Recordings That You Are Considering

[DavidRoss]

I never said you maligned it, Sarge--heck, if I read you right, you haven't even heard it.  Nor did I say anyone had evil intentions.  But despite his high praise for some elements of the recording, Hurwitz did malign it in the fashion I took issue with above, in the sense of making untrue statements about it (IMO).

Thanks for following up, though, for your comments caused me to look up "malign," and I just learned that my sense of the word has long been skewed (mal-aligned), for I had not known before that it's primary meaning reflects evil or malicious intent.  I've already learned one thing today at least, so now I can retire!

[karlhenning]

I never said you maligned it, Sarge--heck, if I read you right, you haven't even heard it.

That was how I read Sarge, too (i.e., he said nothing against the SFSO recording, did his reading, opted for the LSO).

Thanks, again, Dave!  And all!

[Sergeant Rock]

...but for my money the MTT/SFS recording is a fine choice to compliment the Abbado disc you now have and I just hate to see it unfairly maligned.

Well, I chose the LSO over the SFS because it's slower, cheaper, and has more cow bell    No intention on my part to malign your favored recording, David...which I haven't heard.

Update: Just saw your new post, David. You'll notice I deleted my original post when I realized I spoke too quickly. Reading Jens' actual review I realized his judgment was far harsher than "mild disappointment" although I wouldn't call his review malign either. Sometimes a performance just doesn't work for us.

Sarge

[karlhenning]

. . . Sometimes a performance just doesn't work for us.

Yes; which is one reason I seldom yield to an impulse to review something harshly.

Just my trip, I suppose.

[Marc]

Didn't a certain Joan Holloway make a recording of Bach's Partitas and Sonatas for solo violin? Is this one still available? I might consider buying it .... topic duty.
They even made a Barbie doll of her .... but apparently they forgot to add the violin. I wonder why.

[Sergeant Rock]

Didn't a certain Joan Holloway make a recording of Bach's Partitas and Sonatas for solo violin? Is this one still available? I might consider buying it .... topic duty.

You are mistaking Joan for her brother John, who has indeed recorded Bach on the violin. Joan plays Bach on the accordion:



Sarge

[Marc]

Has this Holloway Bach on accordeon been recorded on Compact Disc? he asked topic obliged.
I do not want it on DVD. Like Premont, I am principally against hormonal aberrations whilst music listening.

[Sergeant Rock]

Has this Holloway Bach on accordeon been recorded on Compact Disc? he asked topic obliged.
I do not want it on DVD. Like Premont, I am principally against hormonal aberrations whilst music listening.

Alas, no. As far as I know, she's only recorded some French Musette tunes...available only on DVD, which will do nothing for your hormonal balance, I assure you.

Sarge

[Marc]

Alas, no. As far as I know, she's only recorded some French Musette tunes...available only on DVD, which will do nothing for your hormonal balance, I assure you.

I'll make a note of that.
Mr. Sarge, thanks for all the useful information.

[Franco]

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
Paavo Jarvi, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

Considering how happy I was with his Beethoven, this might be an opportunity for me to sample some Bruckner, whose music I have successfully avoided until now.

[Bulldog]

Alas, no. As far as I know, she's only recorded some French Musette tunes...available only on DVD, which will do nothing for your hormonal balance, I assure you.

Sarge

You forgot about the duet disc she recorded with Christina Hendricks.

[Sergeant Rock]

You forgot about the duet disc she recorded with Christina Hendricks.

I did indeed 

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

You are mistaking Joan for her brother John, who has indeed recorded Bach on the violin. Joan plays Bach on the accordion:

Apropos last night's post, the oddest thing happened this evening. We went to a concert in Frankfurt. We parked on the bottom level of the underground garage below the Alte Oper. As we walked to the elevator we suddenly heard Bach playing in the far distance above us. It sounded like an organ. I figured it must be a recording. But when we stepped out of the elevator, it turned out to be a street musician, an accordion player! 

But seriously, his Bach was truly riveting.

Sarge

[jlaurson]

But when we stepped out of the elevator, it turned out to be a street musician, an accordion player! 

But seriously, his Bach was truly riveting.

You don't have those in Worms? In Munich we have those a dime a dozen. Always the same five organ pieces, too. Fortunately, the Passacaglia is one of them, and most of them are pretty darn good.

Cheers & sweet post-Rottian dreams,

jfl

[Sergeant Rock]

.
Cheers & sweet post-Rottian dreams,

Nightmares, actually. I dreamed a giant triangle was chasing me and I couldn't get the damned jangling noise out of my ears.

Sarge

[Marc]

Sarge

If I told you, that I did not appreciate female beauty I would certainly be a liar. but this is irrelevant in a musical context. Now tell me Sarge, when you listen to a recording made by a beautiful young woman (Janine Jansen a good example), how much does your impression of her physical advantages actually influence your appreciation of her playing?

I do not mind about female beauty in music at all.

But I watched the telly this afternoon and I immediately thought about this topic again.

It will be interesting to follow the career of another young Dutch female violinst: Simone Lamsma. She's a skinny, pale, pockmarked blonde, apparently born in Nose City, with no model looks at all, but according to f.i. conductor/violinist Jaap van Zweden she's by far the best violinist of her generation, even in international context. Well, those are just his words of course, and I'm definitely no violin 'connaisseur', but I saw a documentary about her this afternoon and I think she's really good (for what that's worth). Very impressive technique and a beautiful tone in the soft passages, too. In the documentary she played Bach, Ysaÿe and Shostakovich with astounding ease and warmth.
But will the labels and the audiences prefer her to babe-looking ladies like Jansen, Hahn, Fischer, Benedetti, Mutter et al? So far, she's only made a few recordings for Naxos, AFAIK. Without any glamour photographs or booklets. Mainly music .... will it be sufficient to build an impressive career in these days?
Just wondering.

[Sergeant Rock]

It will be interesting to follow the career of another young Dutch female violinst: Simone Lamsma. She's a skinny, pale, pockmarked blonde, apparently born in Nose City, with no model looks at all....

True, but she isn't unattractive either:





So she's a competition winner. I attend our local Chopin Society recitals. They take place in a private home and feature mostly young pianists who have won or come in second or third place in various competitions. Interesting thing: in ten years I've seen maybe twenty pianists and not one--not one! male or female, was unattractive. Some think the record companies only want to promote attractive artists for commercial reasons--but it seems to run deeper than that when you consider that beauty might affect judging too. I think we're witnessing something that's just human: when given a choice, most of us prefer to watch something beautiful.

Sarge

[Brian]

Last night, I got to watch Baiba Skride with the Houston Symphony. She was a pretty good violinist, but the most immediate lesson was that Baiba is a babe. Go figure.

[jlaurson]

Last night, I got to watch Baiba Skride with the Houston Symphony. She was a pretty good violinist, but the most immediate lesson was that Baiba is a babe. Go figure.

If only people like you only read articles from critics that were astonishingly attractive...

[Marc]

True, but she isn't unattractive either

True. And personally I love big noses.

http://www.youtube.com/v/XiDmMBIyfsU

I think we're witnessing something that's just human: when given a choice, most of us prefer to watch something beautiful.

True.
But when attending a concert or recital I'm not bothered any longer if someone might look 'ugly' when she/he sings or plays beautifully. I think I'm in general a more auditive-minded person.