Recent posts

#81

Great Recordings and Reviews / Re: Mozart Symphonies

Last post by George - April 23, 2024, 11:01:39 AM

Finally picked up my first complete set of the Mozart symphonies. For years I had a set cobbled together with Ward/Naxos in the early symphonies and the Kruips set of nos 21-41, along with Szell, Walter, Mackerras (SACDs) and Fricsay in the late works.

Hurwitz gave this set a thumbs up on his survey of Mozart sets, I sampled it on Spotify and loved it. Unfortunately it was OOP, so I waited until I could find a cheap copy. Today was the day! Scored a like new copy for $23 at a local used store.

Enjoying CD 1 now.

#82

General Classical Music Discussion / Re: What are you listening 2 n...

Last post by AnotherSpin - April 23, 2024, 10:58:18 AM

#83

GMG News / Re: Bug Report 2024

Last post by George - April 23, 2024, 10:54:26 AM

Taking about 5 seconds to load, even for only browsing.

(I counted 5 seconds, but bottom of page reads - Page created in 1.804 seconds with 30 queries.)

Not sure why the timing is so different, but it definitely took between 4 and 5 seconds just to load this page.   

#84

General Classical Music Discussion / Re: What are you listening 2 n...

Last post by Linz - April 23, 2024, 10:45:27 AM

Bruckner Symphony No. 3in D Minor, 1877 Version Ed. Leopld Nowak (with Scherzo coda) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

#85

Great Recordings and Reviews / Re: Chopin Recordings

Last post by AnotherSpin - April 23, 2024, 10:38:27 AM

I started listening to Yunchan Lim's Etudes album a couple of times, but couldn't advance very far.

#86

Great Recordings and Reviews / Re: Beethoven's Piano Sonatas

Last post by DavidW - April 23, 2024, 10:38:05 AM

Nor have I. They probably released very little classical music - if anything at all.

They were everyone, in every music store I went to.  $3 cds.  Oh wait it was Lydian not Lydia.  Here is one of the recordings I had:

#87

General Classical Music Discussion / Re: What are you listening 2 n...

Last post by Roasted Swan - April 23, 2024, 10:31:06 AM

Rachmaninoff, Piano Sonata No 2, Ashkenazy



In find myself disappointed. I have trouble recognizing the musical themes that inhabit the sensuous musical texture. Can't complain about Ashkenazy, but Decca gives him surprisingly muddy, clangy sound. I was surprised to check the recording data and find that the re

Rachmaninoff, Piano Sonata No 2, Ashkenazy



In find myself disappointed. I have trouble recognizing the musical themes that inhabit the sensuous musical texture. Can't complain about Ashkenazy, but Decca gives him surprisingly muddy, clangy sound. I was surprised to check the recording data and find that the recording was made in 1980.

Did a spot check of Shelley, who I also have on my shelves. Did not make a strong impression. Which version do people like best? I've decided to try Ruth Laredo, based on my positive impression of her Scriabin recordings.

cording was made in 1980.

Did a spot check of Shelley, who I also have on my shelves. Did not make a strong impression. Which version do people like best? I've decided to try Ruth Laredo, based on my positive impression of her Scriabin recordings.

This version by Emre Yavuz absolutely blew me away - its quite individual and personal but it worked for me.....

#88

General Classical Music Discussion / Re: What are you listening 2 n...

Last post by Symphonic Addict - April 23, 2024, 10:26:04 AM

Braunfels's orchestral songs from these CDs:

#89

Great Recordings and Reviews / Re: Chopin Recordings

Last post by Mandryka - April 23, 2024, 10:22:31 AM

Great review, thanks Brian! I was most curious about these after the Transcendental Etudes. When I was doing my blind comparisons him and Cziffra were the two that starkly stood out among the others. Lim was bordering on unrelenting but then he got to the A flat major Ricordanza and it was almost as sensitively played as Claudio Arrau. In the end for a new recording to add to the collection Kirill Gerstein won out but I might add Lim at some point. Haochen Zhang fared the worst, not coming across all that well in the rather stiff competition.

The real interesting Yunchan Lim for me (I haven't heard his TEs by the way) has been the Annees

https://open.spotify.com/album/54b0CU6yO7OlQef9W4dWb4?si=jpncm3kYTNu9qsDxwPBJHg

[Victor de Sabata]

#90

General Classical Music Discussion / Re: What are you listening 2 n...

Last post by ritter - April 23, 2024, 10:19:48 AM

From CD 1 (of two) included in this book on Victor de Sabata that arrived today...



Bits and pieces from a performance of Tristano e Isotta (in Italian) at La Scala on December 11, 1930. Ebe Stignani sings Brangäne's warning quite nicely, but she's recorded quite distantly. The value of this snippet, though, lies in the immediacy of the string writing, which shines through the primitive recording. Quite seductive, tbh. Then we get fragments Act III (including the end of the Liebestod). The sound is so bad, alas, that one cannot tell whether this was an outstanding or disastrous performance...

Next is the tone poem Juventus, by de Sabata himself. This is a studio recording from 1934 with the EIAR Orchestra. Very Straussian is the first impression I get (the piece is new to me). Quite nice, actually.

The disc ends with a 1939 Brahms Fourth with the Berlin Philharmonic.