(CD Decca German Press 410 016-2) 1983 .... recorded March 1981 @ Kingsway Hall London .... a superb Symphony 5 from an outstanding Sibelius cycle ....
I actually love the sound of the Blue Angels. The earlier Red ones can be spotty, although some great historic recordings from Karajan. Since I live in New York there seem to be quite a few of the Angel labels around since the company was based out of the City. I have always avoided the Brown "later" Angels. What do others think of the sound of these? LP's of course.
Technical data on many classical releases from the late 60's, 70's and into the 80's seem to be really lacking. A lot of the early classical releases really showcased the labels recording techniques and quality of LP, but became less so as the years went on. Was it due to lack of consumer caring? For me, I love reading this stuff and generally look to other records with the same quality or sound.
Were these part of a set or individually released. I think I remember seeing a slipcase for these or maybe I just dreamt it. Is dreamt a word? My spell check doesn't like it. If not...it should be.
It depends on the label’s policy. You would love the Mercury Living Presence discs with a lot of description on the liner notes.
In the ‘50s those LPs were aimed at the Hi-Fi enthusiast, a generic pipe-smoking white man with enough disposable income to buy the extremely expensive gear This guy would also dabble in a bit of DIY and read all important HiFi magazines. Starting with the early to mid ‘60s, LP albums in general reached a wider audience and thus managed to come out of their Hi-Fi niche corner. And so, audiophile lingo disappeared from their back covers.
CD 1. Quintet No.1 For Guitar And Strings In D Minor G.445 1-1 1. Allegro Moderato 5:20 1-2 2. Cantabile 4:14 1-3 3. Minuetto 4:18 1-4 4. Finale (Allegro Assai) 3:37 Quintet No.3 For Guitar And Strings In B Flat, G.447 1-5 1. Allegro Moderato 7:25 1-6 2. Tempo Di Minuetto 5:26 1-7 3. Adagio 4:13 1-8 4. Allegro 6:09 Quintet No.5 For Guitar And Strings In D, G.451 1-9 1. Andantino Pausato 5:20 1-10 2. Minuetto (Allegro) 3:17 1-11 3. Allegro Giusto 2:10 1-12 4. Andantino Pausato Con Variazioni - Allegro Giusto 6:53 Quintet No.7 For Guitar And Strings In E Minor, G.451 1-13 1. Allegro Moderato 4:53 1-14 2. Adagio 3:34 1-15 3. Minuetto 4:11 1-16 4. Allegretto 5:33
First listen to this Brandenburg set with Mr Leonhardt and friends ... Not a bad line-up! I'm enjoying it so far - performances are very lively, the only obvious blemish being some rather wayward horns in the opening concerto. It's a German pressing on Orbis (all notes in German sadly) and I was a bit nervous about acquiring it after my last Orbis experience, but I was tempted by the fact that it was a sealed copy and thankfully the sound quality is very respectable indeed on this one, if not as good as the best original Philips recordings. Good dynamics and separation, just a little strident at the top end.
Recommended viewing : Straub-Huillet's biopic, CHRONICLE OF ANNA MAGDALENA BACH Gustav Leonhardt is starring as J. S. Bach.
Ah - I hadn’t thought of it like that! Luckily there is plenty of wonderful playing to compensate, especially from Leonhardt himself and also the sublime baroque flute of Frans Bruggen. I like the recording the more I listen, perhaps my system wasn't fully warmed up; it’s actually rather excellent.
Having finished listening to this, I can say I don't care for the work. At all. Somehow Berlioz doesn't seem to click with me. I am still awaiting upon a revelation in listening to his Symphonie fantastique, which leaves me equally cold. That symphony sounds to me like a bunch of unrelated Beethoven fragments, collaged into a boring bunch of sounds... Hmm...
Berlioz does that to me as well for some strange reason. I've tried so many times with the Symphonie Fantastique in the past, with no success. I think I'll give it another try soon.
I can only state my own preferences and it doesn't affect yours. The blue Angels have an upfront immediate sound but lacking in stage depth and a bit coarse with solo instruments. I do find the blue Angel Melodiyas to be the best of them for sonics but don't know why that would be. The brown Angels have thinner sound and more variable sonics. By themselves the blue Angels are not hateful to me but they are far less natural sounding than the equivalent UK EMI pressings. The brown Angels are even worse in comparisons with UK or German EMI.
I guess Symphonie Fantastique is the indecent, bombastic and hilarious work of music. There are quite a lot of great interpretations like Munch, Paray, Monteux, Ansermet, Karajan, Previn, Bernstein, Boulez, Dutoit and so on. Hopefully you will find your version.
Find of the week: the cover is a little used, but the records themselves sound/look like they've never been played. Beautiful recording.
Good to see I'm not the only one who doesn't care for Berlioz. He's one in a series of composers who leave me cold, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky (hm, maybe his last 2 symphonies are exceptions) being among them.
