The sound on the Thibaudet is lovely as well. I have this CD (his Gymnopedie No. 1 is fast compared to those I cited above - 2:46): And speaking of Poulenc, I love the piano music that he composed. So much fun! I recommend this 2CD set highly:
Regarding sound quality, this is actually how I heard about Satie, one of my friends in our listening group played one of his LPs and the music was mesmerizing, I actually thought it was from a film score when I heard it. Since then he's made a few recommendations for me and Thibaudet received a high recommendation, but since switching to digital only and having to rebuy many jazz and rock albums I only had on LP I'm left with a huge wish list of music. Next time I speak to him I'll ask him who the musician that knew Satie was. I just wouldn't be able to remember him even if you mentioned the name.
Hey! I think almost everyone on this thread likes to see another person getting interested in classical music. I will give you a few pieces that are in my opinion corner stones for any music collection. Maybe you already have them...maybe not. It's nice to explore through the different fundamental epochs. I am posting various You Tube videos so you can listen to them and then look for the CDs or LPs if you like the music. From then you can expand to more works by the composers you enjoyed most.....hopefully all of them. Bach - Richter, Conciertos de Brandenburgo 1-6, BWV 1046-1051 Mozart Symphony No 39 in E flat major K 543 Neville Marriner RTSI Beethoven: Symphony No 3 in E flat major, 'Eroica' - BBC Proms 2012 (Daniel Barenboim) Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 3 (Brendel, Abbado) Brahms, Symphony Nr 3 F Dur op 90 Leonard Bernstein, Wiener Philharmoniker Robert Schumann: Derde symfonie in Es-groot, op.97, 'Rheinische' Schubert, Symphonie Nr 8 h Moll 'Unvollendete' Georg Solti, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Isaac Stern - Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor Emil Gilels - Grieg - Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 16 Arthur Rubinstein - Saint-Saëns - Piano Concerto No 2 in G minor, Op 22 Jacqueline du Pre & Daniel Barenboim - Elgar Cello Concerto Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 "From The New World" / Karajan · Vienna Philarmonic Smetana: Má Vlast / Kubelík Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (1991 Movie Japan Live) Rachmaninov: Symphony No.2 / Ormandy Philadelphia Orchestra (1979 Movie Live)
This is a tough question, because there are so many centuries of classical music (and so many decades of great recordings) that it can be daunting to get started. One thing that's helpful about getting into it now is that record companies have been putting out boxed sets of celebrated recordings that often amount to around $2 per disc. Since you are starting from scratch (as I did a few years ago myself), I'd recommend one of the 50-disc boxes released by companies like Decca, Philips, or Deutsche Grammophon. They include many of the most popular and acclaimed recordings made by the companies over 50 or so years, and cover a broad range of genres, styles, and performers. This is the one that got me started, and I think it contains enough variety to give you a good idea of what areas of the repertoire you might prefer and where to continue exploring. Plenty of other, similar, options are available, though: www.amazon.com/Decca-Sound-50-Box-Set/dp/B018FCVK8U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493088961&sr=8-1&keywords=decca+sound
So, this was the great musical debate ca. 1850-1900, and heck, why not resurrect it for this forum? Wagner: Are you for...or against? (Myself, I kind of agree with Rossini: "Wagner has wonderful moments, and dreadful quarters of an hour.")
As George so aptly put it: Welcome! And as he also observed, one man's cornerstone is another's mill stone. For example, some (perhaps many) here would direct you toward conductor Herbert von Karajan and his immense output; I, on the other hand, would direct you to the nearest exit should one of his recordings come into view. I'd point toward historical recordings; others would rule those out of court on grounds of recording quality. And so it goes. In the end, you'll need to do a good bit of listening to a variety of music and performers and start finding your own taste. If I were starting over, I'd think seriously about subscribing to a good streaming service instead of plunging into physical media immediately. Get a feel for what's out there, what styles of music and performance you like, and only then start piling up space-hungry physical media for your permanent library. Even having done that, you'll probably buy some that you consider duds, but at least you will be making educated guesses! My other word of advice would be to take your time. Savor the experience. Discovering new music can be exciting and stimulating, and you may be tempted to try to swallow vast swaths of the literature whole. Remember: you can only hear, say, the Brahms 4th Symphony or Beethoven's Appassionata sonata for the first time once, and it's a special experience that should be consciously enjoyed. Happy listening!
Martha He conducted once a new Kagel large work in Athens (I remember Kagel attending the concert - perhaps a year before his passing). De Leeuw was very happy to be allowed to smoke backstage!
Morning! I listened to Grumiaux's recording of that work, conducted by Gerecz, last night for the first time. As expected, a beautiful recording!
Thanks for the welcome, and this is a great suggestion, of course! Looking at how this thread operates, I love seeing the "now listening" posts. Seems like a logical next step would be as I'm listening to some of my current inventory, to post and provide thoughts! Thank you!!! This will be a great starting point, I appreciate the recommendations. I'm new enough that nothing here immediately rings a bell so I look forward to spending the next day/s listening and learning! Yeah, I've seen those floating around. This one looks great, I'll put it on my short list to pick up. Thank you! This is all great, great advice. I have recently picked up a Spotify premium membership to explore more music (as you say, there's value in a little try-before-you-buy) so I'll see what's on there and start digging around. And your point about savoring is very well taken. Again, thank you all for the suggestions and the warm welcome! I hope to be able to start making my own contributions to this thread as I dig in and enjoy the vast array of music out there!
I bought this CD of Mahler Symphony No. 1 conducted by Nezet-Seguin and just had my first listen. It is definitely a winner in my book, I prefer it to the other three recordings of this symphony I own, Solti, Boult, and Walter. I think the sonics on this new recording are the best, very dynamic and detailed yet still warm and well balanced. The third and fourth movements in particular I really enjoyed and are the best I've heard them performed.
I think there's a certain unfortunate tendency to worship the past in recorded classical music - it's systemically understandable given there's a similar underlying preference for older compositions, but it tends to ignore the great recordings being made today. And...even though classical recording in the 50s and 60s was good - much better than anything in pop of that era - it can't hold a candle to a modern recording.
As someone who leans more toward historic recordings, but keeps an open mind towards new recordings I feel comfortable making the generalization that the great historical performances aren't quite as homogenized or safe as many today. Again just a generalization. If I had all the time in the world I would love to explore more new recordings. When world class conductors like Fischer/Budapest come along my mind and wallet are fully open
I don't entirely disagree - I listen to a lot of historical recordings too, and there are more great recordings (especially of the standard rep) from 1955-1990 than there are recently - but I think only listening to older recordings is a serious mistake many classical fans make, as is the belief that the golden age recordings are really as good as a modern recording that's expertly done.
I try my best not to generalize at all when it comes to music, as I feel that there frequently are exceptions to any rule one can come up with. I do agree that an open mind is useful when it comes to music. I know I have found some great performances from performers who have not previously connected with me. And that goes for new and old performances. As for the allure of great sound, I remain significantly more moved by a superb performance than by great sonics. But that's just me. And if other people have other priorities, that is perfectly fine by me. We all have different tastes.
When it comes to sound quality I fully accept that the cutting edge recording techniques and formats that take advantage of the headroom that hi-res PCM or DSD provide is superior. It still remains all about the performance for me, if something sounds amazing on the stereo that is a very nice side benefit. One other nice thing about historic recordings is they are often either packaged in high value CD box sets or if I read/hear about a fine performance the used CD might be cheap. If I could stream newer performances to hear them first the $15-30 entry per disc would make me more comfortable. Always happy to do my part supporting new classical by attending as much BSO/NYPO as time permits for pieces I'm interested in. So this doesn't delve off topic, just finished Rostropovich playing Britten Sonata for Cello and Piano from the big DG box. Another disc that was a very nice upgrade from my domestic LP. I will play the rest of this disc this evening.