Blind comparison: Bach Cello Suites

[aukhawk]

It's said that Houdini used to do his escapes in a matter of seconds, but then just kick and scuffle around in the cabinet for 5 minutes for effect, before emerging to tumultuous applause.
I occasionally feel that experienced GMG blind testers use a similar technique 

Thanks banpuku that's a great start, you can sit back and relax for a month now 

[prémont]

Votes Group G

G1  A rather conservative interpretation from a player of the older (or maybe deceased) generation, made in his prime or shortly afterwards. My former guess (E6 = G1) was Navarra, but the sixth suite reveals, that the player is far more technically assured than Navarra, so I now tend to say Fournier.

G2  Viola da gamba and Paolo Pandolfo´s willful style. Original and interesting, but these works were written for cello.

G3  This recording has the character of being made by a young informed but carefree virtuoso. There are many of these nowadays, names like Daniel Müller-Schott and Jerome Pernoo pop up. Fascinating but not that deep.

G4  Elegant and brilliant MI performance, I think I prefer this among the 5 in this group. Make me associate to Queyras, but the missing repeat in the courante puzzles me. I may not have heard this recording before.

G5 Nice and fluend prelude, but elsewhere very eccentric. My guess before (E1 = G5) was Gavriel Lipkind, and I maintain this. In short: I do not like his style.

So my votes are:

G4 > G2 > G3 > G1 > G5

[aukhawk]

Thanks  :premont:

... Elegant and brilliant MI performance ... the missing repeat in the courante puzzles me. I may not have heard this recording before.

There's a joker in every pack    [adopts sphinx-like expression] 

[aligreto]

Here is my vote for Group H in order of preference....


H3 - 1
H4 - 2
H5 - 3
H2 - 4
H1 - 5

I had great difficulty seperating H3 and H4 from one another in terms of a first preference. My vote ultimately went to H3 on the basis of interpretation over what I considered the superior technical performance of H4.

[mc ukrneal]

Group G

G1 - Ok. Middle of the road. Doesn't really inspire for me. Don't really like the sound. Feels too loud all the time (rarely gets truly hushed).
G2 - Different instrument. Pleasing sound and much more interesting than G1. But I sometimes really missed the cello sound and impact that could have (doesn't create the length/fullness in the sound that this piece sometimes needs). Tempos sometimes too varied.
G3 - Similar to G1, just in better sound. Technically doesn't give you that feeling that they are always in control (though some nice touches in places).
G4 - AH, now this is more like it. Assured. Full of nuance. The piece is not playing them. Full of intensity, yet beautiful (and wonderful sound). Excellent.
G5 - Another good version. Much more emphasis on notes here than anywhere else, which at times worked very well, but at other times perhaps too much? This, I feel, may be a more controversial version. Still, I loved it!

G4 and G5 feel like every note is played with purpose. Both are taking you on their journey to Bach. Both are played very well, so it really just boils down to style and interpretation. I liked both a lot. I'm frankly torn on which to place first and which second. I would only put these two through from this group. 

My preliminary ranking is :
G5
G4
G3
G2
G1
I want to compare the last two again at some point, so if my ranking changes, I will let you know. But I think this is how I will ultimately go anyway. G5 is just so interesting...

[aukhawk]

Thanks folks.
The way this is going, the final will not only have a joker in the pack, but a pair of one-eyed jacks as well!  [resumes poker face]

[Jay F]

1. G1 - My favorite. Sounds familiar. Fournier?
2. G5 - Nice, modern sounding.
2. G4 - Nice, modern sounding.
4. G3 - Not bad. But not great.
4. G2 - Not bad. But not great.

[Que]

My, my, what a mess...    Bijlsma out, Beschi out... What are you guys doing over here? 

Bruno Cocset still in?

Anyway, I should have joined the proceedings, sorry about that.... I might be tempted to do all of the closed the blind listenings outside of the game, just to tryto figure out what the hell happened! 

Q

[springrite]

As someone behind The Great National Firewall, I can't hear any of the clips, so I have no choice but to patiently wait for the result and, like Que, wonder what the hell happened.

[mc ukrneal]

... like Que, wonder what the hell happened.

My, my, what a mess...    Bijlsma out, Beschi out... What are you guys doing over here? 

It's total chaos out there. Three different first and last place votes. Interestingly, the version in last place seems to become the first place choice of the next reviewer. How odd is that?!?!

[Jay F]

Interestingly, the version in last place seems to become the first place choice of the next reviewer. How odd is that?!?!

I didn't like it (my first choice/your last choice) that much at first, mostly because of the presumed age of the recording, so I decided to listen to it a few more times. I realized on second listen that this is a version I really like musically. The sonic quality of your #1 and #2 recordings have them tied for #2 in my vote. (Do you know, btw, that ties are allowed now? You can have both of your favorites tie at #1.)

[mc ukrneal]

I didn't like it (my first choice/your last choice) that much at first, mostly because of the presumed age of the recording, so I decided to listen to it a few more times. I realized on second listen that this is a version I really like musically. The sonic quality of your #1 and #2 recordings have them tied for #2 in my vote. (Do you know, btw, that ties are allowed now? You can have both of your favorites tie at #1.)

The thing I identified as most frustrating about #1 wasn't the age of the sound (which I don't feel should be held against a candidate - my philosophy on these blind listenings is to pick the best perfromance, not the one I want to necessarily buy). Rather, the trait that irritated me was a seeming inability to get soft enough. I wanted the performer to play hushed at times, which I feel was never truly achieved. It took me a while to realize, which is why the comment is at the end.

I don't like ties, so I'd prefer to give them all a separate ranking if I can.

[prémont]

Thanks  :premont:

There's a joker in every pack    [adopts sphinx-like expression] 

Could it be Starkers first recording? Well, sooner or later, you have to uncover him. 

[Pat B]

My, my, what a mess...    Bijlsma out, Beschi out... What are you guys doing over here? 

Bruno Cocset still in?

Cocset went out in the prelims. (He wasn't in my group, and I haven't heard him other than samples, which I strongly disliked.)

[aukhawk]

My, my, what a mess...    Bijlsma out, Beschi out... What are you guys doing over here? 

Of the 10 still in, I think in any sighted discussion 5 of them would be regarded as somewhat 'left-field'.  And if we were to stop this instant and just select the leading 4 for the final, that would be a seriously weird group   

I think part of what has happened is, with one or two honourable exceptions, these cellists' performances over the whole span of 36 pieces is much more variable than might be expected.  In other words, they have strengths and weaknesses.  In fact I tried to cater for this in the last round by sampling a major-key Prelude, then minor-key music both slow and fast.  But it is first impressions that count (I know this is true when I listen blind) and I get the impression that the judging was probably 80% influenced by the first sample, the Suite 3 Prelude.

So Beschi - and Mork - did very well indeed in the preliminary round (selecting 18 from 30 using a very short sample) - but seemed to have an 'off day' in the specific pieces chosen for the next round.  Likewise the clear winner of the last round is clearly not at his (or her) best in Suite 6 (I listened to it last night and it's pretty awful) - very unlikely to progress.

Thanks Jay - keep 'em coming folks.

[mc ukrneal]

Of the 10 still in, I think in any sighted discussion 5 of them would be regarded as somewhat 'left-field'.  And if we were to stop this instant and just select the leading 4 for the final, that would be a seriously weird group   

I think part of what has happened is, with one or two honourable exceptions, these cellists' performances over the whole span of 36 pieces is much more variable than might be expected.  In other words, they have strengths and weaknesses.  In fact I tried to cater for this in the last round by sampling a major-key Prelude, then minor-key music both slow and fast.  But it is first impressions that count (I know this is true when I listen blind) and I get the impression that the judging was probably 80% influenced by the first sample, the Suite 3 Prelude.

So Beschi - and Mork - did very well indeed in the preliminary round (selecting 18 from 30 using a very short sample) - but seemed to have an 'off day' in the specific pieces chosen for the next round.  Likewise the clear winner of the last round is clearly not at his (or her) best in Suite 6 (I listened to it last night and it's pretty awful) - very unlikely to progress.

Thanks Jay - keep 'em coming folks.

In the case of G5, I actually think the opening is the weakest part of the playing. Just don't want people to think we listen for 30 seconds and then call it a day!

[aukhawk]

It could save me a lot of bandwidth if you did 

[banpuku]

In my response, I said Group 2.  I meant Group H.

And regarding my speedy response, please note that I am not a music expert.  I just know what I like and don't like.  I chose not to make a science project out of it, but rather submit my initial gut response.  Not sure if this is what is desired by the comparison OP, but I hope it helps nonetheless.

Thanks
Pat

[aukhawk]

That's absolutely fine - there are no rules, different people have different criterea and I think gut response is just as good as any other.

By the way it would be good to get to 5 votes per group before moving to the final, and it's obviously going to take a while yet, so if anyone who has already voted would like to hear the other group please let me know, and I'll gladly PM you the links.

[aligreto]

That's absolutely fine - there are no rules, different people have different criterea and I think gut response is just as good as any other.

By the way it would be good to get to 5 votes per group before moving to the final, and it's obviously going to take a while yet, so if anyone who has already voted would like to hear the other group please let me know, and I'll gladly PM you the links.

I will take it if you want to send it to me.