That reminds me of the letters about the "Bowie salute" in Private a few months ago. Of course,he was just waving to fans!! I don't know. I wasn't there?
You sound like you don't like Karajan much? I don't like
him but I think he was quite a good conductor in certain repertoire,and he made some very good recordings. His Mahler 5 is regarded as one of the finest recordings by quite a few people,and his Sixth,which I'm listening to now on headphones,has got it's admirers. I like it;but I wouldn't say it's the best one. I also think his Bruckner is good. Some of his Strauss recordings. I love his recordings of Die Fledermaus,and his first Der Rosenkavalier. I must admit to being a bit of a fan of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf,who divides opinion. Another one whose political affiliations have been the subject of much controversy. I know Johan can't stand her! I also have that Beethoven boxed set you picture. I think it's quite good......but I love Beethoven,and I think there are more characterful interpretations. Beecham for example;who despite his apparent dislike of his music,conducted and recorded quite allot of it. I like his observation about Beethoven's Seventh sounding like allot of Yaks leaping about! (Ican't recall the exact quote). Weingartner is very good,too. Not so keen on these HIP performances,I'm afraid;but Zinman is a nice compromise. The underrated Wyn Morris,once dubbed the Welsh Furtwangler,is also good in the more fiery ones. And whatever you think of Karajan,he's got to be umpteen types better than Simon Rattle!
One of those overrated conductors the Beeb and Gramophone never stop plugging. As to Mutter. I quite like some of her playing. I think she is very talented;but the marketing is ridiculous. I suppose they have to do it these days;but she has allot of money,and her opinions must bear some weight at the label HQ. As to the Pavao Cd of Bax & Elgar. A pity I think it's quite good. I wish they'd do more Bax....or Bridge or Scott? It's good that they chose to record something like that. Thankfully they seemed to have toned it down on their latest cd. If this trend goes any further they'll need to sell these cds under plain brown wrapping!
I wonder what will be on the front of the forthcoming cd of Grace Williams' Missa Cambrensis. Thankfully,Lyrita have better taste. Those old Lp's they produced of Bax have had some flak. I didn't mind them. I think their choice of artwork for the Bax cd of Tintagel,The Garden of Fand and the Northen Ballade No1 (not forgetting Meditarranean) with that Wave was fantastic. I also liked their sleeve for Brian's Symphonies 6 & 16. It seemed to go with the music,somehow. I don't know why. I found the replacement less fitting;even though it was a landscape!! I just don't think it goes with Brian's music. Not that I hate it!!
If I had to put up with one conductor on the front of cds,I would pick Beecham. For obvious reasons he has no control on what goes on the front of boxed sets and single cd album reissues. But he was such a great character. Bryden Thomson usually seemed to keep a low profile. I'm trying to think if there is even one cd with him on the front?! What a modest man!
So by and large,I agree with you!!
Those Moeran cds from Lyrita you have cited,are a particularly fine example. Chandos also chose some lovely photos for their cds. In fact,I think that putting a really nice landscape or seascape of somewhere associated with a composer,particularly when it's someone less familiar to the average listener,like Daniel Jones or Grace Williams,is probably more likely to sell cds than a photo of the composer. Die hard enthusiasts like us know who Daniel Jones and Grace Williams are;others don't. If I saw one of those Moeran or Bax cds or that lovely photo of Porthkerry,it would catch my eye immediately. People like beautiful scenery. That's why tourism makes money! I might not be so compelled to investigate a photo of someone I didn't know from Adam! Although,Daniel Jones has got a good face. I recall a Musicweb critic (Rob Barnett?) describing him as looking out of the cd front like George Smiley? But,anyway (drone..drone!).......you get my drift?!!
