New Releases

[JBS]

Late 19th century orchestras were different from early 19th century orchestras: that's why (to point to one bit of evidence) Mahler came out with versions of Beethoven and Schumann modified for the orchestras he led. They were bigger, the instruments were often changed, conducting styles were not the same.

But late 19th century orchestras were not very different from those of the mid-late 20th century orchestra. Which is why I don't expect a HIP Ma Vlast to sound all that different from a non HIP Ma Vlast.
My favorite Bruckner 7th is Herreweghe/O-Champs Elysee. That's supposedly HIP but I've never detected much aural differences with "modern orchestra" recordings.

[Todd]

that's why (to point to one bit of evidence) Mahler came out with versions of Beethoven and Schumann modified for the orchestras he led.

I'm not sure Mahler's rescoring and other changes mean much. 

It is also impossible to know if what HIP conductors offer actually reflects what audiences would have heard in the early and mid-19th Century.  One can suppose that many orchestras would be less technically proficient than now.  Similarly, people can ponder how Liszt or Paganini may have played at their peaks, but no one knows.  That may be fortunate.

[Florestan]

There is a YT video of the Elman String Quartet playing the Andante cantabile from Tchaikovsky's SQ1 in two versions, one from 1918 and one from 1927. Although the former is 10 seconds shorter than the latter, both are full of portamenti and vibrato and come across as extremely sentimental, even saccharine. Now, Misha Elman was a pupil of Leopold Auer, the dedicatee of the work and the first violinist of the quartet which premiered it. One cannot get any more HIP than that. Any performance which eschews the portamenti and use vibrato only spatingly and is devoid of sentimentality is decidedly un-HIP --- yet I suspect that's precisely how many, if not most, HIP guys would have it performed. 

[JBS]

There is a YT video of the Elman String Quartet playing the Andante cantabile from Tchaikovsky's SQ1 in two versions, one from 1918 and one from 1927. Although the former is 10 seconds shorter than the latter, both are full of portamenti and vibrato and come across as extremely sentimental, even saccharine. Now, Misha Elman was a pupil of Leopold Auer, the dedicatee of the work and the first violinist of the quartet which premiered it. One cannot get any more HIP than that. Any performance which eschews the portamenti and use vibrato only spatingly and is devoid of sentimentality is decidedly un-HIP --- yet I suspect that's precisely how many, if not most, HIP guys would have it performed. 

You're assuming that Elman sought to play the work the way Auer played it, and that he wasn't influenced by how others played the work c1910-1925.
In fact, Auer may have not have been a heavy user of portamento/vibrato.

The violinist and teacher Leopold Auer, writing in his book Violin Playing as I Teach It (1920), advised violinists to practise playing completely without vibrato, and to stop playing for a few minutes as soon as they noticed themselves playing with vibrato in order for them to gain complete control over their technique.

-- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibrato

[Roasted Swan]

You're assuming that Elman sought to play the work the way Auer played it, and that he wasn't influenced by how others played the work c1910-1925.
In fact, Auer may have not have been a heavy user of portamento/vibrato.
-- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibrato

Practicing without vibrato is the norm as vibrato can obscure other aspects of technique from accuracy of shifting/intonation to equality of tone production.  I have no idea regarding Auer's preferred performing style but his mentioning of "no vib" in a such a study aid literally means nothing in that regard.

[Florestan]

Practicing without vibrato is the norm as vibrato can obscure other aspects of technique from accuracy of shifting/intonation to equality of tone production.  I have no idea regarding Auer's preferred performing style but his mentioning of "no vib" in a such a study aid literally means nothing in that regard.

Well, yes. Individual study is one thing, public performance another. I doubt Elman discarded his teacher's performance-playing style altogether.

[Que]

Wrong thread. 

Yup, thnx!

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Schmachtend - A Tribute to Richard Wagner. Takuya Niinomi. The graduate of Liszt Academy in Budapest also had a master's degree in sociolinguistics from Hitotsubashi University.

[vandermolen]

[JBS]

I don't remember this being posted
[Ries: Complete Piano Sonatas and Sonatinas from Naxos]

[Harry]

I don't remember this being posted
[Ries: Complete Piano Sonatas and Sonatinas from Naxos]

I was just in the process of doing just that, but you were a tad faster. Tis a box I certainly am going to buy.

[Todd]

[staxomega]

Very good Debussy Preludes 2.

The Murail is very good as well, I actually would have preferred a full disc of Murail as he has composed several more works since the "complete" disc from Marilyn Nonken.

[Brian]

Time to find out how successful I was in trying to buy used copies of all the OOP Prazak Quartet albums from the 90s.

-

This seems interesting from a composer who's had a significant renaissance lately:



Piano quartet - for left hand alone, written for Paul Wittgenstein
Concertino - with string orchestra
Impromptu - for piano and viola
Suite - solo piano work

World premiere recordings for the quartet and concertino.

[Mandryka]

The Murail is very good as well, I actually would have preferred a full disc of Murail as he has composed several more works since the "complete" disc from Marilyn Nonken.

Yes I agree. Guy actually sounds like a rossignol! He should do Messiaen!

Not sure what I make of the music, though it's perfectly pleasant. The only Murail piano piece which has really caught my imagination is Dominique My's interpretation of Territoires d'oublie

[Brian]

Luisi's Inextinguishable appears to be rather slow: 36:31, compared to Gilbert (36:00), Oramo (35:26), Kuchar (34:00), or Martinon (32:44).

[Bachtoven]

10/28 in the US...or from Presto Classical now. 

[Roy Bland]

[Roasted Swan]

Luisi's Inextinguishable appears to be rather slow: 36:31, compared to Gilbert (36:00), Oramo (35:26), Kuchar (34:00), or Martinon (32:44).

Even Nielsen on the cover looks a bit underwhelmed at the thought of ANOTHER Nielsen cycle.  I love Nielsen, I like Luisi and of course the Danish NSO are superb but really.......

[Florestan]

Even Nielsen on the cover looks a bit underwhelmed at the thought of ANOTHER Nielsen cycle.  I love Nielsen, I like Luisi and of course the Danish NSO are superb but really.......

The urge to record them is inextinguishable...