The CE edition indeed has notes by Nicholas Kenyon. First there are general notes and then notes per CD. On the other hand, it doesn't have the covers
1954 mono recordings from the Decca Mono Years box set. Alfredo Campoli, violin. Eric Gritton, piano. London Philharmonic conducted by Edward von Beinum.
Sometimes I think these production companies ( the so-called premiums) all have Beavis and Butthead advising them.
I've been listening to a lot of somewhat "neglected" classical music composers from the early 20th century, guys like Bohuslav Martinů, Ernest John Moeran, Kurt Atterberg, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, William Walton, Samuel Barber, Mieczysław Weinberg, etc. My latest purchase was this one:
I don't really know to be honest. I suppose it's the emotion thing. I really didn't "connect". Sorry, it's a difficult question. I have Fournier's recording of Bach's Cello Suites which works for me. I also have the Faure & Franck Violin Sonatas by Grumiaux and that works for me (gosh, that made me think). I'll check this out on Qobuz through the system rather than on headphones via my laptop. I might be being a tad unfair as it should be my sort of thing. Edit: I'm streaming this now on the full system and I have to say YouTube, a laptop and headphones don't do it justice. Total change of opinion.
I'm trying to get into Shostakovich which I don't find easy. I have a box set by Rudolf Barshai conducting the WDR Sinfonieorchester on Brilliant Classics. I'm now listening to the 4th Symphony and not finding it easy. I know Shostakovich was heavily influenced by the events in the USSR while he was active which helps explain his writing. I do think the sound quality is awesome though. Made me hide behind the chair at the beginning.
I have the EMI France version. Amazon lists this as Abbey Road remasterings but I read that they were actually sourced from the Japanese HQCD. In any event, the best CD version that I’ve heard and still available. Avoid the mid 8os “Das Lied” which is possibly the brightest CD ever produced.
Have you heard his first violin concerto? That's what got me into him some time ago. Of the many recordings i've heard of it, i suggest the recent Alina Ibragimova one released by Hyperion, for it includes not only the best perfomance in modern sound of the first concerto, but also the best perfomance of all time of the second one (IMHO). Shostakovich: Violin Concertos I also suggest his two cello concertos performed by Heinrich Schiff on Philips. After that, his complete string quartets by the "Alexander String Quartet" on Foghorn. Then it would be nice to get a full cycle of his symphonies. Recently, i'm particularly fond of the Michael Sanderling cylce with the Dresden Philharmonic on Sony. The perfomance is obviously top-notch, but beyong that, it's one of the only cycles i can listen to with headphones, for the brass and percussion was very well recorded. So many of the well-regarded recordings of Shostakovich's symphonies hurt my ears! Cheers. PS: Here's a very good review of the Sanderling cycle: Shostakovich Symphonies SONY CLASSICAL 19075872462 [MC] Classical Music Reviews: August 2019 - MusicWeb-International
One thing is certain when it comes to the “classical” music category-endless composers seemingly to explore. A friend of mine has been focused on many Scandinavian composers of whom there are many( most of whom I have not yet heard).
Yes. I sympathize with that feeling. I think in order, perhaps, to fully appreciate his music one has to understand( as much as one could) the experiences of the composer trying to survive in the USSR during the Stalin years and the siege of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War coupled with one’s natural sense of empathy for the best parts of one’s native home country of birth and heritage.
I see a lot of people who seems to disregard 20th century classical composers because they think their compositions would be experimental, avant-garde or dodecaphonic, when in fact so many of these composers where neo-romantic, neo-classical, sometimes even neo-baroque! And when they weren't "neo" something, they were just making extremely lyrical, melodical and digestible 20th century classical music.
A question for everyone: do you guys mind when a classical album mix more than one composer together, or you (like myself) tend to prefer albums that focus on just a single composer? I never met someone bothered by that, but i most cetainly am. Sure, some couplings make sense and today are considered almost "canonical" (Grieg/Schumann piano concertos?), but even so, i'd prefer the albums focused on a single composer. And let alone when they mix composers like Beethoven and Shostakovich for example, something i find atrocious. For example: my favorite performance of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto is by Kyung-Wha Chung (coupled with the Mendelssohn one), but if i'm really in the mood for some Tchaikovsky violin concerto, i'll gravitate more around a release like the James Ehnes one, for it also includes Tchaikovsky's other two works for violin & orchestra and also his "Souvenir d'un lieu cher" for violin and piano. It makes a more coherent album experience, something that many classical music labels seem to disregard (the "album" experience, i mean).
Thanks, much appreciated. I've never got beyond the symphonies so I'll give these a listen. I do find I like Ibragimova's playing so that's a good start.
It depends. See my post above - British Tone Poems Vol. 1. If I didn't see the list of works, I might initially think they were all by the same composer. Mozart and Haydn together wouldn't bother me. Vivaldi and William Schuman would be strange.
I don't completely agree. I'm happy with mixes of the same sort of thing e.g. as I posted earlier Faure and Franck violin sonatas. I often find violin concertos by Beethoven, Bruch, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky together. However has anybody ever put Beethoven and Shostakovich together.
Add to that the anxiety felt constantly by composers under that regime. "Will my music be played?", "will my music be banned?", "will I be sent to a camp?". It must have been dreadful.
Oh yes! That's pretty common. They mix Berg with Beethoven, Haydn with Schoenberg, Vivaldi with Dvorak, i mean, it's a jungle out there my friend!
You might want to try Shostakovich’s Concertos for Piano …..Also his Jazz Suite…and Ballet Suite…You will sitting in the chair and not behind it.
I've been listening to a lot of Villa-Lobos too. I don't have this piano music set by Naxos, but i have his complete bachianas set and also his complete choros set, both by BIS. His "bachianas" and his "choros" are, by far, the most important works he has ever written and i strongly recommend them (if you don't have them yet). Nothing else he did comes close to these two sets of compositions. I also have his symphonies (hit or miss, for me at least), his guitar concerto coupled with his harmonica concerto by Naxos (Recommended!), his last great work called "Floresta do Amazonas" on BIS (also recommended) and his works for solo guitar too (i have many recordings of these works). That's my Villa-Lobos collection. I'm thinking of getting the recent violin sonatas released by Naxos too, but there's many other recordings by other composers in front of the line at moment.
