What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[George]

BINGO, well done! 

[DavidW]

Ahhhh. OK.

That may be the case then. I don't have any high end kit so perhaps it isn't as noticeable to me as to people with quality systems.

I listened to a bit just now on mog, and yeah it is tubby.  The prominent bass makes the piano lack in detailed sound, so everything becomes a bit muffled and boomy.  It's like listening through crappy stock earbuds.  But it's not too disagreeable, the playing is worth it.

[Benji]

Listening to the Miroirs it really puzzles me that anyone can think Ravel is a superficial composer. This is soulful music and totally affecting, nothing shallow about it whatsoever.

[Benji]

I listened to a bit just now on mog, and yeah it is tubby.  The prominent bass makes the piano lack in detailed sound, so everything becomes a bit muffled and boomy.  It's like listening through crappy stock earbuds.  But it's not too disagreeable, the playing is worth it.

You're listening on Mog? Oh he won't be happy... 

Well I am listening to it on crappy earbuds because it's late here. I can appreciate it is somewhat muffled - it's not crystaline in clarity like some recordings i've heard. But like I say - unless someone points such things out to me I don't tend to notice if i'm really enjoying the interp.

One of my favourite recordings of all time - Ancerl conducting Martinu's 6th is totally 'tubby' and awful, but the performance is so staggeringly, mind-blowingly awesome that I just don't notice any more. 

[Benji]

I mentioned it so I need to listen now...

Martinu - Fantasies Symphoniques. Czech Phil - Ancerl.

This is a symphony turned up to 11 I swear. I bloody love every note!

[George]

I listened to a bit just now on mog, and yeah it is tubby.  The prominent bass makes the piano lack in detailed sound, so everything becomes a bit muffled and boomy.  It's like listening through crappy stock earbuds.  But it's not too disagreeable, the playing is worth it.

I'd rather have too much bass than not enough.

[Scarpia]

Someone needs to write a dictionary of all the terms that reviewers use to describe recorded sound. I have often wondered what people mean by the tern tubby.

EDIT - The Free Dictionary says this about Tubby - "2. Having a dull sound; lacking resonance."

Close to my meaning.  Having an exaggerated mid-bass, lacking brilliance. 

Tubby? 

Perhaps you're an audiophile? As for me, I don't really notice such things unless the sound is really obviously clipped or overly reverberant. This recording seems ok, and very happy with the performance, but I don't have much to compare it to.

Who is your preference?

Not an audiophile really, but good sound certainly enhances pleasure.   At the time I preferred Thibaudet.  Since then I've acquired Werner Haas, Casadesus, Angela Hewitt and I think it is all in my Ciccolini set.

[DavidW]

I'd rather have too much bass than not enough.

Guess you won't be getting Scriabin needlessly performed on harpsichord then?

[Benji]

Close to my meaning.  Having an exaggerated mid-bass, lacking brilliance. 
Not an audiophile really, but good sound certainly enhances pleasure.   At the time I preferred Thibaudet.  Since then I've acquired Werner Haas, Casadesus, Angela Hewitt and I think it is all in my Ciccolini set.

Thanks for the info. I enjoy Thibaudet in Debussy and they have his Ravel on Napster so I'll give it a spin soon.

[George]

Thanks for the info. I enjoy Thibaudet in Debussy and they have his Ravel on Napster so I'll give it a spin soon.

His Satie is excellent. 

[Benji]

His Satie is excellent. 

Cool! Care to recommend me some Satie that isn't the overplayed obvious stuff that might make me take him more seriously? 

[George]

Cool! Care to recommend me some Satie that isn't the overplayed obvious stuff that might make me take him more seriously? 

Well, he recorded the complete (or nearly complete) works, but I tend to like the more popular stuff. The rest I don't really know by name, sorry.

[Coopmv]

Now playing CD6, the last CD from this set for a first listen ...

[Benji]

http://www.youtube.com/v/mNMnGNL0-uw

Vaughan Williams - Mystical Songs III: Love bade me welcome.

Heart-wrenchingly gorgeous. Thomas Allen is a legend, I could listen to him sing the telephone directory.

[DavidRoss]

Nice, Benji--great find!

[Sid]

How is this recording?

It's pretty good. Some might say that Davis is a little too restrained with Sibelius, but he's been working with this music for almost 50 years, so he knows what he's doing imo. I used to own a mono recording from the 1940's by Beecham of the 2nd symphony, which was different, but it's hard to remember exactly how. Having not heard it for years, I didn't remember how dark and "oppresive" the slow movement is - as one contemporary critic put it. It kind of sounds like a foretaste of what he'd do in his very gloomy and pared down 4th symphony. I think that Pohjola's daughter is also done quite well, compared to others I have heard (I have known these works for about 20 years)...

[listener]

disc 1 from a set of SCHUMANN works for piano 4-hands
Andante & Variations op. 46  (+ 2 cellos and horn)
Kinderball op.130      Bilder aus dem Östem, op. 66
Peter Frankl, Andras Schiff
KOECHLIN   L'Album de Lillian, series 1, op.130, series 2, op.149
Vers le soleil  (7 Monodies pour Ondes Martenot), op.174
Stèle funèbre, op. 224   for 3 flutes
The 6th piece in op.149 - Sicilienne de rêve - is a duo for Ondes Martenot and harpsichord!

[Mirror Image]

Now:



I'm really impressed with this composition. There's nothing naive or sentimental about this music. This is simply gorgeous music played splendidly by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the LAPO.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I'm really impressed with this composition. There's nothing naive or sentimental about this music. This is simply gorgeous music played splendidly by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the LAPO.

Agreed. Great piece, my favorite Adams after the superficially similar Harmonielehre.

[mc ukrneal]

Musical Memories Monday

I found this post below about the Sinding's symphonies 1&2 (conducted by Ari Rasilainen). Indeed, John is right to talk about big drama and melody. Right from the first note of symphony #1, you get a dramatic opening, full of vigor and life. There is tension and forward drive too. And the harmonies...why don't I listen to this more often?!?! And then there is that almost Wagnarian melody towards the end of the first movement - fascinating. Second movement starts quietly but gathers steam as it goes along to a wonderful climax near the end, yet ends more like it began.  Anyway, not to describe every movement, it is full of melody, gorgeous harmonies, and verve. The second symphony isn't quite as interesting as the first, but still some beautiful music (and more Wagnerian in sound than the first) and well crafted at that. These really are gems that I will be coming back to in the nearest future. Good sound.

Two places for music that interest me for very different reasons are Poland and Scandinavia.
The Scadanavian musical output through the turn of the last century was outstanding.  Christian Sinding, a Norwegian, added to the Northern opus with big drama and melody through these works.  The soundscape is the Northern one at the time, reflected by other composers such as Atterberg, Rangstrom, Stenhammar and the like.
We all owe so much to the conductor Ari Rasilainen for bringing us such gems.