What are you listening 2 now?

[Harry]

I rather suspect your audio system might make all flaws a bit too obvious... Or perhaps quite the opposite.

What I really meant was that the musical material comes across as very convincing to my ear, rather than referring to any strictly audiophile merits.

Well my system is not completely burned in yet, I mean the Ansuz cables and the D3 switch, but the Diamond cut tweeter is a critical bugger, so if something is wrong in that respect with the recording, he notices this, sometimes in a good sense and sometimes not so. But I will hear this soon enough.

[vandermolen]

I've been away for a while (my first ever cruise - along the Dalmatian Coast - very enjoyable)
Rota: Symphony No.1
Also very enjoyable, reminds me of Braga Santos in places.
I have the earlier BIS recording but this one is better;

[Harry]

I've been away for a while (my first ever cruise - along the Dalmatian Coast - very enjoyable)
Rota: Symphony No.1
Also very enjoyable, reminds me of Braga Santos in places.
I have the earlier BIS recording but this one is better;

Agreed, and welcome back my friend!

[Madiel]

Vivaldi: Bassoon concertos in E flat (RV 483) and C (RV 470).



And with that I've finished all of the ones that I bought in the compilation boxes at the beginning of this process. Part of me is kind of tempted to go looking for the separate versions because many of them are not especially difficult to find and then all my cardboard boxes would match... yes I am mentally unstable, why do you ask?

With a couple of arrivals today, I now have 64 out of 74 volumes. One is on order from an absurdly slow Amazon seller who had better come through with the goods. The rest are yet to be bought.

[AnotherSpin]

[Florestan]

[Madiel]

Beethoven: Piano sonata in E flat, op.7



I have 3 recordings of this sonata, and it's one of the ones I know best as I played it for an exam.

This is the only volume of Jando's series that I own. Apparently I haven't listened to op.7 on this album since 2012. It's serviceable, but to be honest Jando doesn't seem to be bringing much poetry to the music. I'll try my other 2 recordings, probably tomorrow, and see what I think of them.

[Florestan]

[Todd]

5 & 6.

[Christo]

I've been away for a while (my first ever cruise - along the Dalmatian Coast - very enjoyable)
Rota: Symphony No.1
Also very enjoyable, reminds me of Braga Santos in places.
I have the earlier BIS recording but this one is better;

`
As explained in Chandos's booklet, Rota listened to Vaughan Williams at Toscanini's flat in New York. Both Rota and Braga Santos were influenced by Vaughan Williams -- Braga Santos heard him on the radio during the war years. Am playing this beautiful CD now.

[Harry]

Leclair & his Rivals.
Guillemain, Cardonne, Guignon & Duphly.
Leila Schayegh, Baroque viol.
Jörg Halube, Harpsichord.


Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764) was the most important violinist in 18th century France. His musical and violinistic influence made him the founder of the French violin school. In competition with other outstanding violinists of the royal chapel of Louis XV - including Jean-Pierre Guignon (1702-1774) and later Louis-Gabriel Guillemain (1705-1770) - he created an exciting and above all highly virtuoso repertoire of French violin music. This program sheds light on an important part of musical life at the Versailles court and the development of violin music in France. A fine performance, and excellent recording. This disc is not likely to disappoint from whatever point you start.

[Mister Sharpe]

I remember ordering this exquisite set of recordings when it was first released (along with some other CDs from the Australian Eloquence label) from Australia (I forget exactly from where - a very well-stocked antipodean online store) and then how I had to waste an entire working day clearing it through customs at Athens Airport. The courier service was charging an astronomical fee to handle it themselves and deliver it to my door. I recall the endless bureaucracy, the ridiculous trail of paperwork going back and forth, the labyrinthine process, the string of small fees here and there, the waiting and the vast expanses of the warehouses. Of course, as an experience, it was utterly memorable - and the final outcome a success: the duty was ridiculously low after all and the total cost of the whole ordeal was much cheaper than buying the box from a physical store (remember those?) or any other online store (which would not have it anyway). As for the adventure itself, a friend tagged along through it all out of curiosity and solidarity; once it was over, we sat down for a meal at one of the area's famous tavernas, renowned for their lamb chops and spit-roasted meats (they're so far from the city center that you only visit them on weekend outings to the Mesogaia region). Whenever I listen to these excellent recordings, that little escapade comes rushing back to mind.

You gotta really love music, Wanderer, to put yourself through that!    On the plus side of things, I suppose the ordeal makes the Kapell box seem all the more like valuable contraband that you snuck in. But glad you enjoy Kapell as much as I do.  My box came with an annoyance factor as well but one not nearly as memorable as yours!  I bought it at a secondhand bookshop and reasonably priced too! The (minor) annoyance was I had just purchased three of those disks the weekend before from a charity shop. What are the odds?  And you know, I'd never seen them before, or since!

[AnotherSpin]

[hopefullytrusting]

Now, we have reached Scriabin entering his final phase: Elina Akselrud playing Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB5v_1gCRZw

Compared to the last sonata, this is a regression on all levels - it is timid and lacking in tenacity. It is, of course, strikingly beautiful, as Scriabin always knew which notes to hit - drawing out beauty was never a weakness that he suffered, and he always has a superior sense of rhythm and his deftness with the light touch - almost as if all the notes were grace - is, I feel, unprecedented and still unmatched. For me, Scriabin is the master of that sort, but compared to the wildness of No. 6 - this cannot feel but like a letdown.

The recording is excellent all around - well-filmed, with excellent shorts of the hands, but this is not a feast - merely a snack, and one that I feel will leave most unsatisfied - sort of how American Chinese food or fast food, in general, leaves you hungrier after the fact because of its sodium content - that explains this sonata for me, metaphorically - it is full of sodium, and it makes you feel bloated.

I personally don't feel any emotion whatsoever when listening to this work other than boredom. It feel perfunctory, as if they had to do it, or, I need to write another sonata - here you go, and because they are a genius - it got published without anyone checking it.

I cannot recommend this sonata, but I can recommmend this pianist - their channel is excellent.

[Mister Sharpe]

Anxious to give Hanson's symphonic poem Before the Dawn a listen to on my own equipment (I'd heard it previously on YouTube).  Impressively courageous, I must say, of Treviño and Ondine to resurrect it from the dead, esp. so as Hanson himself, though he wasn't shy about promoting his own work, didn't seek to beat the drum for it.  Apparently, he conducted it only once, with the LA Symphony in '23. Here's a photo of him I hadn't seen before, from a newspaper about that time:

 

[Harry]

Antonio Zacara de Teramo (c.1360-1416)
All spiritual and Secular works "Enigma Fortuna"
4 CD's.
Vol.1, sacred music.
La Fonte Musica, Michele Pasotti, Medieval lutes and direction.
"Let the ones who can, understand me, since I understand myself" Antonio Zacara da Teramo.

"Great masters' works are like suns that rise and set around us.
The time will come for every great work that is now waned"
Ludwig Wittgenstein.

"Why record for the first time all the works of a single composer who today is still relatively unknown to music listeners? The first answer, plain and simple, is the only one I believe in: because it's great music. It is music of the highest quality, which deserves to be better known, to be part of our shared experience, just like the works of a past great painter or a great architect are often part of the everyday landscape of our cities. The music of this Abruzzese-born master is a world whose variety, complexity, vastness constantly amaze and enthrall the listener. Wittgenstein's epigraph at the beginning of this short essay encapsulates the motivation behind this project: to let the sun of Zacara's music shine again."
I remember @Que was very impressed by this anthology, and to be frank he was right, proclaiming its excellence. Some time passed since I heard such  beautiful music and I am only at the first CD and still three to come. I count myself lucky. For those that seek music from this time and age, very much recommended. A tad to closely recorded, but otherwise SOTA sound, and as to the performance one could wish not better.

[SonicMan46]

Beethoven, LV - Piano Sonatas w/ Friedrich Gulda the last few days - the 1967 Amadeo recordings (his second set) - the Piano Concertos included as a bonus in the box.  Dave

P.S. now in Todd's second tier (HERE) - need to listen to Daniel-Ben Pienaar, who was raised to 4th in the TOP TEN tier (have as a Spotify playlist).

[Todd]

Revisiting this disc for the first time in a good while.  So much fun.

[Harry]

Pietro Migali.
Trio sonatas.
Ensemble BariAntiquA.

I do not think I ever heard of this Italian composer, and it is the only disc I could find of him. It seems that he only wrote what is on this disc, but what he composed is to me of great worth. Little of him is known, all info comes from his will. A native of Southern City of Lecce. He was a Maestro di Capella, and we only know this because it is on the title page of his Sonatas. No info of his life or career. His works are of high quality take that from me. Corelli was a influence for sure, but the real influence came from Carlo Mannelli, a Roman Violinist and composer, whose trio sonatas of 1682, appear to have influenced Migali's bowing indications and other features. Migali's ingenious counterpoint, musical repartee, and expressiveness shows his sensitive musicianship.
I for one can wholeheartedly recommend this disc. Well recorded and performed.

[Todd]

Beethoven, LV - Piano Sonatas w/ Friedrich Gulda the last few days - the 1967 Amadeo recordings (his second set) - the Piano Concertos included as a bonus in the box.

Minor note of correction, it was his third recording of the cycle, though it was the second one released.  His earliest cycle was released comparatively recently by Orfeo.

BTW, don't trust AI summaries.  Here's what Gemini shows:

"Friedrich Gulda recorded three complete cycles of Beethoven's piano sonatas: one for Decca (1954-1958), a live Amadeo version from 1967, and a second Amadeo set in 1967. His discography also includes other significant works such as his first sonata recordings for Orfeo (1953-1954), sets of the Eroica Variations and Diabelli Variations, his collaboration with violinist Ruggiero Ricci in Beethoven's Violin Sonatas, and his recorded Piano Concertos No. 1 and No. 4."

My experience with Gemini is that it generates errors regarding classical music recordings, pop music recordings, geography, photography and photographic gear, history, religion, historic cars, taxes, economics, politics, and law. I'm confident that it is always accurate on all other topics which I am less familiar with.