Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #63)

Can't say I've heard all those, but Pollini gives me access to Schoenberg.

 

Just came across this Liszt box by Claudio Arrau. At just over $34 for 5 CD's, the set looks pricey to me. At any rate, this box probably has Arrau's previous Philips recordings and I already have them ...

 

Now playing CD15 from the following box for a first listen ...

 

Your post prompted me to compare the three recordings I own of the Piano Suite.

Jacobs - Has the best recorded sound and piano tone, but the performance I found the least exciting/enjoyable of the three.

Gould - a lot of fun, I can see why you like him here, but I didn't like him as much overall as Pollini.

Pollini - great use of dynamics, his performance was exciting and also had better sound (and far less extraneous noise) than Gould.

 

Love the picture.My big black cat,Umbreon,google it,usually sits next to me,or on top of the Klipsch while records are playing,like he is now.Just switched from the experimental electronic punk of Fast Records,circa 1979-80,to Otto Klemperer's mono Vox records of Beethoven and Mendelssohn.

 

Now enjoying some songs without words from the above set.

 

Now playing CD5 - B9 and the last CD from the following box for a first listen ...

 

A while back I posted a review of the Brahms 2d as led by Karajan on tour; the critic there, Andrew Porter, was unflattering on that occasion, but he wrote elsewhere that Karajan's style was supremely well suited to the Meistersinger prelude. I'll confess that in general only bits and pieces of Wagner do much for me on record, although I finally came to appreciate what the shouting is about when I saw a Met b'cast Ring cycle on TV maybe 25 years ago. Since then, I've been of the opinion that Wagner really must be seen, not just heard--which, after all, is in keeping with his own artistic aims and procedures. All of which is by way of preambulating toward noting that the Meistersinger prelude used to be one of those bits and pieces that I rather liked, but I sorta burned out on it after viewing a DVD program presenting film clips of conductors in the Third Reich. (Not at home right now, so I can't look up the details, but it had quite an array of figures familiar to me from my 78s, even including Max von Schillings.) Nearly every one of 'em was leading the Meistersinger prelude, which apparently was considered an unofficial anthem in Germany at the time.

 

I'm pretty certain the DVD I started watching last night is the cycle you saw 25 years ago. Watched for about an hour last night. Will continue over the next week or so. In NYC at least, Levine has a reputation as a great Wagner conductor (also Berg).

 

I like that set and have played it quite often recently. There is something about Gould's playing when it comes to works with chromaticism. I like Gould's performance of Bizet Chromatic Variations very much. Gould considered it as one of the greatest pieces ever written for piano.

 

Johnny Greenwood (http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/classical-music-corner-thread-62.389300/page-40#post-11418510) asked:

Yes.

 

Another fantastic recording from these folks. Man, they just dig into the music as if their lives depended on it. Superb sound.

 

Should I...?

 

I'm going to have to spend more time with the Pollini. I always liked his version of the Piano Concerto. I really like Jacobs' version of the Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11.

 

The odd thing about the comparison I did today is that I am a huge fan of Gould, yet Pollini rarely does much for me. I personally think he should stay away from Romantic music and stick to modern stuff, as his style seems much better suited for it.

 

FWIW, I also really like the Brendel's version of the Piano Concerto with Kubelik and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. But I dunno, Gould brings something distinctively Gould-ish to the Schoenberg that really brings out certain elements in the music -- a kind of compositional phrase-making and a melodic quality -- that I find makes for really involving listening.

 

Just John. Jonny is in Radiohead.

 

Thanks for mentioning this, I'm going to have to check it out.

 

Now playing CD9 from the following box for a first listen ...

 

Everything in its right place.

 

Don't know if you know Gould's disc of Byrd And Gibbons. Probably my favorite of all his recordings, curiously devoid of humming:

 

Unlike my grad school buddy, who is now a senior research scientist at Stanford, I do not readily accept every Karajan's recording as top-drawer. To this buddy of mine, Karajan was god of classical music and could do no wrong. In all fairness, no blanket appraisal should be applied to any single conductor. Karajan was generally no good at Handel works. His Handel 12 Concertos Grossi Op. 6 were pretty dreadful recordings where the tempos did not even sound right to my ears.

The Wagner opera that I most enjoyed was Tannhauser conducted by Colin Davis at the Bayreuth in the mid 70's. The opera was broadcast on my local PBS. I really was glued to every act on the tube for two hours. The opera was finally released on DVD some ten years ago and I immediately grabbed it. I have the Ring by Pierre Boulez on a DVD set still in the cellophane I bought a few years ago at MDT and hope to finally take a crack at it one day.

 

It was probably due to the relative lack of familiarity ...

 

Yeah, I'd call it Gouldberg.

There is a joy in many of Gould"s recordings that is downright infectious.

 

And let's not forget his sublime solo Brahms recordings>