Same here. I listened to a few recordings on Spotify, they date from the 1930s onwards and sound pretty boxy but are certainly worth the (low) price.
Now enjoying some more of Wand's Brahms. I bought some new speakers (upgrades) a few days ago and they really shine with these recordings.
IMO de Sabata is one of the great historical conductors, I've wanted a set of his for a while. Something more complete would be nice but I'm skeptical it will happen.
I got the Bowers and Wilkins 683 S2 speakers. Apparently the founder, John Bowers, was a huge classical music fan.
Have been listening to some Beethoven's Piano Sonatas 8, Op.13; 14, Op.27/2; 21, Op.53 by Radu Lupu from this excellent set: I thoroughly enjoyed these performances.
Sofronitsky's Legendary 1949 Chopin Recitals (from October, November). These are very fine performances and sound quality isn't bad. Couldn't find an image I can hot link, track list 1 Nocturne in G minor, Op. 37 n° 2 5:47 Preludes op. 28 2 N° 1 in C major, Agitato 0:33 3 N° 2 in A minor, Lento 2:19 4 N° 3 in G major, Vivace 0:53 5 N° 4 in E minor, Largo 2:03 6 N° 5 in D major, Molto allegro 0:28 7 N° 6 in B minor, Lento assai 2:06 8 N° 7 in A major, Andantino 0:44 9 N° 8 in F-sharp minor, Molto agitato 2:03 10 N° 9 in E major, Largo 1:23 11 N° 10 in C-sharp minor, Molto allegro 0:28 12 N° 11 in B major, Vivace 0:36 13 N° 12 in G-sharp minor, Presto 1:10 14 N° 13 in F-sharp major, Lento 3:18 15 N° 14 in E-flat minor, Allegro 0:29 16 N° 15 in D-flat major ("Raindrop Prelude"), Sostenuto 6:01 17 N° 16 in B-flat minor, Presto con fuoco 1:02 18 N° 17 in A-flat major, Allegretto 2:58 19 N° 18 in F minor, Molto allegro 1:02 20 N° 19 in E-flat major, Vivace 1:11 21 N° 20 in C minor, Largo 1:43 22 N° 21 in B-flat major, Cantabile 2:00 23 N° 22 in G minor, Molto agitato 0:42 24 N° 23 in F major, Moderato 0:50 25 N° 24 in D minor, Allegro appassionato 2:36 * 10 Mazurkas 26 In A minor, Op. 67 n° 4 2:39 27 In E major, Op. 6 n° 3 1:37 28 In E minor, Op. 41 n° 2 2:02 29 In B-flat, Op. 17 n° 1 1:58 30 In G-sharp minor, Op. 33 n° 1 1:28 31 In E-flat minor, Op. 6 n° 4 0:44 32 In B major, Op. 63 n° 1 1:52 33 In F minor, Op. 63 n° 2 1:39 34 In C-sharp minor, Op. 63 n° 3 1:21 35 In C major, Op. 68 n° 1 1:43 36 Waltz in F minor, Op; 70 n° 2 2:22 37 Waltz in D-flat major, Op. 64 n° 1 2:04 38 Poloanise n° 6 in A-flat major, Op. 53 7:26 * Cd. 2 1 Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 n° 2 4:17 2 Etude in F major, Op. 25 n° 3 1:39 3 Mazurka in A minor, Op. 68 n° 2 2:26 4 Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48 n° 1 6:03 5 Wlatz in A-flat major, Op. 64 n° 3 2:48 6 Mazurka in C major, Op. 33 n° 3 1:50 7 Fantaisie in F minor, Op. 49 13:25 8 Nocturne in Dflat major, Op. 27 n° 2 5:26 9 Barcarolle in F-sharp major, Op. 60 8:43 * 5 Mazurkas 10 In C-sharp minor, Op. 41 n° 1 2:48 11 In C-sharp minor, Op. 30 n° 4 3:19 12 In C-sharp minor, Op. 50 n° 3 4:43 13 In D-flat major, Op. 30 n° 3 2:19 14 In A minor, Op. 68 n° 2 2:06 15 Etude in A-flat major, Op. posth. 2:16
The Legendary 1949 Chopin Recitals by Владимир Софроницкий [Vladimir Sofronitsky] The Preludes were very good, the Mazurkas were the real highlight. I've gone from Brahms being in my heavy rotations to Chopin and Scriabin I also bought Gould's 1955 Unreleased Goldberg: This was a bit too much for me at $80-95. Movie Mars on Amazon UK either had a price mistake at 20 GBP or I will be receiving the standard CD version, which I won't be too happy about! I know these 1955 performances very well and even if they aren't my reference these days I still enjoy them and it will be nice to have that big coffee table book and hear the unreleased takes. Interesting that this 'super deluxe' format is starting to make its way to classical reissues.
Well, these Gould sessions are the most likely candidate for this kind of “super deluxe” treatment—especially since Gould holds a special place in the annals of classical recording for his extreme views on the obsolescence of classical concert performance and it being superseded by recording. But while this is the beginning, it’s also the end for this kind of release. I can’t think of any other classical recording warranting such treatment. Or are you up for a Complete Complete Solti Ring on circa 300 CDs (I kid, of course)?
I think the Rite of Spring 100 Anniversary biz counts. Not one performer but 37 recordings of the same piece in one box is pretty extreme.
I only own one Wand recording and am listening to it now. It is Beethoven Symphony No. 9 recorded in 1986. Same orchestra as your Wand Brahms.
Listening this week- Kempff playing Schubert's D.960, fabulous old classic along with Brendel and Richter. And a new discovery, Brandenburg Concertos by Egarr which I've played twice. I will need to hear this a few more times; it might well become my new reference. Also incredibly well recorded, I heard one of them by the Yale orchestra years ago and this matches what I hear in real life, pure transparency, no distortion, no added color.
I have a few Egarr harpsichord albums that are wonderful. This is tempting but do I really need another set of Brandenburgs
George Li Live at the Mariinsky Warner, 2017 Haydn, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Liszt. Anyone who can play Haydn's Sonata 32 like this -- is very talented.
As is my custom, I listened to our local FM NPR affiliate on the car radio as I drove home from work this evening, and as part of a campaign to "welcome" Gianandrea Noseda as the new music director of the National Symphony by putting his recordings into heavy rotation, it played one in which he conducted the Frankfurt RSO in Beethoven's 3d Pno. Cto. with soloist Fazil Say, a pianist I previously knew by name and news backstory only. I was bowled over. This is a big, bold, exciting account that strips away the tired "warhorse" status of the work--one that I'd come to regard as seriously, almost irretrievably damaged by an extended spate of broadcast overplaying a few years back--to reveal it as a big, bold, exciting piece of music once again. The first mvt. cadenza calls for special mention; dunno if Say composed it, but it's definitely a change from the one Beethoven wrote out and that we normally hear, and I thought it a bit disorienting but effective, particularly in how it eases back into the coda. (The 3d mvt. cadenza is the usual one, but attacked in an unusual fashion.) I was too busy enjoying the performance to pay a lot of attention to recording quality as such, and a stock GM-Delco FM stereo radio really isn't a fair source for making serious assessments of that sort anyway, but my impression was that the disc is at least pleasingly recorded. In fact, I was so taken with the recording, I did something I almost never do: went straight to the computer when I got home and ordered a copy. I gather the "Moonlight" and op. 111 stas. are also on this disc, and I look forward to hearing if Say's approach there is as effectively off kilter as it is in the concerto, also to comparing the latter directly with other recordings in my collection, particularly Schnabel's with Malcolm Sargent. On the basis of the concerto alone, I commend the Say/Noseda recording to the attention of any Beethoven lover in our midst.
Fazil Say's Beethoven sonatas are also wonderful! He breathes new life into the popular "name" sonatas. I have many Beethoven sonata recordings, but his (on Naive) are by far the most fun. I'll have to pull out that disc tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder, David!
Eclassical’s Christmas sale stared today. One album daily, 50% off, from BIS, harmonia mundi, Signum Records and Resonus eClassical - christmas2017
Soprano Carol Neblett has died, aged 71. Carol Neblett, Soprano at the Met and City Opera, Dies at 71
