What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[val]

HAYDN:  Quartets opus 54/2 and 64/5 by the Gabrieli Quartet (CHANDOS).

A very poor version, with no energy, ignoring the contrasts, the accentuation, the dynamic. I don't know if this Gabrieli Quartet is the same that in the fifties and sixties made some remarkable recordings, in special an extraordinary version of Tchaikovsky first quartet. If it is, then the passing of time was not good for them.

The Hagen in the opus 64/5 and the Lindsays in the opus 54/2 remain my favorites.

[Harry]

Johann Baptist Vanhal.

Symphonies, Volume III.

In D major.
In C minor.
In A flat major.
In G major.

Toronto Camerata/Kevin Mallon.

Delightful music, not that it will break the roof over your head, but pretty entertaining. Partly that has to do with this group that is playing them in a very reverberant Church in Toronto. The intimacy is somewhat lost, and the slow movements are somewhat plodding its way through the score. Energy is at a low level here. While the outer movements are quick enough, the inspiration is lost on them.
Crescendi and dimenuendi are badly judged, they try to hard to play pretty pretty. The Allegro's fare well enough, but not enough to keep it all together.
Norbert Kraft was the engineer on this recording, and he mostly makes good ones, but this is not one of them.
Not recommended. It simply needs a more dedicated group of people to play this.

[Harry]

Dietrich Buxtehude.

Complete Chamber Music, Volume I.

John Holloway, Violin.
Jaap ter Linden, Viola da Gamba.
Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Cembalo.

This is topnotch HIP. Fine recording, and performance. Heartfelt playing, and very alert to the many felicities this music offers.

[Florestan]

Hello all!

Franz Liszt

Annees de pelerinage, complete

Lazar Berman

This is the only complete version I have so I can't compare it to others, but speaking of it alone it's gorgeous. Berman tackles the whole range of emotional, intellectual and technical challenges in a charming manner. Flash, melancholy, enthusiasm, tenderness, serenity, anger --- whatever the music calls for, Berman delivers with elegance, panache and flawless technique. A special mention for his pianissimo, soft, far, disappearing yet perfectly audible and contextualized.

I recommend it wholeheartedly.

[Harry]

Luigi Boccherini.

Cello Concertos Volume III. (Nos. 9-12)

Raphael Wallfisch, Cello.
Northern Chamber Orchestra/Nicholas Ward.

These are fine performances, well played by Wallfisch, and aided by a good Orchestra.
The cello concerti are good to listen at, and full of discovery.
The recording is fine, with lots of detail, and enough breathing air around it.

[George]

Hello all!

Franz Liszt

Annees de pelerinage, complete

Lazar Berman

This is the only complete version I have so I can't compare it to others, but speaking of it alone it's gorgeous. Berman tackles the whole range of emotional, intellectual and technical challenges in a charming manner. Flash, melancholy, enthusiasm, tenderness, serenity, anger --- whatever the music calls for, Berman delivers with elegance, panache and flawless technique. A special mention for his pianissimo, soft, far, disappearing yet perfectly audible and contextualized.

I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Thanks for that! I am glad you're enjoying it! 

[Florestan]

Thanks for that! I am glad you're enjoying it! 

You're welcome, George. You'll buy it too, then?

[George]

You're welcome, George. You'll buy it too, then?

Yes, eventually. 

[Florestan]

Yes, eventually. 

What performance do you have?

[George]

What performance do you have?

I have Jando, whom I like but don't love. I almost bought it on sale over the weekend, but had to put some back. (I still spent $100) 

[wintersway]

Good morning/day to all!

[Florestan]

I have Jando, whom I like but don't love. I almost bought it on sale over the weekend, but had to put some back. (I still spent $100) 

My choice was between Berman and Jando. All things considered, I chose Berman.

[George]

My choice was between Berman and Jando. All things considered, I chose Berman.

I would have, too, had I waited. 

[karlhenning]

Shostakovich Symphony no. 14 (or should I say song cycle?) from the Barshai box set.

Yes, he was a short while gravitating to the label symphony for that wonderful piece.

On top of that (or, just below it, chronologically), the Second Cello Concerto started life out with his referring to it as his "Fourteenth Symphony" . . . .

[Harry]

Boccherini.

Cello concerto No. 10-12.

Raphael Wallfisch, Cello.
Northern Chamber Orchestra/Nicholas Ward.

Enjoyed these concerti a while ago, and decided to put them again in the player.

[Harry]

Good morning/day to all!

Very enjoyable box from Dvorak!
Had much pleasure in this.

[Bogey]

I continue to enjoy this one George.

and



Good morning.

[Todd]

Anton Kuerti's Schumann is far more to my liking than his Beethoven.  A fine disc, and a thoughtful pair of performances.  Davidsbundlertanze is flexible and subtle, the Op 11 sonata grand indeed.

[karlhenning]

Todd! Schumann!

Listening to:

Schumann
Cello Concerto in A Minor, Opus 129
(Orchestrated by Dmitri Dmitriyevich, Opus 125)
Alexander Ivashkin, cello
Russian State Symphony
Valery Polyansky

[Lilas Pastia]

Don, what do you think of Kuerti's Schubert ? He recorded tons of it on Analekta.

...

Salieri: 2 overtures, his 2 piano concertos and a set of orchestral variations on Follia di Spagna. All of this music is very good to hear. The overtures are big, bold, aimed at seizing the audience's attention from the first chord. The concertos' allegros are a bit mechanical and lack thematic distinction, but surprise! the slow movements are simply remarkable. Thoughtful, meltingly lyrical and with real depth of utterance. The Follia Variations are absolutely brilliant. The theme is not Salieri's own of course, which may explain the extraordinary inventiveness of orchestration and rythmic variety he poured into the project. I suspect that, being freed from the composer's number one hurdle (finding a good theme) helped him give free rein to his imposing musical talents. This is a very late work, composed in 1815, more than 40 years after the concertos. I honestly think this is one of the best orchestral variations works to be found. Excellent playing, spectacularly sumptuous yet natural engineering. An ASV production.

Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream music, played by Philippe Herreweghe's Orchestre des Champs-Élysées. This is another winner, very different from usual interpretations. The orchestra is winds and brass heavy in the best sense. This allows Mendelssohn's extraordinary array of tonal effects to shine, soar and scintillate as in no other version I've heard. Strings are very good too, but for once they sound light, delicate, springy. No brahmsian weight here. The engineering is extraordinarily transparent and precise. Every little detail registers effortlessly. This is a real class act. On Harmonia Mundi (selling at budget price).