P. Tchaikovsky: Symphony 4. vKarajan, Berlin Phil. EMI Columbia German white gold. Tchaikovsky everywhere on LTCMAC. I prefer HvK's Tchaikovsky from the late 50s to the early 70s if only for the better sonics. His interpretations didn't vary much. As Ibanez notes late 70s DG sonics were often thin and hard.
I never heard his EMI 4th. I always liked his EMI 5th and 6th better than his later DGs. I had the 6th on Mobile Fidelity vinyl years ago.
Occasionally I will pull a disc from my Glenn Gould box at random. This time I ran up against my, er, limitations: Hindemith's Complete Sonatas for Brass and Piano. Have to admit I really didn't get it.
A lot of Hindemith's solo or sonata music was written for musicians to have more challenging study music. He termed it Gebrauchmusik. Sometimes musicians forget that their study music is not necessarily our favorite listening music. He was not very fluent melodically speaking although his pieces have good energy. The only work I have is Der Schwanendreher (Swan turner) which is a concerto for viola and orchestra based on folk tunes.
The only ones I can't listen to anymore are Sym 1 and 5. It's a funny thing because I usually am not a great fan of bombastic brassy music but I can listen to the Violin Concerto and these old warhorses or at least 4 of them quite frequently. Of course the ballet music is fine too.
I like the 2nd and 4th myself. The 2nd and 3rd are not easy to perform successfully so I have fewer versions of those I listen to. I have 5 LPs each for 4 and 6 though.
Recorded 6/27-28/59 in the Sofiensaal, Vienna. Issued 5/60. Producer: Ray Minshull. Engineer: Gordon Parry. Issued in stereo as London CS 6156. This is from an era where the Decca files listed mono & stereo production teams; the stereo version is credited to producer Erik Smith & engineer James Brown. My copy has a price of $4.98 written in pencil on the back, as well as "7/24/71 cat" in what seems to be a different hand.
Now on the turntable, "Palestrina Masses - Missa Nigra sum" performed by The Tallis Scholars on Gimell.
Now on the turntable, "Christopher Hogwood - Keyboard Music" on L'Oiseau-Lyre. Works by John Bull, Peter Philips, Giles Farnaby, Edward Johnson, William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons, C. P. E. Bach and Thomas Arne.
Now on the turntable, "Elgar - Introduction and Allegro, Serenade, Elegy/Vaughan Williams - Tallis Fantasia, Greensleeves Fantasia" performed by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra on DG.
I certainly wish that Decca would reissue this one on CD. I think it's the only bit of Hogwood's oeuvure that hasn't made the jump to digital.
I have just been listening to Bruckner's Ninth symphony. The Klemperer and Sinopoli recordings today. It was in readiness for a concert by the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall tonight. Unfortunately, due to the terrorist incident in London today the concert has been cancelled. Condolences to the family And friends of people who have been hurt and possibly killed. It puts our love of music into perspective.
First listen to "Musica per Arpa" performed by Katerina Englichova on Supraphon. Featuring: Martin Kasik (piano), Vilem Veverka (oboe), and Carol Wincenc (flute)
I just went ahead and submitted a request to Decca/Eloquence, via Eloquence's facebook page, to have this issued on compact disc. You never know. A couple of years ago I asked them to issue Hogwood's Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, and it showed up about 8 months later. Not sure if it was my request that did it or not, but I was thrilled anyway!
I'm not listening to this at the moment, but just giving an example of a 4-CD Eloquence release that's not included in the Medieval & Renaissance box. I've never seen a vinyl version of this. "Musicke Of Sundrie Kindes - An Introduction to Renaissance Secular Music 1480-1620" performed by The Consort Of Musicke directed by Anthony Rooley on Decca Eloquence. Featuring: (the lovely and talented) Emma Kirkby - soprano John York Skinner - countertenor Kevin Smith - countertenor Martyn Hill - tenor Paul Elliot - tenor David Thomas - bass
