Recordings That You Are Considering

[milk]

8.99 mp3 download on Amazon. Get one, before they're all gone!
[asin]B005QHJLSO[/asin]

It's not at the same level as Hogwood and not as comprehensive,  either,  but it's a nicely done PI set;  certainly at that price I would have no qualms about getting it (although check out the CD version prices first to see how cheap they are;  I have it as part of a bigger set from Brilliant.)

[Brian]

Browsing the upcoming releases section on a few sites yielded some potentially interesting piano releases coming out later this month and next month.

Whoa! Chamayou Schubert has my attention.

I just found the Tysman Chopin on NML, am sampling. First chords of Ballade No. 1 are soft, not commanding; humongous pauses in the intro. 4:20 - at this point calling the interpretation very pretty but very precious. 8:00 - I'm torn between getting a little bit tired of it and wanting to hear more of it. Definitely indulgent in a way that suggests she's sitting there by herself, really enjoying herself, humoring every impulse without filtering too much.

This album from last year is more my personal cup of tea:

[asin]B00DU633KA[/asin]

[marvinbrown]

  On the advice of many GMG members (you know who you are) I have removed Bernstein's recordings of Haydn's Paris and London symphonies (Sony) from my amazon.co.uk shopping basket and replaced them with the following mega boxset:

  [asin]B003Z9Q4WG[/asin]

  £80 for 60 CDs....I want the Haydn, the early Mahler (I have the DG set), the Sibelius and those obscure American composers. I am worried about the Beethoven and the Tchaikovsky recordings. I have yet to pull the trigger.  I need my anxiety levels to rise a bit and that uncomfortable, uneasy feeling to set in that that set will some day go out of print!  Till then I shall wrestle and agonize........

  marvin

     

[Brian]

I am worried about the Beethoven and the Tchaikovsky recordings.

You don't know it yet, but you also want the Dvorak 7, Franck, Berlioz (if you don't have it), Bizet, and Schumann. I have enjoyed the Tchaikovsky, not sure why you're worried about it. I haven't heard the Beethoven but a friend of mine liked it.

[marvinbrown]

You don't know it yet, but you also want the Dvorak 7, Franck, Berlioz (if you don't have it), Bizet, and Schumann. I have enjoyed the Tchaikovsky, not sure why you're worried about it. I haven't heard the Beethoven but a friend of mine liked it.

  Hi Brian.  I read that the Beethoven is too slow and the Tchaikovsky is too dark and dense.  For example the opening of the Beethoven 5th lacks a sense of urgency and Bernstein forsakes what is joyful in Tchaikovsky for the dark depressed moods.  can you confirm/deny any of these?

marvin

[Brian]

  Hi Brian.  I read that the Beethoven is too slow and the Tchaikovsky is too dark and dense.  For example the opening of the Beethoven 5th lacks a sense of urgency and Bernstein forsakes what is joyful in Tchaikovsky for the dark depressed moods.  can you confirm/deny any of these?

marvin

Well again I haven't heard the Beethoven but the Tchaikovsky is slower and darker than normal. The Fourth smolders. Now, the DG recordings - those are the REALLY dark ones. Like, the Bernstein DG Sixth is almost an hour long; the Sony one is pretty normal. The criticism you have heard may be for the controversial DG recordings. I think they Sony ones are really good, but they are not mainstream. It's easy nowadays to find contrasting readings: Daniele Gatti and the RPO is a great "opposite" series, as is Jansons. I like 'em all for different reasons.

[Todd]

I read that the Beethoven is too slow

I guess it depends on how fast you want it.  Lenny's CBS LvB is not modern-HIP fast, but it doesn't strike me as especially slow.  And some of the performances are superb, as with the 1st.

[Gurn Blanston]

  Hi Brian.  I read that the Beethoven is too slow and the Tchaikovsky is too dark and dense.  For example the opening of the Beethoven 5th lacks a sense of urgency and Bernstein forsakes what is joyful in Tchaikovsky for the dark depressed moods.  can you confirm/deny any of these?

marvin

Marvin,

I say this only as a philosophical concept, not because I am intimately familiar with either of those recordings, but I have found over the dozen years I have been here that a lot of times, we read to much and listen too little. If you are truly interested in the music itself, and/or in Bernstein, then that sort of totally subjective commentary (which is useless, BTW) shouldn't sway you. If he had said "there is a clicking in the original master that doesn't go away in this mastering, and the first violins are sharp throughout" then that is a useful commentary that would steer you away. Just sayin'....

[Karl Henning]

Gurn's giving you pearls here, Marvin.

[marvinbrown]

You don't know it yet, but you also want the Dvorak 7, Franck, Berlioz (if you don't have it), Bizet, and Schumann. I have enjoyed the Tchaikovsky, not sure why you're worried about it. I haven't heard the Beethoven but a friend of mine liked it.

I guess it depends on how fast you want it.  Lenny's CBS LvB is not modern-HIP fast, but it doesn't strike me as especially slow.  And some of the performances are superb, as with the 1st.

 

Marvin,

I say this only as a philosophical concept, not because I am intimately familiar with either of those recordings, but I have found over the dozen years I have been here that a lot of times, we read to much and listen too little. If you are truly interested in the music itself, and/or in Bernstein, then that sort of totally subjective commentary (which is useless, BTW) shouldn't sway you. If he had said "there is a clicking in the original master that doesn't go away in this mastering, and the first violins are sharp throughout" then that is a useful commentary that would steer you away. Just sayin'....

  Gentlemen thank you for your feedback. I am interested in Bernstein as a conductor and the excerpts I heard of the Haydn symphonies were wonderful. Very well then...I shall take a chance on this set.

  marvin

 

[Pat B]

  Hi Brian.  I read that the Beethoven is too slow and the Tchaikovsky is too dark and dense.  For example the opening of the Beethoven 5th lacks a sense of urgency and Bernstein forsakes what is joyful in Tchaikovsky for the dark depressed moods.  can you confirm/deny any of these?

marvin

IMO the Beethoven 3, 4, and 5 are great, especially 3. The 1st movement of 5 is relatively slow but it absolutely works IMO. I'm less enthusiastic about 6 and 7 - I had high hopes based on samples but when I actually got them, they were a bit of a letdown. I don't remember much about 2 or 8, and have not heard 1 or 9. (I have and like both of his DG 9ths.)

Of the Tchaikovsky, I've only heard the 4th, which I liked.

I'm starting to think that when somebody says "too slow" or "too fast" or "too dark and dense" or "too light and airy," what they really mean is, "this doesn't sound like my imprint recording."

If you are interested, and don't have much overlap, and can afford the £80, I'd say go for it.

[marvinbrown]

IMO the Beethoven 3, 4, and 5 are great, especially 3. The 1st movement of 5 is relatively slow but it absolutely works IMO. I'm less enthusiastic about 6 and 7 - I had high hopes based on samples but when I actually got them, they were a bit of a letdown. I don't remember much about 2 or 8, and have not heard 1 or 9. (I have and like both of his DG 9ths.)

Of the Tchaikovsky, I've only heard the 4th, which I liked.

I'm starting to think that when somebody says "too slow" or "too fast" or "too dark and dense" or "too light and airy," what they really mean is, "this doesn't sound like my imprint recording."

If you are interested, and don't have much overlap, and can afford the £80, I'd say go for it.

  Thank you Pat. This whole business with the Bernstein Symphony edition started when I wanted to supplement my Fischer recordings of the Haydn London and Paris symphonies with another set.  I was instantly drawn to Bernstein which came highly recommended.  But then I read how wonderful the Sibelius was and I have been eyeing the early Mahler (I have the DG set and I am very much enjoying it). I am also interested Bernstein's obscure American composers recordings.   It just made more financial sense to spring for the complete edition.  But I did not want to acquire so many CDs if the majority were going to be duds......... from what I am reading, such is not the case.  I have decided to buy the set  ! My guess is it will soon go out of print.  Its price is rising on amazon.com and I believe amazon.co.uk will soon follow. 

  marvin

[Mookalafalas]

Question about Martha Argerich.  I have (and love) her Beethoven duets with Mischa Maisky (I was embarassingly tempted to type "Mischky Moushky" ), and her Rachmaninov on Teldec. I'm completely smitten. The recording quality on the Teldec is almost as impressive as the playing. Anyway, I want to get more, preferable in boxes, but there for some reason there are a about a zillion competing mini-box sets. There are similar boxes from DG and Decca that seem like they might be part of the same series ("The edition"?) and there are also boxes from EMI and Warners.  I would like to go for one series, where she is at her best and that has really nice recording quality (I'm listening to her on Teldec right now and it's one of the most life-like recordings I've ever heard).  Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Todd]

I would like to go for one series, where she is at her best and that has really nice recording quality (I'm listening to her on Teldec right now and it's one of the most life-like recordings I've ever heard).  Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

The UMG (Decca/DG) boxes are the ones to get.  They do not match Teldec for sound, but they have the performances to get. 

[kishnevi]

Alternatives for Argerich:

Alternate 1: Get all seven boxes--there are three from EMI and four from DG.  There are no duplicated recordings among the seven, although you will find duplicate performances of her favored works.  One box of the DG series includes all her recordings on the Philips label;  a bit confusingly, the DG box labeled Chamber Ensembles also includes DG recordings for two pianos (including a great CD with Friere) while her recordings with Kremer and Maisky of Beethoven and others are in a Duo Recording box. 

Alternate 2: Get the four DG boxes and as many of the Argerich and Friends Live from Lugano series CDs as you can.  Most of the performances which actually include Argerich in the Lugano series are also found in the EMI series,  but the Lugano series includes a whole lot of chamber music in which she doesn't appear, and which you will want to own, both because the performers and performances are excellent and because the works themselves often fall into the 'rarely recorded' category.

Alternate 3: Do what I did, and get the four DG boxes, the three EMI boxes, and several of the Lugano series, duplicate recordings be dashed.

If you have to pick between the DG and EMI series, Todd is correct:  the DG has the higher quality values.

[Todd]

Alternate 1: Get all seven boxes--there are three from EMI and four from DG.

What, no love for the Philips (now Decca) box?

[Mookalafalas]

Thanks, gentleman, for the fast and useful responses.
  Jeffrey I especially love how your reply dovetails with my own best (and worst!) wishes: just buy everything

  And on the Decca box, isn't it really under the same DG umbrella now?

[Todd]

And on the Decca box, isn't it really under the same DG umbrella now?

Yes, but still.  There are five total boxes in the UMG series - four on DG and one on Decca.

[kishnevi]

Yes, but still.  There are five total boxes in the UMG series - four on DG and one on Decca.

I miscounted, that's all.  I include the Decca box as part of the DG series.  Heck, UMG does, why shouldn't I.  I even made a specific reference to the Decca/Philips box in my reply.

But yes, there are five boxes in the series:  Solo recordings, Concertos, Chamber Ensembles,  Duo Recordings, Philips Recordings (the Decca box).

ETA: I'm assuming the Warner boxes are simply the same EMI boxes with a different logo on the cover;  Warner seems to be doing that with all the currently in print EMI boxes (for instance, my new copy of the Barbirolli/Halle Sibelius set has the Warner logo, even though it was firmly an EMI set until last year).

[Mookalafalas]

Yes, but still.  There are five total boxes in the UMG series - four on DG and one on Decca.

  Got it. I'll start out by going that way. I will probably grab the Decca in my first lot, as in general I think they do better recording than DG (for older stuff, anyway).