Renaud Capucon Gautier Capucon Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester Myung-whun Chung, conductor Brahms: Double Concerto for Violin, Cello & Orchestra; Clarinet Quintet. Virgin Classics, 2007 Wonderful playing on this disc which includes Brahms last symphonic composition. The recorded sound is very good, especially compared with some of the Virgin Classics nineties British recordings. I have the Virgin Classics label, not the later Erato. Paul Meyer is an excellent clarinetist in the Quintet.
Ahh, I get it. I'll have to check out the orchestral works on that set even though I'm not a huge fan of HVK.
Another excellent Dvorak Cello Concerto along with the Lalo Cello Concerto. Johannes Moser PKF-Prague Philharmonia Jakub Hrusa Pentatone, 2015 SACD/CD
Eldbjorg Hemsing, violin Antwerp Symphony Orchestra Alan Buribayev, conductor Dvorak: Violin Concerto Suk: Fantasy & Love Song Bis, 2018 SACD/CD A very fine violinist provides an excellent interpretation of the Dvorak Violin Concerto. The Suk pieces are also wonderful
I enjoyed this version of Aranjuez. Thibaut Garcia, guitar Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse Ben Glassberg Erato, 2020 Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez La Maza: Sacrificio Tansman: Musique de cour De Visee: Suite in A minor
One of my very favourite pieces of music is Schubert's piano sonata in B-flat D960. I have at least eight versions including this one by the great Artur Rubenstein. However this would not figure in my favourite versions. Excellent piano playing as you'd expect but, to me, it doesn't demonstrate the emotions Schubert must have felt as he wrote this. One can only imagine but, by all accounts, he knew he was only weeks from death and must have felt despair, sorrow, anger and maybe even resignation. If I could only keep two, and surely everyone needs two copies of this masterpiece, they would be those of Sviatoslav Richter and Khatia Buniatishvili. I know KB's version is much maligned but for me it is the most emotionally touching. As regards SR; could he ever fail to move you? Edit. NB this only applies to versions I own or have listened to seriously.
Hi MM, It's funny, when I first was recommended to try some of Richter's recordings I honestly did not get what the fuss was about. But over time, certain recordings, like his Schubert, for example, pulled me in deeply. This got me to try his Beethoven, his Debussy, his Bach, his Rachmaninoff, etc. The more of his recordings I listened to, many of them live, unedited, the more I felt just as you describe above. I'll share just one favorite, short recording of his that helped opened my eyes to his artistry:
Music is my life blood although I can't play a note. However posts like yours give me hope that there is, amongst some, a serious appreciation of how important serious music is in this strange world we live in.
Coincidentally, both the Markevitch Eloquence DGG box and the Muti Warner box both have for the first disc the Cherubini Requiem. Igor Markevitch Czech Philharmonic Orchestra DGG, 1963 Riccardo Muti New Philharmonia Orchestra Warner (EMI) 1973 In my opinion, the Markevitch is the one to hear. Better, thought out dynamics for both the chorus and orchestra, better performance and better sound.
Now enjoying a third spin of this set. I continue to marvel at the beauty of the playing and the sound, especially the wide, expressive dynamic range.
Having listened to this on Qobuz I am so gobsmacked at how good it is that I'm going to purchase a copy and give all my other ( four, I think) versions to the charity shop. There is a beauty in this version and their tone that I've never felt before. I am really in awe of the Pavel Haas Quartet having a few of their CDs, mostly Dvorak and Smetana. How I've missed this I don't know. I also admit to having a penchant for Czech music and musicians. The Smetana Trio and Jiri Cechova in particular come to mind.
I finally found this set at a good price, spinning now: Bach: Brandenburg Concertos & Orchestral Suites. Masaaki Suzuki / Bach Collegium Japan. BIS
Still in awe of rediscovering vinyl after nearly 40 years, I must say discogs is a god-send. Got this for $7 mint and OMG, it's dead silent and what a gorgeous recording and rendition. As Grace Slick once wrote, "I'm so full of love, I can burst apart and start to cry" Zafu
After a long time deliberating over whether I should get this set (I already own the Anda and Perahia sets, along with a ton of individual and multiple recordings by Serkin, Casadesus, Moravec, Haskil, Annie Fischer, Solomon, Kempff, Backhaus, Richter, Rubinstein and Kraus), I decided to grab it when a reasonable copy popped up on amazon. Disc one is playing (PC 5, 6 and 8) and I am already glad I added this one to the list. Vegh's conducting is enthusiastic and the sound quality is excellent.
On second thought, the sound quality of the orchestra is excellent, but the piano lacks clarity, the imaging comes across as blurred. Anyone else hearing this?
These Taneyev pieces are well played. Neeme Jarvi Philharmonia Orchestra Chandos, 1992 Taneyev: Overture, The Oresteia (premier recording) Taneyev: Symphony No. 4
After listening to Radio 3's composer of the week, and this week it being Jean Sibelius, my curiosity was piqued. I think we all know the symphonies, the violin concerto and the tone poems but it seems there is a lot more to the man than that. I started, on Qobuz, with string quartets and the trios but I wasn't really in the mood. I then found this and I have to admit it does have a certain quality which appeals to me. I shall be giving it a few more listens.
I recall a piano class I took in college where I needed to choose a recording of Chopin's second sonata to listen to/study. It came down to Andsnes and Rubinstein and in the end, Andsnes won out. I really should check out more of his recordings. I imagine that at some point there will be a nice big box released.
Speaking of Rubinstein and Chopin. Now enjoying his first (of three) traversal of the complete Mazurkas. I have always enjoyed Rubinstein's early recordings. They are frequently more imaginative, more creative that his later recordings. Transfers are, as always, expertly done by Ward Marston. The sound is remarkably vivid, with a nice piano tone and not too much surface noise.
I have to admit to not having heard pf him till now. My excuse is there are just so many amazing musicians.
And so little time. Today I returned a 2CD set that was defective and exchanged it for this CD, which is by a composer I have never heard of before. I am an admirer of Zimerman's work, however, so it seemed like a safe bet. I won't have time to listen to it for a day or two, but I see the entire thing has been uploaded to youtube:
