from the Gendron box set on Decca: Maurice Gendron and Pablo Casals in the Haydn and Boccherini. Gendron and Dohnanyi in the Tchaikovsky.
If you like Kleiber's recording of the 4th Sympony, then you may also love this recording...same orchestra, better sonics and a more probing interpretation....those inner lights I talked about are lit perfectly, revealing a galaxy of music that most conductors never knew was there.
I've mentioned this more than once before, but my favorite Brahms symphony recording is of no. 2 performed by the Berlin PO under Max Fiedler, a member of the Brahms circle who lived long enough to make some early electric recordings (the even less well remembered conductor Julius Pruwer was another). Somehow, there's a "rightness" about that account that makes it, to my mind, the most idiomatic Brahms I've ever heard. I've never gotten the same feeling from the same conductor's only other recording of a Brahms sym., no. 4 with the Berlin State Opera Or. In the United States, both the Fiedler recordings were issued on Brunswick under license from turn-of-the-'30s Polydor.
Tangentially related, when the ninth was reissued as a "Great Performances" CD the scherzo repeats remained missing. When the cycle was issued in three "twofers", however, the scherzo repeats were restored as well as the sound improved in the ninth.
Reinhard Goebel Musica Antiqua Koln Telemann: Tafelmusik Archiv, 2010 4 cds recorded 1989 This is a marvelous performance.
Now playing CD22 - Haydn Piano Sonata No. 62 Schubert Sontinas for Violin & Piano Nos. 1 & 2 from the following box for a first listen ...
Ravel Museum throws out Dutoit and Argerich - WTF! JDCMB: Ravel Museum throws out Dutoit and Argerich
That was back in February, assuming it's accurate (a contemporary article from The Guardian supports this account, but another blog has one comment suggesting Dutoit and Argerich downplayed the incident, whatever it was). Evidently whatever infighting was going on in the museum's administration has blown over, as the place holds itself out as open to visitors: Maurice Ravel Fondation What concerns me more is the suggestion artifacts have gone missing and the Guardian article's suggestion the place is (or, at least, was) in dire need of maintenance and conservation. Anybody here have more recent info about the Dutoit/Argerich brouhaha?
Thanks for this post and the further discussion about Brahms's symphonies. I've listened to other recordings of these works but I don't love any of them yet. Maybe these suggestions will give me something new to chew on.
CD 32 Michel Plasson box set Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse Honegger: Symphony no. 5 EMI, 2010 37 CDs
CD 2 Bamberg Symphony: The First 70 Years DGG, 2016 Mozart: Haffner Serenade Ferdinand Leitner, conductor Beethoven: Symphony No. 1 Joseph Keilberth, conductor
I have very little Telemann. Your post prompted me to check amazon about this set, along with a larger set (same composer and performer), for not much more money. I am still debating how much Telemann I want. Decisions, decisons.
I've not heard Davis's Haydn, but I am very happy with my Decca set. I can't believe how quickly it went OOP.
When the performer(s) are playing in a manner that I connect with, a well recorded orchestral recording can indeed be stunning. I am reminded of the Rudy/Jansons EMI recording of the Rachmaninoff Paganini Rhapsody. However, if I am not connecting with the performance, the greatest sound in the world does absolutely nothing for me.
I wish I had purchased the bigger set myself. But, Telemann has not been one of my goto composers so far.
Someone mentioned his lyrical style, but I think his "clear, precise style, without effect" pushes him more into a modern style. For his Bach suites, the notes writer writes of his "vaguely aristocratic reserve".
In addition to the CD box by MAK, I also have the following 6-LP box on Telefunken. This may well be a better box and probably has been remastered to CD ...
Last night I managed to listen to the three recordings I own of Brahms 4th back to back to back in their entirety. I started with the Kleiber which I stated previously was my favorite. I found the interpretation enjoyable last night but was not pleased with the sound quality. I find it very lacking in bass and warmth, just like Kleibers Beethoven symphony recordings on DG. Next I played the Solti. Excellent sound quality and good performance but I find it not quite as emotional as Kleiber is to me. Still a powerful performance with stunning sound and good bass. Lastly I played the Abbado Berlin Philharmonic recording from 1992 on DG. Maybe I was fatigued but I am surprised how much I enjoyed this version, when I listened to it previously I did not care for it and kind of dismissed it. Better sound than Kleiber although not as good as the Solti on Decca, and a nice interpretation to my ears.
I've been on a real Brahms kick lately and listening to and comparing a few different recordings of his symphonies. Last night I ordered a new set to try out, Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony just released this year! The reviews I read and sound samples I listened to convinced me to order this new set and give it a try. Supposedly excellent interpretations and superb sound. I will report back when I listen to it in a couple days.
