What are you listening 2 now?

[Traverso]

Bach

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Never seen this Boston performance before on disc. I consulted the discography I have and it has it on the Music and Arts label and describes it as 'unauthorised release'. I will have to check it out.

I think that the performance that Karl was talking about was at the University of Virginia?

PD

[vers la flamme]

Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No.1 in G minor, op.25. Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Herbert Blomstedt, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig

Thibaudet is not one of my favorite pianists, but he gives a dazzling performance here. As for Blomstedt, he's pretty much the perfect conductor for Mendelssohn, and of course the Leipzigers play in a tradition that dates back to when Mendelssohn himself was chief conductor there. Killer disc.

[Biffo]

I think that the performance that Karl was talking about was at the University of Virginia?

PD

According to the chronicle of performances (Raymond Holden) Barbirolli conducted Elgar 2 twice with the BSO, 6 & 7 November 1964, both times in Symphony Hall, Boston. The only other venue mentioned in that period (with the BSO) is the Palmer Auditorium, New London, CT - a different program including RVW 6.

Presto Music has a good selection of Music & Arts recordings but I couldn't find the Elgar.

Thanks for your reply.

[Que]

2nd part of this set:



As I said before: quite a treat. 

Q

[71 dB]

Arrived today: Boccherini - Six Sonatas for Cello and Piano (arr. Alfredo Piatti) - Fedor Amosov / Jen-Ru Sun - Naxos 8.572368

Boccherini is always enjoable. Hearing this music in this 1870s arrangement sounds interesting. The recorded sound is excellent! With headphones absolutely zero crossfeeding needed! I started listening to this with strong crossfeed and it sounded almost mono. Took crossfeeding away and bam! Just like it should be. I need to test with speakers too, but the sound appears top notch. I got this very cheap.

[Madiel]

Cello Suite No.1 in my preferred sets.

[Biffo]

Sibelius: Symphony No 2 in D major - John Barbirolli conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 1940 - impassioned performance, excellent remastering from Dutton.

[Sergeant Rock]

First listen to a couple of discs bought very cheaply but left in a pile gathering dust;



From memory this was Norrington's first big breakthrough disc into the wonderful world of early Romantic HIP.  I seem to remember glowing reviews - lots of references to "sounding like an old masterpiece painting where layers of dirt and varnish have been removed" revelatory/blah blah blah.  I was genuinely expecting to "hear" more in this performance.  Nicely & neatly played, fairly neutral recording.  Tempi etc far from out of the ordinary but actually all rather tame.  march to the scaffold was more of a stroll rather than appointment with death.  So all perfectly good but not as exciting or pictorial as I would have thought it would be.....

For me this was a revelation when I got my copy soon after it was released, and to this day it remains my favorite March to the Scaffold. I love the sound of the period instruments and rather than the usual skip, jog or dead run to the guillotine, Norrington gives us a slow, grim, scary march depicting a condemned man in no hurry to die. And even if he were in a hurry, the slow pace of the cart, wading through the crowd, would prevent a faster pace. To me it is a very "pictorial" performance. Exciting? Well not in the way I assume you mean but I'm not sure it should be exciting. This is about an execution after all.

I take no exception to your opinion of the Chailly M5: I agree, it is a completely great performance.

Sarge

[Traverso]

Beethoven

Missa Solemnis

Maybe weird to say, but this is a very human approach  by Giulini.
I think it would have gotten the approval from van Beethoven.

[vandermolen]

Symphony 13 'Babi Yar' - a very fine performance:

[Karl Henning]

First listen to a couple of discs bought very cheaply but left in a pile gathering dust;



From memory this was Norrington's first big breakthrough disc into the wonderful world of early Romantic HIP.  I seem to remember glowing reviews - lots of references to "sounding like an old masterpiece painting where layers of dirt and varnish have been removed" revelatory/blah blah blah.  I was genuinely expecting to "hear" more in this performance.  Nicely & neatly played, fairly neutral recording.  Tempi etc far from out of the ordinary but actually all rather tame.  march to the scaffold was more of a stroll rather than appointment with death.  So all perfectly good but not as exciting or pictorial as I would have thought it would be.....

I see ya, but I do remember the day I first heard this, on WXXI in Rochester (NY) and it unlocked the piece for me (Nuts to Herb-wits)

[Karl Henning]

I think that the performance that Karl was talking about was at the University of Virginia?

PD

Aye, in Old Cabell Hall.

[Karl Henning]

For me this was a revelation when I got my copy soon after it was released, and to this day it remains my favorite March to the Scaffold. I love the sound of the period instruments and rather than the usual skip, jog or dead run to the guillotine, Norrington gives us a slow, grim, scary march depicting a condemned man in no hurry to die. And even if he were in a hurry, the slow pace of the cart, wading through the crowd, would prevent a faster pace. To me it is a very "pictorial" performance. Exciting? Well not in the way I assume you mean but I'm not sure it should be exciting. This is about an execution after all.

I take no exception to your opinion of the Chailly M5: I agree, it is a completely great performance.

Sarge

Glad to be in your Company viz. the Norrington, Sarge!

[Karl Henning]

Symphony 13 'Babi Yar' - a very fine performance:

Aye!

[Sergeant Rock]

Glad to be in your Company viz. the Norrington, Sarge!

And glad to be in yours. I feared I was alone, preaching in the wilderness 

Sarge

[Mirror Image]

Great stuff! Amazingly I have three recordings of that fine work now.

Cool, Jeffrey. I only have two. Of the three you own, which performance is your favorite?

[Mirror Image]

I like every work on that CD.

Me too. A fantastic recording.

[Mirror Image]

Symphony 13 'Babi Yar' - a very fine performance:

I have own this set as well. What do you think are the best performances from the set? I've been meaning to dive back into it at some point, but I really need to finish Kondrashin's traversal of these symphonies first.

Edit: I know our Karl thinks rather highly of these Maxim Shostakovich-led performances.

[Mirror Image]

Piano Quintet in E major, Op. 15



So far, I haven't found these Doric performances to be as emotionally probing as the ones with the Anon Quartett on CPO, but they're still quite good I must say.