Thirty three and a third.

Started by Irons, November 22, 2018, 11:40:48 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

XB-70 Valkyrie

#180
Quote from: Ghost of Baron Scarpia on February 16, 2019, 06:15:23 AM
Amazing how obscure and tangled the relationships of the record labels are, even in the age of googling.

I used to know a lot more about the histories of the different labels, but it has been years since I cared to research that info--I have less use for that info these days. Some of if is actually quite interesting. In my early days of collecting (early 90s) I had one or two "mentors" in the record collecting world, both of whom had enormous collections and were extremely knowledgeable. One book I found very helpful and intersting is The Fabulous Phonograph by Roland Gelatt: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5094978-the-fabulous-phonograph-1877-1977

I have the paperback: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15096330-the-fabulous-phonograph-1877-1977
If you really dislike Bach you keep quiet about it! - Andras Schiff

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Biffo on February 19, 2019, 12:30:28 AM
Interesting, I didn't know Szell had recorded the Sinfonietta. The first recording of the Sinfonietta I bought was from Abbado and the LSO and it has the same Hindemith coupling, I still have the LP though I haven't listened to it for years. Abbado also gets off to a ponderous start and for years I wasn't aware of it as it was the only version I owned.

Biffo,

Have you heard Ancerl's recording before (on Supraphon)?  I have it on CD (part of their 'Gold Edition' series)...wonderful!  I remember the first time that I heard it...not certain of the year, but it was on the BBC Proms...trying to remember who conducted it?  I tried for several years to see if I could find a release of it, but no luck.  Think that my jaw must have hit the floor; I had never heard it before, but wow!  Ah, found it--it was with Boulez in 2008 (see Prom 40) here:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/archive/search/performers/3bce590b-479f-42ca-b9e0-82883e0db9a2/3
Pohjolas Daughter

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Irons on February 19, 2019, 12:00:49 AM


On a visit to a charity shop yesterday came across Janacek's Sinfonietta. I had no idea Szell had recorded the work. After a clean and brush-up, gave it a spin. The opening brass fanfare did not bode well, I found it slow and laborious with little sense of excitement . After a silent gap - every recording I have heard has the various sections joined up creating a continues whole. Szell treats sections as movements, which I found okay but a bit odd. As the main body of the work began, to say I was impressed with the precision of the Cleveland Orchestra is an understatement. They turn on a sixpence and back again with ease. By the time of the coda they were in the groove and the fanfare was far better executed then the opening. Not perfect, a couple of quibbles with a dull opening, and to borrow a phrase from London Underground "mind the gap". The recording in typical CBS fashion has a wide stereo spread and lacks depth but this approach suits the music. All that fades into insignificance with George Szell and his Cleveland Orchestra who are superb.
Thank you very much for your review Irons!  I haven't heard this recording either.

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: XB-70 Valkyrie on February 19, 2019, 12:15:33 PM
I used to know a lot more about the histories of the different labels, but it has been years since I cared to research that info--I have less use for that info these days. Some of if is actually quite interesting. In my early days of collecting (early 90s) I had one or two "mentors" in the record collecting world, both of whom had enormous collections and were extremely knowledgeable. One book I found very helpful and intersting is The Fabulous Phonograph by Roland Gelatt: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5094978-the-fabulous-phonograph-1877-1977

I have the paperback: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15096330-the-fabulous-phonograph-1877-1977

Thank you for bringing up this book.  I'll put it on my wish list and keep an eye out for it.   :)

Best,

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Pohjolas Daughter

I was doing some filing (and rearranging--yet again!  ::)) of my record collection and ran across an LP that I forgot that I had purchased.  Hopefully, I'll listen to at least some of it this afternoon.  Sheesh!  I just looked at the prices they're asking for it on Discogs!



The thing that caught my eye:  I hadn't realized that Serge Koussevitzky was also a composer.  Reading about him (liner notes), I see that he was an accomplished double bass player (virtuoso according to Denis Townsley who wrote the liner notes).  Looking forward to listening to his works in particular.   :)

Best,

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Ghost of Baron Scarpia

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on February 20, 2019, 10:41:41 AM
Thank you very much for your review Irons!  I haven't heard this recording either.

PD

I have it!

[asin]B079VD2YRP[/asin]

Sarge recommends it highly. I haven't gotten to it yet.

XB-70 Valkyrie

#186
Szell is great--probably my favorite Brahms symphonies, although the Columbia LPs from that era (esp the 'six eyes') suffered from excessive high-midrange and tape hiss. I would think the Sony reissues have cleared some of that up.

As for Koussevitsky, I have an old RCA LCT ("Long-playing Classical Treasury" LP reissues of 78 rpm recordings) of him playing the double bass and conducting Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet on the other side. 

EDIT:

Just picked up the Bach Sonatas and Partitas played by Oscar Shumsky on eBay:

If you really dislike Bach you keep quiet about it! - Andras Schiff

Irons

Quote from: XB-70 Valkyrie on February 20, 2019, 06:14:09 PM


EDIT:

Just picked up the Bach Sonatas and Partitas played by Oscar Shumsky on eBay:



Aligreto - trust he is OK, miss his contributions - featured that recording quite recently. I am fairly sure it was on ASV.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

Irons

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on February 20, 2019, 10:50:18 AM
I was doing some filing (and rearranging--yet again!  ::)) of my record collection and ran across an LP that I forgot that I had purchased.  Hopefully, I'll listen to at least some of it this afternoon.  Sheesh!  I just looked at the prices they're asking for it on Discogs!



The thing that caught my eye:  I hadn't realized that Serge Koussevitzky was also a composer.  Reading about him (liner notes), I see that he was an accomplished double bass player (virtuoso according to Denis Townsley who wrote the liner notes).  Looking forward to listening to his works in particular.   :)

The Eccles is interesting too, P. His name does not turn up very often!

Perhaps Russian conductors have an urge to compose double bass concertos. Another famous conductor, Kostantin Ivanov composed the two on this recording. It took a couple of listens before the penny dropped I wasn't listening to a cello! Is the soloist in your recording Russian?

You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

vandermolen

I very rarely buy LPs especially as I don't currently own a functioning record deck. However this really intrigued me, featuring two of my favourite symphonies, and I've snapped it up:

Maybe I'll see if I can play it on the microwave turntable.
::)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: XB-70 Valkyrie on February 20, 2019, 06:14:09 PM
Szell is great--probably my favorite Brahms symphonies, although the Columbia LPs from that era (esp the 'six eyes') suffered from excessive high-midrange and tape hiss. I would think the Sony reissues have cleared some of that up.

As for Koussevitsky, I have an old RCA LCT ("Long-playing Classical Treasury" LP reissues of 78 rpm recordings) of him playing the double bass and conducting Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet on the other side. 

EDIT:

Just picked up the Bach Sonatas and Partitas played by Oscar Shumsky on eBay:


Oh, nice!  Will be interested in seeing how you find Szell's Janacek.  The name of Shumsky rings a bell...vaguely...don't know anything about him however.  I listened to the concerto by him last night...enjoyable.  Will have to give it another go maybe today.  The performer (according to some googling) was/is Romanian.

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: vandermolen on February 21, 2019, 12:53:18 AM
I very rarely buy LPs especially as I don't currently own a functioning record deck. However this really intrigued me, featuring two of my favourite symphonies, and I've snapped it up:

Maybe I'll see if I can play it on the microwave turntable.
::)
Perhaps your daughter will lend you 'hers'?   ;)  Or now a good excuse to go out and buy a new one?

Best,

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

vandermolen

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on February 21, 2019, 03:41:51 AM
Perhaps your daughter will lend you 'hers'?   ;)  Or now a good excuse to go out and buy a new one?

Best,

PD
Definitely!
Thanks.
:)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Irons

#193


Reiner conducting the Vienna Philharminic in their prime is one of the wonders of the time machine of recorded music. The LSO of the period were no slouch either. I cannot pretend to have heard a long list of DSCH 1st, but Martinon is so good I don't feel I need to. Although stereo is available for both recordings, from this vintage I prefer mono. I have a stereo facsimile of Shostakovich from "Classic Records" but never play that LP. Two very good examples from the superb RCA catalogue of the era.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

XB-70 Valkyrie

Today's LP digitization (FLACulence):

Edith Peinemann playing Dvorak and Ravel--another one I've had sitting around unheard for a couple decades. Wonderful performance and sound quality!

If you really dislike Bach you keep quiet about it! - Andras Schiff

JBS

Quote from: Irons on February 24, 2019, 12:17:00 AM


Reiner conducting the Vienna Philharminic in their prime is one of the wonders of the time machine of recorded music. The LSO of the period were no slouch either. I cannot pretend to have heard a long list of DSCH 1st, but Martinon is so good I don't feel I need to. Although stereo is available for both recordings, from this vintage I prefer mono. I have a stereo facsimile of Shostakovich from "Classic Records" but never play that LP. Two very good examples from the superb RCA catalogue of the era.

Interesting cover art on those two.  Death and Transfiguration gets barely a nod on the Strauss LP....while the DSCH cover reflects the plotline (such as it is) of Age of Gold rather well (heroic Soviet soccer team becomes target of capitalist villiany when it plays a tournament un the decadent West).

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

PerfectWagnerite

Quote from: Irons on February 19, 2019, 07:37:10 AM
I like the recordings Abbado made for Decca with the LSO. Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet is outstanding and Mendelssohn "Scottish" Symphony is excellent, but I dislike Abbado's Sinfonietta with a passion despite the fact it was top choice in the 1975 Penguin Guide. I owned a wide band copy of which I was delighted to find a buyer for. Ancerl with the Czech Philharmonic is the benchmark for Sinfonietta, the work is part of the conductor and orchestra's DNA. I also have Kubelik on DG which I have not warmed to without working out why.
There are many wonderful recordings of this work but for me Ancerl just hits a gram slam with this one. Just unbelievable playing from the Czech brass and so vividly recorded you almost cannot believe the age of the recording.

JBS

Quote from: PerfectWagnerite on February 24, 2019, 06:22:16 PM
There are many wonderful recordings of this work but for me Ancerl just hits a gram slam with this one. Just unbelievable playing from the Czech brass and so vividly recorded you almost cannot believe the age of the recording.

Is this it? If so I agree wholeheartedly.
[asin]B00008UEF7[/asin]
Although I have it only on CD, and got it for the Martinu, not the Janacek

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

PerfectWagnerite

Quote from: JBS on February 24, 2019, 06:31:57 PM
Is this it? If so I agree wholeheartedly.
[asin]B00008UEF7[/asin]
Although I have it only on CD, and got it for the Martinu, not the Janacek
Yes that is the one. Ancerl is usually more restrained in his readings but here he just lets it rip.

I am surprised that a few fellow GMG'ers have not heard the Szell recording. I don't think the cd is all that rare. You mean you have not heard the LP version?

Irons



Mercury is not a one size fits all label but the recorded legacy would be all the poorer without the brilliance of C. R. Fine and his team. From day one Mercury was an audiophile label, the only one I have encountered which divulges microphone make, type and placement. "Living Presence" is not a slogan but an accurate description of the presentation of recordings by them, the listener feels he or she can reach out and touch the performers. The downside - there has to be one, as every other label would go down the same route -  Mercury recordings are dry and can be boxy. This presentation would not suit Beethoven and Brahms for example, but for 20th century dynamic music, I love Mercury.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.