Hello from VA!

[Peter]

Hi there! I've been lurking on this forum for the better part of two years now and I thought it was about time I joined in.

I've really only been listening to classical music "seriously" since late 2011, and since then I've amassed a huge collection of box sets, CDs and LPs that I still delude myself into thinking that I will be able to finish listening to in this lifetime.

My favorite (and most listened to) recording so far:
[asin]B000006NXP[/asin]

You guys seem like a nice bunch, so I hope that I'll be able to keep up in discussions with you!

[Mirror Image]

Welcome aboard! You shouldn't have been a stranger for so long! Brahms' 4th is a masterpiece. There are so many fine performances of that symphony, though. My favorite remains Solti/CSO, but of more recent performances, I really liked Nagano's with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin on Harmonia Mundi. It's paired with an equally great performance of Schoenberg's Variations for Orchestra, but I suggest you might tread carefully here (that is if you're not a fan of, to use a GMG phrase, 'atonal squawking').

Anyway, who are some of your favorite composers?

[Karl Henning]

Welcome, Peter!  I did my Master's in Ch'ville

[bhodges]

Hi, Peter, and welcome. It's hard to go wrong with that Kleiber recording - you might want to investigate his Beethoven 5 and 7 if you haven't already. In any case, have a good time.

--Bruce

[mc ukrneal]

Welcome. What other discs/pieces have been highlights for you?

[Peter]

Welcome aboard! You shouldn't have been a stranger for so long! Brahms' 4th is a masterpiece. There are so many fine performances of that symphony, though. My favorite remains Solti/CSO, but of more recent performances, I really liked Nagano's with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin on Harmonia Mundi. It's paired with an equally great performance of Schoenberg's Variations for Orchestra, but I suggest you might tread carefully here (that is if you're not a fan of, to use a GMG phrase, 'atonal squawking').

Anyway, who are some of your favorite composers?

I've been waiting a while to get the Solti cycle, but I always forget to whenever the price on Amazon dips below $20. Meanwhile I listened to the first symphony from that on Spotify last week during work and I liked it (but then again, I don't think I'm quite educated yet to judge whether or not I like a piece based on qualities other than tempo and audio fidelity). Another version of the fourth that I've listened to and liked is Karajan's from the 1960s box set (don't know if he recorded more than once during that decade); I really love the sound during the ending to the first movement. One I dislike is Stokowski's from his RCA Stereo recordings box set, the ending of the first movement just moves along much too quickly for my taste. I'll keep an ear out for the Nagano if it's on Spotify, and unfortunately I'm not too big on atonality right now, but maybe someday!

I'm still slowly expanding my horizons, but if I had to choose, it's a tie between Brahms and Beethoven for my favorite composer. This little bit illustrates my dilemma sometimes!

Welcome, Peter!  I did my Master's in Ch'ville

Nice! Graduated with my bachelor's from Mason almost two years ago, and my sister graduated from Tech at the same time.

Hi, Peter, and welcome. It's hard to go wrong with that Kleiber recording - you might want to investigate his Beethoven 5 and 7 if you haven't already. In any case, have a good time.

--Bruce

Thanks, Bruce! That recording was actually one of my first purchases and so far has remained my favorite for those two symphonies. I've been trying to listen to as many accounts of the 7th as I can, but none so far (maybe Karl Böhm?) can replicate that prominent timpani sound in the first movement that the Kleiber recording has. I also have a number of other recordings from him as well (Schubert symphonies, Dvorak Piano Concerto, Die Fledermaus and Der Freischutz, I think that's all of them), but barely listened to. Another day perhaps!

Welcome. What other discs/pieces have been highlights for you?

I'm very fond of Ferenc Fricsay's recording of Beethoven's 9th, I think I'll be hard pressed to find one that I might like more than it. Bruno Walter's recording of Brahms' 2nd Symphony is always a treat to listen to, and Kubelik and Kertesz tie for my favorite recordings of Dvorak's 9th Symphony. Leonard Bernstein's recording of The Firebird Suite and Neville Marriner's recording of Vaughan Williams' English Folk Song Suite are two others that I find myself returning to time after time. Wish I could think of more, but I've already typed so much in this post, I don't want to wear anybody out with my long-winded writing! 

[Brahmsian]

Hi there! I've been lurking on this forum for the better part of two years now and I thought it was about time I joined in.

I've really only been listening to classical music "seriously" since late 2011, and since then I've amassed a huge collection of box sets, CDs and LPs that I still delude myself into thinking that I will be able to finish listening to in this lifetime.

My favorite (and most listened to) recording so far:
[asin]B000006NXP[/asin]

You guys seem like a nice bunch, so I hope that I'll be able to keep up in discussions with you!

Hi Peter, and welcome aboard GMG!   

You already have something in common with another GMG member, Brian.  If memory serves me correctly, that Brahms' 4th recording may also be his favourite recording of anything, or close to it!

Cheers,

Ray in Manitoba, Canada.

[Mirror Image]

I've been waiting a while to get the Solti cycle, but I always forget to whenever the price on Amazon dips below $20. Meanwhile I listened to the first symphony from that on Spotify last week during work and I liked it (but then again, I don't think I'm quite educated yet to judge whether or not I like a piece based on qualities other than tempo and audio fidelity). Another version of the fourth that I've listened to and liked is Karajan's from the 1960s box set (don't know if he recorded more than once during that decade); I really love the sound during the ending to the first movement. One I dislike is Stokowski's from his RCA Stereo recordings box set, the ending of the first movement just moves along much too quickly for my taste. I'll keep an ear out for the Nagano if it's on Spotify, and unfortunately I'm not too big on atonality right now, but maybe someday!

I'm still slowly expanding my horizons, but if I had to choose, it's a tie between Brahms and Beethoven for my favorite composer. This little bit illustrates my dilemma sometimes!

Well, I wouldn't say you're uneducated about forming an opinion about which performance you enjoy. I mean you did admit to not liking that Stokowski performance and from this performance you recognized something that you personally don't enjoy hearing in Brahms. So this is a step forward for you. Don't be stranger!

[TheGSMoeller]

Hello, Peter!  Greetings and welcome!

My fellow G.M. Patriot (although I did not graduate  ) and I did live in Fairfax and Richmond for some years.

Let's talk music!

[mc ukrneal]

I'm very fond of Ferenc Fricsay's recording of Beethoven's 9th, I think I'll be hard pressed to find one that I might like more than it. Bruno Walter's recording of Brahms' 2nd Symphony is always a treat to listen to, and Kubelik and Kertesz tie for my favorite recordings of Dvorak's 9th Symphony. Leonard Bernstein's recording of The Firebird Suite and Neville Marriner's recording of Vaughan Williams' English Folk Song Suite are two others that I find myself returning to time after time. Wish I could think of more, but I've already typed so much in this post, I don't want to wear anybody out with my long-winded writing! 

Fantastic! They speak very highly of that Fricsay in the Beethoven 9th thread. Kubelik and Kertesz are great in Dvorak (Kubelik's Slavonic Dances are a romp too).