What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Bogey]

Ditto.

[Bogey]

George,  Do you know how many times did Casals record this work?  I have a Dacapo LP set of this work by him but do not even have 1 CD by him ...

Hurry, man.  Hurry.

[Coopmv]

Hurry, man.  Hurry.

Did Casals ever make any stereo recordings?  Now we are talking - I have this recording on LP, which is now available on CD.  This needs to be on my shopping list ...

[George]

George,  Do you know how many times did Casals record this work?  I have a Dacapo LP set of this work by him but do not even have 1 CD by him ...

I am not sure.

I just noticed that the Opus Kura, like the Pearl mastering, is OOP. 

[Conor71]

Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 6 In A Major, Op. 30/1

[karlhenning]

Mussorgsky:  Songs and Dances of Death Lloyd/Jansons/Philadelphia Orchestra.

Great piece, fine orchestration (Shostakovich's), dynamite performance.  What's not to like?

[karlhenning]

Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (Ivan Fischer/Concertgebouw, posted June 8, 2009 on SymphonyCast) - Terrific performance, with Fischer capturing all the rhythmic vitality, coupled with the gorgeous playing of the ensemble. 

Next up, from the same concert: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4.

Mmm, mmm, good!

[Tom 1960]

Carl Nielsen - Symphony #3, Maskarade Overture, Alladin Suite
San Francisco Symphony,  Herbert Blomstedt conductor

[Coopmv]

Now playing CD13 from this set ...

[karlhenning]

Carl Nielsen - Symphony #3, Maskarade Overture, Alladin Suite
San Francisco Symphony,  Herbert Blomstedt conductor

Mmm, mmm, good, too!

[SonicMan46]

Now playing CD13 from this set ...

Stuart - you're a half dozen discs ahead of me @ the moment - have you done any comparisons w/ your Pinnock collection - my plan the next few days - Dave 

[George]

Astonishing composer of the 'complex' school, fascinating & exciting SQs ...

Wow, the samples sound great! Too bad it's OOP. 

[Coopmv]

Stuart - you're a half dozen discs ahead of me @ the moment - have you done any comparisons w/ your Pinnock collection - my plan the next few days - Dave 

I have not gotten to Symphony No. 40 by Pinnock yet but am very familiar with how Hogwood tackled that work since I have owned that CD single for years.  I think Hogwood's Mozart Symphony No. 40 is the best I have heard, HIP or not.

[Coopmv]

Now playing CD6 from this set ...

[listener]

OFFENBACH: Die Rheinnixen   (Les Fées du Rhin)   - in German
      I've just begun, and had to double-check the pressing, which is okay after all.   The opening music to the Introduction is the same as the Barcarolle from "Tales of Hoffmann"  !
(This is the original.)
Live recording, Montpelier, 2002

[George]

Some thoughts on this new release:



Ballade 1
It's herky-jerky and lacks that flow and grace I usually like in my Chopin. This isn't Prokofiev, Martha! She plays the fast parts well, though.

Etude in C Sharp Minor Op. 10/4
Wow! This performance is wonderful! Her technical facility and intense style is put to good use here. One of the best performances I have ever heard of this one!

Mazurka in C Sharp Minor Op. 41/4
Like the first Ballade, this one does not come off very well. It sounds under-rehearsed and though the quieter moments are nice, the louder ones come off like Horowitz at his worst. This isn't a Scherzo, it's a Mazurka, for goodness sakes.

Mazurka in e minor Op. 41/1
The sadness is conveyed well, but again, she takes to banging and ruins the louder passages. 

Mazurka in C Major 
Again, she sounds under-rehearsed and not refined enough. Not terrible, just not special.

Mazurka in f minor
Nice mystery at the start, but again nothing that special here.

Mazurka in D Major
Louder and faster than I like this one. Bang! Bang! Bang! quiet for awhile then BANG! BANG!

Nocturne in F Major
Like the prior works, it sounds unfinished, like she really doesn't have a feel for the music.

Nocturne in E Flat Major
Better here, with a nice flow missing from most of the other performances, but still nothing to write home about. She's got the coldest Nocturnes I have ever heard. 

Mazurkas Op. 59
No. 1 was played well, with a nice gentle tone. No. 2 was also played well, No. 3 is again too loud and too fast for me.

Piano Sonata 3
Decent here, but not better than many others that I have heard. Like her Nocturnes it's cold, technically impressive, yes, but Chopin needs more than that. Much of this sounded rushed to me. Not enough depth, it's like she's just skimming the surface of the music.

[Coopmv]

Ballade 1

It's herky-jerky and lacks that flow and grace I usually like in my Chopin. This isn't Prokofiev, Martha! She plays the fast parts well, though.

So you are disappointed with the performance?

[kishnevi]

The Court of Bayreuth.

Music from, Joachim Bernhard Hagen & Adam Falckenhagen, also from Christian Gottlieb Scheidler.

Miguel Yisrael,  Baroque Lute.

This is a most excellent recording by Brilliant. A very relaxed approach gives this music a extra dimension that lifts it far above the ordinary.
Well recorded in the Abbaye Notre Dame de l'Ouye, France in 2009, the spacious surroundings give ample room to the instrument, yet remains intimate.
I did not have music from these composers as yet, but I am glad that this omission was rectified.

Then let me suggest this recording, as far as Hagen goes

[kishnevi]

Well he's actually done Mozart, but he does stay firmly on the pre-Beethoven line I believe.   That really seems to be the line that HIPsters cross at their own peril.  And his contemporaries have boldly crossed that line, but Koopman has stayed behind.

He's also recorded some Haydn.  I have this one, recorded in 1984 with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra


but not this one

[Coopmv]

He's also recorded some Haydn.  I have this one, recorded in 1984 with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra


but not this one

This does not sound too surprising since Haydn was 27 when Handel died in 1759, which officially marked the end of the baroque period.