Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #53)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by George P, Jan 11, 2014.

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  1. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    Continued from here.

    Welcome!

    This thread (and the 52 that have preceded it) is for all things that relate to Classical Music. Feel free to post what you're listening to, recordings you recommend, recent classical purchases, classical concerts, classical works, classical composers or classical performers.

    Please discuss audio hardware and music formats in threads dedicated to those topics.

    Beginners are especially welcome. Feel free to post any questions that you may have about classical music and/or classical recordings. This includes requests for recommendations for recordings of particular works/composers, etc. We have lots of friendly, respectful and knowledgeable members who will be glad to help you out.

    And as always, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all of the regulars (you know who you are) that continue to make this thread an enjoyable, civilized and informative experience! You guys are still the best!

    :wave:
     
  2. drh

    drh Talking Machine

    carried over from the preceding segment:

    Well, I just have a habit of picking up oddities when I see them--never know when they'll be fun, and often they are. The Iroquois Mozart is a private issue disk, I think the product of a church project of some sort or other.

    As to opera in translation, that was the rule, not the exception, up until pretty recently. German houses nearly always presented Verdi and Gounod in German; Italian ones did Wagner in Italian; French ones did everything in--well, you can probably guess. Naturally, the recording companies, which in those pre-Internet, pre-jet-travel days drew for their talent and their customer base on a much more local basis than we expect today, followed suit.
     
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  3. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Got a massive haul of Classical [mostly] LPs for next to nothing. 32 discs for $16. The winner [so far] is a Stereo Treasury reissue of Orchestre de la Suisse Romande/Ernest Ansermet playing Debussy and Ravel. La Mer, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, and Rapsodie Espagnole are all early stereo, 1957. The surfaces are very clean, save a click or two and the stereo imaging is very focused. I have other renditions of these works by bigger and smoother sounding Orchestras. This one has plenty of bite. Unlike the pressing in the photo, my copy is one of those early pressings from the UK. It may in fact be from the same stampers as the US issue [pressed in the UK anyway] of London CS 6024, judging from the center, un-raised label.

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  4. coopmv

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

    Location:
    CT, USA
    Now playing CD1 from the following set, which just arrived from Amazon UK today for a first listen ...

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  5. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
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  6. Hawkman

    Hawkman Supercar Gort Staff

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Thank you all for your suggestions. Oddly enough, I think that I HAVE Bergman's The Magic Flute somewhere in my collection of DVDs that I bought to watch but never did.

    I'll definitely check out the suggestions for The Marriage of Figaro and I'll see if I can't find a DVD of Pagliacci.

    If you have any other suggestions for either of those two, I'm open. :)

    I should add that although not important I would prefer a staging set in the time of writing. Kinda don't want to see a 'modern dress' Figaro or Pagliacci. Just a preference. :)
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2014
  7. dajokr

    dajokr Classical "Mega" Box Set Collector

    Location:
    Virginia Beach, VA
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    Now playing Disc 1 for a first listen....
     
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  8. vanhooserd

    vanhooserd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    The Bergman film is wonderful.
     
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  9. Moonfish

    Moonfish Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Being impulsive I splurged last week after finding these three boxes at a decent price (Great Voices of the Opera I, II and III - 120 cds total for about a dollar each on average). I am quite excited about my 2014 listening project as I enjoy these older voice recordings very, very much. The sound is quite decent in the ones I sampled today. So many gems to explore..... Does anybody in the group listen to these? I think they were issued in 2000 or 2001? All three can still be purchased new from Amazon.de.
    http://www.amazon.de/Great-Voices-Opera-Maria-Callas/dp/B00005826N/ref=sr_1_7?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1389510049&sr=1-7&keywords=voices of the opera

    The stellar review on Musicweb: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/Sept01/Great_voices.htm made it a no-brainer purchase. I guess I am becoming an opera junkie....

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    Last edited: Jan 12, 2014
  10. Scott Wheeler

    Scott Wheeler Forum Resident

    Location:
    ---------------
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  11. john greenwood

    john greenwood Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Another film (as opposed to a filming of a stage production)

    http://www.amazon.com/Verdi-La-Trav...qid=1389518220&sr=8-2&keywords=zeffirelli+dvd
     
  12. Hawkman

    Hawkman Supercar Gort Staff

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I remember that back in the days of laserdisc that I always thought that it was cool to get a concert from some place that I would never go or see on television. I don't remember seeing a lot of these films of music other than some discs of orchestras playing some classical pieces interspersed with bucolic scenes. In particular I had a laserdisc of Smetana's 'Ma Vlast' that was like that.

    Speaking of Mr. Zeffirelli, have any of you seen this film of Pagliacci??

    In looking through some of these DVD suggestions and paging through sites like Barnes & Noble and Amazon, I noticed some familiar labels like London and Deutsche Grammophon. I seem to recall that in the 70's when I started to dip my toe into classical music that a label like Deutsche Grammophon was like saying Cartier when speaking of diamonds. Does that still hold for their DVDs??
     
  13. drh

    drh Talking Machine

  14. drh

    drh Talking Machine

    Yes, I listen to material from many of these, albeit on original 78s. There are some very great names there. To pull a couple out at random from the tenor list, my favorite account of "E Lucevan le Stelle" from Tosca is on an Edison cylinder by Leo Slezak, and if you find that you like Jacques Urlus you might want to chase down a collection of his Edison recordings that Marston issued a few years back. Aksel Schiotz? Don't miss his record of "Aperite Mihi Portas Justitiae" by Dietrich Buxtehude and his traversal of Schubert's cycle Die Schone Mullerin. I could go on, but you have a really fine group of singers to sample there. My own experience with this label's transfers (not extensive) hasn't been bad but hasn't been great, either--should be at least serviceable. Have fun!

    [Edit] Just had a look at the review. I have two recordings featuring that Maria Cebotari about whom the reviewer waxed rapturous: a highlights collection from La Traviata and Taillefer, op. 52, by Richard Strauss. Both are LPs on the old Urania label; given that source, and judging from the other artists involved, I'd guess the performances started off life in wartime Germany, probably as tapings for the German radio.

    Considering the lack of texts, you might want to look for a bound collection of libretti (unless you like hunting for texts on the Internet and sitting glued to a computer screen while you listen). There used to be a huge, heavy book whose title, if I recall, was 101 Opera Librettos; cumbersome, and the libretti were obviously copied from any copyright-lapsed source the publisher could find, but a handy compilation nonetheless. I imagine there must still be something similar out there, or perhaps you could chase down a used copy.
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2014
  15. John S

    John S Forum Resident

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
  16. Mr Bass

    Mr Bass Chevelle Ma Belle

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic
    That's my preference too without being a rigid requirement. No problem with the two Figaros I mentioned.
     
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  17. drh

    drh Talking Machine

    Actually, no.... ;)

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  18. Mr Bass

    Mr Bass Chevelle Ma Belle

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic
    You have to distinguish the performances from the sonics. DG had many fine artists as did CBS but with substandard sonics most of the time. The sonics on DVDs are completely variable unlike the old record labels. I've never been able to figure out much of a house sound on the DVDs. Maybe others hear it differently.
     
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  19. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
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  20. Mr Bass

    Mr Bass Chevelle Ma Belle

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic
    Now Listening To

    Schumann. Symphony 3. Philharmonia Orchestra. Japan EMI Angel pressing.

    schumann3.jpg
     
  21. John S

    John S Forum Resident

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    Are these actual 2 channel, or are they adding an extra horn for volume?
     
  22. John S

    John S Forum Resident

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    I noticed Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Prologue and Variations on that program. It's a very interesting piece for strings, with novel harmonic and rhythmic textures without being overly dissonant.

    [​IMG]
    Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
    John Nelson
    (1986)
     
  23. Scott Wheeler

    Scott Wheeler Forum Resident

    Location:
    ---------------
    I really enjoyed that piece.
     
  24. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    That's a lot of surface noise. One to pull out when the In-Laws come over.
     
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  25. Moonfish

    Moonfish Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Thanks for all that interesting information Drh. The label/imprint is indeed German, but one awkward aspect of the collection is that there is no mention of the orchestras/conductors or recording venues. The focus is completely on the singers, composers/pieces as well as the recording year. Still, a magnificent anthology of voices from the past.
    I am afraid this will take a couple of years (at the least), but it is enjoyable (except for the occasional duds which are likely to show up). You are speaking the truth in terms of librettos. I think I read somewhere on the board that a few members use a small laptop filled with digital librettos as they listen to opera? So far I tend to "experience" an opera either live or on dvd a few times which brings me the story with subtitles and then that lingers in my mind as I keep listening to audio recordings. Still, more of a memory imprint, but it does make it come alive. I do need to dig into the librettos more.....!!!!
     
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