First listen to CD 13 from "RCA Living Stereo Vol. 1". "Brass & Percussion" performed by Morton Gould and his Symphonic Band. This is one way to wake up in the morning.
Now playing: Jean-Philippe Rameau – Hippolyte et Acricie, Orchestral Suite — La Petite Bande – Sigiswald Kuijken (deutsche harmonia mundi)
The Kurt Masur cycle is on the very first Beethoven Opera Omnia from Brilliant Classics label, as many of the recommended artist said above: Gulda for piano sonatas, Grimiaux & Haskil for violin sonatas, etc. The latest box incarnation have different musicians...
Now playing: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Quartet for Strings No.16 in E flat major K 428 (421b) – Quartet for Strings No.17 in B flat major K 458 "Hunt" Hagen Quartett (Deutsche Grammophon)
First listen to CD 7 from "RCA Living Stereo Vol. 2". "Tchaikovsky - Pathetique Symphony" performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra led by Fritz Reiner.
Now playing, CD 7: Darius Milhaud – Symphonic Suite No.2 Op.57 Ernest Chausson – Poème for Violin & Orchestra Op.25 — Jascha Heifetz (violin) Louis Gruenberg – Violin Concerto Op.47 — Jasucha Heifetz (violin) San Francisco Symphony Orchestra – Pierre Monteux (RCA Victor / Sony Classical)
Pair of SACD hybrids...I give up the SACD layer when connecting an external DAC, but so be it. Nice to see Austrians and Germans splitting production of Lute music. Good thing I only have two speakers:
Now listening to CD 9 from "Mercury Living Presence Vol. 1". "Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture/Capriccio Italien" performed by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra led by Antal Dorati. "Beethoven - Wellington's Victory" performed by the London Symphony Orchestra led by Antal Dorati.
I absolutely love that CD...not just because of the firworks, but I feel that they played the works with great understanding and energy....And Dorati just rocks!
I didn't read the CD cover closely so I didn't know there's a spoken commentary track following the 1812 Overture. It starts out with the canon shot they used in the recording which made me jump a foot out of my chair.
I wonder how many volumes will this RCA Living Stereo series have? I have noticed the recently released Sony Vivarte Volume 2, which I will not bother even though I have owned the Volume 1 for some times ...
Theoretically, it would reproduce the full sound of the hall. In my experience, though, unless it's carefully implemented, it can make solo instruments sound way larger than life!
I do. It was evident to me from the beginning but made clear by chance. Way back, I was using the old Philips SACD1000 player which allows for almost instantaneous switching between the stereo and MCH DSD tracks and enjoying a Channel Classics disk of Peter Wispelway. Yes, both stereo and MCH were good and the differences for the solo cello, itself, were relatively small. However, by chance, I switched from MCH to stereo just as Wispelway lifted his bow on the final note. What had been a good presentation of the cello in a coherent and relatively warm ambiance was drastically transformed as I heard all the richness of the room sound sucked into a dark hole on the other side of the front speakers. I went back and repeated this, going both from stereo to MCH and from MCH to stereo. Once you hear so starkly the inadequacy of stereo in this way, you realize it has nothing to do with the type or number of instruments.
Now playing: Antonín Dvořák – Concerto for Cello in B minor Op.104 B.191 — USSR State Radio & Television Symphony Orchestra – Boris Khaikin, 1957 Robert Schumann – Concerto for Cello in A minor Op.129 — USSR State Symphony Orchestra – Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, 1960 — Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) [Brilliant Classics – Legendary Russian Soloists]
On the 'table: Beethoven Violin Sonatas - Oistrakh/Oborin Orbis Record Club pressing, licensed from Philips. Amazing sound.
Hi everyone, I hope I'm dropping this in the right place, as this seems to be the only dedicated 'classical' thread. I have a question about a recording/issue of classical work. I was just listening to Concerto pour la Nuit de Noel, from the Moscow Chamber Orchestra conducted by Barshai, released on His Master's Voice in 1967: https://www.discogs.com/Corelli-Vivaldi-Concerto-Pour-La-Nuit-De-Noël-La-Notte/release/4212642 I noticed before that it sounded good, but I gave it another 'bath' last saturday and WOW! The opening work, Vivaldi's Concerto in D for Strings just blasts straigt from the vinyl. My equipment just seemed to have disappeared, there was only me and the violin. The two Corelli concertos are also great, but not as good as the opening work, nor is the closing piece, another work by Vivaldi. Is anyone here familiar with this record? Does anyone know about the reputation of this specific recording, or maybe the rep of the 60's HMV releases in general? Thanks!