Elgar's Hillside

Started by Mark, September 20, 2007, 02:03:01 AM

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Karl Henning

Tonight, should you wish:

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on May 21, 2020, 05:34:33 PM
On Saturday at 8PM Chowder Time, WCRB rebroadcasts a BSO concert including the Elgar Cello Concertohttps://www.classicalwcrb.org/#stream/0
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

kyjo

#3302
Fellow Elgarians: What do you consider to be the darkest recording of the 2nd Symphony? One that really brings out the work's darker undercurrents? I'm looking for a recording that delivers utmost mysteriousness in the second ("ghost") theme of the first movement, tragic nobility in the slow movement, ferocity in the scherzo (the climax needs to be shattering!!), and nostalgic summing-up in the finale. BTW I'm not very interested in "historical" recordings, no matter the merits of the interpretation.
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Mirror Image

Quote from: kyjo on May 23, 2020, 05:05:56 PM
Fellow Elgarians: What do you consider to be the darkest recording of the 2nd Symphony? One that really brings out the work's darker undercurrents? I'm looking for a recording that delivers utmost mysteriousness in the second ("ghost") theme of the first movement, tragic nobility in the slow movement, ferocity in the scherzo (the climax needs to be shattering!!), and nostalgic summing-up in the finale. BTW I'm not very interested in "historical" recordings, no matter the merits of the interpretation.

For the qualities in which you speak of, I'd say Andrew Davis' Philharmonia live recording. This one:


kyjo

Quote from: Mirror Image on May 23, 2020, 05:12:14 PM
For the qualities in which you speak of, I'd say Andrew Davis' Philharmonia live recording. This one:



Thanks John, I'll check it out! Just today I was listening to Edward Gardner's recent recording with the BBCSO on Chandos which I enjoyed very much - it's immaculately played and recorded - but perhaps a bit too "smooth" and not always bringing out some of the more visceral aspects of the score.
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Mirror Image

Quote from: kyjo on May 23, 2020, 05:15:56 PM
Thanks John, I'll check it out! Just today I was listening to Edward Gardner's recent recording with the BBCSO on Chandos which I enjoyed very much - it's immaculately played and recorded - but perhaps a bit too "smooth" and not always bringing out some of the more visceral aspects of the score.

You're welcome, Kyle. I personally like my Elgar more on the rougher side. Andrew Davis and Mark Elder are usually my go-to Elgarians, but I do like Boult a lot as well.

Roasted Swan

Quote from: kyjo on May 23, 2020, 05:15:56 PM
Thanks John, I'll check it out! Just today I was listening to Edward Gardner's recent recording with the BBCSO on Chandos which I enjoyed very much - it's immaculately played and recorded - but perhaps a bit too "smooth" and not always bringing out some of the more visceral aspects of the score.

My feeling with most of Gardner's recordings is that the ear is seduced by the sheer quality of the recording and playing but strip that away and they are unexceptional interpretations.  Nothing to offend by any means but little to engross....

Sergeant Rock

Quote from: kyjo on May 23, 2020, 05:05:56 PM
Fellow Elgarians: What do you consider to be the darkest recording of the 2nd Symphony?

With the proviso that we all tend to hear things differently, I suggest giving Sinopoli a try. I think it quite dark, slow and brooding.

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

relm1

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on May 24, 2020, 05:30:11 AM
With the proviso that we all tend to hear things differently, I suggest giving Sinopoli a try. I think it quite dark, slow and brooding.

Sarge
+1, was about to suggest Sinopoli for brooding.

71 dB

I can't participate much because I am not good at this. I just can't tell what is dark or light or whatever. I am not someone who remembers 1000 parameters of a given performance in case some asks something. I just like or I don't like and most of the time I don't even know why! Sometimes is because I am in the mood. So it's me, not the recording itself.

It's always been like this. I am different. For me cover art of the CD can be very important because it helps me with the mood. Bad cover art = bad mood = no enjoyment.  ;D

I have hardly anything to say.

Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

Mirror Image

Quote from: 71 dB on May 24, 2020, 08:59:39 AMI have hardly anything to say.

Then the best decision would be to not say anything at all.

vers la flamme

I think I'm going to get the Sinopoli/Philharmonia/DG. I listened to a good bit of the first symphony from that recording yesterday and enjoyed it, a lot more than the Barenboim/LPO that I have. But why is the 2CD of the Sinopoli Elgar symphonies going for so expensive? I can't find it any cheaper than $30 used. It must have gone OOP pretty early on.

Biffo

Quote from: vers la flamme on May 25, 2020, 03:29:17 AM
I think I'm going to get the Sinopoli/Philharmonia/DG. I listened to a good bit of the first symphony from that recording yesterday and enjoyed it, a lot more than the Barenboim/LPO that I have. But why is the 2CD of the Sinopoli Elgar symphonies going for so expensive? I can't find it any cheaper than $30 used. It must have gone OOP pretty early on.

I bought Boult's final performances of the symphonies as part of a box set of cassettes (can't remember why I chose that format, probably going cheap) many years ago. For a long time I haven't had any means of playing them so over the weekend I bought them on CD at a bargain price from Amazon UK - less than £8. Looking forward to hearing them again.

Sergeant Rock

Quote from: vers la flamme on May 25, 2020, 03:29:17 AM
I think I'm going to get the Sinopoli/Philharmonia/DG. I listened to a good bit of the first symphony from that recording yesterday and enjoyed it, a lot more than the Barenboim/LPO that I have. But why is the 2CD of the Sinopoli Elgar symphonies going for so expensive? I can't find it any cheaper than $30 used. It must have gone OOP pretty early on.

German Amazon has several on offer for 8 Euro but then you have to figure in the usual outrageous shipping costs to the States:

https://www.amazon.de/gp/offer-listing/B000024ZB1/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used


Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

71 dB

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on May 25, 2020, 04:49:59 AM
German Amazon has several on offer for 8 Euro but then you have to figure in the usual outrageous shipping costs to the States:

https://www.amazon.de/gp/offer-listing/B000024ZB1/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used


Sarge

Maybe Amazon.ca could help here? Shipping should not be much to the states, right?

CDN$ 18.04 is about $13 + shipping...

https://www.amazon.ca/Symphony-South-Circumstance-Edward-Elgar/dp/B000024ZB1/ref=sr_1_20?keywords=elgar+sinopoli&qid=1590412100&s=music&sr=1-20
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

Sergeant Rock

the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

71 dB

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on May 25, 2020, 05:21:13 AM
Good idea.

Sarge

Thanks, hah!  ;D One has to have "good ideas" if you are not a millionaire and want to collect half-decent collections of CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays,...  0:)
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

Ratliff

These mentions have been enough to give me an itch to hear the Sinopoli recordings, but as mentioned above, it seems to be one of those old out-of-print releases that is hard to find at an attractive price.

Barbirolli is my reference, he just seems to get it all right, although the CDs suffer from very early EMI digital transfers, which are far from ideal. (Barbirolli and Boult seem to suffer from the same problem, EMI prioritized their classic recordings highly and transferred very early in the CD era, then failed to revisit them.) I also have a number of other recordings that I have not heard, including Previn/LSO/Philips, Boult/Lyrita, Haitink/EMI. I guess I really don't have an urgent need for Sinopoli.

vers la flamme

Quote from: Baron Scarpia on May 25, 2020, 02:57:35 PM
These mentions have been enough to give me an itch to hear the Sinopoli recordings, but as mentioned above, it seems to be one of those old out-of-print releases that is hard to find at an attractive price.

Barbirolli is my reference, he just seems to get it all right, although the CDs suffer from very early EMI digital transfers, which are far from ideal. (Barbirolli and Boult seem to suffer from the same problem, EMI prioritized their classic recordings highly and transferred very early in the CD era, then failed to revisit them.) I also have a number of other recordings that I have not heard, including Previn/LSO/Philips, Boult/Lyrita, Haitink/EMI. I guess I really don't have an urgent need for Sinopoli.

Hmm, you've made me realize that I ought to check out Barbirolli's recordings before pulling the trigger on Sinopoli, which I was really impressed with, but of course Barbirolli seems to have had somewhat of a special connection with Elgar.

Is the Symphony No.1 the same on both of these recordings?




Ratliff

#3319
Quote from: vers la flamme on May 25, 2020, 04:28:10 PM
Hmm, you've made me realize that I ought to check out Barbirolli's recordings before pulling the trigger on Sinopoli, which I was really impressed with, but of course Barbirolli seems to have had somewhat of a special connection with Elgar.

Is the Symphony No.1 the same on both of these recordings?





You may or may not like Barbirolli's approach, but he was certainly immersed in this music. When I listen to his performance I get the feeling that he is truly inside the music, and he understands how every phrase and voice contributes to the whole.

I have the issue with the second cover you have linked (the individual disc) and I am pretty sure it is the same recording as the 2CD set. It is a 1962 recording.

I find myself exasperated because I have always listened to the 1962 and 1964 Barbirolli/Elgar Symphonies but I could swear I had managed to collect his earlier recordings. I think both Elgar symphonies were recorded by Barbirolli/Hale in the mid 1950's, but I can't find the discs, nor can I track down the releases of both symphonies.

Anyway, this is one to look out for, the 1954 recording of No 2. I can't find any release of a 1950's recording of No 1 with Barbirolli.



The more familiar 1964 recording of the second symphony looks like this: