Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #31)

glorious music written by Handel to commemorate an English victory over the
French on 6/27/1643.composed from 7/17 to 7/29/1643.i believe the original text was in English,but here it is performed in German,although the ensemble
seems to be French.

 

Just arrived and listened to the first two discs. Hot blooded and, fresh HIP performances that IMO, so far, cannot much the highly virtuosic readings of Pinnock or Goebel (different as they are).:

 

Deutsch Grammophon 138 954.written in 1926 & sung in old Church Slavonic.
like the Handel above,this is "church" music,but also a statement of Nationalism.wild music,impressively performed & recorded.

 

I went on a hunt for the CD version of that LP and found it reasonable (ULN $5.99 shipped) so I grabbed it.
I even found it on Spotify!! Listening to it now!



I do have this Janacek as part of the Chandos 30Yr Milestone set...but what the hay!

 

I have forgotten how marvelous Saint Saens's Piano Cto #5 (the "Egyptian") is:



Richter is amazing on this one of course.

 

I was gonna get a Lang Lang SACD but I don't read much positive about Him at all.
I take it He is THAT bad??

 

Trying to wake up this morning and popped this in for a first listen:



Symphony 1

 

Восхитительно! Спасибо!

You try to wake up and you put on HvK? That's like waking up to a handful of valium!

What you want is this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMvOLepoBO8

 

I am not versed that well in the Piano repertoire but this is the first solo piano CD that I am enjoying quite a bit (not sure what about it makes it so, probably is just my mood).

 

Not always, but in this case, yes, you are correct. The kettle never seems to reach a boil, unfortunately.

 

A marvelous work. I have it conducted by Rattle (together with the Sinfonietta)

 

Avoid.

 

Yeah, that's a pretty smokin'! I like it.

This early Victor electric recording by Stock and the CSO came up as a suggestion, it's playing now. Really great old-world playing and lovely old recording. Nice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxO1zohFb8s&feature=related

dan c

 

That's neat, I'd like to find that. Perhaps even the CD reissue posted below your post. Cool.

dan c

 

I managed to find this Kremer CD (1986) which I was looking for after attending a concert in Athens last year where Kremer performed as and encore (to Shostakovich' 2nd VC) some of the Caprice Variations by George Rochberg (based on Paganini's Caprices). They were fantastic. However, I doubt that they will the perfect soundtrack to an aveneing with the family...



Also, for some strange reason and despite me being a Monteux fan, I never had his rec of Brahms VC with Szeryng and the LSO. I finally got this one as well (XRCD):



A very good review from Amazon.com follows:

"A great performance by Henryk Szeryng, August 15, 2005 By James Luca "sicilianlobster" (Houston, Texas United States) -
This is by far my most favorite recording of the Brahm's Violin Concerto. Henryk Szeryng is in top notch form, and the backing by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pierre Monteux is excellent.

Mr. Szeryng, one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century, recorded this concerto several times. This one was originally released as a RCA Living Stereo LSC-2281 Shaded Dog on vinyl in 1959. It was awarded a Grand Prix du Disque. The master tape they used for this particular release was from an EU DECCA master. Originally recorded in London's Kingsway Hall June 10-12, 1958 by Kenneth Wilkinson and produced by James Walker. Other recordings Szeryng made included another with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antal Dorati in 1962 for Mercury Living Presence (Reissued by Universal in 1992. Currently out of print in the US and EU, but recently reissued in Japan, go to Amazon.co.jp)and another with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Bernard Haitink in 1973 for Philips, currently available on an Eloquence release.

I feel that this performance is the best of the three. This is Szeryng's most emotional performance of the three. In an attempt to make the performances more Olympian, he tends to slow the performance down with Dorati, and makes it slower yet with Haitink. Szeryng's silvery tone and immaculate intonation coupled with his musical phrasings holds one's attention from start to finish. The Allegro ma non troppo (1st Mvmt) is filled with an enormous amount of energy and tension (Cadenza by Joachim). The Adagio (2nd Mvmt) sings tenderly and sweetly. The Allegro giocoso (3rd Mvmt) is joyfully triumphant.

I have listened to many versions of this concerto, Grumiaux, Heifetz, Kreisler, Mutter, Perlman, Oistrakh, Milstein and this is my favorite performance by far. The only one that comes close is the Oistrakh/ Klemperer performance.

This is a must listen for anyone interested in Henryk Szeryng. This performance was previously released on CD in the US by RCA back in 1987 on their Papillon Collection, then on a French BMG Artiste Repertoires series in 2001. This reissue by JVC is currently the best of this recording on CD format. It has a tremendous amount of clarity and transparency over the other issues on CD. Unless BMG decides to remaster this using DSD on their Living Stereo SACD hybrid series within the next few years (which I really doubt), this will probably be the best remaster of this performance you will likely see on CD ever.

Although this is a bit pricey, Szeryng fans will truly enjoy having this disc. BMG has opted to stick with the Heifetz performances to reissue on their Living Stereo series in the 90's as well as its newer Living Stereo SACD hybrid series. I'm very glad that there are companies like JVC who license and release these performances and not let them disappear.

Don't let the price deter you from buying this wonderful performance by Henryk Szeryng. "

http://www.amazon.com/Brahms-Violin...=sr_1_9?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1321282586&sr=1-9

 

After playing the Albeniz 'Iberia' last night I put on this mid-50s reissue of a 1938 recording of the Brahms concerto by Heifetz and Koussevitzky. I love this reading, perhaps more than the Living Stereo remake with Reiner.

dan c

 

Schubert

Now playing...something lovely this Monday morning before I face the new work week.
dan c

 

Dan
Here is the UPC for the CD version 028946367223

 

Cool, thanks!

dan c

 

Aww, shoot. If you guys keep posting stuff like this I'm gonna get the bug to start collecting 78s - good Lord did that sound good!
-------- Chris

 

I'm in the market for the Brahms piano quintet and the clarinet quintet.
How about the Philips two-fer with W. Haas and the Berliners?

 

I like it. Very much. But it's Brahms, so it's not like I play it over and over and over the way I do Mahler or Linda or the Beach Boys.

 

When we were posting about Grieg's Piano Concerto a few pages back, I happened to look in Morin's book - Classical Music, the Listener's Companion and decided to search for the Jando version. The book mentions it approvingly. Once as "the fine Jando" and later "Of the other versions coupled with the Schumann concerto, those by Zimerman, Entremont and Jando possess the vital blend of poetry and vigor the work demands".

I found a copy of this 1988 recording for $1.85. Naxos 8.550118. While it may not have exceptional sound, the performances are worthwhile, both from Jando the pianist and Andras Ligeti the conductor. I am pleased to add it to my other Grieg recordings.

 

A great book! It has led me to literally hundreds of great recordings.

Amazon still has a lot of cheap new and used copies.

 

He is phenomenally talented and can be quite good. But he's flamboyant, and indulgent, so he's not for everyone. And he's popular, which will inevitably cause a bit of a backlash.

If you want him on SACD, you may still be able to find the Carnegie Hall debut. That's very much worth owning IMHO. There is also a Blu-ray of a recital in Vienna.

His new Liszt has received some positive reviews (and some not-so-positive reviews). I just got it and haven't heard it yet, but may put it on tonight. I think it's worth finding it for oneself what one thinks of him.