Listenin' to Classical Music and Conversation

I bet @Wes H has this LP as well. I have just about all my Beaux Arts Trio recordings on CD ...

 

Now playing CD1 - Symphonies Nos 1 & 6 and Egmont Overture from the following box for a second listen ...

 

I actually like the Rachmaninov piece more, it is very nice chamber music played by a piano and cello duet ...

 

True, all Philips Beaux Arts recordings sound great.

 

Yes -- count me as a "major fan" of Szell & Cleveland. Those who immediately followed Szell certainly benefited from what he (Szell) built during his tenure there.

Of the other guys at Cleveland... Boulez made a fine series of Debussy recordings with Cleveland. Maazel recorded a very impressive "Pictures at an Exhibition" on Telarc. And I really like Dohnányi's Beethoven Symphony cycle -- which is underrated by most, IMHO.

 

Here is the only Beethoven Symphony by Dohnányi in my Beethoven collection ...



I actually do not know the soprano or the mezzo in this recording.

 

Yes, I have that same LP, albeit with the gold "import" sticker which can be found on most Philips records that came here from across the pond.


This is one of many "Trout" recordings out there and one of the best, IMO.

Another one on Philips that I really like (and play more than the Beaux Arts) is this 1967 recording by the Grumiaux Trio with Ingrid Haebler on piano.



It's just a personal preference. The Beaux Arts ensemble is excellent and turns in a very bold, assertive performance. The Grumiaux Trio takes things at the same tempo (IIRC), but is a bit more relaxed -- more "Schubertian" and less "Beethovian"--if that makes sense. And I love the singing tone of Arthur Grumiaux's violin, which I don't hear from Isidore Cohen in the BA recording. In fact, to my ears, the Grumiaux recording lets me hear more inner detail from that ensemble than the later ('76) Beaux Arts recording.

But that's just me. YMMV

 

That's a fine performance of the 9th.

Dohnányi began his Beethoven cycle just as the industry was switching over from LP to CD, so not all are available on LP.
One that is (on LP) that really shines is his powerful reading of the 3rd, complemented by Telarc's outstanding sonics.

 

I have this and had many of them on vinyl, but today I'm not impressed with many of the performances.

 

My LP collection is much underplayed. So I searched around and actually managed to find the following Rosini vinyl by George Szell and the Cleveland and so it is now on my turntable ...



This is supposed to be a 1967 recording.

 

Here is another of my Cleveland recording on Telarc ...

 

Now playing the following LP from my Liszt collection ...

 

I have been under the impression that Telarc did not exist until CD hit the market ...

 

You are pretty much correct. The label was founded in 1977, which is close enough.

 

I only have 19 Telarc CD's, a very small number compared with what I have on DG or Philips. The problem I have with Telarc is its roster of artists/ensembles. I do have the only BPO recording on Telarc ...

 

Now playing CD65 - Cantatas Nos. 208 - 209 from the following box for a first listen ...

 

Dohnányi used to joke sardonically that he'd conduct a concert and Szell would get a good review.

This was one of the triumphs Boulez had, although Szell was still alive when it was made.

 

Now playing CD2 - Chopin Sonata in B Minor and Scherzo Nos. 1 & 2 from the following Weissenberg RCA box for a first listen ...

 

On Spotify, "Niccolò Jommelli (1714 – 1774) - Vesperae In Sancto Petro Romae" performed by A Sei Voci on Astree.

 

Now playing CD1 - Bach WTC Book 1 Part 1 from the following box, a recent arrival for a first listen ...

 

Now on the turntable, "Biber - Six Sonatas" performed by The Sinfonia Of London String Ensemble directed by Joshua Rifkin on Nonesuch.

 

Recorded 5/5/67 in Severance Hall.