I upgraded to that humongous megabox from the smaller EMI SES Recitals box (1997). As @bluemooze mentioned the upgrade in sound is defintely worth it and these are all available individually of course. I'd certainly grab the "Coloratura and Lyric Arias" CD . To be honest I mostly listen to her Recital discs anyway, so I'd also suggest, in my completely biased opinion (I'm a big fan) the other Arias discs, especially "Callas a Paris" 1 & 2 (the 2 seperate discs) and then the "Verdi Arias" (again, 1 & 2). Recently, I've also been enjoying the "Rossini & Donizetti Arias". Kind of skipped this disc previously for some reason. Haven't heard any of the SACDs but now you've got me thinking about them...dammit
@bluemooze 6 pages in and no mention of the "lovely and talented" Emma Kirkby...I'm disappointed So, now playing Emma Kirkby - "The Lady Musick" (1979), with Anthony Rooley (lute). From "The Complete Recitals" (L'oiseau - Lyre/Decca 2015). Very happy that Emma will be touring here Down Under in November, with Jakob Lindberg on Lute
Now on the turntable, "Palestrina - Masses" performed by The Tallis Scholars on Gimell. Missa Brevis Missa Nasce la gioja mia Primavera: Nasce la gioja mia From wiki... "Palestrina left hundreds of compositions, including 105 masses, 68 offertories, at least 140 madrigals and more than 300 motets. In addition, there are at least 72 hymns, 35 magnificats, 11 litanies, and four or five sets of lamentations." - Anybody have a complete set of recordings of all of his compositions? Have they all been recorded?
Emma Kirkby is my favorite early music vocalist and was my gateway to classical music vocals from later periods. I have very many of her recordings, and lots of L'Oiseau-Lyre recordings in general, but I don't think I have the one you posted. So now I must hunt it down - thanks for the tip!
Thanks for the recommendation. Now listening to "Prokofiev - Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor Op. 16" performed by Anna Vinnitskaya accompanied by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin conducted by Gilbert Varga on Naive.
Hey bluemooze great idea for a discussion. My question for all the threaders is: how did you begin to appreciate classical music? When I grew up many moons ago there was no mention of its existence in my grammar or high school. I found a couple of Living Stereos of Prokofiev and Stravinsky in my parents' very tiny collection of records and was intrigued. I thought of classical music as "imaginative music" that told a story. I was hooked from then on. In the midst of the psychedelic revolution I never abandoned my love interest in CM and kept exploring. Of course I still loved the Grateful Dead, et al. Same today on all counts. So what is your story?
Let me throw out another discussion starter( hopefully)-do you have a preference for any particular conductor, orchestra or school of music or country for that matter and why? I will throw a little red meat into the center-I am partial to Russian ensembles and conductors for what I hear as very colorful hearty visceral performances of both Russian and non-Russian works. Heavy string tone and texture is there. Strong emotion when called for.
I might have told my story a while back over at CMC. In the 70s I was a rock and roll guy and belonged to the old Columbia House where rock was my checked off preference. One day a record came in the mail. I opened it and it was Beethoven's Eroica by Solti and the CSO. There was no invoice included so I didn't feel compelled to return it. I put it on the turntable and I loved it. Of course I knew what Classical was; I had heard bits and pieces of it, but that was my first time listening to a complete work. I still love rock and roll and have developed a love for jazz. Divine Intervention? Dumb luck? Who knows...
CD 24 from the Marriner Argo Years set. I am falling in love with this box set. I know it's 28 discs compared to 50 or 60, but I don't see anything that I might skip. The bonus on this CD is Tchaikovsky's Souvenir from Florence, which is not his best known work, but one that I love.
Well, that was so nice I played it twice. Now listening to "Prokofiev - Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor Op. 16" performed by Yuja Wang with the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela led by Gustavo Dudamel on DG.
My childhood intro to classical music was through cartoons I watched on TV in the 50s. The one that always stayed with me musically was Holiday For Shoestrings. Holiday for Shoestrings - Wikipedia I recognized some of the music from the Nutcracker Christmas album we had. Later on in the 70s I was delighted to find some of the other music. When I was young the music that made me take notice was: Beethoven Symphony 5 Nutcracker Suite 1812 Overture Hallelujah Chorus I still love these.
Marzz, thanks for the recommendations! As for the Warner SACDs-- I know that Abbey Road Studios got some flack for their remastering approach, especially for the first round of EMI reissues, the Warner JSACDs I have are terrific-- the Guilini Mahler 1 I referenced above, and especially, Previn/LSO's Carmina Burana. As a recording and performance, that one's the bomb.
Russian ensembles seem to have a distinctive approach to brass tone and playing, don't they? As a Boston guy, I must of course give props to the Aristocrat of Orchestras. Though having grown up on a lot of Szell records, I'm partial to his work and that of Dohnanyi with the Cleveland Orchestra. My Platonic ideal of orchestral playing is Szell/Cleveland in Haydn, or the concerto recordings Szell did with Fleisher. Or, say, Dohnanyi's recording of Bruckner's Fifth Symphony.
What do you think of Marriner's Baroque recordings? I listened to some of them again and noticed a certain sameness, if not blandness (is that a word?). What do you think?
I haven't listened to any baroque from this box yet. I'll probably listen the Bach Orchestral Suites tomorrow morning, but I usually listen to baroque in smaller doses compared to later eras so I'm not sure how much light I can shed on Marriner's approach.
I grew up on classical music since it was basically all that was listened to at home. I studied clarinet for eight years and eventually took up the double bass and ended up in my local symphony orchestra for several years before blowing out my left ulnar nerve playing an acoustic punk gig. These days I only dig into classical occasionally, but there are times when only classical will scratch that particular itch. Favorites include the Second Viennese School, Schnittke, Szymanowski, Lutoslowski, Penderecki, Janacek, Bartok, etc. I too am into heavy strings (imagine a bass player saying that), and looking at my list I guess I have a preference for Polish composers which, at least through the early 20th century, had a fair bit in common with the Russians.