Being brand new to classical music, super happy to go over this thread for the next few years. My first intro was being caught by Debussy and La Mer and the Faun. Ravel always seemed to be on side two. So regarding Ravel, I dig him too, and have to ask...Is his music what inspired John William’s Star Wars? Even my daughter mentioned it once when she heard me playing Ravel. I had to tell her I thought it was spot on too. Had to ask and never zgoogled it either. Interested to hear your peoples take. Has this been hashed out for years? Or are we really off?
Welcome aboard. First time I've heard the Ravel connection. More common are references to Wagner and Korngold (who was also a composer of significant film scores).
This record feels like new but sadly distorts a little. Ah well, a rarity in any case! I was over the moon to find this.
Thank you! No one today would dream of playing around with the piece as Busoni does, and if someone did, the critics would promptly launch a ferocious attack. Too bad; the music is a delight as played here. That record goes for quite the pretty penny. I have a copy, and back in 2007 I definitely paid far more than I usually do for 78s to get it from a longtime dealer in Oxford, Raymond Glaspole, with whom I've been doing mail order business for years. Unsolicited testimonial: his is definitely a class act, as he is knowledgeable, scrupulous, and gracious. I always enjoy my exchanges with him, and over the years he's helped me make more than one "discovery" among artists and performances. Back to the record: I'm away from home at the moment; when I get back, if I remember, I'll dig out my copy and see if it has the same distortion problems. Sometimes, a recording just has technical faults in the original masters. Out of curiosity, what was the playback speed, and which stylus profile did you choose?
Raymond is a great guy. I have also bought well from him in the past, though I believe he has just retired or is about to. I used a 3.5 mil eliptical in a shure v15 (iii) for this. I tried 2.5 and 4 mil stylie with the same distortion, even a conical 4 mil on a goldring g800 and lastly a good old fibre needle, same deal. I transfered it at 78 dead on with my technics 1210gr which locks in exactly to all 3 speeds. It's very adjustable but it didn't sound off key to me. I have also just posted the other side.
Next up in my Nocturne-frenzy is Maria Tipo. I adore her live Ballades on Ermitage, but I find her Nocturnes less successful. Tempos are very slow and often don't work for her. This set is OOP anyway, though I still think it would be great if EMI did a big box of her recordings on CD.
My first post on CM Corner! Anyone else love these quirky old Nonesuch albums? Most sound pretty good and I love the off-the-beaten-path performances and musicians.
Nice pic. I haven't come across these before, but they certainly look colorful and an interesting range of repertoire.
Thanks! Yes, the fun cover art is definitely part of the appeal. Classical by way of Yellow Submarine.
Looks good! My Chopin is limited to a few Rubenstein CDs, which I have to admit I haven't listened to in years. I should add them to the queue.
Another night, another set of Nocturnes. Wasowski plays slow like Tipo, but he really makes it work. He also has gorgeous sound. A very special set. Unfortunately, OOP.
I’m glad you included this as part of your “survey”. I picked it up recently at a thrift shop and really enjoyed it.
Glad you enjoyed it! If it wasn't obvious yet, I really love the Nocturnes, I can't get enough of them.
Disc 7 from a Roussel 11 CD box Albert Roussel Edition Erato, 2019 Roussel: Bacchus et Ariane Jean Martinon, conductor Orchestre National ORTF Roussel: Symphony no. 4 Charles Munch, conductor Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux Roussel: Sinfonietta Andre Cluytens, conductor Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire.
Ciani performs the 18 Chopin Nocturnes (and more) in this 2CD set, which is so rare that it took me 15 minutes to even find an image. The performances are live and seem to have been recorded from the audience, mid-December 1973. So the sound isn't that great to begin with. Couple that with nearly constant coughing and you have your work cut out for you to hear past all of this to enjoy the performances. A friend had suggested this set to me years ago and I have tried a number of times to see what he saw in it, but it just isn't happening. Tempo choices at times are odd, piano tone is bangy in spots and overall it just isn't a successful performance, even if I ignore the sound limitations. Not recommended.
OK, I won't rush out to hunt down a copy. I blush to admit this pianist's name is entirely new to me.
Wikipedia, the encyclopedia anyone can edit, is my friend: it has an article about Ciani, albeit in not quite 100% idiomatic English. He died in a 1974 automobile accident at age 32; according to the article, one of his last recitals included the complete Chopin Nocturnes. I wonder if this recording came from it? He "attended advanced courses" (I suspect that means participated in master classes) with Cortot, who is said to have described him as follows: "miraculously gifted ... one of the most remarkable examples of the rarest talents one could hope to find." Of course, that may just mean he paid his bill on time!
I've been on a Baroque kick for a few weeks. Picked this Bach/Oistrach record up at a used book store yesterday, listening to it now. Elegant yet energetic performance by the orchestra and soloists (so far), but damn the noisy as hell DG vinyl.
Here's a very rare record, only issued in Germany I believe. This is not from the famous English Decca set from 1953. Part of a trade with a fellow collector! Telmanyi's 78s aren't really common and this one was a mail order only issue I think.
I may be slow, but it does take me a while. This morning I got out my copy of the Chopin etude played by Busoni and gave it a whirl. It proved prone to the same sort of distortion your copy has, although (depending on the stylus) I think to a lesser degree. Comparing it to a couple of modern recordings on CDs, I find that the record runs at around 82 RPM. I also find a possible explanation, at least in part, for its tendency to blast: it's relatively weak in the bass, even compared to other acoustic recordings. I'm guessing Columbia's cutter may have been "bright" and peaky, causing rough patches in the original master that in the pressed copies would grow worse when they were played with steel needles. For what it's worth, my best results so far have been with a Shure V15Vx-MR cartridge and 4.0 mil truncated elliptical stylus. A 3.5 mil non-truncated elliptical in a Pickering XV15/625e was also better than the rest; I haven't compared the two directly, and I'm out of time for now. Never a dull moment with acoustic 78s!
blimy 82rpm? it didn't sound too slow to me at 78 at least the Bach side which I know better didn't. I will try speeding it up to around 82, you're probably rite and my transfer is probably a bit slow. Never a dull moment with acoustic 78s indeed! the people who just play their records on acoustic machines (including me if I'm not digitising) have it fairly easy in that a fibre or steel needle just sounds good out of the packet. Sounds like we're both using similar equipment for our 78s.
