The Best and Cheapest Beethoven's Ninth

Started by MN Dave, April 24, 2008, 05:35:28 AM

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Gurn Blanston

No, you can see that this is Vol. I. It must have been packed like Karajan '63, 3 disks in one box and 2 in the other. It appears to be City of Birmingham. Who's leading?

8)

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Listening to:
Violin Concerti - Perlman - Vienna PO / Levine  Itzhak Perlman - K 218 Violin Concerto #4 in D 2nd mvmt - Andante cantabile
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

PerfectWagnerite

Yeah, volume II is also available cheap (like a couple of bucks I think). Walter Weller (aka former concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic) leads the City of Birmingham Sym. Orch. which was an original Chandos release I think.


Gurn Blanston

Quote from: PerfectWagnerite on April 28, 2008, 05:22:40 PM
Yeah, volume II is also available cheap (like a couple of bucks I think). Walter Weller (aka former concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic) leads the City of Birmingham Sym. Orch. which was an original Chandos release I think.



Ah, not that it matters, but he is unknown to me. Perhaps he cemented his rep as a conductor with this effort... :)

8)

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Listening to:
Vienna PO / Muti - Haydn 7 Last Words for Orchestra pt 1 Introduction
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

PerfectWagnerite

Quote from: Gurn Blanston on April 28, 2008, 05:27:11 PM
Ah, not that it matters, but he is unknown to me. Perhaps he cemented his rep as a conductor with this effort... :)8)

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Listening to:
Vienna PO / Muti - Haydn 7 Last Words for Orchestra pt 1 Introduction
Doubtful I think. I have symphonies 1 and 3 and 2 and 5 (I sold the original complete set) when gohastings messed up my order last year. If anyone in the US wants it I will give it to you for free.

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: PerfectWagnerite on April 28, 2008, 05:47:10 PM
Doubtful I think. I have symphonies 1 and 3 and 2 and 5 (I sold the original complete set) when gohastings messed up my order last year. If anyone in the US wants it I will give it to you for free.

;D  No, I meant cemented in the negative sense. :)

Well, you just beat the cheapest (which I bought for $0.01), now all we have to do is find the perfect synthesis between cheap and good and Minnesota Dave will finally be able to sleep contented tonight... ;)

8)

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Listening to:
Vienna PO / Muti - Haydn 7 Last Words for Orchestra pt 6 Sonata V
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

MN Dave

Quote from: Gurn Blanston on April 28, 2008, 06:06:10 PM
;D  No, I meant cemented in the negative sense. :)

Well, you just beat the cheapest (which I bought for $0.01), now all we have to do is find the perfect synthesis between cheap and good and Minnesota Dave will finally be able to sleep contented tonight... ;)

This thread is still here?



;D

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: MN Brahms on April 28, 2008, 06:07:41 PM
This thread is still here?



;D

Oh, Threadmaster, wherefore art thou?  ::)

8)

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Listening to:
Wiener Symphoniker / Sanderling  Sviatoslav Richter - K 466 Piano Concerto #20 in d 1st mvmt - Allegro
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

Gurn Blanston

Anyone can give a brief review and recommend or condemn this recording? :)



See it here

Thanks in advance.

8)


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Listening to:
Schumann Works for Piano - Wilhelm Kempff - Schumann Fantasie in C for Piano Op 17
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

BachQ

Quote from: Gurn Blanston on May 03, 2008, 06:06:58 PM
Anyone can give a brief review and recommend or condemn this recording? :)

At $31, it better be damn good ..........

Quote from: Gurn Blanston on May 03, 2008, 06:06:58 PM
Thanks in advance.

Blah blah blah ........

PerfectWagnerite

Quote from: Dm on May 03, 2008, 06:18:24 PM
At $31, it better be damn good ..........

Maybe it qualifies for Don's request for a recommendation of the worst and most expensive Beethoven 9th?

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: Dm on May 03, 2008, 06:18:24 PM
At $31, it better be damn good ..........

Blah blah blah ........

That's the fact, d. I usually plunge off into the murky depths without aid of anyone's experience. But at that price... although it can be had in the Marketplace for $18... :-\

8)

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Listening to:
Schumann Works for Piano - Wilhelm Kempff - Schumann "Waldszenen" Op 82
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: PerfectWagnerite on May 03, 2008, 06:21:11 PM
Maybe it qualifies for Don's request for a recommendation of the worst and most expensive Beethoven 9th?

That's what I'm afraid of. :)

8)

----------------
Listening to:
Schumann Works for Piano - Wilhelm Kempff - Schumann Waldszenen Op 82
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

M forever

If you know how to use the "internet", you can get it for far less, for instance from amazon.com. I highly recommend this recording, not just because I am a big fan of this orchestra-conductor combination in general which however doesn't mean that I like everything they did - and there is actually a fairly weak and disappointing Beethoven 9 from a live concert in Japan with these forces on video -, but because it is musically very impressive. This is a fairly "big" reading but at the same time it is concentrated and compact, the first movement in particular has a driven quality which fits the music very well and sets the tone for a very affirmative performance.  This is the 9th more like Beethoven intended - a dramatic narrative from chaos to joy -  than a solemn piece of music played on ïmportant occasions". Sinopoli doesn't care for "HIP" or "non-HIP", he just conducts the music very straightforward without really any vain or self-conscious fussing about how it is done "right", so you could call his approach "classicist" but it has none of the "pseudo-HIPness" a lot of the "classicists" apply to their interpretations these days. Like I said, this is a rather "big" reading but the rhythmical tightness and springiness with which they play and the enormous tonal flexibility and musically detailedness the orchestra displays make this a musically very satisfying and rather individual performance among a sea of mediocre contributions from conductors whose Beethoven we really don't need.

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: M forever on May 04, 2008, 12:42:41 PM
If you know how to use the "internet", you can get it for far less, for instance from amazon.com. I highly recommend this recording, not just because I am a big fan of this orchestra-conductor combination in general which however doesn't mean that I like everything they did - and there is actually a fairly weak and disappointing Beethoven 9 from a live concert in Japan with these forces on video -, but because it is musically very impressive. This is a fairly "big" reading but at the same time it is concentrated and compact, the first movement in particular has a driven quality which fits the music very well and sets the tone for a very affirmative performance.  This is the 9th more like Beethoven intended - a dramatic narrative from chaos to joy -  than a solemn piece of music played on ïmportant occasions". Sinopoli doesn't care for "HIP" or "non-HIP", he just conducts the music very straightforward without really any vain or self-conscious fussing about how it is done "right", so you could call his approach "classicist" but it has none of the "pseudo-HIPness" a lot of the "classicists" apply to their interpretations these days. Like I said, this is a rather "big" reading but the rhythmical tightness and springiness with which they play and the enormous tonal flexibility and musically detailedness the orchestra displays make this a musically very satisfying and rather individual performance among a sea of mediocre contributions from conductors whose Beethoven we really don't need.

M,
I was hoping you would answer here. I know you are very familiar with both Sinopoli (which I am not) AND Staatskapelle Dresden (who I greatly admire). I'm not so concerned about getting it cheap: more about whether I should get it at all. As I mentioned earlier, it is available for as little as $18 on Amazon Marketplace, so that's a lot more reasonable. But the one review of it there was a mixed message, that's why I was wanting more info. And now I have it. Thanks. :)

8)

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Listening to:
Beethoven - Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 3 - Norrköping SO / Parrott  Brautigam - Op 015 Concerto #1 in C for Pianoforte 1st mvmt - Allegro con brio
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

Sergeant Rock

Quote from: Gurn Blanston on May 04, 2008, 03:30:14 PM
M,
I was hoping you would answer here. I know you are very familiar with both Sinopoli (which I am not) AND Staatskapelle Dresden (who I greatly admire). I'm not so concerned about getting it cheap: more about whether I should get it at all. As I mentioned earlier, it is available for as little as $18 on Amazon Marketplace, so that's a lot more reasonable. But the one review of it there was a mixed message, that's why I was wanting more info. And now I have it. Thanks. :)

Well, according to M it's "big" and "compact." Seems ideal then for almost any taste. I don't know about you, but I'm sold  ;D

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"

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on May 04, 2008, 03:44:22 PM
Well, according to M it's "big" and "compact." Seems ideal then for almost any taste. I don't know about you, but I'm sold  ;D

Sarge

These are the sorts of anomalies that make music performance interesting, don'tcha think? :)  Still, as a concept I can grasp the meaning even though literally it seems confusing.

8)

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Listening to:
Beethoven - Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 3 - Norrköping SO / Parrott  Brautigam - Op 015 Concerto #1 in C for Pianoforte 2nd mvmt - Largo - 3rd mvmt -  Rondo: Allegro
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

M forever

By "big" I meant that he uses a large orchestra and lets it play like a large orchestra. No pseudo-classicism there. By "compact" I mean that the sound and playing, as "big" as it is, is very defined and concentrated, precise and to the point, not the kind of "lush" and soft edged "big band" sound some conductors would seek (e.g. Thielemann).

What that one reviewer on amazon doesn't get is that what makes this recording so good is not the concept as such - there are many different concepts which can make sense. What makes it so good is the quality of the playing and music making.

Sergeant Rock

Quote from: M forever on May 04, 2008, 04:30:26 PM
By "big" I meant that he uses a large orchestra and lets it play like a large orchestra. No pseudo-classicism there. By "compact" I mean that the sound and playing, as "big" as it is, is very defined and concentrated, precise and to the point, not the kind of "lush" and soft edged "big band" sound some conductors would seek (e.g. Thielemann).

Thank you for the clarification, M. Your original was the type of review you often scorn but in fact it's simply that the reviewer doesn't have the time, or the space, to elaborate. Damn concision, damn it to hell.

In any case, you know if Sinopoli is on the cover, I'm automatically sold...especially if he's conducting the Dresden.

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"

M forever

I like short and to-the-point reviews, if they make sense and are "true", I am just not very good at them, unfortunately. But I think one has to at least try to explain one's opinion, "it's great, you should buy it" is just not very informative.

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: M forever on May 04, 2008, 04:48:21 PM
I like short and to-the-point reviews, if they make sense and are "true", I am just not very good at them, unfortunately. But I think one has to at least try to explain one's opinion, "it's great, you should buy it" is just not very informative.

Me too. Simple question, understandable answer. BTW, your explanation jibes up precisely with what I thought you meant. Actually, that reviewer seemed far more concerned with the sound reproduction than the performance. Performance is ALWAYS more important. Outstanding sound is a bonus. :)

Thanks again,
8)

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Listening to:
Beethoven - Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 3 - Norrköping SO / Parrott  Brautigam - Op 015 Concerto #1 in C for Pianoforte 2nd mvmt - Largo - 3rd mvmt -  Rondo: Allegro
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)