Current Listening Projects

[Pat B]

I waffled for a while on the Gardiner Cantatas box. But I recently noticed it's out of stock at amazon (and AMP prices have gone up), and it's on sale from presto (albeit with a hefty charge for transatlantic shipping), so I took the plunge.

Today I started on it with disc 44, which I believe is the liturgically appropriate disc for today. I'm going to try to continue that for a year. Has anybody else done this or tried?

[king ubu]

I waffled for a while on the Gardiner Cantatas box. But I recently noticed it's out of stock at amazon (and AMP prices have gone up), and it's on sale from presto (albeit with a hefty charge for transatlantic shipping), so I took the plunge.

Today I started on it with disc 44, which I believe is the liturgically appropriate disc for today. I'm going to try to continue that for a year. Has anybody else done this or tried?

I did just that for the first half of this year, adding other recordings where I have them (Herreweghe mostly, a bit of Koopman and some oldies) ... but broke the habit for lack of time. Love the Gardiner box and the Bach cantatas.

[Jo498]

I once tried to listen to most of the cantatas throughout the liturgical year, but I did not have a complete set and got lost after a few weeks.
(In German Radio they play at least one every sunday morning at 7 or 7:30 or so, so one doesn't even need recordings.)
Although I love some of the cantatas it's not music I am so passionate about, so I would probably lose the patience if I tried again.
But one guy (in a German language forum) kept going and even wrote up short comments every week!
If you read German:
http://www.tamino-klassikforum.at/index.php?page=Board&boardID=80

[Brian]

I waffled for a while on the Gardiner Cantatas box. But I recently noticed it's out of stock at amazon (and AMP prices have gone up), and it's on sale from presto (albeit with a hefty charge for transatlantic shipping), so I took the plunge.

Today I started on it with disc 44, which I believe is the liturgically appropriate disc for today. I'm going to try to continue that for a year. Has anybody else done this or tried?

I think SDG is releasing a new batch. It's listed in several UK stores as a future release.

[Pat B]

I did just that for the first half of this year, adding other recordings where I have them (Herreweghe mostly, a bit of Koopman and some oldies) ... but broke the habit for lack of time. Love the Gardiner box and the Bach cantatas.

Yes, it's a bit ambitious for me as I don't generally plan out my listening in advance, and I don't always do a lot of listening on Sundays. We'll see how it goes.

Brian, I'm actually glad to hear it's being re-pressed.

[king ubu]

Yes, it's a bit ambitious for me as I don't generally plan out my listening in advance, and I don't always do a lot of listening on Sundays. We'll see how it goes.

I loved doing it, but just ran out of time and had to focus on stuff that didn't allow for most vocal music (I can listen while reading, but not to opera or lieder or anything where I can actually understand much of what's being sung - now I'm playing Monteverdi in the background and that's no problem at all, even though I might occasionally catch a phrase or two).

Anyway, I might give this another try next year, that time maybe reading along Gardiner's extensive notes as well - but I definitely plan to listen to the second half of the box sooner than that.

My own listening projects for the future are many ... and they're ambitious. I'll probably get started with the first pretty soon, but might interrupt and pursue other things in between:

• try and figure out how all of this stuff works ... starting with medieval music, proceeding into Renaissance and Baroque, reading along some books and articles etc.
• follow the development of the "symphony" (I've gotten to Beethoven by now, but with the Hogwood Haydn just in, I'll take a turn backwards first, before I go on with Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler)
• get started on string quartets and again proceed more or less chronologically from Haydn and Mozart via Beethoven on to the romantics and on to Shostakovich etc.

There's more, but those three are the ambitious ones, whilst other things I'll approach in a more casual manner (i.e. bel canto opera, Baroque opera, orchestral music from France, Belgium, Russia, more german Baroque music, though of course the baroque stuff might get included in the first and most ambitious of my "projects" ...)

Anyway, this is not "current", or rather, it will be "current" for months and years to come 

[Mirror Image]

Since I have a good bit of Strauss on the way, I'll definitely be turning my attention to his music for November. My CD collection is so scattered around that I'm also in the process of at least getting some things more organized. Like, for example, a few hours ago, I started getting all of my Strauss together. This is going to take some time that's for sure.

[amw]

The only listening 'project' I can think of is trying to find a suitable frame of mind in which I can sit down and listen for the first time to the St Matthew Passion. I also have a 10-volume collection of music from the Warsaw Autumn festival which I need to listen to in order to get up to speed on some of the mystery scores Maciek's been posting.

Also I am apparently going to end up with every version of Kreisleriana ever recorded. I've started transferring my files to new and bigger electronic storage and recategorising them in a more sensible way, I've completed about 30 GB of ~700 and already have three Kreislerianas. They're all pretty good too, so I can't really choose between. I miss the days when I made do with just one recording of everything

[Holden]

This arrived last week and I'm going through them 1 CD per day in chronological order. Much better so far than my Hungarian SQ box.

[asin]B000051ZPV[/asin]

[North Star]

This arrived last week and I'm going through them 1 CD per day in chronological order. Much better so far than my Hungarian SQ box.

Do you have recordings by groups from other parts of the world, Holden?

[Cosi bel do]

I'm almost finished with my complete comparison of all versions I have of every all Haydn symphonies, taken in Hoboken order (currently finishing symphony 101). I know, it's crazy. Took me about 6 months, with about 3 versions everyday.

[Jay F]

The only listening 'project' I can think of is trying to find a suitable frame of mind in which I can sit down and listen for the first time to the St Matthew Passion.

Herreweghe's first version is one of my top 10 recordings of anything, by anyone, in any musical category.

[asin]B00158UFGA[/asin]

[Brian]

Anyway, I might give this another try next year, that time maybe reading along Gardiner's extensive notes as well - but I definitely plan to listen to the second half of the box sooner than that.

Does the Big Gardiner Box come with notes or a book? How does that work?

Also I am apparently going to end up with every version of Kreisleriana ever recorded.

*signs up for future blind comparison game*

[Artem]

I have been working through Brahms' catalogue of compositions while reading Jan Swafford's biography of Brahms. I find this to be a very useful approach to discover new music and composers.

[amw]

Herreweghe's first version is one of my top 10 recordings of anything, by anyone, in any musical category.

I don't really need recording recommendations, there are plenty out there... just trying to figure out what emotional state I should be in when I first listen, what to do with the rest of the day, etc. v_v

*signs up for future blind comparison game*

maybe in 2015...

[kishnevi]

I'm almost finished with my complete comparison of all versions I have of every all Haydn symphonies, taken in Hoboken order (currently finishing symphony 101). I know, it's crazy. Took me about 6 months, with about 3 versions everyday.

That explains where you were, at least.
Please report to Haydn's Haus!

And glad to see you back.

[North Star]

I don't really need recording recommendations, there are plenty out there... just trying to figure out what emotional state I should be in when I first listen, what to do with the rest of the day, etc. v_v

Awake, and not hungry. Go for a walk afterwards.

OK, now listen to it.  0:)

[king ubu]

Does the Big Gardiner Box come with notes or a book? How does that work?

Not really - a small book with some lists, basic info (tracklists, soloists, even full orchestra listing, recording location/date) is on the single sleeves (foldout cardboard ones - cardboard is a bit thin, but the whole things looks wonderful, with Steve McCurry's portraits on each of the discs. You then get a CD-rom with extensive liner notes (I've not looked at it since buying the box about a year ago, but I think it's something like Gardiner's on-going "diary" commenting on each part of the whole "pilgrimage" - lots of reading for sure, if you want to read it all).

[Cosi bel do]

That explains where you were, at least.
Please report to Haydn's Haus!

And glad to see you back.

Well, actually, I was mainly taken by other (more "serious") occupations... My Haydn project was more like a relief

And a little pissed off by how my Mahler comparison was wasted because of childish arguments, on another forum, and "finished" there by someone else with a jury of only five...

I'll do that about Haydn

[Brian]

This week on Naxos Music Library, I hope to focus on the symphonies of Lyatoshynsky and the piano recordings of Ragna Schirmer.