust you've heard Richter and Rowicki in the LvB PC 3?

No, I haven't...and I really don't have a favorite of this concerto either. Maybe this is the one I've been waiting for all my life? I'll have to check it out. Is it generally available?

Sarge

[PerfectWagnerite]

I agree with this. I think Rowicki's early Dvorak is unbeatable (especially 1-4) but I'm less enthusiastic about the late symphonies...not that they are bad or even mediocre but just that the competition becomes much keener.
Sarge

Indeed. Even just on the Philips label there is Sir Colin Davis mighty Amsterdam 7-9 which has my favorite recording of #7 !

[George]

No, I haven't...and I really don't have a favorite of this concerto either. Maybe this is the one I've been waiting for all my life? I'll have to check it out. Is it generally available?

Sarge

For a steep fee.

http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Piano-Concerto-Schumann-minor/dp/B000026DO3/ref=sr_1_1/104-9940619-5277532?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1177950438&sr=8-1

Let me know if you are interested, but not that interested. 

[Sergeant Rock]

Indeed. Even just on the Philips label there is Sir Colin Davis mighty Amsterdam 7-9 which has my favorite recording of #7 !

Haven't heard that one but love his live LSO.

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

For a steep fee.
Let me know if you are interested, but not that interested. 

I'm interested...but not THAT interested   

Apropos Richter and Beethoven's Third: do you have an opinion on this one?

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/hnum/9276138/rk/classic/rsk/hitlist

Sarge

[Choo Choo]

OK.  I have now listened to this again, and compared with the Thielemann Berlin download.

The Berlin recording is exactly as O Mensch describes:

Thielemann seemed to treat it with too much reverence, unwillling to really let the dissonances sear and unwilling to really produce a climax.

Every attack is rounded off, every interval lingered over, every impact dulled, until the overall effect is like wading through tar.

There are two ways in which a recording can make you lose track of time.  One seizes your attention and holds it so firmly, you literally become unaware of the passing of minutes.  The other makes such laborious progress, that you can't believe it's only been minutes since it started.  The Berlin recording is an example of the latter.

The Munich recording I (still) find to be an example of the former.  I enjoyed it every bit as much as I remember.  The overall timings are not that different from Berlin (maybe a few % faster) - but what makes the difference (I think) is that the handling is definite.  Solid.  Yes, some bits are taken quite slowly (others aren't) but they seem to string together like variations on a theme - and overall the effect is (I find) to create a sense of anticipation that carries you over the many pauses, and weaves a unity out of the many disparate sections.  It may move at a similar pace to the Berlin recording - but it steps lightly where the other drags its feet.

I love it.  I'm glad you gave me reason to hear it again.

It is one of the slower ones, though, so don't get it if that's likely to be a problem.

I'm not going to bother with Harnoncourt after all.  I know what that's like.

[MishaK]

Choo Choo, thanks for that. I 'm glad to hear the DG recording is better.

[Maciek]

Just a piece of news for Rowicki fans out there. Polskie Nagrania has released a 10CD set of his Polish recordings (strangely enough no Dvorak...). The set looks quite ugly, and the strange part is that it actually comes cheaper if you buy it in seperate installments (2CDs each). Don't know if they really thought through the choice of recordings either. Some of them are not all that outstanding (a very mediocre Szymanowski's Stabat Mater, for example) but it does contain some PCs with Argerich (Chopin) and Richter (Schumann and Prokofiev).

Here's what the full 10CD pack looks like:


The separate installments look no better (well, I have mentioned Polskie Nagrania as a favorite on the Worst CD Covers thread...):


So far I've only got that last one. Can't make up my mind about the others...

Here are the track listings:

Chopin PCs, Schumann PC, Brahms VC

Haydn Symphony No. 94, No. 104 "London", Beethoven Eroica, Symphony No. 7

Moniuszko Haunted Manor - Mazur from Act 4, Halka - Overture and Mazur from Act 1, Polonaise concertante in A Major, Wieniawski VC in D Minor, Żeleński "W Tatrach" Concert Overture op.27, Różycki Casanova - Caton's Song, Noskowski "Step" Tone poem op.66, Karłowicz Lithuanian Rhapsody op.11, VC

Tchaikovsky PC No. 1, Symphony No. 4, Rachmaninov Selected Songs, PC No. 3, Prokofiev PC No. 5

Szymanowski Symphony No. 4, VC No. 1, Stabat Mater op.53, Bacewicz Pensieri notturni, Baird Essays for orchestra, Kilar Krzesany, Lutosławski Jeux venetiens, Penderecki Threnody, Serocki Sinfonietta for two string orchestras

Cheers,
Maciek

[George]

I'm interested...but not THAT interested   

Apropos Richter and Beethoven's Third: do you have an opinion on this one?

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/hnum/9276138/rk/classic/rsk/hitlist

Sarge

Its roughly a contemporary of the one I have. I haven't heard it, but I wouldn't be surprised if its even better than the one that I have. For that price, I'd say "grab it like a rabbit." 

[Sergeant Rock]

Its roughly a contemporary of the one I have. I haven't heard it, but I wouldn't be surprised if its even better than the one that I have. For that price, I'd say "grab it like a rabbit." 

Yeah, that's an irresistable price.

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

Along with the concerto disc, this one looks interesting:

The separate installments look no better (well, I have mentioned Polskie Nagrania as a favorite on the Worst CD Covers thread...):

It has a lot of music I've never heard before. What do you think, Maciek? Any comments?

Sarge

[Maciek]

Well, Sarge, great minds think alike. The Beethoven/Haydn set is the one I wouldn't really be interested in either. But the concertos plus that one you're asking about I'm seriously considering.

As for your question, here are my thoughts: it's a selection of the greatest Polish symphonic music from the 19th century. On the one hand - that is not saying much because there really wasn't that much outstanding symphonic music in Poland at that time. On the other hand - the pieces recorded here are true jewels, well worth having. I have about half of these recordings in earlier releases (with different couplings) and they are all recommended. The performance of Moniuszko's Bajka/The Fairytale (a piece that always reminds me of Tchaikovsky, though it was written when Tchaikovsky was still a kid) is a sort of standard - it has been re-released numerous times (the only better recording, IMO, is under Grzegorz Fitelberg - but that's in average sound and very hard to get). The three dances are played admirably. Noskowski's Step (or Steppe) is a brilliant piece and is played here wonderfully. Initially it was supposed to be an opera overture but Noskowski abandoned that project and expanded the piece. It is sometimes referred to as the first Polish symphonic poem - but that's not true (though the first one was in fact written by the very same composer, and first performed with Liszt at the helm!). Zelenski is often compared to Brahms (the standard sentence being: "Well, he's no Brahms..." ) but he is an excellent composer in his own right and that comparison is both apt (they seem to have something in common and lived at roughly the same time) and unfair (different place and different style, ultimately). The Wieniawski VC is played here by Wanda Wilkomirska - one of the best performances of that concerto available (perhaps the very best). The piece by Rozycki is just a short aria from his opera Casanova - it was extremely popular in Poland in its time (as was practically everything by that composer who is now almost completely forgotten). And the VC by Karlowicz is, IMO, one of the best VCs in the history of the genre. The Kulka recording has much to recommend it (impeccable intonation, breathtaking technique), though I always have a problem with this violinist (his playing seems colorless to me, so I prefer the Wilkomirska recording, even though she has some slight intonation problems - which I only notice when I listen to them back to back anyway).

To sum things up: this is excellent repertoire and some of the very best recordings of it available.

OK, I've convinced me - I'll buy it!

(But not right away, my list is long, funds are always insufficient...)