Long-time listener, first-time poster

[jfdrex]

Greetings ~

I'm a long-time obsessive-compulsive listener and collector.  (Is there any other kind?)  I started buying LPs about 40 years ago (!), and of course later found the need to duplicated everything I already owned, and to further extend my collection greatly, on CD...  Most people here will know the syndrome--I've got far more recordings than I need, but far fewer than I want.

My tastes aren't out of the ordinary—my most fervent devotion is to the late 19th century romantics and 20th century composers who more of less followed in that vein (Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Elgar, Rachmaninoff, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams, et al.); but how could I also not love much of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann...?  Most of my concert-going—again, dating back 40 years or more—has taken place near either the Hudson or the Thames, so I've been fortunate to see and hear many great orchestras, conductors, and performers in the flesh.

When it comes to interpretation and performance:  No HIPsters for me, thank you.  It goes without saying that most of the musicians in my personal pantheon are dead, but I'm quite happy to listen to younger up-and-comers (if only, for the most part, to find them wanting).

Looking forward to browsing here and, when the mood strikes, to weighing in with my two cents' / tuppence worth.

Cheers,

John

[bhodges]

Hi John, and welcome to GMG. Sounds like you have had quite an enviable concert history. Share some of your favorites here and there. I am still pondering a gorgeous Mahler 2 from Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra recently, which one friend thought was almost Bernstein-worthy (i.e., high praise).

In any case, have fun here - lots of interesting people with many different approaches to listening, collecting, etc.

--Bruce

[Ken B]

Greetings ~

I'm a long-time obsessive-compulsive listener and collector.  (Is there any other kind?)  I started buying LPs about 40 years ago (!), and of course later found the need to duplicated everything I already owned, and to further extend my collection greatly, on CD...  Most people here will know the syndrome--I've got far more recordings than I need, but far fewer than I want.

My tastes aren't out of the ordinary—my most fervent devotion is to the late 19th century romantics and 20th century composers who more of less followed in that vein (Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Elgar, Rachmaninoff, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams, et al.); but how could I also not love much of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann...?  Most of my concert-going—again, dating back 40 years or more—has taken place near either the Hudson or the Thames, so I've been fortunate to see and hear many great orchestras, conductors, and performers in the flesh.

When it comes to interpretation and performance:  No HIPsters for me, thank you.  It goes without saying that most of the musicians in my personal pantheon are dead, but I'm quite happy to listen to younger up-and-comers (if only, for the most part, to find them wanting).

Looking forward to browsing here and, when the mood strikes, to weighing in with my two cents' / tuppence worth.

Cheers,

John

Welcome. You are going to be drowned in suggestions but judging from your list of favorites I suggest you look into the symphonies of Atterberg, Glazunov, Miaskovsky.

[mc ukrneal]

Welcome and enjoy!

[jfdrex]

Bruce Brewski ~ Thanks for the welcome.  As it happens, I was in the audience for Bernstein's legendary Mahler 2nd with Christa Ludwig & Barbara Hendriks & the NYPO in April 1987, a concert that still resounds in my aural & visual memory after all these years.  Also heard the Rattlemeister & the Berliners at Carnegie Hall a couple of years ago.  So, for me, Nézet-Séguin would have a long way to go to displace those memories.  (Bruno Walter's recording still remains my favorite interpretation overall, even after hearing dozens of other recordings of the work.)

Ken B. ~ Thanks for the welcome.  But Glazunov?   No thanks!  [Here's where I'm tempted to insert a silly emoticon.]  Though I've wound up with three recordings of the Violin Concerto--both of Heifetz's, as well as Igor Oistrakh with Rozhdestvensky.  I know Miaskovsky's 21st Symphony via the old Ormandy recording, but haven't heard (to my knowledge) any of the first 20.  (Hmm... he must have been the Russian Havergal Brian, no?)  I know Atterberg's name but not his music, so perhaps will look into that one of these days. 

mc ukrneal ~ Thanks for the welcome!

Incidentally, I stumbled upon this group when an online search for reviews of a particular Bruckner recording led me to the pages for the Bruckner 6th blind-listening-athon...  It was too late for me to join in that particular merriment, but I read through all 40 pages of comments and votes.  Whew!  (Ah, if only...  No doubt Jochum/ Bavarian RSO would have made it into my final four.)

Cheers,

John

[TheGSMoeller]

Incidentally, I stumbled upon this group when an online search for reviews of a particular Bruckner recording led me to the pages for the Bruckner 6th blind-listening-athon...  It was too late for me to join in that particular merriment, but I read through all 40 pages of comments and votes.  Whew!  (Ah, if only...  No doubt Jochum/ Bavarian RSO would have made it into my final four.)

Cheers,

John

Reading that the Bruckner 6th comparison brought you to GMG brings a tear to my eye.  0:)

Greetings and welcome, John! 

[jfdrex]

TheGSMoeller ~ Thanks!

Some of the comments posted in the course of your Bruckner-6-athon (such as Ken B's quips about Mehta) brought tears of laughter to my eyes.

As it happens, inspired by your example, earlier this evening I subjected the Mrs to four recordings of the first movement:  Rogner (just purchased), Jochum/ Bavaria, Jochum/ Dresden, and Otto the Great.  She cast her blind vote for Jochum in Bavaria, and opined that although Otto's interpretation was great the orchestral playing wasn't beautiful.  (To which I responded, "Klemps didn't care about beauty.  He was an immoralist!"  She also innocently asked if Carlos Kleiber ever conducted the symphony; to which I replied, "Are you kidding?  We're lucky Carlos ever conducted anything.")

I still have to dig out the Celi & listen to it again to see if your majority made the right choice.

Cheers,

John

[Ken B]

TheGSMoeller ~ Thanks!

Some of the comments posted in the course of your Bruckner-6-athon (such as Ken B's quips about Mehta) brought tears of laughter to my eyes.

As it happens, inspired by your example, earlier this evening I subjected the Mrs to four recordings of the first movement:  Rogner (just purchased), Jochum/ Bavaria, Jochum/ Dresden, and Otto the Great.  She cast her blind vote for Jochum in Bavaria, and opined that although Otto's interpretation was great the orchestral playing wasn't beautiful.  (To which I responded, "Klemps didn't care about beauty.  He was an immoralist!"  She also innocently asked if Carlos Kleiber ever conducted the symphony; to which I replied, "Are you kidding?  We're lucky Carlos ever conducted anything.")

I still have to dig out the Celi & listen to it again to see if your majority made the right choice.

Cheers,

John

Your wife is a keeper.

The great thing about Mehta as a punchline is that you don't even need a joke for it to work.

[Wanderer]

See, John, you already fit here like a glove. A most heartfelt welcome!

[Hollywood]

Hi John. Greetings from Beethoven and Mozart's Vienna. Welcome to the forum. 

[Florestan]

Welcome and enjoy!

Speaking of Atterberg, you might also like Stenhammar and Rangstrom. 

[North Star]

Welcome to the forum, John. I'm sure you'll feel at home here.

To which I responded, "Klemps didn't care about beauty.  He was an immoralist!"

So you're saying that people who care about aesthetics are ethical? I might want to disagree - take, please, the heads of state who obsessed most over architecture, music, and other arts. 

Your wife is a keeper.

+1

The great thing about Mehta as a punchline is that you don't even need a joke for it to work.

   

[EigenUser]

[...]Mahler[...]

[...] but I'm quite happy to listen to younger up-and-comers (if only, for the most part, to find them wanting) [...]

One suggestion from me -- Thomas Ades' Asyla. A Mahler symphony viewed through a 1990's lens.

[Sergeant Rock]

She also innocently asked if Carlos Kleiber ever conducted the symphony; to which I replied, "Are you kidding?  We're lucky Carlos ever conducted anything.")

Sarge

[Brian]

As it happens, inspired by your example, earlier this evening I subjected the Mrs to four recordings of the first movement:  Rogner (just purchased), Jochum/ Bavaria, Jochum/ Dresden, and Otto the Great.  She cast her blind vote for Jochum in Bavaria, and opined that although Otto's interpretation was great the orchestral playing wasn't beautiful.  (To which I responded, "Klemps didn't care about beauty.  He was an immoralist!"  She also innocently asked if Carlos Kleiber ever conducted the symphony; to which I replied, "Are you kidding?  We're lucky Carlos ever conducted anything.")

Well, you've passed the citizenship test. The GMG authorities will mail you a passport and a set of collectible famous conductor baseball cards.

[jfdrex]

Many thanks to all for your kind words and warm welcome.

North Star:  My comment about Klemperer as "an immoralist" isn't a judgement on my part, but of course an allusion to his own characterization of himself (in the BBC interview where, asked about Bruno Walter, he replied:  "He is a moralist; I am an immoralist"):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEJqA1D-vZI

The entire interview is posted under the title "Klemperer the Immoralist":  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoozdhcrIK8

Hmm...  if Bruno Walter was a moralist, and Klemperer an immoralist, what does that make Zubin Mehta?

And with that, I'll take my newly issued GMG passport and set off on my explorations.

Cheers!

[Mirror Image]

Welcome aboard, jfdrex! Love your avatar. Elgar is certainly a favorite of mine. Enjoy yourself here.

[Karl Henning]

Welcome to GMG, John!

[jfdrex]

Mirror Image & karlhenning ~ Thanks for your warm greetings!

[North Star]

North Star:  My comment about Klemperer as "an immoralist" isn't a judgement on my part, but of course an allusion to his own characterization of himself (in the BBC interview where, asked about Bruno Walter, he replied:  "He is a moralist; I am an immoralist"):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEJqA1D-vZI

Thanks, interesting bit. I get the sense that Klemperer means prudish with 'moralist'. I'm definitely in the 'immoralist' camp here.