I am piecing it together disc by disc...so far I have Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 7 & 8. I really like what I have heard so far and look forward to tracking down other discs in the cycle. Another excellent cycle that I am piecing together at the moment is that of Gary Bertini. I have 1-6 in his cycle. I have Symphony No. 5 in Sinopoli's cycle and I agree that it's a searing, spectacular interpretation. I have also acquired Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 9 in Boulez cycle and I like everything that I have heard so far.
I don't agree with your assessment of ClassicsToday. True, Mr Hurwitz can go over the top at times, but in my experience he's not always wrong. And, again in my experience, one of their reviewers, Jed Distler, is one of the most credible in the business, even if I don't always agree with him. His piano reviews are generally excellent in my opinion. As for Sinopoli's Mahler set, as I said I haven't heard it and can't comment, but when the Dutch critic I mentioned earlier says its musical quality is "variable" I tend to take his word for it - his taste in instrumental classical music doesn't diverge from mine very much and, being retired, I haven't got unlimited funds to invest in every CD or set that might seem interesting and I don't do streaming or things like that.
Dear J.A.W., as of nature I cannot respect any person who consciously chooses not to consider, and evaluate any historical context when making assessments. Hurwitz is the archetypal for such behavior in the music critics world. For me this is inexcusable to say the least. As for the Dutch critic writing the quality of Sinopoli's cycle is variable, I cannot agree more. Herni Louis de la Grange gave this cycle's separate releases grades from 1 up to 5 Diapasons. If I were to read a critic's review that might claim that a Mahler cycle is 100% successful (in other words, 100% to his liking) throughout it will mean that either the conductor/orchestra made some middle of the line balanced safe reading (alright but what for; just for reference?) or the critic does not know what he is writing about. Mahler symphonies are so variable in mood, expression, form, structure etc. that one personality cannot capture their full essence in all of them.
I agree that Mr. Hurwitz can often be (unnecessarily) crabby and his opinions are often way out in left field but I agree with him that "authentic" or period performance has gotten out of hand, especially now that the period bands have apparently run out of "ancient" music to play and are trying their hand at Brahms, Mahler and Strauss. Late-Romantic music played by Baroque Orchestras sounds horribly wrong to me and I don't hear or perceive anything authentic in the practice.
Well I didn't know about Hurwitz's apparent stance on historical recordings and context, as drh posted above. That sounds very questionable to me indeed. What you're saying about reviewing sets with multiple works is true, of course, and also an "open door" as we say here. I tried to explain why I went with his judgement in my previous post (which I edited by the way - I added a bit to the last part.) Before deciding whether or not to buy a set that looks interesting to me I try to gather as many info and opinions as possible, and Sinopoli's Mahler set didn't generally come out very favourable as a whole, not as much as others at least, that's why I decided not to get it and spend my money elsewhere. As I indicated finances are tight and I have to make choices, based on impressions I get from what I read and hear, however arbitrary that may seem to others. I'd like to leave it at that.
Can't you say that of pretty much any body of music in the class Schnabel described as "better than it can be performed"? Even Schnabel himself doesn't always hit the mark, at least to my ear; wonderful as his cycle of the Beethoven stas. is taken as a whole, there are certain ones--particularly the "lighter" ones--where I'm not always convinced. To cite another of my musical favorites, George Georgescu's cycle of the Beethoven syms. includes an account of no. 1 that I didn't like at all. And Toscaninophile that I am, I'd be the first to admit that I'm not swept away by his "complete set" account of Beethoven's 2d sym. Just to pull a few examples off the top of my head. I fully agree about creeping "period instruments"--and I'd be more impressed with Hurwitz if I hadn't been saying the same thing years before he got around to it. Applying tropes of the Baroque era to Romantic era music is no more "authentic" than going the other way 'round. At least, so I think.
Of course. In the hay day of CDs these boxes costed a fortune and we had to make choices also acc. to the trusted critics reviews. However now they can be found so cheaply that it is so tempting to go for them and calibrate our critics opinions (who in any case got their sets for free).
The Dutch critic I was talking about is retired (he's now in his 80s) and has to pay for every single CD and set he reviews on his website (in Dutch). Just thought I'd mention it. Those mega sets may be relatively cheap, but it's still a lot of money when there are so many...
I was wondering, did you ever have the chance to listen to Richard Caniell/Immortal Performances' set with Toscanini's 1939 Beethoven cycle (unfortunately released on CD-R) and if so, what's your opinion?
The more I listen to the Nelsons Brahms I agree with you on the questionable pace. Some movements seem too slow and drawn out to me. I find myself at times preferring the urgency of Solti and Kleiber.
Neeme Jarvi Scottish National Orchestra Prokofiev: The Complete Symphonies includes both versions of Symphony No. 4 Chandos, 1991 4 CDs
This just arrived today. No image available online yet, so I had to make my own. The booklet is upside down because I store it that way to eliminate the dents and dings incurred by the case from keeping it the other way. This is the 9th and final volume in Marston's complete traversal of all the available recordings. It includes some improvements on previous transfers, like the four 1895-1896 performances previously issued in the 3CD set, The Dawn of Recording The Julius Block Cylinders and Hofmann's performances for the Cadillac Hour from 1936 (his performance of the Moonlight Sonata is what initially made me a fan of the pianist.) The rest of CD 1 an all of CD 2 are devoted to interviews with other people about the pianist. Interviewees include Glenn Gould, Charles Rosen, Witold Lutoslawski and Jorge Bolet. The interviews were compiled and edited by Gregor Benko, who reportedly spent hundreds of hours on the task. Transfers were by Ward Marston, of course, who made even the 1895-1896 recordings listenable. I imagine this will be up for sale soon on the Marston site. I was able to get it early because I am a subsciber (to the piano releases) at Marston Records.
Afraid I can't say that I have. My copies of the '39 cycle are mostly on Naxos, and I've been happy enough with those transfers that I haven't felt the need to explore further. As with you, a matter of how to deploy scarce resources, in my case time as much as $$$.
Bamberg Symphony box , disc 4 01 - (12:24) R.Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier Opus 59 (Complete) - Clemens Krauss & Bamberg Symphony Orchestra 02 - (4:36) Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46 1. Morning Mood - Otmar Suitner & Bamberg Symphony Orchestra 03 - (5:32) Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46 2. The Death of Aase - Otmar Suitner & Bamberg Symphony Orchestra 04 - (3:11) Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46 3. Anitra's Dance - Otmar Suitner & Bamberg Symphony Orchestra 05 - (2:47) Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46 4. In the Hall of the Mountain King - Otmar Suitner & Bamberg Symphony Orchestra 06 - (18:34) Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture - Th.42 - Fritz Lehmann & Bamberg Symphony Orchestra 07 - (8:51) Strauss II: Künstlerleben, Artist's Life, Op.316 - Ferdinand Leitner & Bamberg Symphony Orchestra 08 - (6:45) Strauss II: Frühlingsstimmen, Voices of Springl Op. 410 - Bamberger Symphoniker & Ferdinand Leitner, Ferdinand Leitner & Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
You ain't kidding. Back in the early 80's, I once spent $2000 over 2 LP shopping trips to NYC from Poughkeepsie NY in a single month ...
Thanks for posting the whole thing. I've seen the first panel any number of times, but I don't think I've ever seen the rest of it.
Absolutely brilliant. When I can get myself down from the ceiling, I am gonna invert ALL of my CD booklets! Really!
disc 4 of Jean-Pierre Rampal The Complete Erato Recordings Volume I Mozart Concerto For flute, Harp and Orchestra/ with Lily Laskine, harp, and Jean-Francois Paillard, conductor Jolivet: Serenade Francaix: Wind Quintet No. 1 Original LPs issued in 1958 and 1960
I just posted this in the more recent "classical music and conversation" thread, but I'll add it here too: I was wondering if some people in this thread have the capability to identify a piece of classical music if I provided a written description (actually I have two pieces in mind). Anyone up for a challenge?