Now playing the following CD, which arrived from across the pond a few months ago for a first listen ... I finally got all the Schnabel's Beethoven Piano Concertos which I did not get a few years ago when I acquired all of his Beethoven Piano Sonatas on Naxos Historical
Not long ago finished transferring and editing all my Schnabel Beethoven concerto recordings, being the full set with Sargent and the two remakes (nos. 4 and 5) with Stock and the CSO from the early '40s. Schnabel did most of them yet again some years later with Issay Dobrowen, but I neither have nor have heard any from that series. My copy of the later 4th cto. recording is almost certainly a memento of the teacher who drilled grammar, punctuation, and spelling into my reluctant brain in my junior year of high school; inside the front cover is an inscription "to so-and-so" from two names, same as the distinctive first names of the lady and her husband. I wish I could tell her how much I owe her, but she's been gone for many years now. Sigh.... Anyhow, critical consensus seems to relegate the Stock recordings to second-class-citizen status, but I'm not sure quite why: I haven't tried playing the accounts back to back yet, but taken on their own terms Stock's orchestral contributions strike me as wanting nothing for strength, support, or polish. Another case of boosterism from the critical crowd across the Pond? Dunno, but at some point I do need to sit down and do a systematic direct comparison.
I look forward to hearing the Klemperer. I do own his German Requiem which is superb. Part of the reason I enjoy the Solti Brahms symphonies is the sound quality. I have the old London CDs from the 80s and I find the sound quality of these recordings to be superb and close to perfect. In fact for the 4th symphony, my favorite, I have compared the Solti to the Kleiber closely a few times. I want to pick the Solti in this comparison because the recording quality is so good, but the Kleiber just has a magical quality to the interpretation that makes it my first choice.
I struggle with this this all the time: Performance vs. sound quality. Performance/interpretation most always wins (if the recorded sound is not too harsh) because it takes me to the soul of the music--that is, it brings out the essence of the work that moves me to want to hear it again. Sound quality, however, can also be a motivating factor so long as the performance isn't too shabby, adding a dash of excitement or revealing new details that a mediocre recording lacks. Also, I have to admit that occasionally a transparent recording has enticed me to listen to music that I might otherwise have overlooked.
For me, it is usually cut and dry, performance trumps sound quality. These days, there are too many new bloods whose performance is really not up to snuff but have been pushed by record companies for geopolitical reasons or just a pretty face along with advance of the latest sonic technologies in order to sell more music. Sorry, I don't fall for this nonsense.
Now playing the following CD, which arrived from across the pond a few months ago for a first listen ...
A Tony Faulkner recording. Michael Tippett Concerto for Double String Orchestra Fantasia concertante on a theme of Corelli Ritual Dances from The Midsummer Marriage Andrew Davis BBC Symphony Orchestra Teldec, 1996
Now playing CD1 - Symphony No. 1 for probably a second listen, though I must have bought this box quite a few years ago ...
I checked this out by synchronizing the 2nd movement of my Columbia R-T-R commercial tape edition with the same track on Columbia's single-issue LP. In less than a minute it was obvious that all the repeats were missing from the LP edition. My rough timing showed that 2nd mvmt. on the tape edition ran for another 3:20 longer--which is close to what the two-platter LP version (in the box set) lists. At least Columbia didn't cheat their tape customers. The tape also has a sensible side change--just after the 3rd movement.
Karel Ancerl Czech Philharmonic Orchestra Mahler: Symphony 1 Strauss: Till Eulenspiegels Supraphon, 2002 recorded @1964
CD 1 Joseph Keilberth Bamberg Symphony Smetana: Ma Vlast Fritz Lehmann Bamberg Symphony Dvorak: Symphony No. 8
cd 1 Jean-Pierre Rampal The Complete Erato Recordings I. 1954-1963 Erato, 2015 01 - (5:46) Michel Blavet Concerto in a Minor 1.Allegro 02 - (3:45) Michel Blavet Concerto in a Minor 2.Gavotte(1&2) 03 - (4:47) Michel Blavet Concerto in Aminor 3.Allegro 04 - (5:08) Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin Concerto in E Minor 05 - (4:20) Michel Corrette Concerto in G Major Op.3 No.6 1.Allegro 06 - (1:45) Michel Corrette Concerto in G Major Op.3 No.6 2.Adagio 07 - (2:59) Michel Corrette Concerto in G Major Op.3 No.6 3.Allegro 08 - (1:09) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento No.5 in C Major K.187 1.Allegro Moderato 09 - (0:50) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento No.5 in C Major K.187 2.Menuetto 10 - (1:01) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento No.5 in C Major K.187 3.Adagio 11 - (1:11) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento No.5 in C Major K.187 4.Menuetto 12 - (0:54) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento No.5 in C Major K.187 5.Allegro 13 - (1:59) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento No.5 in C Major K.187 6.Allegro Moderato 14 - (0:27) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento No.5 in C Majou K.187 7.Allegro Molto 15 - (0:50) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento No.5 in C Majou K.187 8.Allegro Non Troppo 16 - (2:12) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento No.6 in C Major K.188 1.Andante 17 - (1:52) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento No.6 in C Major K.188 2.Allegro 18 - (1:10) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento No.6 in C Major K.188 3.Menuetto 19 - (1:34) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento No.6 in C Major K.188 4.Andante 20 - (1:00) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento No.6 in C Major K.1885.Menuetto 21 - (0:47) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertiment No.6 in C Major K.188 6.Gavotte 22 - (2:29) Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Concerto No.2 in D Major 1.Amoroso 23 - (1:59) Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Concerto No.2 in D Major 2.Allegro 24 - (3:30) Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Concerto No.2 in D Major 3.Grave 25 - (2:21) Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Concerto No.2 in D Major 4.Presto 26 - (3:52) Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Concerto No.1 in G Major 1.Spiritoso 27 - (4:47) Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Concerto No.1 in G Major 2.Adagio 28 - (2:52) Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Concerto No.1 in G Major 3.Allegro Spiritoso
cd 2 Jean-Pierre Rampal The Complete Erato Recordings I. 1954-1963 Erato, 2015 includes some Vivaldi, Sammartini, Quantz, Telemann, Loeillet, and Bach
Hard to top Colin Davis leading the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Haydn symphonies. Exciting and brilliantly recorded. Philips LP, 1976, Holland pressing.
Karel Ancerl Czech Philharmonic Orchestra Stravinsky: Petrouchka; Le Sacre du Printemps Supraphon, 2002 solid
A worthwhile set. The BBC Philharmonic plays with finesse under Vernon Handley. The fifth disc is an interview with the conductor. Vernon Handley BBC Philharmonic Chandos, 2003 5 CD Bax: The Symphonies
I have this set of Brahms Symphonies on SACD (conducted by Otto Klemperer). If you are a fan of these recordings, this version is worth getting. It's the cleanest sounding iteration that I have heard. My favorite modern SACD recording of the Brahm's Symphonies remains that by Zdenek Macal conducting the Czech Philharmonic. It's a very straight-forward interpretation with gorgeous sonics. My biggest problem with many recordings of these symphonies concerns tempi that are too broad, too slow, so that the sense of orchestral line unravels....these ultra slow tempi cause the works to bog down and drain away all the passion and excitement from the music. Why on Earth would a conductor play a movement marked "Allegro Energico e Passionato" as a Funeral March? Too many do. This is a great mis-interpretation. Another problem that I often hear is a lack of clarity, a lack of attention to various orchestral sections and instruments that causes the orchestral colors and details in the scores to be obscured in a thick gray muddle or fog. It's a murky, opaque conception of these works, where the music's inner lights don't shine out. I hear this problem often. Many conductors only touch the surface of these works. I don't hear any of these problems with the sets conducted by Klemperer and Macal.
I have it but have not yet listened to it enough (just once I think) to give an opinion. I will have to give it another spin. I recently came across Symphonies No. 1 and No. 3 from the set above (conducted by James Loughran) and was blown away by the passion and excitement that the conductor brought out in the music. This is the way I like Brahms played.
