What are you listening to now?

[CaughtintheGaze]

Great Pianists of the 20th Century:
Geza Anda
Myra Hess

[Todd]

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[asin]B004P96X4E[/asin]   [asin]B00BAC76MM[/asin]



Dueling Mompou discs.  Jenny Lin's recording of the complete Musica callada is superb.  Attractive and serious, calm and restrained, precise and thoughtful.  Much better recorded and seemingly better played than the composer's own take, though is it better?  Nah. 

Arcadi Volodos' super-luxury set appears to be something of a vanity project, and here's to hoping he does more of them.  A few flourishes of subdued virtuosity aside, Volodos plays this mostly quiet selection, including only chunks of Musica callada, with immense precision and control, extremely delicate dynamic control (how many shades of piano and pianissimo playing can he muster?), and varied tonal coloring.  Superb recording and playing, though is it better than Mompou himself?  Nah.  This disc does make me wish Volodos would record some Debussy.  And Szymanowski.  And Falla.  And Beethoven.  And, well, just about anything.

Both discs make very welcome additions to my collection.

[CaughtintheGaze]

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[asin]B004P96X4E[/asin]   [asin]B00BAC76MM[/asin]



Dueling Mompou discs.  Jenny Lin's recording of the complete Musica callada is superb.  Attractive and serious, calm and restrained, precise and thoughtful.  Much better recorded and seemingly better played than the composer's own take, though is it better?  Nah. 

Arcadi Volodos' super-luxury set appears to be something of a vanity project, and here's to hoping he does more of them.  A few flourishes of subdued virtuosity aside, Volodos plays this mostly quiet selection, including only chunks of Musica callada, with immense precision and control, extremely delicate dynamic control (how many shades of piano and pianissimo playing can he muster?), and varied tonal coloring.  Superb recording and playing, though is it better than Mompou himself?  Nah.  This disc does make me wish Volodos would record some Debussy.  And Szymanowski.  And Falla.  And Beethoven.  And, well, just about anything.

Both discs make very welcome additions to my collection.

Thanks for these reviews. I'm definitely going to pick up the Lin.

[Lisztianwagner]

Pyotr Il'ych Tchaikovsky
Symphony No.6

[asin]B000GW8AUE[/asin]
Definitely a masterpiece.

[Jay F]

Pyotr Il'ych Tchaikovsky
Symphony No.6

[asin]B000GW8AUE[/asin]
Definitely a masterpiece.

I bought #4, 5, and 6 from this set when I first started collecting CDs (1987). They got a 10/10 rating in Digital Audio and Compact Disc Review. I liked them enough that I didn't keep looking for "better" versions, but I liked Bernstein's #6 on DG more. Someone told me I must be "a pussy," because "only a pussy would like that Tchaikovsky 6."

Ugh. 6th grade playground comes to classical music. But I showed him. I lived longer.

[Gold Knight]

Antonin Dvorak--Symphony No.3 in E-Flat Major, Op.10 and Symphony No.5 in F Major, Op.76, both performed by the Witold Rowicki led London Symphony Orchestra.
Gustav Mahler--Symphony No.6 in A Minor {"Tragic"} and Symphony No.9 in D Major, both featuring Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic.

[Lisztianwagner]

Georges Bizet
Nocturne No.1

http://www.youtube.com/v/LTKlUOAEGIM

[A1_DAN]

My first exposure to Beethoven's Piano Sontatas. Now I'm going to need a complete set of the 32.

[jlaurson]

My first exposure to Beethoven's Piano Sontatas. Now I'm going to need a complete set of the 32.

What a wonderful place to start with!

Just to confuse you re: your choices:

http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2009/05/beethoven-sonatas-survey-of-complete.html

[HIPster]

Haydn - Weil, Tafelmusik

[asin]B005TLWOH2[/asin]

Making my way through this very fine set this weekend.

First listens galore!

CD 2 at the moment:

Symphonies 44, 51 and 52

Magnificent music and music-making!

[Jay F]

What a wonderful place to start with!

Just to confuse you re: your choices:

http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2009/05/beethoven-sonatas-survey-of-complete.html

That Gilels CD is where I started listening to Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, on Thanksgiving Day, 1987. I can't really say why, but I didn't like the disc very much. I also tried Kempff, Arrau, and Richard Goode, and didn't like any of them much, either. I eventually gave up, concluding that it just wasn't music I wanted to listen to. Then in 2005, I discovered Paul Lewis and Andras Schiff's cycles, and Beethoven's Piano Sonatas became my favorite music of all time. They're both on this page of Jens' survey:

http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2009/06/beethoven-sonatas-survey-of-complete_29.html

[asin]B0027YUK8Y[/asin]

[asin]B000HWXS1Y[/asin]

The Gilels set is available as a bargain-priced box set, but it's not complete. He died before recording all 32.

[asin]B000ICM0YY[/asin]

[TheGSMoeller]

Britten: Nocturne
Philip Langridge, Steuart Bedford/Northern Sinfonia

Rameau: Nais, Orchestral Suite
Nicholas McGegan/Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra

Poulenc: Violin Sonata
Graf Mourja (V), Alexandre Tharaud (P)


      

[Wakefield]

Horowitz - Beethoven Moonlight Sonata, Schubert Impromptus


[CD]

Beethoven - Sonata in C-Sharp Minor Op. 27 No. 2 "Moonlight" (1972)
Schubert - Impromptus Op. 90 Nos. 4 & 2, Op. 142 Nos. 1 & 2 (1973)

The "Moonlight" Sonata seemed a bit lethargic. The Impromptus were quite good.

[Todd]

Disc 8, including a wimpy Op 57.

[Octave]

My first exposure to Beethoven's Piano Sontatas. Now I'm going to need a complete set of the 32.

You're in trouble, dude.  There's an embarrassment of riches....even limiting yourself to ~complete cycles, the viable options are crazy numerous.
You could probably spend all your spare time on Youtube for a year just getting your bearings and deciding what you wanted on disc.  Or wished was on disc.
Make sure not to miss the Beethoven piano sonatas thread, though the refinement of discussion might be a little overpowering; I still need to put some more listening time in before I can follow that thread at length.

[kishnevi]

Disc 8, including a wimpy Op 57.

I'm getting the impression you're not really too thrilled with that cycle--you seem to be reporting a large number of misses compared to hits.

Thread duty;
a new release on the Myrios label
Beethoven String Quartets  Op. 18/3, Op. 18/5, Op. 135
Hagen Quartett

[Todd]

I'm getting the impression you're not really too thrilled with that cycle--you seem to be reporting a large number of misses compared to hits.

I'd call it a middle of the pack cycle for me - which means somewhere in the 30th to 40th best, if you will - though it is Brendel's best complete cycle, and does have some humdingers in it.  I still stand by my earlier endorsement of his concerto cycle with Levine, which is better.

[kishnevi]

I'd call it a middle of the pack cycle for me - which means somewhere in the 30th to 40th best, if you will - though it is Brendel's best complete cycle, and does have some humdingers in it.  I still stand by my earlier endorsement of his concerto cycle with Levine, which is better.

I' have plans for that one next month.

Thread duty:
switching gears, but with Brendel, from his Mozart concerto cycle with Marriner/ASMF--Nos. 22 and 23,

[listener]

BACH Cantatas: 57 Selig ist der Mann, 58 Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, 59 Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten, 60 O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort
Tolzer Knabenchor,,  Concentus Musicus Wien,  Nikolaus Harnoncourt
and harpsichord music played by Temple Painter,  BACH, PURCELL, HANDEL, BYRD, etc. and a Suite by Harold BOATRITE

[CaughtintheGaze]

Maybe the best Russian composer:
[asin]B000001GMB[/asin]

My program:

Blumenfeld's Etudes (Blumenthal)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ADOBN_L7uc&list=WLACC4B73F08165787

Mozart's C Minor Fantasia (Reinecke)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzG7MszBGPQ&list=WLACC4B73F08165787

Mozart's Piano Concerto in D (Reinecke)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYEZir3HDJk&list=WLACC4B73F08165787

Various (Brailowsky )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k4Az6ocrwM&list=WLACC4B73F08165787