What are you re-evaluating?

[Mark]

Let's be honest: a good number of GMG members have large-ish CD collections. Inevitably perhaps, some discs don't get played often enough - we lead busy lives, we're buying CDs at an alarming pace, and there just isn't the time to give everything a fair hearing. So here's the thread to tell us which recordings (or indeed, which composers or genres or operas or ... whatever), you're currently making time to reassess.

For me, it's Schumann's symphonies. I'm not very up on Schumann, and his symphonies have only ever made it to the perimeter of my listening crucible. I have Wit's recordings on Naxos, two of the symphonies conducted by Chailly on Decca, a BBC Music magazine CD with two more symphonies on it, and I've just ordered Dohnanyi's cycle on Decca for an absolute steal price from an Amazon seller. Of the four (I believe there's also another, unnumbered symphony?), my preference has always been for Symphony No. 3 'Rhenish'. I love how each of its five movements takes a slightly slower pace until it's picked up again in the finale. I've not heard another composer do anything similar. But the remaining symphonies? The jury is still out. As with so much of what I've heard of Schumann, they seem to lack something, though I can't pinpoint what. Mind you, I used to feel this way about Brahms ...

Anyway, what are you re-evaluating at the moment?

[BachQ]

Anyway, what are you re-evaluating at the moment?

The viability of this thread ..........

[Mark]

The viability of this thread ..........

You're not alone.

[Brian]

For me, it's Schumann's symphonies. I'm not very up on Schumann, and his symphonies have only ever made it to the perimeter of my listening crucible. I have Wit's recordings on Naxos, two of the symphonies conducted by Chailly on Decca, a BBC Music magazine CD with two more symphonies on it, and I've just ordered Dohnanyi's cycle on Decca for an absolute steal price from an Amazon seller. Of the four (I believe there's also another, unnumbered symphony?), my preference has always been for Symphony No. 3 'Rhenish'. I love how each of its five movements takes a slightly slower pace until it's picked up again in the finale. I've not heard another composer do anything similar. But the remaining symphonies? The jury is still out. As with so much of what I've heard of Schumann, they seem to lack something, though I can't pinpoint what. Mind you, I used to feel this way about Brahms ...

Funny you should mention Schumann. I'm about due for a re-evaluation of his symphonies, too, because my current project is re-evaluating his piano music, which I used to strongly dislike (with the exception of the third movement of the Op. 17 Fantasie). Now I am finding myself taking a bit fonder view of the solo piano works. 

[hornteacher]

Believe it or not, Bach.

I've really gotten into his instrumental works a lot more recently (Violin Concertos, Violin Partitas, Cello Suites, Two-Part Inventions, Brandenbergs, etc).  For the longest time it all tended to sound the same to me.  Then I started looking at scores and digging into the guts of the music.  The complexity of the writing is staggering and I'm finding I don't have to work as hard anymore to hear things in the music.

[71 dB]

Bruckner maybe if anyone...

[AnthonyAthletic]

Dvorak: Symphonies 1, 2, 3 & 4 with Kertesz/Kubelik/Valek.

I have often found with sets of Dvorak's symphonies, in the past I start at the end and work back...on with the New World down to the 5th, and have ignored the first 4 for too long.  Over the last week or two I have done the first 4 a couple of times and although great as they may be they don't reach the heights of his 5/6 or his final 3.  Good music, worth a re-run.

Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana, not heard this in a while and I do have quite a few different versions of it, one I have on cassette I saw for a quid on cd @ eBay so bought it 'New' and have spun it a few times this week.  Gone is the inevitable tape hiss and it really is a decent recording.  With Del Monaco in his powerful controlled shouting mode of course....little man, heart on sleeve aching voice 

Del Monaco, Simionato, Stasio, MacNeil under Serafin (Belart...nee Decca)

Schubert : Octet in F major/The Gaudier Ensemble & Mullova (Onyx) two wonderful interpretations, the Mullova especially is a gem of a cd as supplied by Mark  and remains one of my favourite Schubert works.

[Mark]

... the Mullova especially is a gem of a cd as supplied by Mark  and remains one of my favourite Schubert works.

Thanks for the reminder - forgotten I had that!

[AnthonyAthletic]

Thanks for the reminder - forgotten I had that!

'tis a fine one 

[The new erato]

I'm currenltly sort of trying (besides other listening) to fill in some holes in my knowledge of the string quartet repertoire. Britten, Carter an Joseph Marx have recently been aquired and listened to (though this is something I have been doing for some time; d'Indy's 3 quartets being among the years major discoveries). I see there is a cycle of Koechlins quartets being introduced; a sure buy!

[Lethevich]

I'm currenltly sort of trying (besides other listening) to fill in some holes in my knowledge of the string quartet repertoire. Britten, Carter an Joseph Marx have recently been aquired and listened to (though this is something I have been doing for some time; d'Indy's 3 quartets being among the years major discoveries). I see there is a cycle of Koechlins quartets being introduced; a sure buy!

Hartmann's 2 SQs on CPO could appeal to you if you like Bartok, they're strong works.

[The new erato]

Hartmann's 2 SQs on CPO could appeal to you if you like Bartok, they're strong works.

Yres I like Bartok, and yes - they have been on the mdt wish list for some time, and I'll try to bump them up. Hartmann is on my reevaluation list as well, haven't hard his symphonie for a seriously long time.

[Lethevich]

Yres I like Bartok, and yes - they have been on the mdt wish list for some time, and I'll try to bump them up. Hartmann is on my reevaluation list as well, haven't hard his symphonie for a seriously long time.

I like his symphonies a lot, but was actually quite surprised when I heard that CPO SQ disc, he's a natural in that genre too.

[BachQ]

I like his symphonies a lot, but was actually quite surprised when I heard that CPO SQ disc, he's a natural in that genre too.

Bartok's symphonies?

[Lethevich]

Bartok's symphonies?

I don't like to reveal his secret, but Bartok published symphonies under the pen name "Bantock" - these symphonies mysteriously stopped being produced after Bartok died...

[Mark]

I don't like to reveal his secret, but Bartok published symphonies under the pen name "Bantock" - these symphonies mysteriously stopped being produced after Bartok died...

The Hartmann symphonies were hard work for me. Loved the First, couldn't stomach the rest. A re-evaluation of these might also be due ...

[Heather Harrison]

I hope this thread catches on.  So many of us are so focused on acquiring new recordings that we sometimes lose track of what we already have.  I would encourage people to occasionally take a break from acquisitions and rediscover forgotten recordings.

Of course, sometimes a new acquisition can help with this.  Recently, I bought a complete set of Tchaikovsky's symphonies, and this has rekindled my interest in all of his music, which I have always liked but never paid a huge amount of attention to.  Now, recordings of his music that have been in my collection for years, and largely gathering dust, are beginning to emerge from their storage boxes to be listened to again.  These include his piano concertos and other performances of his symphonies.

Mendelssohn is another composer who I rediscovered recently thanks to new acquisitions.  As a result, I dug out some CDs that had been around for a long time, and I found that I very much enjoyed his organ music and his symphonies.

Heather

[Lethevich]

The Hartmann symphonies were hard work for me. Loved the First, couldn't stomach the rest. A re-evaluation of these might also be due ...

I find them even harder going than Pettersson, who can feel kind of liberating in the (apparent) freeness of his forms. Harmann is just as tough, tonally, but also seems to closer adhere to standard forms, making them feel, to me, less organic and much tougher nuts to crack... They keep me coming back to them, though, and I'm glad that I own a cycle (the EMI one, which seems to be less favoured, generally) as it's going to be a good long-term investment.

[Mark]

Thanks for the vote of support, Heather.

And you're right, of course: we should regularly review what's in our collections and listen to old discs anew. I need to re-evaluate not just the symphonies of Schumann and Hartmann (sounds like a German law firm ), but also those of Mendelssohn, who has largely lost his appeal for me in recent years. I'm currently inclined to think quite ill indeed of his symphonies.

[Mark]

I have the EMI cycle of Hartmann's symphonies, too, Lethe. Got them for £5 in a charity shop, copied them to CD-R and got shot of the originals.