cheers!

[king ubu]

New member signing in ... been listening to music intently for almost as long as I can remember. Though those classical concerts my parents dragged me to, I found a drag ... but then, jazz was it for me. Started collecting and obsessing about twenty years ago in my earliest teens, and only about two years back, I started seriously exploring classical music (and seriously making use of the unbelievably cheap recordings flooding the market in this drab era of the Cd's demise).

What I discovered seemed - and still seems - like an endless well of joy and excitement. I couldn't state what's the main focus of my listening yet, all still seems pretty new to me (though some works and cycles are pretty familiar of course by now). Both exploring old recordings as well as discovering recent and new releases has given me much pleasure. So one day it might be Szymon Goldberg playing Mozart with Lili Kraus, next day Schnabel playing Beethoven sonatas, and the day after Patricia Petibon or anything William Christie or La Venexiana's Monteverdi might blast out of the speakers.

On the way in, names that guided me were Ida Haendel (the third Enescu sonata with Ashkenazy), Dinu Lipatti, Alexis Weissenberg, Claudio Arrau (the Chopin Préludes and Nocturnes), Friedrich Gulda (the WTC), Heifetz (the concertos with Barbirolli), Szigeti (Bach solo violin), Casals (Bach's cello suites) ... I mainly stuck to older recordings, also exploring Artur Schnabel, Edwin Fischer, Arthur Rubinstein ... and lots of violin players as well: Christian Ferras, Michael Rabin, Nathan Milstein, Zino Francescatti, Ginette Neveu, Henryk Szering ... Marcelle Meyer and Samson François were others I discovered, eventually.

At the same time, I also started digging into some HIP/period instruments recordings, though that took me a bit longer - and much of what I enjoy has not been listened to as often as I feel I need in order to really get familiar. The first huge discovery was Blandine Rannou playing Rameau, Pierre Hantaï playing Scarlatti and Bach followed, Violaine Cochard playing Couperin, Scott Ross with various composer's works ... Malcolm Bilson with Mozart (the concertos and the sonatas) and Schubert is a more recent discovery.

I also started listening to lieder more and more ... Fritz Wunderlich's Schubert was a huge discovery (I only knew DFD and I don't feel the slightest urge to ever listen to his Müllerin again), Hans Hotter ... and then the ladies: Lucia Popp (most wonderful Mozart arias ever!? and the Exsultate, jubilate - absolutely no need for any other version, really, although I still love looking for new ones), Victoria de los Angeles, Janet Baker ... Kathleen Ferrier then, and Callas, too ... so it wasn't too far a way to get into opera again either (in high school I regularly went to see live performances, but rarely would I listen to any opera at home, actually Karajan's "Salomé" was the only recording I'd owned, the EMI GROC edition). The operas I spent most time listening so far are Mozart's Da Ponte ones, the "Zauberflöte" - endlessly fascinating music! There, too, I enjoy comparing various recordings - or just listening to one opera three or four or five times in a row, playing a different recording each time. Also spent plenty of time with Puccini (mainly so far "La Bohème") and some with Verdi, too ("La Traviata" mostly, but I've listened to several others as well, just not as intensely yet).

This mixture of HIP and opera/singing opened up new territory, too ... Guillemette Laurens was one of the first younger singers that I got hip to, but I started digging into more and more vocal music, including orchestral lieder ... and Bach, too - been making my way through the Gardiner box, listening to the appropriate disc every Sunday (or shortly after if I forget or don't find the time or mood). Deeply fascinating music. As for contemporary singers, I enjoy all kinds of ... mentioned Petibon already, Nuria Rial is another whose voice I love, and yeah, I also dig Nathalie Dessay quite some (though I know it seems hipper not to) ... Véronique Gens, Anne Sophie von Otter, Bernarda Fink ... and yeah, I love Christine Schäfer's take on "Die Winterreise" (more so, so far, than Fassbaender's, but I need to spend more time with that one for sure).

I also started exploring some contemporary recordings and artists beyond the HIP and associated, eventually. Love Patricia Kopatchinskaja, for instance ... or Julia Fischer's take on Mozart's violin concertos. Areas to explore remain many: symphonies beyond Beethoven, tons of 20c music (I've listened to lots of Debussy piano music, eventually "getting" it, I felt, also to Satie's piano music, some Morton Feldman) ... I've hardly done any string quartets listening yet - but as with many other things, have some lined up when the time feels right. No rush, just going from one with to the next and constantly revisiting other recordings that get more and more familiar. I wouldn't say I *know* that many pieces, but Mendelssohn's violin concerto, the Brahms, most of Beethoven's violin sonatas (in particular the "Kreutzer" and Op. 96), some Chopin (the Nocturnes, mainly) and plenty of Bach is somewhat familiar, as are some of the operas I pointed out above, or Beethoven's symphony no. 7. Anyway, the further I get it, the more there seems to explore ... ain't life grand? 

This really only feels like scratching the surface of all the wondrous discoveries I've made in the past two years - starting with classical romantic violin and piano music I'm drawing circles and following any kinds of leads I might run into, be it Luigi Rossi or Michel-Richard de Lalande. And I'm quite sure this will go on for years, if not for a lifetime (tough after about a year of almost exclusively classical, jazz and other music crept back into my listening schedule for various reasons - I feel like I've found a mostly satisfying way of combining both, sometimes within the hour, other times within a week or even two, but I'm still exploring new territory - mostly of bygone days - in jazz just as well).

PS: actually had to use google to find the answer for that rolling stone saying, hadn't heard it - does one have to fill in these questions and letters all the time or is that a newbie thing?

[EigenUser]

PS: actually had to use google to find the answer for that rolling stone saying, hadn't heard it - does one have to fill in these questions and letters all the time or is that a newbie thing?

That is our form of initiation, so just that one time. By the way, I had to look up the rolling stone saying, too .

Welcome! Glad to see you mention Feldman. He's one of my favorites. If you like Feldman, I'd also suggest some Ligeti as well (I'm sure the other members are all rolling their eyes, already seeing me trying to sell a new member on Ligeti).

[Karl Henning]

Welcome to GMG!

[king ubu]

Ha, I've got some Ligeti stacked up for when the time is right ... will surelty take me a while to come around there though. While Feldman was someone who kind of always was present somewhat in my listening (as a jazz guy I love lots of what Hat Hut has released and I became curious about their hat[now] series early on, got around two dozen of them, amongst those probably six or seven Feldman discs .... even once gave the four-disc string quartet a spin, though alas didn't have to time to actually sit down and listen whilst not tending to anything else).

What I have here by Ligeti are the Wergo "Special Edition" 3 disc set (two of which I've already listened to a few times whilst in highschool - I actually had copied them onto K7) and Teldec's 5 disc "Ligeti Project", as well as a disc by Aimard (Vol. 3 of the Sony Ligeti Edition), also Kopatchinskaja playing the violin concerto (on the 2 disc set that also contains her Bartók 2, Eötvös conducting), and finally a live recording by the Ardittis (2005) of String quartet no. 2.

A fair bit to dig into!


@karlhenning: thanks!

[Brahmsian]

Welcome to GMG, Ubu! 

[king ubu]

Thanks!

Regarding chamber music ... tons of stuff for me to discover there (other than fairly familiar violin sonatas). So far, favourites include Dvorák's piano trios and quintets, Mozart's string quintets, too ... and Mozart's piano quartets (Rubinstein/Guarnieris - what an abundance of colours!) ... Borodin Trio w/Mendelssohn and Rachmaninov, too ... but also Benvenue Fortepiano Trio with Mendelssohn, Schumann, Schubert ... my favourite "Archduke" is probably Gilels/Kogan/Rostropovich ... but give me anything with Rubinstein and/or Heifetz and I'm happy, too ... Mendelssohn's octet with Heifetz/Piatigorsky ... Staier/Les Adieux or Trio 1790 with JC Bach ... string quartets, as I've mentioned, are mostly unexplored territory so far, but I love the late Schubert by the Busch Quartet. Love late Schubert anyways, at least what I've heard (the piano sonatas mostly, D 960 is definitely a favouvite - Schnabel ahead of the pack, but I couldn't do without Rubinstein either).

[mc ukrneal]

Welcome and enjoy! Sounds like you will have a lot to contribute!

[king ubu]

Thanks! I'll surely voice my opinion, even if just to hear where I'm wrong - but consider me more a newbie with a huge appetite ... seasoned listener alltogether, yes, but not with respect to classical quite yet.

[knight66]

Welcome, you ought to have lots of exchanges with folk as your tastes are so wide and deep. I hope you enjoy yourself here.

Cheers,

Mike

[Moonfish]

Welcome Ubu!

Hmm, yes the non-member search function IS painful.      I have seen your name before on Organissimo! You do come across as having your musical fingers well immersed in a lot of different genres.  I suspect that you will have great fun here and will have lots of thoughtful contributions. After all, there is always some musical issue to ponder. Watch out for the CDCDCD syndrome!

Peter

[springrite]

Watch out for the CDCDCD syndrome!

Shouldn't that be "Welcome to the CDCDCD Club"?

Welcome!

[king ubu]

Thanks guys .... yes, longtime member on the Org forums, also on some other forums, so even though I'm a newbie here, it kinda doesn't feel like it. And whatever the CDCDCD disease is, I'm quite certain I've caught it a dozen or more years back (in pure numbers, I used my pretty comfortable situation in the past to amass rougly 1/20 lakh of classical CDs (though I've not counted 'em). Now when I'm going to listen to them is written on another page, as this all needs time. But I've always been like this - pile up stuff and then slowly work my way through it, getting distracted on the way, pulled here and there and then re-focussing and hearing things again in a new perspective (same with movies and books, of course, though at least I don't buy movies, got a great cinémathèque in town).

[Moonfish]

Thanks guys .... yes, longtime member on the Org forums, also on some other forums, so even though I'm a newbie here, it kinda doesn't feel like it. And whatever the CDCDCD disease is, I'm quite certain I've caught it a dozen or more years back (in pure numbers, I used my pretty comfortable situation in the past to amass rougly 1/20 lakh of classical CDs (though I've not counted 'em). Now when I'm going to listen to them is written on another page, as this all needs time. But I've always been like this - pile up stuff and then slowly work my way through it, getting distracted on the way, pulled here and there and then re-focussing and hearing things again in a new perspective (same with movies and books, of course, though at least I don't buy movies, got a great cinémathèque in town).

Hmm, sounds so familiar.... (except for that I buy movies as well)..  *gulp*   
Let's hope that we all live beyond 100 so we can listen to our treasure pile over and over and over (err..at least once)

[king ubu]

I know, I know ... jazzwise I'm probably long and way beyond 1/10 lakh ... but don't tell the missus 

[Ken B]

Welcome!
Just watch out for that Moonfish, he's evil. 

You mention Wunderlich. He recorded DSM several times, but I like the last stereo one best. Have you heard Olaf Bar? He's my first choice for that.

And I met Ida Haendel once.

Be sure to check the super duper cheap bargains thread!

[king ubu]

Welcome!
Just watch out for that Moonfish, he's evil. 

You mention Wunderlich. He recorded DSM several times, but I like the last stereo one best. Have you heard Olaf Bar? He's my first choice for that.

I only have the 1966 with Hubert Giesen ... didn't really feel like I need that many more (though a pair of others eventually arrived via multi-disc boxes, but neither has yet been played: Schreier/Zehr 1980 and Patzak/Raucheisen 1943).

And I met Ida Haendel once.

Wow! Did you ever write about this?

Be sure to check the super duper cheap bargains thread!

Now you're evil!

[Ken B]

I only have the 1966 with Hubert Giesen ... didn't really feel like I need that many more (though a pair of others eventually arrived via multi-disc boxes, but neither has yet been played: Schreier/Zehr 1980 and Patzak/Raucheisen 1943).
Wow! Did you ever write about this?
Now you're evil!

Oh I am more evil than Moonfish, but I'm good evil. 

[king ubu]

It's all about contagion, I know 

But I bought so many monster boxes, I can really lean back now and watch the rat race

But then, earlier today, realizing I'd love to hear more of Szell's Mozart - beyond the Casadesus piano concertos that is - I noticed the big korean Szell box went bonkers, pricewise ... too bad, but then I didn't ever really want to buy it ... would love to find the Original Jacket collection for an okay-ish price though.

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

Welcome, Roi Ubu.  You mention so many things I'm tempted to "high-five" you on, esp. the Schnabel Beethoven sonatas (I have them on Seraphim LPs in surprisingly good condition, considering the number of times they have been played chez nous).  What do you like esp. of Christian Ferras ?  What a tragedy.  I have him only in a couple of recordings - the Beethoven VC notably - one of my favorite recordings of all time.  Amusez-vous bien ici. 

[king ubu]

Thanks!

Ferras ... virtually anything I've heard, really! The Beethoven sonatas may not be my top favourites, but they're one of several cycles I really like (others would be Grumiaux/Haskil, Francescatti/Casadesus, Szigeti/Arrau ... in the "Kreutzer", I guess Szigeti/Bartók transcend everybody, but I also love Kopatchinskaja/Say a lot, Yehudi & Hephzibah Menuhin, Szeryng/Rubinstein, Rostal/Osborn ... in Op. 96 I very much enjoy Heifetz, Stern as well, also Menuhin/Kempff who don't really deliver in the "Kreutzer" ... but Zehetmair/Frager do ... and I like Kreisler as well ... the cycles by Heifetz, Stern/Istomin, Faust/Melnikov, Seiler/Immerseel are others I've heard, as with the Menuhin/Kempff I'm not entirely convinced ... Heifetz I love, but the piano accompaniment ... same for Mirodi Seiler, love her playing, but Immerseel's plodding ... would love to have the "Kreutzer" and Op. 96 from Morini/Firkusny, got to revisit the "Kreutzer" by de Vito/Aprea ... ah well, so much wonderful music!) ... so okay, got sent off-topic by my own enthusiasm there, sorry ... back to Ferras: I bought the DG box rather soon after it came out and I really love the sonatas with Barbizet (Brahms! Schumann! - doesn't get much better! Faure, Enescu 3). Eventually gave in and also got the expensive EMI-box from Korea (or rather from my regular supplier, prestoclassical, very happy customer there). More good stuff (and of course duplication of the Beethoven cycle which I'll gladly pass on to a friend now), but generally, the DG box is quite a bit better I'd say. The concertos with Karajan are mighty good, too - Beethoven, Brahms and Sibelius, even the Tchaikovksy is pretty darn wonderful.

As for Schnabel, Beethoven ... I've only got the EMI box there. It was cheap and I snatched it up, way before I knew about the superiority of the Naxos transfers. Guess I got to change that, but I have how you have to buy tons of single discs with Naxos when you want an entire run.