First listen to "Vivaldi - Le Quattro Stagioni" performed by Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque on Channel Classics.
I would be very cautious about using Discogs as confirmation. Many listings have various errors and levels of incompleteness. The situation with classical music is especially spotty IMO. But yes these are excellent performances. Rooley et al also did superior recordings of some of Gesualdo's madrigals. The situation with reissues in the classical field has been made more difficult by interventionist remastering. EMI tends to like noise reduction and Decca has altered tonal balances on some recordings. So it is wise not to treat all issues/reissues as interchangeable. I think MHS was bought out a few years ago. It was still around in the 90s and Oughts.
Some chamber music by Robert Schumann on the turntable tonight, performed by the Juilliard Quartet: Piano Quartet In E-Flat Major, Op. 47, w/ Glenn Gould, piano. Piano Quintet In E-Flat Major, Op. 44, w/ Leonard Bernstein, piano. Both performances and the recordings are superb! Very quiet vinyl, too. The Piano Quintet (w/Bernstein) was recorded in May 1964, whereas the Piano Quartet (w/Gould) was recorded May 1968. Both sessions took place at Columbia's 30th Street Studios, NYC. This is a 3-LP box set from Columbia Masterworks, released in November 1969, which includes Schumann's three String Quartets. If you are looking for this on CD, note that most all CD editions of the Piano Quintet are missing a repeat in the first movement. This was not corrected until the creation of the 2nd (remastered) edition of the "Glenn Gould Original Jacket Collection" in 2015.
As a Brit, I tend to take British reviews of British artists with a pinch of salt. IMHO, we do have a bad habit of over-rating our 'homegrown'.
I'm getting the same feeling when I'm watching historical BBC documentaries these days, particularly the ones made by Dan Snow.
Seems to be better with EMI's new owners, Warner Music, or so I'm told. I don't have that many Warner reissues of EMI recordings.
Unfortunately, we live in a time where it is common for individuals, as well as Governments, to attempt to re-write history, by exaggeration or blatent propaganda.
(CD BBC Legends BBCL 4254-2) 2008 .... recorded "live"November 1970 @ Queen Elizabeth Hall, London .... Shura Cherkassky was a master and often at his very best in live settings .... at this occasion he finds his way through a subtle Schubert Sonata D 959 and an iridescent Schuman Carnaval Op. 9 .... belongs definitely to the highlights of the BBC-Legends series ....
CD from the Philips The Stereo Years box. The CD includes some Liszt solo pieces that I'm too lazy to type this morning.
This box is such a disappointment I think. With a rich catalogue like Philips they surely could have chosen recordings that haven't been released and re-released over and over again. How many times are you supposed to buy Haitink's Ein Heldenleben... ?
I'm not disappointed since I hadn't heard several of these particular recordings. I do agree about their rich catalog. They could have released 1 or 2 more box sets.
Some fine chamber music from Mozart on the turntable today... Four Violin Sonatas played by Itzhak Perlman and Daniel Barenboim. DG, Germany, 1984.
Lubin is one of the greats of our time. the three fortepianos he uses in this set give insight to how Beethoven pushed what he had. The small orchestra give in pure adrenalin what they lack in power. I have so many No.5s but this is the on I play. Super recording quality is a great bonus.
Thanks! I long associated Hogwood only with baroque works and only belatedly got into his classical recordings like his Beethoven and Haydn Symphonies ... BTW, I just realized I actually have two versions of "The Dream of Gerontius", found in the Elgar box and the following Malcolm Sargent box ...
