Recordings That You Are Considering

[Mandryka]

Does the label use paying via paypal? Because if one has to transfer the payment via one's own net-bank I give up beforehand.

It arrived very quickly and sounds quite original actually - on the basis of just a handful of the more complex fugues towards the end. Booklet has an amusing paragraph about Walcha and how the church and organ has changed. He also makes a good point about using pedal. Buy it.

[Mandryka]

[Que]

Hopefully the concept sounds better than it looks... 

[Mandryka]

[prémont]

Hopefully the concept sounds better than it looks... 

I have listened to some clips a long time ago - as far as I recall they have also recorded AoF and the GV - and passed it by.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_Vigneron

[prémont]

What's this actually? An instrumental arrangement of the Orgelbüchlein?

[Mandryka]

What's this actually? An instrumental arrangement of the Orgelbüchlein?

Yes, for viol consort. I found a copy on Amazon.fr for a tenner and ordered it.

[prémont]

Yes, for viol consort. I found a copy on Amazon.fr for a tenner and ordered it.

Reminds me of a recording of the Orgelbüchlein arranged for four violoncelli which I acquired a couple of years ago. Passing listening at best.

[Mandryka]

What's this actually? An instrumental arrangement of the Orgelbüchlein?

This turns out to be chorales from orgelbuchlein transcribed for viol consort with little organ - and sung by a boy soprano. It's beautiful! Maybe too beautiful, but still . . .

[vers la flamme]

Sinopoli Tannhäuser, with Placido Domingo in the title role, thoughts? I have never heard the full opera if that matters.

[Spotted Horses]

Recordings I'm not considering, anything by the Talich Quartet, particularly the Beethoven.



After being somewhat intrigued by it, I managed to listen to a movement (Op 135) on Apple Music and the audio was way too strident and harsh for my taste.

Now I'm back to kicking myself for getting rid of the Vegh/Naive recordings of the Beethoven, which is not available only for a kings ransom, or on a streaming service.

[DavidW]

Yes that Vegh set is magical!

[Franco_Manitobain]

Recordings I'm not considering, anything by the Talich Quartet, particularly the Beethoven.



After being somewhat intrigued by it, I managed to listen to a movement (Op 135) on Apple Music and the audio was way too strident and harsh for my taste.

I find that it is the case with their Mozart String Quintets on Caliope.  Very high pitched microtonal (strident).  Nothing wrong with their performances, just the recording quality itself.

[Spotted Horses]

I find that it is the case with their Mozart String Quintets on Caliope.  Very high pitched microtonal (strident).  Nothing wrong with their performances, just the recording quality itself.

Quite so, the Beethoven is also a reissue of Caliope recordings.

[Franco_Manitobain]

Quite so, the Beethoven is also a reissue of Caliope recordings.

Having said this, is there any recommendations for Mozart String Quintets for great performances and great sound?

PS - I REALLY enjoy Alban Berg Quartet in the string quartets.

[Spotted Horses]

Having said this, is there any recommendations for Mozart String Quintets for great performances and great sound?

PS - I REALLY enjoy Alban Berg Quartet in the string quartets.

I think the Grumiaux is in pretty great Philips sound, despite the vintage. I recently got the Auryn set, and the sound is excellent, although I have not listened to much yet. There's also the Ensemble Villa Musica on MDG, but I didn't find myself convinced by their performances.

[Lisztianwagner]

Sinopoli Tannhäuser, with Placido Domingo in the title role, thoughts? I have never heard the full opera if that matters.

I've listened to some excerpts, but unfortunately not the complete opera; Sinopoli handles the orchestra in a splendid way, but personally speaking, I don't like how Domingo sings in German.

[amw]

Having said this, is there any recommendations for Mozart String Quintets for great performances and great sound?

Kuijken Quartet/Ryo Terakado probably has the best sound of any recording. The performances are great but serious, intense, and melancholy, very little humor or sweetness.

Auryn Quartet/Nobuko Imai is excellent and relatively middle-of-the-road interpretively. Quatuor Sine Nomine/Raphaël Oleg falls into the same category, as does the Nash Ensemble—the main differences will be tempi (and more distant Hyperion sound vs. up-close Tacet and Genuin sound).

Smetana Quartet/Josef Suk sits alongside Grumiaux as an exemplar of the traditional 20th century style of quartet playing. Fine Arts Quartet/Yuri Gandelsman is another excellent set in this style.

For a more modern style of playing, Klenke Quartet/Harald Schoneweg is worth a try.

The best overall recordings, however, are those of only K515 and 516—Chiara Banchini/Ensemble 415, Takács Quartet/György Pauk, L'Archibudelli, in my personal order of preference. (There is also Quatuor Ébène/Antoine Tamestit, which I have not yet listened to.) I do regard the other four quintets as somewhat less essential. Hausmusik London recorded K593 and 614 in addition to K515 and 516 and is probably the best overall period instruments set if one can live without K174 and 406 (or obtain them separately via a disc by Les Adieux which complements Hausmusik nicely on an interpretive level).

[Jo498]

Having said this, is there any recommendations for Mozart String Quintets for great performances and great sound?

PS - I REALLY enjoy Alban Berg Quartet in the string quartets.

ABQ did the C major and g minor for EMI but I have never heard them. AFAIR one disc of the Talich quintets sounds quite different from the other two. I don't have a complete recentish recording. From the digital era I have Smetana/Suk (Denon) from the early and Melos/Beyer (DG) from the late 1980s as well as Hausmusik (w/o the first two) as HIP recordings. I never had complaints about the sound but I found the Talich also good enough soundwise.

[Florestan]

Kuijken Quartet/Ryo Terakado probably has the best sound of any recording. The performances are great but serious, intense, and melancholy, very little humor or sweetness.

Agreed on both counts. Their approach works well for KV 515 (obviously) but not at all for the others and if taken in large doses quickly become tiresome and enervating. Not my cup of tea at all.

Two sets that have not been mentioned yet and whose sound and performance are very good are Orlando Quartet/Nobuko Imai on BIS and Ensemble Villa Musica on MDG.