New Releases

[Alek Hidell]

What offended me was how stupid his attempt at a joke was. He was trying to be clever and failing dismally. Making a joke about Symphony 4/5 when the cover didn't say that.

People who try to show they're cleverer than somebody else (in this particular case, Baron Scarpia trying to be cleverer than the cover designer) while actually being wrong are, indeed, quite high on the list of things I find offensive. Making mistakes is not a problem, but trying to put yourself above others while making mistakes is something I find profoundly irritating.

Of course I don't think he was seriously suggesting there's such a thing as symphony 0.8. But what he was trying to do was suggest that the cover designer had given the impression there was a symphony 0.8. Which was completely unfair to the cover designer, who had not written "Symphony 4/5" at all.

And this is being prickly, IMO. You're making a mountain out of a molehill.

Anyway, I'm done with this now. We've wasted more space than it was ever worth.

[Baron Scarpia]

Here's one for Scarpia:

That does look interesting...

[Mirror Image]

That does look interesting...

Indeed. I'd like to get into Tansman's music, although I wasn't particularly taken with a symphony of his I heard a few years ago, but do you have any recommendations you could give me? Thanks in advance.

[Madiel]

Anyway, I'm done with this now. We've wasted more space than it was ever worth.

Indeed.

[Baron Scarpia]

Indeed. I'd like to get into Tansman's music, although I wasn't particularly taken with a symphony of his I heard a few years ago, but do you have any recommendations you could give me? Thanks in advance.

If your experience was with on of the symphony recordings by Caetani on Chandos, I have also found them uninspiring and they did not spark an interest in Tansman. They seem like subdued performances that never take flight. I started to appreciate Tansman after listening to a few other recordings, such as the Piano Concertos, Israel Yinon's recording of the 4th symphony, and a Naxos release of chamber music with Clarinet.

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The must successful release in the Chandos/Caetani series is the one with Sinfoniettas, I think.

[Mirror Image]

If your experience was with on of the symphony recordings by Caetani on Chandos, I have also found them uninspiring and they did not spark an interest in Tansman. They seem like subdued performances that never take flight. I started to appreciate Tansman after listening to a few other recordings, such as the Piano Concertos, Israel Yinon's recording of the 4th symphony, and a Naxos release of chamber music with Clarinet.

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The must successful release in the Chandos/Caetani series is the one with Sinfoniettas, I think.

Thanks a lot, Scarpia!

[Todd]

Mejoueva's complete Annees is now done.



203 discs of Kna.

[Madiel]

Contents available anywhere? So far I've just found that it's 17 CDs.

[Todd]

Contents available anywhere?

HMV Japan.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

This is fairly new:


Classical CD Of The Week: An Imaginary Orchestral Journey With Haydn And The LSO

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2018/03/14/classical-cd-of-the-week-an-imaginary-orchestral-journey-with-haydn-and-the-lso/#1079b6b277d6

[Spineur]

Sampled it.  Nice music.  A whole CD may feel monotonous.

[Karl Henning]

Sampled it.  Nice music.  A whole CD may feel monotonous.

Or, one's ear becomes attuned to the nuances of the language  0:)

[André]

An interesting compilation:



Never heard of Shaporin or Kastalsky

[Madiel]

An interesting compilation:



Never heard of Shaporin or Kastalsky

I say, that does look rather promising. It appears to have quite a bit of Rachmaninov I would like. Though first thing I would want to know is whether the texts are supplied.

[André]

I don't see any indication about texts. Note that this is a pretty expensive set, so there's hope for proper documentation to be included. Suspense, suspense...

Link to Presto Classical for a list of contents and an enticing promotional blurb:


https://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/classical/products/8404398--anthology-of-russian-and-soviet-symphonic-music-oratorios-and-cantatas-volume-3

EDIT: this is vol 3 of Melodiya's mammoth Anthology of Russian Symphonic Music. Volume 2 is strictly symphonic and boasts a 152 page booklet (in 4 languages). At this point, considering the scope of the undertaking and the quality of the first 2 volumes issued, I would assume that texts are provided, but who knows ?

[Brian]

Few more things for APRIL



"Noticed by Yehudi Menuhin at a young age, Zhi-Jong Wang is considered one of the most promising violinists of her generation and continues to receive increasing international attention. She currently studies with Maestro Kolja Blacher at the Hochschule fur Musik "Hanns Eisler" Berlin, and holds the position of the youngest faculty member at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music."







""American Romantics III" is the third volume in a project initiated by conductor Reuben Blundell after he discovered several scores of previously unrecorded works by 19th century American composers through the Fleischer Collection. The composers represented were either native born or recently immigrated. Blundell leads the Philadelphia area Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra on this recording of premieres, some of which draw on Americana melodies while others reflect the prevailing Central European compositional style of the day. The Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1946 to provide music for the First Presbyterian Church of Lansdowne. By 1951 the orchestra had become Lansdowne's community orchestra. One of the most distinguished community orchestras in the world, the LSO performs a regular season of five concerts at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center, and other various projects. Led by its sixth music director, Reuben Blundell, the orchestra continues its traditions of musical excellence, service to the community, and promotion of area talent."

The Lansdowne Symphony is from suburban Pennsylvania.



Note the piano choice here!

And just so y'all are suitably excited for next week's listing of the MAY new releases...
- Carolyn Sampson will be singing Schubert
- Kirill Karabits will be recording Richard Strauss
- RSNO/Oundjian will tackle John Adams' Naive and Sentimental Music
- Naxos will have new recordings of David Diamond, Poulenc's Sinfonietta + two ballet suites, Schumann's Cello Concerto, and Smetana's Triumphal Symphony
- Paul Hindemith's recording of Bruckner 7 gets a reissue

[Madiel]

Note the piano choice here!

Dammit, that's the only thing that might put me off. The piano is 139 years old. Who gives a damn whose name is attached to it, the novelty will wear off in 30 seconds if it sounds bad.

[amw]

I mean it's obviously been restored multiple times, is in a museum, etc, and sounds like a fairly standard piano from the 1870s. You can decide whether that's a kind of piano that appeals to you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1tt2pW-yeE&list=PL-ojhL7t36d8X-qTX6bxmKfLF2VDrduuR

[Madiel]

I mean it's obviously been restored multiple times, is in a museum, etc, and sounds like a fairly standard piano from the 1870s. You can decide whether that's a kind of piano that appeals to you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1tt2pW-yeE&list=PL-ojhL7t36d8X-qTX6bxmKfLF2VDrduuR

That sounds okay. As accompaniment rather than solo it should be fine.

There are only a few recordings that have the whole duets complete, and some of them use choirs which I would prefer to avoid. So this could slot into my collection nicely.

[TheGSMoeller]

This is fairly new:


Classical CD Of The Week: An Imaginary Orchestral Journey With Haydn And The LSO

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2018/03/14/classical-cd-of-the-week-an-imaginary-orchestral-journey-with-haydn-and-the-lso/#1079b6b277d6

Nice review, Jens. Thanks for posting.
I've been eyeing this, even sampled some tracks and highly enjoyed it. I believe I even posted about it in the Haydn Haus here and it went unnoticed. Will more than likely move it to my cart now!
And I do find Rattle's creation to be more of a compliment to the master rather than an insult.