CD 9 from this set. I wouldn't call this bland although I'm hardly a Bach expert. I think the playing is buoyant and I'm enjoying this very much.
A question for everybody. If I want to buy a guitar, I head off to the local Guitar Center (or whatever music store is nearby). But where do classical musicians purchase their instruments? Are there specialized stores that sell this stuff, or is it all personal transactions? Or is it all online now? For example, how do I acquire a bass viol? (Bonus question - how would I then go about learning to play it?) Specific answers only please. "Take lessons" doesn't count.
Spent last night going over the Webern 5 Movements for string quartet and Six Bagatelles from this excellent recording and performance. While I've listened a lot to versions of the Bagatelles, I really never spent as much time with the Five Movements, or it never struck me the way it did in this performance and recording. Had to play it twice back to back. Great stuff.
I'm used to HIP performances of Baroque works (Hogwood, Pinnock, Harnoncourt, Gardiner, Koopman, Brüggen, Savall, etc.) and hadn't heard the non-HIP ASMF versions in years; the former sounded definitely more "intense" to me (for want of a better description).
I don’t know a thing about it, but here are a couple of starting points. https://uptonbass.com/instruments/t...arRZw8CrO2MrwtBKfTYOKSihbL6NvjDM5waAhvI8P8HAQ Double Bass Teacher Directory - Jason Heath's Double Bass Blog
I'm headed out to brunch with my father, but I'll get back to you on this. There are several music stores and other private businesses in the Boston area that carry hundreds of violins, violas, 'cellos and double basses. Should you then be able to acquire a double bass, my response would be the same as that to someone who might ask me how to get to Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice.
For brass and woodwind instruments, my wife recommends Dillon Music in Woodbridge, NJ. (She's a trumpet player.) They sell new and used. (I know you asked about stringed instuments, but maybe someone else is interested in brass or woodwinds.)
Now on the turntable, "Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1" performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy with the Concertgebouw Orchestra led by Bernard Haitink on London.
After nearly 40 years, I still enjoy some of the ASMF versions of Baroque recordings--Marriner's were some of my initial recordings of the Brandenburg Concertos, Water Music, and the like. I still think they hold up well. Marriner never used period instruments, but he was one of the leaders of the HIP movement at its beginning.
I'm listening to "Carmina Burana" and thinking that I should have driven up to hang with my kid brother today. He just turned 60. It's just too damn cold. Was in the 70s yesterday; today 30s!
I don't think Marriner was one of the leaders of the HIP movement; on the contrary, he was criticized by Hogwood and others "for not striving for an authentic sound": Neville Marriner - Wikipedia Sir Neville Marriner – obituary Hogwood left the ASMF because of it and founded the Academy of Ancient Music.
I completely agree that Hogwood clashed with Marriner, but Marriner was at the forefront of the movement to return many Baroque pieces to the repertoire at that movement's beginning. Bach, Handel, et al. sound very different after ASMF than they did in the beginning. I do agree that Hogwood wanted to go further, but Marriner's Bach and Handel is very, very different from that of Karajan, Klemperer, and the like.
True, but all that doesn't automatically mean that Marriner was a leader of the HIP movement, which in essence meant that the music should be played as it was supposed to be played back in the time it was composed, using period instruments. Marriner didn't go that far, though I'll admit that he cleaned it up quite a bit with his ASMF compared to the "romantic" playing practice of the day. [edited to correct an error]
I can't give you any good recommendations for string instrument dealers in the NY/NJ metro area, but just as examples, here are some dealers in the Boston area: Rutman's Violins: Welcome to Rutman's Violins Shop Volker Nahrmann: The Nahrmann Bass Shop - Home Upton Bass String Instrument Company: https://uptonbass.com/ Wiessmeyer Violins: Wiessmeyer Violins Home Wood and Strings: Wood and Strings Some of these are located within walking distance of Symphony Hall, but they really are scattered all around. As far as learning the double bass, I know you indicated that "take lessons" doesn't count, but I don't see a viable alternative unless you are already conversant on a related instrument. I had 12 years on electric bass and 15 on guitar when I bought my double bass in 1992 so I was self-taught for the first four years and then spent six years taking lessons with jazz bassist and Berklee Professor Bruce Gertz. If you've never played a fretless instrument before, intonation is the biggest thing along with bowing technique, which is not second nature to me anyway.
Right you are. What's your preferred mode of listening? I mostly listen to CDs and vinyl. Most of my CM collection is on CD. All of my recent CM acquisitions are on CD. But, right now, I've got on the turntable, "Victoria - Requiem/Alonso Lobo - Versa est in luctum" performed by The Tallis Scholars on Gimell.
The double bass has a great advantage. No one expects you to cart it to school. You do need large hands.
With respect to opera, a large percentage of performance are devoted to these 5 composers: Verdi/ Wagner/ Mozart/ Puccini/ Rossini I have those below often in multiple audio performances and DVDs: Verdi: Falstaff, Othello Wagner: Meistersinger, Tristan, Lohengrin, Hollander, Ring Mozart: Don Giovanni, Cosi, Figaro, Clemenza di Tito, Idomeneo, Lucio Silla, Il Re Pastore, Magic Flute Puccini: Boheme, Madame Buttefly, Fanciulla del West, La Rondine, Turandot Rossini: Barber of Seville, Italiana in Algierie, Count d'Ory, Cenerentola
I love that record, I have it on CD. Big Tallis Scholars fan. But these days I almost exclusively listen on headphones, either at my desktop DAC/Amp or on the road with a high end Sony Walkman.