What are you listening 2 now?

[Florestan]

You, Sir, are a person of impeccable taste, not only for the above but for each and every recording you've been listening to during the last month.

[Linz]

Mahler  Symphony No. 1 Eliahu Inbal

[Florestan]

Why not?

Why this why not, I wonder?

[JBS]

Why not?

Cassette!  I remember those!

Or at least that looks like the layout they used for cassette releases.

[Florestan]

Franz Schubert's
Symphony No. 6

Jonathan Nott, Bamberger Symphoniker

How do you rate this set? How does it compare to the classics of this repertoire? Many advanced thanks for your reply, should you be so kind as to reply at all.

[Florestan]

Very highly. You have to understand, I am a long-term Schubert-hater. Well.. no, that's putting it waaay too strongly: I didn't so much hate him but rather just sort of ignored him. I found him very difficult to get 'into', basically. It all sounded sweet enough, but utterly anonymous to my ears. Then this set comes along, and I see a fire in each symphony I had never heard before. The music is no longer anonymous and anodyne to me. It has character and personality I never knew it could have. Also, the recording quality is excellent, as is the playing from a technical standpoint (as far as I can tell). I've only had it about a year, but I've listened to -and enjoyed- more Schubert in that year than in the previous **cough** 40 or so years.

So, I'm afraid I don't know what the classics of this repertoire are, because they never 'did' it for me. But this set: I'd sell my own grandmother to acquire a copy (but fortunately don't have to!)

With newly-attuned ears, I'd certainly be grateful for some 'classics' recommendations.

Wow! Many thanks again for this most detailed, thoughtful and honest reply.

My experience is the opposite of yours: Schubert was for me love at first sight hearing. In 2000 (I was 28 at the time) I was living in The Netherlands, waiting for the then my sweetheart to come from France (she was Romanian, too --- a very long and complicated story which I'm not going to elaborate on --- suffice it to say that I'm currently happily married with child --- to another woman, that is...) and one day in a long-since-gone brick-and-mortar shop which went by the name of Kruidvaat (I'm sure Que and Harry remember it) I bought three brick-wide boxsets: Schubert's complete Piano Sonatas, a large selections of Schubert's Lieder and Brahms' Complete Chamber Music, all of them on Brilliant Classics (incidentallly, and tellingly, in that self-same shop I could have bought perfumes, condoms and silk stockings...) The next month I was immersing myself in the music (at the time, brand new to me), which back then I proclaimed to be "the most beautiful music in the world". To cut a long story short, Schubert is one of my top three composer, a true soul-mate.

As for "classics", I mean such sets as Wand, Marriner, Mehta, Kertesz, Suitner, Karajan, Bernstein etc, all of which have their merits and as a Schubert fanatic I wouldn't wanrt to be without any of them.

Following your enthusiastic endorsement of the Nott set, I put it on seek-and-capture mode. In turn, I recommend you the Antonello Manacorda set --- it's fresh, crisp, Sturm-und-Drang-ish and SOTA sound.

[Mandryka]

Variations on Chopin. Do I like this music? I think I probably do, but then maybe not. Try Hamelin maybe.

[Mandryka]

Variations on Chopin. Do I like this music? I think I probably do, but then maybe not. Try Hamelin maybe.

Yes, Hamelin is better I think, much.

[vandermolen]

Vaughan Williams conducts' A London Symphony' (LSO, 1946 - BBC Proms concert). This remarkable double CD set finally turned up. Vaughan Williams was a fine conductor of his own scores, and this is an excellent example. Notwithstanding, as has been pointed out, the missing sections caused by the problems of recording off air at that time, one still gets a strong sense of VW's unique insight into this score (his favourite of at least the first eight of his symphonies):

[VonStupp]

Arthur Honegger
A Christmas Cantata
Symphony 4 'Deliciæ Basilienses'

Christopher Maltman, baritone
New London Children's Choir
London PO & Chorus - Vladimir Jurowski
(rec. 2007/2009)

VS

[Que]

Egarr's recording uses the same image. In his recording he played the canons on harpsichord

I think playing them on a harpsichord might be the better idea... 

Thread duty:

[asin]B001BSH0SU[/asin]

The Bruch concerto, which is incidentally played by Igor Oistrakh.

[vandermolen]

Damn. OK, that's on the ever-increasing list too!
Thumbs up for featuring Foxy the cat, as well

Yes, Foxy appears twice, in the booklet and on the inlay!
The ending of A London Symphony is incredibly moving in VW's performance and although it would be more accurate to call it 'Excerpts from A London Symphony' because of all the missing bits I wouldn't be without it. One of my discs of the year and one of the most interesting to be released in VW's 150th Anniversary year. I'm now listening to VW conducting the (very exciting and Sibelian) premiere of his 5th Symphony (1943) and the set also includes VW's later live performance (1952) previously released on Somm and Dona Nobis Pacem. It gets better and better.

[vandermolen]

Arthur Honegger
A Christmas Cantata
Symphony 4 'Deliciæ Basilienses'

Christopher Maltman, baritone
New London Children's Choir
London PO & Chorus - Vladimir Jurowski
(rec. 2007/2009)

VS

A great disc! Jurowski is the only conductor whom I have ever met - he was very friendly and a delight to meet.

[Linz]

Schubert  Rosamude D. 44 Symphonies 3 and 8 Riccardo Muti

[Lisztianwagner]

Franz Liszt
C'è qu'on entend sur la montagne

[Linz]

Smetana Má Vlast Rafael Kubelik Chicago Symphony Orchestra

[Operafreak]

Alma Brasileira: Music of Villa-Lobos-Michael Tilson Thomas

[Wanderer]

Love the cover! 😎

[Que]

Morning listening:



The sacred music (disc 2) by Diabolus in Musica and Antoine Guerber.

[Madiel]

Please stop using Amazon for images...maybe it's the m.media-amazon.com that's the issue?  I don't know.  But I do like to see/read what you and others are talking about.

Note:  I tried copying the address, but it asked if I wanted to allow downloads from there and my first thought upon reading this was "No!". 

PD

Well it sounds like the issue is that you personally have blocked Amazon. Why? Or more particularly, why was your first thought "No"? It's Amazon, not some virus-laden nefarious download site.