Box Blather

[Ken B]

Ah, this one. An Accent box w/ 55 cds

https://www.amazon.co.jp/アート・オブ・アクサン-アクサンの芸術-Accent-55CD-直輸入盤/dp/B00O7LONP6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=B00O7LONP6&qid=1569427251&s=music&sr=1-1

Porn!

[Mookalafalas]

Porn!

Indeed! That would have been sweet. Although, in 2014, maybe even 2018, I never would have thought to consider it. Now I'll remember it as the one that got away

[Moonfish]

Indeed! That would have been sweet. Although, in 2014, maybe even 2018, I never would have thought to consider it. Now I'll remember it as the one that got away

I know....

[Mookalafalas]

I know....

 

   I've been in a spending mood lately. Will swing by the record store later and see if they have the new Erato box (Pailliard?). Just for a looky-look. I actually am buying some stereo equipment for my office and plan to get 2-3 new dressers cuz the fam has clothes piling up everywhere...so will probably maintain restraint even if they have it (some things are released much earlier in Taiwan than in the states). 

[Moonfish]

 

   I've been in a spending mood lately. Will swing by the record store later and see if they have the new Erato box (Pailliard?). Just for a looky-look. I actually am buying some stereo equipment for my office and plan to get 2-3 new dressers cuz the fam has clothes piling up everywhere...so will probably maintain restraint even if they have it (some things are released much earlier in Taiwan than in the states).

Dressers are good for storing cds........
Just saying!



Yeah, I'm already getting the Paillard from Amazon.fr.    I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff..... I admit it! I do like the Erato label!

[Mookalafalas]

Yeah, I'm already getting the Paillard from Amazon.fr.    I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff..... I admit it! I do like the Erato label!

  I love Erato! And the Paillard sounds like a real winner, too. I plan to have it one day.
     About box storage, Had mine stacked in a kind of "wall" on the tops of my bookshelves (and in bookshelves, too, of course). I have a LOT of books and bookshelves. However, I started migrating tons of books to my office, so am actually opening up lots of space. I do 90% of my reading on a kindle now, so really don't need to live in a library anymore.

   By the way, listening to Ruzickova now. Did you get her box?  I generally prefer harpsichord in small doses, but she is pretty wonderful, IMO.
[asin]B01JQV81P4[/asin]

[Brian]

Here are my notes on the Andre Previn RCA/Columbia box so far...

CD 1 - Gershwin Piano Concerto
One of the all-time great performances, basically definitive. Super exciting, much more so than Previn's relatively sleepy EMI remake.

CD 2 - solo Hindemith, Barber, Martin
Cool recital. My girlfriend haaaaaaates the Barber piece and banned it from the stereo 

CD 3 - solo Poulenc and Roussel
Another really nice recital. I'm a little sad there isn't more solo Previn in here.

CD 4 - Shostakovich / Poulenc concertos
It's Lenny. It's good.

CD 6 - Copland Red Pony / Britten Sinfonia da Requiem
Previn's first conducting appearance on CD is self-recommending if you like the eccentric repertoire choices.

CD 8 - Rachmaninov concertos with Leonard Pennario as soloist
Probably not my favorite versions of these, to be honest, but they have merit and sound pretty good. Previn keeps the orchestra lively and engaged.

CD 9 - Khachaturian piano concerto with Lorin Hollander
I don't know who Lorin Hollander is, but this is a fun performance of a work that I do enjoy hearing once every three years or so.

CD 10 - Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
A famously great LSO performance.

CD 11 - Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 2
A less-famously great LSO performance. Really tremendous fun, and the Liadov folksong encore is nice to have as well. Exhibits just how good Previn could be when he took something Hollywoody and played the daylights out of it.

CD 12 - Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2
An excellent performance besmirched by the senseless cuts which were once standard in this piece.

CD 14 - Walton Symphony No. 1
Da Champ. I know there's some disagreement about this performance in the Walton thread, but there isn't disagreement with me. Previn and Karabits reign supreme for sheer excitement, drama, and physicality.

CD 15 - Nielsen Symphony No. 1
A fun disc. There are maybe marginally livelier performances out there, but this is enough to make me wish there was more Previn Nielsen. (Dude seems, in general, to have bounced between composers with a short attention span during his RCA years. I mean, look at the last six writeups here!)

CD 16 - French music for oboe and small orchestra
Love this one. Very happy to have the Francaix and Ibert performances in my collection, and with such good performers. De Lancie is maybe not as expressive as some of today's best oboists, but his tone works well in neoclassical stuff.

CD 17 - Leontyne Price jazz songs
Woof. Ack. Yikes. Okay, first of all, if Andre Previn's jazz recordings were fair game for this box, where are the rest of them? Why don't we get the trio stuff with Shelly Manne? Instead, we're stuck with this clunker, where Leontyne Price proves that having an oozingly gorgeous voice isn't going to get you far if you can't express anything. Especially when the lyrics - as with many old jazz numbers - range from sentimental to stupid. "A Sleepin' Bee"? WTF. This CD would be very highly recommended if you did NOT speak English and you could focus on the beauty of sound without having to trudge through the actual words.

CD 19 - Mozart's "The Impresario"
Sung in English with a new libretto by Previn's then-wife, this is a goofy curiosity with a superstar cast of voices. (Raskin! Grist! Milnes!) Silly enough for a listen.

CD 20 - Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade
It's funny to read the liner notes on this one, which vigorously defend Scheherazade against all the critics and musicologists who insist that it sucks. Did people really think that?? What a bunch of boogerbrains. This performance cooks with gas. It is intense and good.

CD 21 - Lalo Symphonie espagnole / Ravel Tzigane
Itzhak Perlman in music perfectly suited to his strengths and weaknesses.

CDs 22, 23, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32 - Vaughan Williams symphony cycle
What is there to say that hasn't been said? David Hurwitz thinks 4 and 6 lack a bit of ferocity, but that's okay by me because those are my least favorites (for now). I prefer 2, 3, and 5, which by coincidence are exactly where Previn shines brightest. Since this is spread out over 8 CDs by the "Original Jacket" format, rather than the 5 it could easily have been, it's nice that Previn recorded such cool fillers, including the tuba concerto, Wasps overture, and "The England of Elizabeth."

CD 24 - Richard Strauss, Rosenkavalier suite and Don Juan
The headliners are good performances, and it's nice to have all 8 French horns blasting away in Don Juan. The bonus, the world premiere recording of a waltz called "München," is meh. It's only been recorded a handful of times since, by completists like Neeme Jarvi.

CD 27 - Julian Bream plays Villa-Lobos guitar works
Self-recommending. This is obviously gonna be good, and it is.

CD 28 - Joseph Kalichstein plays Mendelssohn piano works
I keep mistyping his name as Jerome for some reason. But this is good too. Nicely varied disc since it starts with the First Concerto and then moves on to the Sonate écossaise and the Variations sérieuses, which are played very sérieusly.

CD 33 - Ponce and Previn guitar concertos with John Williams
I like the Ponce piece, of course. Previn's guitar concerto is one of those polystylistic works that I sometimes have a hard time with; my least favorite bits are in the finale, when an electric guitarist in the orchestra noodles away playing what sounds like some totally different piece, in a pretty clear attempt to add dissonance/complexity to a movement which was otherwise lacking it. Maybe Previn wanted to prove his bonafides while still trying to please the crowds.

CD 34 - Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 / Prokofiev Symphony No. 1
A nice disc. Not gonna set records for either piece, but now that I have it, I'm not gonna throw it out or whatever.

CD 37 - Chopin and Saint-Saens Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 2
The young Cecile Licad appears. Both performances are solid.

(At this point in the box, there's a whole ton of completely unnecessary Beethoven. I don't really ever plan to listen to it.)

CD 53 - Poulenc Sextet, Saint-Saens Septet, Milhaud La creation du monde
What a great program for a CD. I haven't listened to it yet, but seriously, what a sweet program.

-

Listening to 27 CDs out of 55 is pretty tremendous progress for me since I have owned this box for only 4 months. It's indicative of how much I've enjoyed everything so far - and also of how eclectic, even eccentric, Previn's repertoire was. Any time I want to reach for a big splashy orchestral work to fill the house with noise, I've been reaching for the Previn box. Pity about all the useless Beethoven (if only it had been a few more quirky solo recitals of 20th century repertoire, or the jazz stuff, instead), but otherwise, there's little to complain about.

[San Antone]

LOL

Especially when the lyrics - as with many old jazz numbers - range from sentimental to stupid. "A Sleepin' Bee"? WTF.

I agree with you about the Price CD being included whereas his other, better, jazz recordings were left out.  I guess because she was a classical artist.  But the song "A Sleepin' Bee" was written by Harold Arlen and Truman Capote for the musical House of Flowers (1954) and has a context which makes the lyrics have more sense.  It's been a jazz evergreen ever since, but received its quintessential recording (IMO) by Nancy Wilson with Cannonball Adderley's Quintet.

[Mookalafalas]

Thanks for putting this up, Brian.  This wasn't really a box that I'd thought much about, but now it's on my radar. I have virtually no Previn, except for some things he did with Ashkenazy (which I like a lot).

[Ken B]

Thanks for putting this up, Brian.  This wasn't really a box that I'd thought much about, but now it's on my radar. I have virtually no Previn, except for some things he did with Ashkenazy (which I like a lot).

Slacker.

[Moonfish]

Thanks for putting this up, Brian.  This wasn't really a box that I'd thought much about, but now it's on my radar. I have virtually no Previn, except for some things he did with Ashkenazy (which I like a lot).

Not enough time for Previn. Third tier for me.  Now, if it goes for $30 sometime....maybe, maybe.  Besides, I'm not a fan of the mid/late 20th century repertoire.   I rather dwell on the Cluytens box or equivalent.

[Moonfish]

  I love Erato! And the Paillard sounds like a real winner, too. I plan to have it one day.
     About box storage, Had mine stacked in a kind of "wall" on the tops of my bookshelves (and in bookshelves, too, of course). I have a LOT of books and bookshelves. However, I started migrating tons of books to my office, so am actually opening up lots of space. I do 90% of my reading on a kindle now, so really don't need to live in a library anymore.

   By the way, listening to Ruzickova now. Did you get her box?  I generally prefer harpsichord in small doses, but she is pretty wonderful, IMO.
[asin]B01JQV81P4[/asin]

I do indeed have that box, but she has to move up on my listening list. I noted that a biography on her life was published recently. A very colorful and intense life during the war years and beyond.
https://smile.amazon.com/One-Hundred-Miracles-Memoir-Survival/dp/1408896834/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=ruzickova&qid=1569899436&sr=8-2

[Mookalafalas]

The New Erato Paillard box is, indeed, at my local shop. A bit steep at $165 or so...although for 133 disks, it is pretty petty to complain about the price
   I was planning on waiting on it, but tomorrow is my birthday, and I've only bought myself a few expensive items so far...
   I asked about the Previn box, too, and the shop owner is going to order a copy. I'm sort of with Peter that I'm not a big fan on late 20th century (or anything past "early" for the most part), but am still highly intrigued. Both boxes look very well put together and attractive in their own right...I'll probably pounce.

[André]

Happy birthday ! 

[Mookalafalas]

Happy birthday ! 

Thanks

[Moonfish]

The New Erato Paillard box is, indeed, at my local shop. A bit steep at $165 or so...although for 133 disks, it is pretty petty to complain about the price
   I was planning on waiting on it, but tomorrow is my birthday, and I've only bought myself a few expensive items so far...
   I asked about the Previn box, too, and the shop owner is going to order a copy. I'm sort of with Peter that I'm not a big fan on late 20th century (or anything past "early" for the most part), but am still highly intrigued. Both boxes look very well put together and attractive in their own right...I'll probably pounce.

Your little local shop seems to carry almost possible box available (at least when released!). The Paillard is affordable from Amazon.fr (on its way) minus the VAT.  Hmm, not so sure about the Previn...hmmm, hmmmm......hmmmmmmmm

Anyways, you deserve it. Splurge, buy a carrot cake, cds and enjoy your birthday with your family!   

https://www.youtube.com/v/MGgZRLpGorU

The explosion at the end is probably related to your cd shelves suddenly collapsing!

[Moonfish]

I'm pondering this Scribendum collection....
The Art of Ataúlfo Argenta

http://www.scribendumrecordings.com/our-shop/4583959841/sc815-22cd---the-art-of-ata%C3%BAlfo-argenta/11376224

[Moonfish]

Here are my notes on the Andre Previn RCA/Columbia box so far...

......

-

Listening to 27 CDs out of 55 is pretty tremendous progress for me since I have owned this box for only 4 months. It's indicative of how much I've enjoyed everything so far - and also of how eclectic, even eccentric, Previn's repertoire was. Any time I want to reach for a big splashy orchestral work to fill the house with noise, I've been reaching for the Previn box. Pity about all the useless Beethoven (if only it had been a few more quirky solo recitals of 20th century repertoire, or the jazz stuff, instead), but otherwise, there's little to complain about.

Thanks for all those great notes about the music, Brian.  You are right - there are a lot of gems there. I think I have mislabeled Previn in my mind's eye for some reason although I have always enjoyed his VW cycle (my first VW exposure). Other reviewers mostly rave about this collection as well.

Is it really true that this is your last box purchase EVER?

[Brian]

Is it really true that this is your last box purchase EVER?

I'm done purchasing box sets that currently are on the market! (Around the same time as the Previn, I also bought the Charles Munch RCA...shhh, don't tell...) But future releases could tempt me. I'll probably grab the Monteux box of complete Decca recordings that's arriving next month, and the smaller Firkusny box from Sony. There are some hypothetical future releases that I would buy if they ever happen: a big Markevitch box from DG/Decca, the complete EMI/Virgin Leif Ove Andsnes, maybe Peter Serkin on Sony. Gonna wait for those.

[Moonfish]

I'm done purchasing box sets that currently are on the market! (Around the same time as the Previn, I also bought the Charles Munch RCA...shhh, don't tell...) But future releases could tempt me. I'll probably grab the Monteux box of complete Decca recordings that's arriving next month, and the smaller Firkusny box from Sony. There are some hypothetical future releases that I would buy if they ever happen: a big Markevitch box from DG/Decca, the complete EMI/Virgin Leif Ove Andsnes, maybe Peter Serkin on Sony. Gonna wait for those.

So there is still hope....?

Hmm, a Markevitch box.... *dreams*.  I suspect that there will be plenty of smaller boxes floating through here over the next year.