Names to avoid, according to Ivan Hewett

[amw]

Absolute least favourite: Maximianno Cobra (I simply cannot express in words how much anyone should avoid his Beethoven)

I recall the best part of his Beethoven cycle being the Amazon reviews. (I also recall that some of the recordings credited a real orchestra but actually sounded like they were made with Vienna Symphonic Library or similar software)

[Jo498]

I think it is usually bad it something becomes so dominant as Karajan used to be on the market for records/CDs. Even in a smaller segment a (or a few) "standard recommendations" can be stifling. This was much worse in earlier times when records (at least in Europe) were comparably far more expensive and one was almost restricted to local stores (there was mailorder, of course, but it was not convenient).

I am no expert on Karajan (e.g. I have not heard anything of the later Beethoven recordings although the differences are supposed to be fairly small) but I think the 5th and 9th (this one partly for the soloists) of the 1962 cycle are very strong. While I tend to dislike the general smooth, seamless "Karajan sound" even here, they are impressive and powerful performances.

In any case, while market(ing) forces of a certain time might have blown Karajan's dominance all out of proportion for about 3 decades, he was genuinely admired by a lot of (rather different) musicians (e.g. Gould) so it seems somewhat facile to dismiss his work out of hand.

[The new erato]

Karajan was a very good conductor, at least in some major parts of the repertoire. He was also the first to understand the power of modern media (both written and musical) and how the music world had changed from the days of Furtwangler et al. Together with DGs media machine that made a powerful combo and explains why he divides opinion today. Less ego would have made him more universally (!) admired.

[North Star]

Karajan was a very good conductor, at least in some major parts of the repertoire. He was also the first to understand the power of modern media (both written and musical) and how the music world had changed from the days of Furtwangler et al. Together with DGs media machine that made a powerful combo and explains why he divides opinion today. Less ego would have made him more universally (!) admired.

I don't know about his understanding of written media, but he sure knew that visual media, video in particular, was a powerful marketing tool.

[The new erato]

I don't know about his understanding of written media, but he sure knew that visual media, video in particular, was a powerful marketing tool.

I was in a hurry and didn't find the right word, would have written printed media if I hadn't been so rash!

[ShineyMcShineShine]

A favorite band with superb qualities.

Is all of R.E.M.'s music in a minor key? It always struck me as singularly depressing. Hearing a R.E.M. song seemed to sap any joy from my soul. If I wanted to get depressed, I'd reach for The Smiths; at least Morrissey had a sense of humor.

[ShineyMcShineShine]

"her stable-mates The Beatles, with whom she shared space at Abbey Road Studios"

Thanks for this link. I think, contra Ivan Hewett, it's time to celebrate Mrs. Mills for the totally unironic joy she must have given innumerable people. Why pick on someone like that? It's like a painting critic taking time out of his historical survey to mock Bob Ross.

There you go: in celebration of Mrs Mills, I have memorialized her in my profile pic.

[Karl Henning]

Absolute least favourite: Maximianno Cobra (I simply cannot express in words how much anyone should avoid his Beethoven)

I've managed easily, one might even say, effortlessly!

[Brian]

Karajan's Vienna The Planets on Decca remains my favorite version. Listened just a couple weeks ago to confirm that it is still top dog.

There you go: in celebration of Mrs Mills, I have memorialized her in my profile pic.

Marvelous!

[The new erato]

Is all of R.E.M.'s music in a minor key? It always struck me as singularly depressing. Hearing a R.E.M. song seemed to sap any joy from my soul. If I wanted to get depressed, I'd reach for The Smiths; at least Morrissey had a sense of humor.

Try Shiny Happy People. They do lots og stuff in minor but Iæve never found them very deprssing, Now the Smiths (which I have complete) I find definitely more depressing.

[mc ukrneal]

Karajan was a very good conductor, at least in some major parts of the repertoire. He was also the first to understand the power of modern media (both written and musical) and how the music world had changed from the days of Furtwangler et al. Together with DGs media machine that made a powerful combo and explains why he divides opinion today. Less ego would have made him more universally (!) admired.

He was an excellent opera conductor as well.

[The new erato]

He was an excellent opera conductor as well.

Particularly good in opera, I would say. He had a superb understanding of the voice.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Karajan was a very good conductor, at least in some major parts of the repertoire. He was also the first to understand the power of modern media (both written and musical) and how the music world had changed from the days of Furtwangler et al. Together with DGs media machine that made a powerful combo and explains why he divides opinion today. Less ego would have made him more universally (!) admired.

I like Karajan best in recordings of music that were outside of his usual German rep (Honegger 3, DSCH 10, Prokofiev 5, late Sibelius). Whereas in the German rep, I find him quite ordinary.

[The new erato]

I like Karajan best in recordings of music that were outside of his usual German rep (Honegger 3, DSCH 10, Prokofiev 5, late Sibelius). Whereas in the German rep, I find him quite ordinary.

I find him best in Strauss and Bruckner. The Honegger you mention is exceprtonal, the others seems always to have gathered some controversy. Certainly I prefer my Shostakovich with less shine and glam. And his Nielsen disc is downright odd, though I haven't heard it for a long time.

[(poco) Sforzando]

I see everybody is treating Ivan Hewett as a figure of scorn, but in fact he wrote an interesting book called "Music: Healing the Rift," which is somewhat rambling and awkwardly written, but worth reading for its comments on the problems facing classical music in our modern age. If you read it, you will see he knows his Cage and Stockhausen, and is by no means as dismissive of them and their cohorts as the above brief quotations would suggest.

[ShineyMcShineShine]

Try Shiny Happy People. They do lots og stuff in minor but Iæve never found them very deprssing, Now the Smiths (which I have complete) I find definitely more depressing.

"Shiny Happy People" is good, I'll admit. But I can't imagine Stipe writing lyrics such as "Sweetness, I was only joking when I said I'd like to smash every tooth in your head".

[ShineyMcShineShine]

I started this thread because I wanted to know if Hewett's opinion of those particular artists reflected a general consensus; judging from your replies it seems that it does not.

The only name on his list that I own recordings by is Ashkenazy, whose version of Schubert's piano trios with Zukerman and Harrell is one of my favorites, so I won't be throwing it out.

[Chronochromie]

Maazel made two of my favorite recordingsl: that of Ravel's L'enfant et les sortileges with the Orchestre National de la R.T.F and Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet with The Cleveland Orchestra.

[SimonNZ]

Maazel's recordings of Mendelssohn's Symphonies are pretty amazing also.

[SimonNZ]

Maazel, Ashkenazy and Karajan have all made impressive Sibelius recordings.

Maybe Hewitt just doesn't like Sibelius.