What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Tapkaara]

Only to the cult members.  Everyone else recognizes that the man could write a good tune but didn't know when to stop.   

Good tune writer, great orchestrator...his music has such an emotional impact. But knowing when to stop in always a good thing.

[Keemun]

After listening to Mahler 1 and not being completely satisfied, I've decided to listen to this excellent performance:

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (Pierre Boulez; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Singverein; Christine Schäfer, soprano; Michelle DeYoung, mezzo soprano.  Live, 2005) 

Great recording, especially the SACD multi-channel.  I'm still strugging to like Mahler, though.

What else have you tried?

[Franco]

[Coopmv]

Now playing CD6 from this set ...

[Brian]

Writing my review of this album for MusicWeb ... if you like the Shostakovich preludes or have shuddered in excitement at the thought of Rachmaninov and Kapustin having a love-child, invest with confidence.

[Fëanor]

After listening to Mahler 1 and not being completely satisfied, I've decided to listen to this excellent performance:

...

What else have you tried?

{ ... other than the Tylson Thomas /SF Symphony Mahler No.1 }

Well, I have at least one version of each Mahler symphony, (excluding the unfinished 10th),  I've made progress: I dislike Mahler less than I used to.

[Coopmv]

{ ... other than the Tylson Thomas /SF Symphony Mahler No.1 }

Well, I have at least one version of each Mahler symphony, (excluding the unfinished 10th),  I've made progress: I dislike Mahler less than I used to.

MTT has never impressed me as a conductor ...

[Coopmv]

Now playing CD5 from this set ...

[Franco]

[Sid]

Sibelius - Lemminkainen Suite; Tapiola (Philadelphia/Ormandy/Helsinki PO/Berglund) EMI

Sibelius is not one of my favourite composers, but this recording makes me think otherwise. I especially like the intensity, drama & atmosphere of this music. Sibelius doesn't present you with a theme at the beginning of a movement, he gives you fragments, like bits of a jigsaw puzzle, which he assembles by the end. I suppose this is what makes him a bit difficult to digest, but it's also what makes his music very unique. Ormandy's account is great & difficult to fault & it's great to hear the whole suite, not only bits of it as it is sometimes (unfortunately) presented.

Messiaen - Quartet for the End of Time; Stravinsky - Symphonies of Wind Instruments; Octet (Beths/Pieterson/Bijlsma/De Leeuw/Netherlands Wind Ens./De Waart) Philips Eloquence

This cd pairs two composers who are very different. Messiaen is more concerned about philosophy & spirituality in his greatest chamber work, and Stravinsky is more rooted on terra firma. Of course, this is simplifying things, as there are earthy aspects to Messiaen's Quartet, but for the most part, it is music out of this world, coming from another dimension. The instruments are stretched to their limits. This is a fully digital recording from the late 1970's & it still sounds fresh.

[Franco]

[SonicMan46]

Now, I've been wanting to obtain another Mahler Symphony Set and have been 'eyeing' this one w/ MTT & the San Frans - offered on their website at 'too expensive' pricing for me - will a box set appear later at a decent offering?  Not sure, but the more important point is whether these are good consistent performances & recordings?  I've read 'mixed' reviews, so would appreciate comments by those who know these recordings - thanks all - 

[ChamberNut]

Beethoven - String Trios, opus 9

Zurich String Trio
Brilliant Classics

Fantastic!    I wonder if this set is HIP?

[ChamberNut]

Ravel - String Quartet in F

Ad Libitum Quartet
Naxos

[greg]

Malcolm Arnold's 5th Symphony- surprised!  This is great stuff!  0:)

[Brian]

BERLIOZ | Symphonie fantastique
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Charles Dutoit

An almost-perfect performance of this symphony. The first four movements are awesome, the whole thing is exciting, the playing is great, but the church bells in the last movement are SO WIMPY!!!! Why why why why why why why??!??

[ChamberNut]

BERLIOZ | Symphonie fantastique
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Charles Dutoit

An almost-perfect performance of this symphony. The first four movements are awesome, the whole thing is exciting, the playing is great, but the church bells in the last movement are SO WIMPY!!!! Why why why why why why why??!??

Ah, that's disappointing, Brian.  I agree.....I like the church bells to be on the louder, more emphatic side (whether or not that is the HIP way). 

[SonicMan46]

Beethoven - String Trios, opus 9 - Zurich String Trio - Brilliant Classics

Fantastic!    I wonder if this set is HIP?

Ray - I've owned and enjoyed that bargain set for a while now - a recommendation!    But, I cannot answer your question concerning the HIP issue - these are all string instruments, so not a problem, but whether these performers are using 'gut' strings, the proper bows of the times, and the playing techniques used then, just not sure from my listening - checked the liner notes and NO information available (of course, typical for Brilliant's oft limited notes, but who can complain w/ the price?).

Jerry Dubins from Fanfare provides a review quoted HERE, but offers little information regarding the instruments & techniques uses; although his review is quite positive!  Dave   

[ChamberNut]

Boccherini - String Quintet for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos in D minor, G.293 (op.20)

La Magnifica Comunita
Brilliant Classics

[DavidRoss]

Now, I've been wanting to obtain another Mahler Symphony Set and have been 'eyeing' this one w/ MTT & the San Frans - offered on their website at 'too expensive' pricing for me - will a box set appear later at a decent offering?  Not sure, but the more important point is whether these are good consistent performances & recordings?  I've read 'mixed' reviews, so would appreciate comments by those who know these recordings - thanks all - 

Superb recordings of consistently fine performances, Dave.  Don't know if a box set is planned--if so, not until quite some time after the 8th is released this fall.  Lower prices available from some Amazon marketplace sellers.  I've waxed euphoric over this set elsewhere--every single recording so far is among my favorites--even the DLVDE with a baritone instead of an alto!--and if I could take only one cycle to the desert island, this would probably be the one.  Suggest you give one a try--whichever of Mahler's symphonies is your fave, or whichever your collection is weak in--and see how you get on with it before taking the plunge.  As for me, I think the strongest are 4-5-6-7 and DLVDE (my favorites), though 1-2-3-9 are all good enough that I could be happy with them if they were the only recordings of those symphonies I were allowed to keep.

What makes them so good?  Besides the splendid sound quality and the orchestra's virtuosity?  I think it is that MTT strikes an almost ideal balance in presenting the manifold character of Mahler's symphonic genius.  He offers the wit, the worldliness, the irony, the power, the humor, the gentleness and quiet grace, the theatricality, and most of all the endlessly imaginative orchestration and the lush orchestral soundscapes that Mahler delighted in exploring.

Try it.  You'll like it.     

Bear in mind, of course, that I recognize MTT as one of the finest conductors of our time, and the SFS as one of the world's great orchestras