Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #50)

It must be a 78?
Which castle is that by the way? It reminds me of castle Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, but it is something different.....

 

My favorite, and the one that I use, is the Fons CQ-30 (also sold as "International Mark I," but as far as I know there never was a "Mark II"), a belt-driven model with electronic speed control yielding infinitely variable pitch across the entire range of speeds in which "78s" can be found (60 to around 100, although most common ones run between, say, 73 and 85 or so). Long out of production, but, fitted with a good arm, good enough to serve as a single table with high end pretensions--at least as defined when it was built, ca. 1980--for 78s and LPs; some describe it as a poor man's Linn, although the Linnies tend to dispute that violently. There's also a surprisingly strong niche out there that advocate for Lenco idler wheel drive tables, the most common being the L-75, but usually those advocates also insist that the things must be modified to within an inch of their lives. I've given away at least three over the years; given what they now go for, I wish I had them back to sell! The idler in a Lenco runs on the bottom of the platter, not the rim, which can be a potent source of rumble if it's out of adjustment.

Among "vintage" tables, I'd say your second bet, and by far the most common, would be one of the Dual 12xx series (1218, 1219, etc.), idler wheel models that sold like hotcakes to serious but "mainstream" hi fi fans back in the '70s. They are plentiful, sturdy, and decent performers with good availability of repair parts, but they don't have the range of speed adjustment that you can get on a Fons or Lenco. On the other hand, their spindle is completely removeable, meaning that with patience you can bring off-center pressings back into true for playback. Some other similar makes from around the same period would include things like Elac/Miracord and P/E (as I'm recalling it, Robin L has one of the latter); they are also good performers, but as they didn't sell as well when new repair parts can be a problem.

I don't have a lot of personal experience with vintage Thorens, so I'll leave it to others to comment, except to say that after starting with a Dual 1218 I graduated to a Thorens TD115 Mk. II, which I still have, having reclaimed it last year after the death of my father, to whom I'd given it on open-ended loan to replace one of those Lencos that I now wish I'd kept. It was better for LPs than a Dual but probably about the same for 78s, having no more pitch variability.

If you prefer to go with a modern table, have a look at the Esoteric Sound site, which lists a bunch of models at various price points and with various capabilities. It also offers a wide array of gizmoes that are of greater or lesser utility to the 78 collector, the most important probably being phono preamps that can adjust to different recording curves or play "flat." I'll mention in passing that I used a Numark TTX 1 table for a while, and it had some nice features: very wide speed variation and a digital readout for setting it. After a couple of years or so, however, it developed a fatal problem in that it would just stop playing midside. At first it would do so only once in a while, but eventually it got to the point that such interruptions were the rule, not the exception, and I gave up and returned to my Fons.

Whatever you buy, I recommend that it have interchangeable headshells. Yeah, I know, the current audiophile screed frowns on them, but in all probability you'll want to be able to swap out cartridges readily, particularly if you use the same table for 78s and LPs. You also should make sure that your phono preamp, either built into your current eqpt. or added as an outboard unit, at the very least offers a "mono" setting, and unless you're getting one with dedicated switchable curves it should also have those also-audiophile-condemned bass and treble tone controls. I've rambled on long enough; if you want more info on that subject, just ask (here or in a PM).

 

Lots of composers, but let's settle for Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin....

 

Hi guys,

my mother wants some Bach for her birthday. Among others, she wants a Christmas Oratorio. I've been looking around amazon a bit and among the insane amount of recordings, I quite randomly singled out these two:





Both sound very interesting from the costumers reviews, while the second one is also cheap, but I could get a good price for the first one as well. Does anyone here know these recordings and has an opinioon on any of them. Of course I'm also open for other suggestions. But they shouldn't be too expensive. Or too "historical" (I'm not a fan of noisy mono recordings ).

Thanks in advance.

 

For Chopin, may I suggest:

A Century of Romantic Chopin

A Century of Romantic Chopin is a four CD-compilation commemorating the Chopin bicentennial year. The set will include some 65 pianists, going back to Francis Planté and Vladimir de Pachmann who were born when Chopin was still alive. Other pianists in the set include Josef Hofmann, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ferruccio Busoni, Moritz Rosenthal, Ignace Jan Paderewski, Ignaz Friedman, Alfred Cortot, Jan Smeterlin, Rosita Renard, Claudio Arrau, Guiomar Novaes, Benno Moiseiwitsch, Solomon, Arthur Rubinstein, Emil Gilels, Earl Wild, Jorge Bolet, and others. All of Chopin’s etudes will be represented, as well as a selection of preludes, mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, ballades, and scherzi, each performance conveying a personal approach to the music. Some of the recordings will already be familiar to pianophiles because of their legendary status, while many others will be delightful surprises, as they are taken from concert performances and out-of-print recordings.

More info - http://www.marstonrecords.com/chopin/chopin_tracks.htm

Order here - http://www.marstonrecords.com/html/order.htm or call them at 610.690.1703

 

...and to state the obvious, that would be an excellent starting point for identifying some pianists who appeal to you for further exploration.

 

Thanks George! Marston Records seems like a gold mine. I tend to explore piano pieces by artist (e.g. issues from the OOP Philips Great Pianist series - of which I have a small selection) rather than by compilations. However, I can imagine how fun it can be to compare interpretations with these types of anthologies. I have never listened to about a third of those pianists so it will be an experience (and more to discover).

 

Yes, Marston is one of the best at what he does. A ton of love goes into every one of his releases. Only one of each work is represented in that set, so no lengthy comparisons.

I also tend to go by artist and I also love the Philips Great Pianist series. If you prefer to have me suggest some pianists and labels, I can do that too.

 

My pleasure! If you're like some of us, you'll soon need this link.

 

That'e also a BIG HOUSE...

 

Lots of room for classical cds..... ...... and the acoustics!!!!!!

 

Today I broke down and got the new Decca Analogue Years set! (<---- I have a great weakness for box set ). I hope it is worth it! It seems like an interesting compilation well worth exploring.


"1.CD Saint-Saens: Klavierkonzert Nr. 1; Symphonische Dichtungen (Pascal Roge, Philharmonia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit / 1980)
2.CD Bruckner: Symphonie Nr. 6 (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Georg Solti / 1979)
3.CD Schostakowitsch: Symphonie Nr. 4 (London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bernard Haitink / 1979)
4.CD Debussy: Children's Corner; Preludes Heft 1 (Pascal Roge / 1978)
5.CD Sibelius: Pelleas & Melisande op. 46; Der Sturm op. 109 (Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Horst Stein / 1979)
6.CD Prokofieff: Symphonie Nr. 2; Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen-Suite (London Philharmonic Orchestra, Walter Weller / 1978)
7.CD Bartok: Orchestersuiten Nr. 1 & 2; 2 Bilder op. 20; Enescu: Rumänische Rhapsodie Nr. 1 (Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati / 1978)
8.CD Prokofieff: Symphonie Nr. 5; Rimsky-Korssakoff: Russische Ostern-Ouvertüre; Capriccio espagnol (Concertgebouw Orchestra, Lorin Maazel/ 1977)
9.CD Violinsonaten von Debussy & Franck; Ravvel: Introduktion & Allegro (Kyung-Wha Chung, Radu Lupu, Melos Ensemble / 1977)
10.CD Tschaikowsky: Manfred-Symphonie; Valse-scherzo (Philharmonia Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy / 1977)
11.CD Gershwin: Ein Amerikaner in Paris; Copland: Appalachian Spring; Lincoln Portrait; Kraft: Contextures (Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta / 1976)
12.CD Wolf-Ferrari: Il Segreto di Susanna (Maria Chiara, Bernd Weikl, Covent Garden Orchestra, Lamberto Gardelli / 1976)
13.CD Alicia de Larrocha - Werke für Klavier & Orchester von Montsalvatge, Surinach, Falla, Faure (Alicia de Larrocha, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos / 1976)
14.CD Schostakowtisch: Streichquartette Nr. 8, 9,15 (Fitzwilliam Quartet / 1975)
15.CD Schubert: Rosamunde; Ouvertüren von Schumann & Weber (Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Münchinger / 1974)
16.CD Strawinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps; Ravel: Bolero; Schönberg: Variationen für Orchester (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Georg Solti / 1974)
17.CD Grieg: Klavierkonzert op. 16; Schumann: Klavierkonzert op. 54 (Radu Lupu, London Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn / 1973)
18.CD Haydn: Symphonien Nr. 94, 100, 104 (Philharmonia Hungarica, Antal Dorati / 1972)
19./20.CD Schumann: Szenen aus Goethes Faust; Mozart: Symphonie Nr. 40 (English Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Britten / 1972)
21.CD Walton: Violinkonzert; Strawinsky: Violinkonzert (Kyung-Wha Chung, London Symphony Orchestra, Andre Prein / 1972)
22.CD Chopin: Etüden (Vladimir Ashkenazy, Klavier / 1972)
23. CD Offenbach: Le Papillon; Massenet: Le Cid (London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge / 1972)
24. CD Holst: The Planets; Saint-Saens: Symphonie Nr. 3 "Orgelsymponie" (Los Angeles PO, Zubin Mehta / 1971)
25. CD Scriabin: Klavierkonzert; Prometheus für Klavier & Orchester; Poeme de l'extase (Vladimir Ashkenazy, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta / 1971)
26. CD Dvorak: Der Wassermann; Mein Heim; Die Mittagshexe; Die Hussiten; Das goldene Spinnrad (London Symphony Orchestra, Istvan Kertesz)
27. CD Bloch: Schelomo; Voice in the Wilderness; Rimsky-Korssakoff: Capriccio espagnol (Janos Starker, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta / 1969)
28. CD Mendelssohn: Sextett op. 110; Borodin: Quintett c-moll; Berwald: Septett (Wiener Oktett / 1968)
29. CD Mendelssohn: Symphonien Nr. 3 & 4 (London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado / 1968)
30. CD Verdi: Requiem (Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Wiener Philharmoniker, Georg Solti / 1967)
31. CD Mahler: Symphonie Nr. 2 (London Symphony Orchestra, Georg Solti / 1966)
32. CD Beethoven: Symphonie Nr. 9 (Joan Sutherland, Wiener Philharmoniker, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt / 1965)
33. CD Britten: Symphonie für Cello & Orchester; Haydn: Cellokonzert (Mstislav Rostropovich, English Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Britten / 1964)
34. CD Kodaly: Hary Janos; Tänze aus Galanta; Der Pfau; Der Pfau-Variationen (London Symphony Orchestra, Istvan Kertesz / 1964)
35. CD Sibelius: Symphonien Nr. 1 & 4; Karelia-Suite (Wiener Philharmoniker, Lorin Maazel / 1963)
36. CD Mozart: Serenaden KV 361 & 388 (London Wind Soloists / 1962)
37. CD Bruch: Violinkonzert; Hindemith: Violinkonzert (David Oistrach, London Symphony Orchestra, Paul Hindemith, Jascha Horenstein)
38. CD Brahms: Klavierkonzert Nr. 1; Mozart: Klavierkonzert Nr. 27 (Clifford Curzon, London Symphony Orchestra, George Szell / 1962)
39. CD Herold: La File mal gardee; Gounod: Ballettmusik aus Faust (Covent Garden Orchestra, John Lanchberry / 1962)
40. CD Martinu: Etüde für Streicher; Konzert für Pauken & Bläser; Honegger: Symphonie Nr. 2 (Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet / 1961)
41./42. CD Verdi: Otello (Renata Tebaldi, Mario del Monaco, Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan / 1961)
43.CD J. Strauss II: Geschichten aus 1001 Nacht; Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald; Dorfschwalben aus Österreich; Frühlingsstimmen (Hilde Gueden, Wiener Philharmoniker, Willy Boskovsky, Joseph Krips / 1961)
44.CD Tschaikowsky: Schwanensee (Ausz.); Lecoq: Mamzelle Angot (Concertgebouw Orchestra, Anatole Fistoulari / 1961)
45.CD Rossini: Ouvertüren; Mendelssohn: Violinkonzert op. 64 (Ruggiero Ricci, London Symphony Orchestra, Rumon Gamba / 1960)
46./47.CD Puccini: La Boheme (Renata Tebaldi, Carlo Bergonzi, Accademia di Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Tullio Serafin / 1959)
47.CD Sibelius: Symphonie Nr. 2; Dvorak: Symphonie Nr. 7 (London Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux / 1958)
48.CD Schubert: Symphonien Nr. 8 & 9 (London Symphony Orchestra, Joseph Krips / 1958)
49.CD Tschaikowsky: 1812-Ouvertüre; Capriccio italien; Slawischer Marsch; Rachmaninoff: Klavierkonzert Nr. 2 (Julius Katchen, London Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Alwyn, Georg Solti / 1958)
51.CD Grieg: Peer Gynt; Klavierkonzert op. 16 (Clifford Curzon, London Symphony Orchestra, Oivin Fjelstad / 1958)
52.CD Ravel: L'Enfant et les sortileges;Ma mere l'oye-Suite (Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet / 1954)
53.CD "Decca's first stereo recordings" - Rimsky-Korssakoff: Antar; Glasunow: Stenka Rasin; Werke von Balakireff & Liadov (Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet / 1947)
54.CD Mono-Version der CD 53"

 

You might also want to have a look at the book The Great Pianists by Harold Schonberg, something of a standard reference on the subject and extremely enjoyable reading to boot. Speaking of Pianists by Abram Chasins is another fun read but considerably less objective. And as to particular pianists, please let me add one more to the ones George listed from the Marston set (and one whom I know he admires): Lili Kraus. She may be one of the "others" to whom George referred, but then she may also not be represented in that set, as she wasn't particularly noted for her Chopin. In Schubert and especially Mozart, however, she was definitely one of the pianistic royalty.

 

Two SUPERB books!

Indeed, Lili's Mozart is a must have! And the later set on SONY has great sound, too!

 

Interesting! I never see Lili Krauss' recordings in the many "historical" sets floating around on the market. Her work must not be in the "free" realm. I must admit that I have never heard her Mozart!! The numerous pianists tackling all the composers is a sheer delight.

 

For an artist of her stature, she had a really spotty, disjointed recording career, scattered across all sorts of labels large and small, familiar and obscure, without any systematic documentation of her art at any given point. I suspect that has a lot to do with how hit-or-miss her representation is today.

 

Thanks for the Krauss recommendation!! Schonberg's books (actually many of them - "The Lives of the Great Composers" as well as the one on "The Great Conductors") are books I always return to. I am a bit awed about how "The Great Pianists" do not move into the "recorded" era until towards the very last quarter of the book. Things move at lightning speed in the last few chapters with just a page or two on pianists we all view as great artists. Reading about the pre-recording artists makes one wonder how they came across in concerts. It makes my mind wander.......

 

Listening to Schubert's Quintet in C major - Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet [Westminster]
Delightful, warm and embracing recording. I very much enjoy the VKQ!!

 

My short list of historical pianists would include:

Alfred Cortot - The new EMI box is sensational, the Naxos Historical CDs are a cheaper way to get many of his Chopin recordings. At minimum, I'd suggest his 1933 Chopin preludes (EMI) and his solo Schumann recordings (Biddulph, Naxos Historical or EMI box.) The latter made me become a fan of Schumann's solo stuff, after years of trying to connect with it.

Rudolf Serkin - His early recordings, leading up to the 1970s or so are superb. I adore his Beethoven, his mono recordings especially. His 1960 Op. 110 is the best I have ever heard. Also great are his Mendelssohn Concertos (with Ormandy), his Brahms concertos (with Szell) and his Beethoven concertos (with Kubelik or Ormandy or Bernstein.) His chamber work with Busch is also special, Schumann, Schubert, etc. (On the Pearl or Naxos labels)

Benno Moiseiwitsch - A superbly subtle pianist of the golden age. His recordings have been lovingly rescued from obscurity by Naxos Historical (available overseas from MDT or Presto Classical.) Always something special to find in his interpretations, I especially love his Chopin and Schumann. The latter can be found in a live 2CD set on Pearl. Another live CD is available from Arbiter. Since he was quite a different pianist live, these CDs are a must.

Moriz Rosenthal - One of the great Chopin interpreters of all time. Subtle, nuanced, with enviable technique. His complete recordings have been transferred by the great Ward Marston for APR. Grab this set! The contents prior to this release cost me hundreds of dollars to acquire. (not that it isn't worth it, but why pay more?)

Artur Schnabel - The first and still on of the greatest sets of the 32 Beethoven sonatas of all time! Again, available on Naxos Historical, in very listenable transfers (not too noisy, not to filtered) by Mark Obert-Thorn, one of the best in the business. Schnabel's Schubert, Brahms and Mozart are special as well.

Arthur Rubinstein - I include him here because I far prefer his early, mono recordings. The Rubinstein Collection transfers of these (volumes 1-33) show how imaginative, electrifying and versatile the younger Rubinstein was. From Brahms to Beethoven to Chopin to Liszt to Tchaikovsky, this guy was something special to hear - and never boring!

Sviatoslav Richter - My favorite pianist. His early recordings, leading up to the 1980s or so are full of gems. His Beethoven, Schubert, Bach, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Haydn, Schumann and Liszt is second to none. The breadth of his repertoire was only exceeded by the depth of his recordings. His Schubert is existential, his Beethoven thrilling. I suggest the EMI, DG and Praga (OOP) boxes.

Claudio Arrau - His earliest recordings are compiled on a 2CD set put out by Marston. His Chopin, Schubert, Beethoven (earlier on EMI), Debussy, Liszt are all essential, especially his Chopin Nocturnes (the 50 greatest recordings mastering has better clarity than the earlier 2fer.) His Philips recordings are blessed with a wonderfully deep, dark sound.

Maryla Jonas - An underexposed, exceptional Chopin pianist. I wish we had more of her artistry to enjoy. The single Pearl CD is a treasure!

Maria Yudina - Could certainly be rough around the edges, but this style was put to great use in her Beethoven interpretations. Her Op. 111 is the best I have heard! (Vista Vera)

 

She was on the cusp of the historical age, having some recordings later on in stereo.

There isn't a whole of her stuff on CD, but the Mozart set I pictured above is awesome! There's another set on Music and Arts, but the performances are similar and the sound isn't nearly as good.

http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Piano-...1380845954&sr=8-12&keywords=Kraus+Sony+Mozart