Past Purchases (CLOSED)

[Sergeant Rock]

I know...I'm coming very late to the party. Most of you bought this Brilliant box long ago. I don't know why I waited so long. It cost the same as one full-price disc--an astonishing bargain--and I hear the performances ain't half bad either 




The perfect twofer for Wagner completists, including oddities like the first movement (the only movement he completed) of a symphony in E, the Columbus Overture, the Huldigungsmarsch, overtures to his first two operas, Die Feen and Das Liebesverbot, and a chamber orchestra version of the Wesendonk-Lieder, orchestrated by Hans Werner Henze:




With this purchase my Verdi collection nears completion:




Sarge

[Harry]

I am sure you will love the Barshai, very different from all you know already, and that's a lot.
They compliment the Haitink set very well and vice versa.

[Haffner]

The perfect twofer for Wagner completists, including oddities like the first movement (the only movement he completed) of a symphony in E, the Columbus Overture, the Huldigungsmarsch, overtures to his first two operas, Die Feen and Das Liebesverbot, and a chamber orchestra version of the Wesendonk-Lieder, orchestrated by Hans Werner Henze:






Sarge

I'll bet having that Symphony is terrifically cool. I'm still dying of curiosity in regard to Wagner's Symphony in C. Just think...if he'd lived longer he'd have produced some Symphonies and gasp! string quartets!

Sigh

[MN Dave]

Not even opened yet:

Tomaso Albinoni: Adagio & Concerti - various -- DG Eloquence

...and...

JS Bach: Fugues - Emerson String Quartet -- DG

[Holden]

Liszt -19 Hungarian Rhapsodies, Louis Kentner (pno)

It's an LP by VOX and as I had a smaller version when I was much younger I couldn't resist. Only thing is I don't own a turntable but I'll find a way to tranfer it to digital media.

[Heather Harrison]

Schubert - 10 Symphonies (and some symphonic fragments) - Neville Marriner

This is a more-complete-than-usual cycle of Schubert's symphonies performed by Academy of St.Martin-in-the-Fields, conducted by Neville Marriner.  In addition to the usual ones (the seven completed symphonies and the two completed movements of the best-known unfinished one) there are additional symphonies and fragments orchestrated and completed by Brian Newbould.

As for the symphonies that Schubert completed, the performances here are generally very good, but nothing jumps out at me as significantly better than others I have heard.  The real items of interest here are the completions and fragments, where some surprisingly good and interesting music can be found.

Symphony No. 7:  Schubert left this symphony structurally complete.  He started writing it out in full orchestral score (skipping the piano score step), but found the process to be too slow and after getting part way through the first movement he sped things up by just writing out the melody line and important bass lines and counterpoint.  He got to the end and then set it aside, never to return to it.  So the symphony is structurally complete but not fully harmonized and orchestrated.  Brian Newbould finished the job so that the musical ideas can finally be performed.  This symphony is transitional between the early works and No. 8.  It is interesting to hear because it shows how Schubert's style was changing.  Also, he had some very good ideas and it is quite enjoyable to listen to.  It's a shame he didn't return to it.

Symphony No. 8:  This is the famous unfinished symphony.  Brian Newbould completed the scherzo using the material that Schubert left behind, and for the finale, a piece from the incidental music to "Rosamunde" is used (as has often been done before).  There is no direct evidence linking this piece to the symphony, but there is enough similarity in style, instrumentation, and key (it is in the unusual key of B minor) to link it to the symphony.  I wonder if Schubert sketched out this piece as a finale to the symphony and later decided to use it (and probably rework it) for "Rosamunde".  The last two movements work well, and they bring closure to a symphony that is left hanging after the slow movement.  The scherzo features some catchy tunes, and the finale is a complex and unusual piece of music - interesting in its own right.

Symphony No. 10:  This is perhaps the most interesting of the unfinished symphonies.  Schubert worked on it at the very end of his life, and when he died he left a lot of sketches of a highly experimental work.  The first movement is somewhat confused and fragmentary, so Newbould had to speculate a bit on how it might have gone together.  It features beautiful passages of the sort found in the 8th and 9th Symphonies.  The second movement is the most complete.  It has the character of a funeral march and is surprisingly similar to some of Mahler's music - quite advanced for its time (and especially for a composer who started out in a fairly conservative style).  The third (and last) movement is labeled "scherzo" but it has the character of a finale.  It has the feel of a work in progress; perhaps Schubert was experimenting with combining the functions of the scherzo and finale and he was still messing around with it.  It features intricate contrapunctal passages unlike anything else I have heard in Schubert.  After hearing this, I am convinced that if Schubert had lived to finish it, he would have created another masterpiece, perhaps overshadowing most of his earlier symphonies.  As it is, it shows a great deal of promise and is well worth hearing.

Fragments:  Schubert left behind a number of fragmentary movements which are presented here in Newbould's orchestrations.  Even these fragments have some great musical ideas, and I have to wonder if they might have become popular symphonies if Schubert had finished them.

Heather
Heather

[stingo]

I'll bet having that Symphony is terrifically cool. I'm still dying of curiosity in regard to Wagner's Symphony in C. Just think...if he'd lived longer he'd have produced some Symphonies and gasp! string quartets!

Sigh

If the Denon recording is still around, it's quite good, and has both symphonies on it.

[Harry]

Schubert - 10 Symphonies (and some symphonic fragments) - Neville Marriner

This is a more-complete-than-usual cycle of Schubert's symphonies performed by Academy of St.Martin-in-the-Fields, conducted by Neville Marriner.  In addition to the usual ones (the seven completed symphonies and the two completed movements of the best-known unfinished one) there are additional symphonies and fragments orchestrated and completed by Brian Newbould.

As for the symphonies that Schubert completed, the performances here are generally very good, but nothing jumps out at me as significantly better than others I have heard.  The real items of interest here are the completions and fragments, where some surprisingly good and interesting music can be found.

Symphony No. 7:  Schubert left this symphony structurally complete.  He started writing it out in full orchestral score (skipping the piano score step), but found the process to be too slow and after getting part way through the first movement he sped things up by just writing out the melody line and important bass lines and counterpoint.  He got to the end and then set it aside, never to return to it.  So the symphony is structurally complete but not fully harmonized and orchestrated.  Brian Newbould finished the job so that the musical ideas can finally be performed.  This symphony is transitional between the early works and No. 8.  It is interesting to hear because it shows how Schubert's style was changing.  Also, he had some very good ideas and it is quite enjoyable to listen to.  It's a shame he didn't return to it.

Symphony No. 8:  This is the famous unfinished symphony.  Brian Newbould completed the scherzo using the material that Schubert left behind, and for the finale, a piece from the incidental music to "Rosamunde" is used (as has often been done before).  There is no direct evidence linking this piece to the symphony, but there is enough similarity in style, instrumentation, and key (it is in the unusual key of B minor) to link it to the symphony.  I wonder if Schubert sketched out this piece as a finale to the symphony and later decided to use it (and probably rework it) for "Rosamunde".  The last two movements work well, and they bring closure to a symphony that is left hanging after the slow movement.  The scherzo features some catchy tunes, and the finale is a complex and unusual piece of music - interesting in its own right.

Symphony No. 10:  This is perhaps the most interesting of the unfinished symphonies.  Schubert worked on it at the very end of his life, and when he died he left a lot of sketches of a highly experimental work.  The first movement is somewhat confused and fragmentary, so Newbould had to speculate a bit on how it might have gone together.  It features beautiful passages of the sort found in the 8th and 9th Symphonies.  The second movement is the most complete.  It has the character of a funeral march and is surprisingly similar to some of Mahler's music - quite advanced for its time (and especially for a composer who started out in a fairly conservative style).  The third (and last) movement is labeled "scherzo" but it has the character of a finale.  It has the feel of a work in progress; perhaps Schubert was experimenting with combining the functions of the scherzo and finale and he was still messing around with it.  It features intricate contrapunctal passages unlike anything else I have heard in Schubert.  After hearing this, I am convinced that if Schubert had lived to finish it, he would have created another masterpiece, perhaps overshadowing most of his earlier symphonies.  As it is, it shows a great deal of promise and is well worth hearing.

Fragments:  Schubert left behind a number of fragmentary movements which are presented here in Newbould's orchestrations.  Even these fragments have some great musical ideas, and I have to wonder if they might have become popular symphonies if Schubert had finished them.

Heather
Heather

This is the set for me, from the time they were released to now. Bought them first on vinyl. 

[Daverz]

Did my part for Global Warming and made a run to Record Surplus in Santa Monica and Amoeba Hollywood.  I got mostly Lps, but I did grab a few CDs:

Rachmaninov & Prokofiev Sonatas: Ax/Yo-Yo Ma
Dvorak,  Symphonies 7-9 & Overtures: Giulini/Philharmonia & LSOon EMI
Shostakovich, Symphony 8: Previn/LSO
Granados, Goyescas: Michel Block
Prokofiev & Ravel Left Hand concertos: Yundi Li/Ozawa (this has gotten some buzz on RMCR and it was only $6.47).
Scarlatti Sonatas and Mozart Concertos 21 & 25: Maria Tipo on a VoxBox.
Prokofiev, Love for 3 Oranges Suite; Symphonies 1 & 7: Malko/Philharmonia on a Classics For Pleasure CD
Janacek, String Quartets: Travnicek Quartet ($3!)
Vanhal, Symphonies: Prague Chamber Orchestra/Vlcek
Works by Kodaly and Ippolitov-Ivanov: Rodzinski/RPO
Tubin, Symphonies 2 & 5: Estonian National SO/Volmer
Gliere, Ilya Murometz: Stokowski/Philadelphia on a Biddulph CD (transfer: Ward Marston).  This Ilya seems to be cut a little less than Stokie's Capitol recording.

Hightlights of the Lps:

Pettersson, Barefoot Songs: Rodin/Saeden/Ostman on Swedish Society Discofil
Ruggles, Complete Orchestral Music: Tilson Thomas (Never on CD AFAIK).
Barber, Piano Concerto: Browning/Szell (there have been various CD issues)
Walton conducting Walton, Music from Shakespeare Films
Janacek Piano Music played by Ivan Moravec on Nonesuch.  Did this ever make it to CD, perhaps on Supraphon?
Orff, Die Kluge & Der Mond: Sawallisch et al.  I'm quite happy with the CD transfers of these.  I got the Lps just for the texts.
Scarlatti volumes 24 & 25 played by Fernando Valenti.  Guess it will take me a while to find the rest of these.
Various Collegium Aureum Lps, Mozart Serenades, Handel's Water Music, and Rameau Les Indes Galantes.  I have a somewhat nostalgic soft spot for this group.
Blomdahl, Rosenberg, and Berwald: Antal Dorati/Stockholm PO
Brahms, PC1: Malcuzynski/Wislocki on Seraphim.  Was curious about this one.
The Classic Film Scores of Alfred Newman: Gerhardt/NPO
Mahler, Songs of a Wayfarer: Fischer-Dieskau/Furtwangler
Boccherini Quintets, two of the most famous ones, No. 15 & No. 60 played by the Quintetto Boccherini.
Chavez conducts Chavez, Soli I, II & IV
Piston, Symphony No. 4 & Schuman, Symphony No. 6: Ormandy/Philadelphia on a Columbia Special Products reissue.  There were issued on CD by Albany.

[Wanderer]

Prokofiev & Ravel Left Hand concertos: Yundi Li/Ozawa (this has gotten some buzz on RMCR and it was only $6.47).

What release is this? I'm only aware of the recent one that includes Prokofiev's Second and Ravel's concerto in G.

[Daverz]

What release is this? I'm only aware of the recent one that includes Prokofiev's Second and Ravel's concerto in G.

Oops, sorry, that's the one.  Momentarily confused Ravel's two concertos (it would seem like a logical coupling.)

[BorisG]

Not even opened yet:

JS Bach: Fugues - Emerson String Quartet -- DG

Comments yet?

[rubio]

Some of the acquisitions from Prague:

           

And this one:



in this incarnation:

[Brian]

Well, I caved in. I used up all of my May and June spending money on a trip to Barnes & Noble, to exploit their "Buy 2 Classical CDs, get a third CD free" sale. About $80 down the tubes ... but in exchange for this  :



(the above Ravel bought on M forever's recommendation)











Can't remember the last time I bought so few CDs for so many dollars. Usually $80 will get me somewhere around 12-15 discs.    But ... what GREAT music!!!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Tremendous.

[George]

I assume this is incomplete?




This one, where did you find this?

[Dancing Divertimentian]

I assume this is incomplete?

Yeah, George, as far as the Shostakovich, it is incomplete. It contains only five of the preludes, which are nos. 2, 3, 6, 7, 18.

This reissue changes the couplings around, though. Originally the Shostakovich was coupled with Schumann, not the Chopin we have here. So I can't say if the Chopin is complete. Though I doubt is as it's only a single CD.

At any rate, the Shostakovich is wonderful. It's from 1956 Prague. Studio. Excellent sound.

[George]

Thanks Don.

[Wanderer]

This one, where did you find this?

As for my copy, I got it at a local store quite some time ago, dirt cheap I might add. It's worth every penny. If you locate it, do not hesitate!

[Holden]

Yeah, George, as far as the Shostakovich, it is incomplete. It contains only five of the preludes, which are nos. 2, 3, 6, 7, 18.

This reissue changes the couplings around, though. Originally the Shostakovich was coupled with Schumann, not the Chopin we have here. So I can't say if the Chopin is complete. Though I doubt is as it's only a single CD.

At any rate, the Shostakovich is wonderful. It's from 1956 Prague. Studio. Excellent sound.

Richter only ever recorded the following Chopin Etudes

Op 10 nos 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 11 and 12
Op 25 nos 5, 6, 7, 8, 11 and 12 so this is not complete either.