Box Blather

[Mandryka]

plus 3 hours of NEW RECORDINGS by Justin Taylor

This is intersting

[Ras]

This is intersting

You need the damn box, Mandryka!

[Ras]

Nej, det er ikke et problem.

So everybody here speaks Danish?? 

[Madiel]

So everybody here speaks Danish?? 

Just me and the Danes.

[The new erato]

Just me and the Danes.

Nej da, oss fjeldaber også!

[Brian]

I think it might be a good idea to document some notes on the Big Boxes to force myself to listen more...and also to aid my aging brain in remembering what is worth hearing again...

SALONEN/SONY

[asin]B07765H5DK[/asin]

Here's what I've heard so far:

1. CD Bach-Transkriptionen - Stokowski: Toccata & Fuge BWV 565; Elgar: Fantasie & Fuge BWV 537; Webern: Ricercare aus "Das musikalische Opfer" BWV 1079; Schönberg: Präludium & Fuge BWV 552; Mahler: Suite für Orgel, Cembalo & Orchester nach den Orchestersuiten Nr. 2 & 3. Gross. I hated every minute of this. To be fair, I think I skipped a couple, but the Stokowski and Elgar are just nauseating. Not my thing at all. Never again.

2. CD Bartok: Konzert für Orchester; Musik für Saiteninstrumente, Schlagzeug, Celesta. Only listened to the Concerto here. Very dry, droll, technically correct but not much fun.

7. CD Debussy: Images pour Orchestre Nr. 1-3; La Mer; Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune. This disc is really quite wonderful. Excellent all the way through.

9. CD Grieg: Peer Gynt op. 23 (Auszüge). Terrific. Really the only complaint could be that Solveig's Song is here in both the instrumental, solo, and a cappella reprise versions, which is pretty repetitive. But Barbara Hendricks kills it and the orchestra, unsurprisingly, plays this piece to the hilt. I love having a version that cuts out all the scenes of dudes talking. The Naxos version has the divine Inger Dam-Jensen and a real Hardanger fiddler playing a real folk fiddle, but it also has a whole bunch of boring bits where Norwegian dudes just blab and blab. (EDIT: It has come to my attention that Inger Dam-Jensen is not in the complete Peer Gynt on Naxos - she sings Solveig's songs on a separate "orchestral songs" CD coupled with the Peer Gynt concert suites.)

10. CD Haydn: Symphonien Nr. 22, 78, 82. I had low expectations for this but it's really wonderful. Salonen has a great ear for Haydn's sense of humor, especially. Would it be too late to ask him to record a few more of the symphonies? Especially Il distratto?

13. CD Hindemith: Symphonie "Mathis der Maler"; Die vier Temperamente für Klavier & Streichorchester; Symphonische Metamorphosen. I didn't enjoy the Four Temperaments but the other two pieces are really powerfully, boldly played and in spectacular sound.

14. CD Larsson: Gott in Verkleidung op. 24; Violinkonzert op. 42; Pastoral-Suite op. 19. God in Disguise is a super cool late romantic hidden gem! Loved the voyage of discovery that work is, with some really luminous passages that make me want to learn more about Lars-Erik. The Violin Concerto is drier, more modern, and more academic in a way that I don't much enjoy.

32. CD Nielsen: Symphonie Nr. 1; Petite Suite für Streicher op. 1. Background music while writing a few weekends ago. Seemed plenty good.

36. CD Nielsen: Symphonie Nr. 5; Tänze aus Maskerade. Maskarade isn't as wild and crazy as some readings and Symphony No. 5 comes across quite grim and dry.

40. CD Prokofieff: Violinkonzerte Nr. 1 & 2; Strawinsky: Violinkonzert D-Dur. Only listened to Prok No. 2 but it's with Cho-Liang Lin so of course it is fabulous.

44. CD Salonen: LA Variations; 5 Images after Sappho; Giro; Mania für Cello & Orchester; Gambit. I like some of the pieces more than others (my fave is probably Gambit), but this is of course a must-have.

46. CD Schostakowitsch: Klavierkonzerte Nr. 1 & 2; Klavierquintett op. 57. With Yefim Bronfman. Excellent and essential.

48. CD Sibelius: Lemminkäinen-Legenden op. 22 Nr. 1-4; En Saga op. 9. Generally would rather spin the Mikko Franck disc with this program.

51. CD Strauss: Duett-Concertino für Klarinette & Fagott; Metamorphosen; Capriccio-Prelude. Excellent Richard Strauss album - another big surprise for me. Didn't realize Salonen had such a good Metamorphosen, but he and the Stockholm CO (see also: CD 10/Haydn) are intensely expressive.

60. CD Jolivet: Trompetenkonzert Nr. 2; Concertino für Trompete, Streicher & Klavier; Tomasi: Trompetenkonzert. Super fun. Between the Debussy and this, there should be more Salonen-Conducts-French.

61. CD A Nordic Festival - Alfven; Sibelius; Grieg; Leifs; Nielsen; Järnefelt. Entirely lovely and a charming encore. Well, okay, it was actually the first disc I popped in the player. But it's a nice little cherry on top of the box.

P.S. Compared to the usual snail's pace with which I get through Big Boxes, 16 CDs in just under 3 months feels like a really good effort!

[JBS]

Oh dear! I love that Elgar transcription.
But I do have a soft spot for those "so wrong they are great" sort of things.

[Pat B]

44. CD Salonen: LA Variations; 5 Images after Sappho; Giro; Mania für Cello & Orchester; Gambit. I like some of the pieces more than others (my fave is probably Gambit), but this is of course a must-have.

Why is it of course a must-have?

[Brian]

Why is it of course a must-have?

Well, I guess I should clarify that it is a big deal for fans of contemporary music. A lot of the program is both "important" and actually good to hear. (Our own Senta is such a big fan of the LA Variations that once when she gave me a ride someplace she put it on blast in the car to make me listen...)

Personally my favorite Salonen compositions are on this DG CD -

But I do have a soft spot for those "so wrong they are great" sort of things.

For some reason I have a way bigger fondness for "so wrong it's great" in literature and movies than in music.

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

Well, I guess I should clarify that it is a big deal for fans of contemporary music. A lot of the program is both "important" and actually good to hear. (Our own Senta is such a big fan of the LA Variations that once when she gave me a ride someplace she put it on blast in the car to make me listen...)

Personally my favorite Salonen compositions are on this DG CD -


For some reason I have a way bigger fondness for "so wrong it's great" in literature and movies than in music.

I have #44, and I think I even remember liking it. I also have your favorite DGG disc. I should listen to them again.

[Daverz]

SALONEN/SONY

Thanks for the report. 

I don't have much Salonen: some Lutoslawski (he's really good here), some Messiaen (ditto), and a Stravinsky disc (Pulcinella and the Octet, excellent).  I'm also fond of a pre-Sony disc of Berwald's Symphonies 3 & 4, which was my first encounter with these works.  I have to give that Haydn disc a listen.

[asin] B000003Y01[/asin]

[Pat B]

Well, I guess I should clarify that it is a big deal for fans of contemporary music. A lot of the program is both "important" and actually good to hear.

Thanks for the clarification. I heard the VC on the radio one time, and didn't have the urge to go buy it. But I'm listening to some of the Sony disc on spotify.

[Brian]

This arrived last week and I've already gotten a head start with Barenboim's Liszt - first the CD with all the slow romantic stuff (Consolations, Liebesträume, Sonetti del Petrarca), and this morning on the drive to work I popped in the 23-minute "album" of the Dante Sonata and Rigoletto paraphrase. The romantic album is excellent, with Petrarca sonnets that are nearly as achingly poetic as Julian Gorus. It's a sleepy disc overall in terms of tempo/volume, just because of the works chosen, but it's wonderfully played and was perfect for a lazy Sunday morning. There are two live-in-concert "encores" added as bonuses, a repeat of the famous Consolation and a Valse oubliée.

The Dante Sonata is fast and precise, but Barenboim at the loudest, most Inferno-ish passages holds back a little bit, probably to show us that he is an artist rather than a banger of pianos. There's no shame in it, Daniel! It's the Dante Sonata! Still, there's overall a good bit to enjoy, and the Verdi paraphrase has even more goodness. This box and I will probably get along just fine - especially at $32 shipped. By the way, the set ships (at least from Amazon.de) inside another form-fitting cardboard box with a bar code, presumably to prevent damage to the box's lid, which protrudes just a little bit for grabbing with your fingers.

[Todd]

...and this morning on the drive to work I popped in the 23-minute "album" of the Dante Sonata and Rigoletto paraphrase.

That disc used to look like this:

[Brian]

Wait...what happened to the sonata? (I see the answer to my question is available behind a paywall at ClassicsToday...but I am on the wrong side of the wall.)

[Todd]

Wait...what happened to the sonata? (I see the answer to my question is available behind a paywall at ClassicsToday...but I am on the wrong side of the wall.)

Barenboim asked that it not be included.

[North Star]

Barenboim asked that it not be included.

Almost makes me curious to hear it...
https://www.youtube.com/v/COV1W2Nh3Eo

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

Barenboim asked that it not be included.

Huh? I see DG makes no mention of this in their ad copy for "the solo recordings." Grrrrr.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Huh? I see DG makes no mention of this in their ad copy for "the solo recordings." Grrrrr.

They wouldn't advertise that fact now, would they? Not the least for fear of offending Barenboim. If the person who wrote that copy even ever knew any of what was going on behind the scenes.

Almost makes me curious to hear it...

...and precisely for that reason. 

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

They wouldn't advertise that fact now, would they? Not the least for fear of offending Barenboim. If the person who wrote that copy even ever knew any of what was going on behind the scenes.

...and precisely for that reason. 

They could have called it "solo piano recordings" (omitting "the") and it would have been implicit rather than explicit fraud. Not that I would ever have bought it, Barenboim's best solo piano work was on EMI back in the 60's.

Was that Liszt Sonata ever on CD? I only see vinyl when I look on Amazon.