Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #62)

Listening to HvK conducting German opera this morning - finished a first listen to "Hansel and Gretel," which I began yesterday. Now onto heavier fare - "Tristan."

 

My favorite for this repertoire has been the Guarneri String Quartet on DVD-Audio, in their last recording with the original lineup, in 24/192 stereo and 24/96 quad. It was done for an indie that folded pretty quickly, which might be why it's kind of ignored.

 

Now listening to "Bach - (various works for violin)" performed by Lisa Batiashvili with the Kammerorchester des Symphonieorchesters des Bayerischen Rundfunks (that's a big name!) led by Radoslaw Szulc on DG.

• Concerto For 2 Harpsichords, Strings, And Continuo In C Minor, BWV 1060 (Reconstruction For Oboe, Violin, Strings & Continuo)
• Cantata "Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe" BWV 156
• Sinfonia
• Violin Concerto No.2 In E, BWV 1042
• Sonata For Violin Solo No.2 In A Minor, BWV 1003
• Trio Sonata In B Minor For Flute, Violin And Continuo, Wq.143 (Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach)
• St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244 (Part Two)

 

As it happens, I've been hearing a lot of this disc in the last few days--after a long hiatus, a couple of weeks ago our local NPR affiliate resumed selecting a "CD Pick of the Week," and this is the second selection of the renewed promotion. The gimmick is that the "CD Pick" is available for that week only "at a special price" through Arkivmusik.com, accessed via a link on the station's Web site, with a cut going to the station. The concept works better when the "pick" is a big box set than when it's a single or double; otherwise, one gets an awful lot of one or two works. (Last week I heard enough of Uchida playing Mozart's 19th pno. cto. to last me for quite some time to come!) What's definitely silly here is that the disc is being promoted as "part of our month celebrating CPE Bach" when (a) only one selection on the disc is by that composer and (b) I have yet to hear it; every time I've been tuned in, and the station plays a cut from this thing more or less hourly, the cut selected has been by daddy Bach--mostly the violin cto., less often the sonata or the oboe cto. arrangement. Oh, and naturally, they being vocal works and all, the St. Matthew Passion and the cantata have received not a single mention that I've heard when the announcers start reeling off the disc's contents.

 

The announcers may not have listened to all the tracks, but the whole disc is instrumentals only. Arrangements for instruments of the vocal selections.

 

Went for this over the weekend (LP). Wonderful performance, nice, realistic sonics. Recommended:

 

Now listening to "Chopin/Schumann - Etudes" performed by Valentina Lisitsa on Decca.

 

I was also very happy with this one

 

I will be seeing her in March at Disney Hall

 

I think it's a shame that they reserve all vocal music to opera at 1PM on Saturday and shove all other vocal music to their HD signal Viva La Voce. Before the switch to all news then back to music, they used to play at least some choral music.

Edit: I forget, they do have a choral show on Saturday nights I think. I've never managed to hear it, just ads for it.

 

A 95¢ CD from yesterday's haul got a second audition early this morning:



This is an early [1980] Digital recording. Via the Frankenstereo has remarkable sound quality. Might be the better d/a in the surround receiver. I don't know why I rarely think of Vladimir Ashkenazy as a conductor, but here he is, leading the Philharmonia, everything sounding very powerful and intentional. The Fourth Symphony of Sibelius is my favorite. Ashkenazy sounds a bit more "authentic" than most, a bit more edge in the playing, a much more angular reading than found in Karajan's plush rendition.

 

I only trust the reconstruction/remastering by MOT and Ward Marston for any recordings made in the 40's and earlier, though I doubt either of them participated in the production of this RCA box ...

 

I'm enjoying the heavenly voice of Felicity Lott this afternoon.

 

Now: Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Op.61 - Thomas Zehetmair with Frans Brüggen/Orchestra of the 18th Century - Philips

 

I have a few JS Bach recordings by Zehetmair ...

 

Had the chance to see Valentina Lisitsa's NYC recital debut last year, but passed it up.

 

I like his Sibelius cycle.

 

I have and enjoy this London 2fer, which was recorded the same time. It doesn't have the Sibelius Fourth.



Right now my only Fourth is this:



Mine is the older EMI, not Warner.

 

There is a companion twofer that completes the Ashkenazy cycle. I have the HvK as well as part of a big box.

 

I have the one with Bach, Chopin, and Brahms--the wow and flutter makes it unlistenable.

 

Thanks for reminding me. I just ordered the Ashy ULN cheap.

 

I have a very difficult time passing up concerts.

 

Back to my DGG shelves.

A recent discovery for me personally, this great LP:

 

That's a real interesting version. Not as smooth as the earlier DGG performance. Karajan's later EMI recording is icily solid state, a rare case of an essentially wrong-headed engineering decision working out for the best. Had to pass up a 95¢ copy of Colin Davis/LSO performing Sibelius 1 & 4 for RCA, already have a copy of that fine performance.

My copy of the EMI/BPO/Karajan recording looks like this:

 

Has anyone heard the SACD SHM version and compared it to the RBCD? If so, is it significantly better? (I know that is very subjective!)