Listenin' to Classical Music and Conversation

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by bluemooze, Feb 22, 2017.

  1. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    I never bought the Munch/BSO box as 86 CD's are a bit much for me ...
     
  2. Soulpope

    Soulpope Common one

    Location:
    Vienna, Austria
    I strongly tend to believe that Rudolf Firkušný's both Leoš Janáček and Bohuslav Martinu recordings for RCA belong to his best (recorded) achievements ....
     
  3. J.A.W.

    J.A.W. Music Addict

    I don't have his Martinů recordings, so I wouldn't know :).
     
  4. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    I bought the following box a while back and IIRC, there are quite a few piano concertos recordings where Firkusny was the pianist. PSO (Pittsburgh) was a force to be reckoned with during the Steinberg years ...

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    ubertrout, bluemooze and Soulpope like this.
  5. Bubbamike

    Bubbamike Forum Resident

    His Emperor with Steinberg is excellent and underrated. I think it was the first one I listened to and I'm imprinted on it. I think it was originally on Capitol and is owned by Warner now.
     
  6. julesd68

    julesd68 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    I've just had a quick scan of my vinyl and can only find three recordings with American orchestras. It's not that I go out of my way to avoid them, but of course the European recordings are more plentiful and highly reviewed here.

    I have two very nice Colin Davis BSO Sibelius symphony lps and then a Giulini CSO Dvorak 9 which is sadly just about unplayable with its very harsh later DG recording.

    The notion about how an orchestra gains and maintains a reputation is an interesting one. Undoubtedly the Berlin Phil were a top orchestra under Karajan and other conductors. Not so with Rattle in my experience. I saw them several times in recent years and was utterly dissapointed each time to find them trading in former glories. My biggest mistake was seeing an entire Sibelius Symphony cycle at the Barbican. These symphonies are truly magical in the right hands but they managed to suck the life right out of them. I found it a very 'technical' performance, tedious and totally lacking in passion. I was actually bored and I adore Sibelius! I would prefer to see any of the leading London orchestras. Or maybe not, now that Rattle is with the LSO. :doh:

    I have never been to see the Vienna Phil but the live televised performances I have seen at New Year or the Schonbrunn Palace have been the polar opposite to the recent Berlin Phil. You can see and hear the individual musicians totally immersed in the music and playing with such spirit and passion. Now that is an orchestra I would happily travel to see. :agree:
     
    Thomas R, crispi and bluemooze like this.
  7. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    I don't have his Martinu and I'm a fan of the composer. I like his Janacek a lot so I need to check out the Martinu.

    I heard the first Martinu I don't care for that much this year and for some reason, I just listened to samples before I bought it. A mistake I hope not to repeat in the future. Fortunately, it's the only such mistake I've made in a few years. It's the works I don't care for, not the performance.

    Martinu: Cantatas by the Prague Philharmonic Choir conducted by Lukas Vasilek


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  8. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    Now streaming on Amazon, a first listen to "Duo Sonidos" performed by Adam Levin (guitar) and William Knuth (violin) on DuoSonidos.

    Works by Piazzola, De Falla, Morales-Caso and Brotons.

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  9. DeepFloyd11

    DeepFloyd11 Lady Eclectic

    Location:
    Canada
    Pretty amazing!
     
    crispi likes this.
  10. Joe F

    Joe F Senior Member

    Location:
    Dallas TX USA
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  11. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    I have a few hundred recordings by Colin Davis but only three by Simon Rattle. Rattle does not do much for me. I also have a decent number of recordings by Boult and Barbirolli ...
     
  12. ubertrout

    ubertrout Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    It may be a matter of preferences. They're all very good orchestras, obviously. And things were shifting a bit...immediately postwar and through the 50s I think the top American orchestras were pretty obviously superior to the European ones - money was everywhere to pay musicians and make recordings, many of the refugees living in America chose to stay, etc. Things started shifting back towards the prewar state in the 60s and 70s, although I still think the Cleveland and Boston orchestras in the immediate post-Szell/Munch period were riding high indeed, and the European ensembles were still in the final stages of recovery.

    Regardless, I think we can agree that if one had to choose nine of the top orchestras in the world circa 1973, neither Cleveland nor Boston was in any way an unusual pick?
     
    Byrdsmaniac likes this.
  13. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    Now streaming on Amazon, a first listen to "Philippe Verdelot: Madrigals for a Tudor King" performed by Alamire on Obsidian.

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  14. J.A.W.

    J.A.W. Music Addict

    I agree, Rattle hasn't done the BPO much good in my opinion. I've watched the orchestra under him on Dutch cable TV ad nauseam and switched to another channel every time. Boring, uninspired and, as you say, just technical performances.
     
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  15. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    This is one of the Obsidian recordings in my collection ...
     
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  16. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    After Abbado stepped down from the BPO and Rattle took over, I clearly saw the beginning decline of the BPO. IMHO, I do not see any currently active conductors that would prompt me to buy their recordings, period.
     
  17. ibanez_ax

    ibanez_ax Forum Resident

    I'm no expert on orchestras but the Concertgebouw is my favorite based on the recordings I've heard.
     
  18. ibanez_ax

    ibanez_ax Forum Resident

    CD from the third Living Presence box.

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    My only other experience with Bloch's music is this CD from the Decca Sound-The Analogue Years box.

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  19. Bachtoven

    Bachtoven Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    This recording underscores the tragic loss of Egorov at such a young age. Stunning playing and good sound.

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    Dan C, julesd68 and bluemooze like this.
  20. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    This Emperor Concerto is indeed in the Steinberg Icon box, I just checked ...
     
    Bubbamike likes this.
  21. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    Now streaming on Amazon, a first listen to "Benjamin Godard: Piano Works" performed by Alessandro Deljavan on Piano Classics.

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  22. julesd68

    julesd68 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Thank you - I am not at all familiar with this pianist but will certainly investigate ...
     
  23. ubertrout

    ubertrout Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    A friend gave me a box of tapes of off-air recordings he made, including Egourov playing the Beethoven 3rd Piano Concerto with Zinman and the Milwaukee Symphony - I thought it was really good.
     
  24. julesd68

    julesd68 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Very excited that my son's piano teacher, Reiko Fujisawa, is to play the Goldberg Variations in recital at the newly refurbished Purcell Room in London's Southbank Centre, May 14.
    I will be there for sure!

    Reiko Fujisawa performs Bach's Goldberg Variations

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  25. crispi

    crispi Vinyl Archaeologist

    Location:
    Berlin
    33 pages.
     
    Wes H and bluemooze like this.

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