A bit off topic, but I have inherited over 100 classical music LPs, many from back in the 50's and 60's. Many of them seem to be in quite good shape but most are a bit dusty and have likely not been cleaned in over 30 years. Does anyone have any suggestions for their favorite method of "deep" cleaning vinyl records? Spin Clean MkII? GrooveWasher fluid and pad? Phoenix Record Cleaning Spray? Has anyone used the "Perfect Vinyl Forever" service where you mail in your vinyl to be cleaned? Any other thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. And I am listening to Beethoven Symphony No. 6 with Furtwängler on the Angel label "Electrola Breitklang" Stereo System Vol 7 - not sure how to upload a photo of the jacket
As you have stated, this is off the topic of this thread. Please start a new thread to discuss this topic. Thanks!
I agree, though some may find Gwyneth Jones’ wobbly vibrato an acquired taste! (She’s also on the first Bernstein DG 9th - another fine performance.). Boehm did another Choral for DG near the end of his life which, great as it is, may be a little too measured for some. The 1970 one you reference is the better of the two, I think.
BBC radio recently broadcast a documentary about composers who fall between eras and CPE Bach featured prominently. I've been buying classical records since the late 70s including any number of baroque compilation albums with pieces by various composers. Turns out that somehow or other I don't own a single piece of music by CPE Bach out of the best part of 1000 classical albums. Anyone want to help me correct that with some recommendations?
This box is outstanding: https://www.amazon.com/C-P-Bach-Com...?dchild=1&keywords=Bach+CPE+box+set+piano&qid =1611254366&sr=8-4 If you want something smaller, this is great, too: https://www.amazon.com/Carl-Philipp...=Bach+CPE+pletnev+piano&qid=1611254421&sr=8-1 And for a budget pick, I would suggest this: https://www.amazon.com/Cello-Concer...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1611254497&sr=8-1
Just be forewarned: CPE Bach's works can be somewhat, well, strange. Not necessarily in terms of harmonic content, but in form--they don't "flow" in the way the more architectural music of J.S. Bach does--or in the way anybody else's does, for that matter. For want of a better word, I'd say they often seem rather jagged. I'm speaking of the orchestral ones I've heard; I'll confess I don't know the keyboard works. If you have access to a streaming service or an old fashioned public library collection, you may want to do a bit of judicious sampling before jumping in with both feet.
Sorry to break into a thread where I've been a passive reader rather than active participant, but the following box contains the same excellent piano recordings as in George's first link, but also an additional 27 CDs of orchestral, chamber and choral music:
Like others have stated, the symphonies, cello concertos, keyboard concertos, and solo keyboard works are popular places to start (I say keyboard because they can be found on harpsichord, clavichord, modern piano, fortepiano, and even tangent piano). Miklós Spányi has an ongoing series of the concertos and solo keyboard works on BIS -- start anywhere! I have discs of symphonies by Trevor Pinnock/EC, Rebecca Miller/OAE, and Wolfram Christ/SCO -- all are great.
None of the three recordings is especially accurate, but I'd say John Ogdon's is my favorite. I'm hoping Jonathan Powell records it soon.
That's one of my favorites, too, George. I just wish Sony would pick album cover photos of the artist that are close to the time of the recording. In this case, they used a photo of Gould at age 22 when he was in the NYC 30th St. studio recording the Goldberg Variations in 1955. His recording of The French Suites, however, was completed in 1973 when he was entering his 40s... about the same time he worked with Leonard Rose on a recording of the Bach Sonatas for Cello & Harpsichord (pic below). I just think it's misleading to anyone who might buy that CD and is new to Glenn Gould. It gives the impression they are hearing a very young pianist, early in his career.
Rebooting my interest in classical music for 2021. Starting out with this gem of Czech "program music"
I've seen them once by themselves and once with Marc-Andre Hamelin (Franck Quintet). They are wonderful in concert! If you are in the mood for thunderous pianistic fireworks, then look no further!
Sometimes I take a while to get around to things. In April 1994 I bought a three-record 78 RPM set of the Brahms op. 39 waltzes, with the "Edward" ballade as a filler, played by a pianist named Anatole Kitain. The records are on US Columbia but sourced from the label's English counterpart. I'm playing the set now--as far as I can remember, this my first time hearing it. According to his article in my favorite online reference, Wikipedia, the encyclopaedia anyone can edit, Kitain was Russian by birth and studied at the Kiev Conservatory as a classmate of Horowitz and Brailowsky, among others. After his family fled Russia in the early '20s, he won a prize at the first Franz Liszt Competition in Budapest, a runner up to Annie Fischer. His was the familiar, sad story of the European artist whose career there was derailed after flight to the United States at the outset of World War II, never to recover. So, anyhow, as I sit here doing first hearing duties, I'm much impressed. This guy could play, and he had a great style for these pieces, mixing the gravitas native to the composer with big, rich tone that comes through even played back casually, an engaging lilt, and a nice touch of appropriate Magyar flavor. He didn't record much, unfortunately, but I do have a few other of his records, and I guess I'd better put them on my ever-growing "get this out and play it" list. I gather his complete European Columbia recordings have been reissued; if all are as good as these waltzes, I'd say that issue is worth grabbing if it comes your way.
A little faster off the mark this time--another first playing, but I got this record in 2016. With the Brahms waltzes, it was a totally unfamiliar pianist in fairly familiar music; now it's the reverse: although not as familiar as he should be, I have at least heard some recordings by Witold Malcuzynski, but as far as I know until a few minutes ago I had never heard Szymanowski's Theme and Variations in b-Flat, op. 3. Quite a worthy addition to the genre, a bit reminiscent of Brahms. I remember Artur Rubinstein, in his first (better) volume of memoirs, wrote a good bit of friendship with this composer, who, if memory serves, died fairly young. Anybody else here know more of his piano music?
I like this disc of mazurkas and other late piano works played by M-A Hamelin on Hyperion: https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67399 They take Chopin's as a starting point but go even further with the mazurka sound world.
