Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #16)

My experience is that there was a sonic golden age in the late fifties through the early sixties in classical music, enshrined with loving care on the RCA Living Stereo and Mercury Living Presence SACDs but that certain smaller labels did stellar work in all eras. In any case, the mastering issues in Pop music are for the most part mercifully absent in Classical music. I'd point to Jordi Savall's recordings on AliaVox or Harmonia Mundi's generally high production standards in sound reproduction as good places to start looking for really good sounding recordings..

 

My first exposure to Mahler:



Sorry for the small image size. It is this set.

Has anyone heard the Chailly set, and how does it compare to other better known ones?

Complete classical rookie here!

 

I've got his Third and Ninth on SACDs, they have just about the best orchestral of any recording I've heard. I'd say Chailly's Ninth is my favorite right now.

 

Welcome (back) to the genre! Can you offer any guidance on what you've liked so far? That might give the rest of us some ideas for suggestions. Note that only rarely are the most satisfying classical performances found in the best possible recorded sound.

 

Is anyone familiar with the all new and improved Brilliant Classics Bach set? Exactly what is different from the first set? Is it a definite recommendation to buy?

 

One of my favorite CDs that I want to relisten after so many years! Thanks for bringing it up.

Enjoy your concert. Who plays?

 

A big success, of course not total as always with complete cycles:

M1: average
M2: slow/epic. Very Good
M3: one of the best ever
M4: average
M5: magnificent
M6: good but should have been done by Chailly later in his Concertgebouw tenure
M7: Very good (it is in my heart since they played it in Athens below Acropolis back in 1994)
M8: Great!
M9: one of the best ever
M10: one of the best ever

Anf features the greatest orchestra of them all!

Enjoy!

 

Welcome to the Dark Side!
Actually I'm a reformed Heavy Metal/Rock lover.(Late 1970's-1980's)
When I met my Wife at around age 22 I guess my frontal lobe was starting to develop.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124119468

I have evolved from the destructive phase of my life to just wanting to relax.

Anyway turns out Her Dad was a High School Music Teacher for several years and a Classical Music lover.
Thus prompted me to investigate this uncharted territory at the time.
The rest is history....been pretty much hooked ever since.
I hooked up with an older friend who is a avid Classical Lover and He also spurred on my growth in Classical.
In later years I also found a liking for New Age /Neo Classical.
Dead Can Dance....Enya....Clannad...Pete Bardens....Amin Bhatia and Patrick Moraz....ect ect
I still enjoy some Judas Priest...Rush....Pink Floyd....Scorpions...Black Sabbath now and then.
But nothing can curb my love for more..."refined" music!
24 years later....It is soooo nice to just sit back after or during a stressful day and enjoy a good Classical CD!

As for Re-Mastering of Classical Music.....
Like was said the RCA SACD's are done in a very tasteful manner.
There ARE certain Recording labels that tend to spur the best recordings.
Deutsche Grammphone......BIS....Harmonia Mundi are excellent choices.
There are newer Labels coming out of the wood work these days that are execellent.
Keep coming around here and reading this forum to learn more about these.

 

Last night's listening follies. The von Schillings Schumann Manfred is split across three sides, with the fourth given over to a rarity, an Entracte from the same incidental music. Von Schillings certainly is not in the Toscanini/Furtwangler league of conductors, but he does manage effective accounts.

The Lili Kraus was a reminder of just how much her ordeal during the war changed her. Fine as her post-war recordings are, she really worked magic in those earlier ones. Note that op. 142-3 takes 3 sides, and op. 90-2 is the filler on side 4.

 

Improved in what sense? A few more CD's over the original 155? I have that set and found the performances somewhat uneven. I probably did not need the set since I already have at least a dozen of St Matthew Passion's and some thirty versions of the Brandenburg Concertos. There are few Bach works that I do not have multiple versions. IMO, the BC Bach set is not bad for someone who just wants to have a comprehensive exposure to the immortal works of JS Bach ...

 

Now playing CD1 from this set for a first listen. This set has become almost impossible to find stateside but I picked it up at Presto at a great price ...

 

Brilliant Classics has a 100 disc "Masterworks" set that is very reasonably priced at a little over $100. I wonder is this is a good investment just to gain some broad exposure while exploring various composers.

 

Superb pair of CD's....I might have to find all 16 (I think) BIS Baroque series CD's. The Locatelli is full of energy and good vibes!!!

 

That should be an excellent way to get started. When I was in college back in the mid to late 70's, I bought those LP's titled 101 greatest tunes in classical music to get started in classical music. I now have over 8000 classical recordings spanning the Middle Age to early 20th century. At least you do not have to spin the vinyl ...

 

Thanks, I figure at that price I can't really go wrong at $1 per disc. Brilliant Classics seems to have a better reputation than some of the other budget priced sets.

 

BC box also has better known performing artists ...

 

Robin, have you heard the Boulez 9th on DG? IMO, transparency of his orchestral lines is stunning. Chicago Symphony sets very high standard here.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I've been listening to more of the Brobdingnagian orchestrations of the late 19th/early 20th century as of late. The transparency of the Chially SACD is also extraordinary, but I'll bet anything that Boulez is considerably faster. Now that my stereo's up to snuff, think I'll get those used CDs over at Rasputin's. What do you think of the Boulez Sixth on DGG?

 

For its price + completeness factor alone I would say yes, it's a definite recommendation. Personally, I scored the previous (overall second) "blue" 155CD edition almost new at eBay for $75 shipped, can I hesitate?

The newest edition seems to add a couple of CDs and some DVD program, but the core of the set should be the same. Still, there could be some minor replacements here and there, so you can dig the web for more specific info.

 

Now playing CD8 - more works by Schubert from this set for a first listen ...

 

I paid over $130 for the blue box version a few years ago ...

 

You would be hard pressed to find a better cycle. Bernstein’s 2 cycles are also superb. I generally agree with RiRiIII’s comments above about the individual symphonies from this set.

If you can wait until November, the "Mahler - The People’s Edition" set on DG will probably be the best "cycle" I’ve ever seen assembled, IMHO.


1. Kubelik, BRSO (P)1968
2. Mehta, WP (P)1975
3. Abbado, BP (P)1999
4. Karajan, BP (P)1979
5. Bernstein, WP (P)1988
6. Bernstein, WP (P)1989
7. Abbado, BP (P)2002
8. Solti, CSO (P)1972
9. Giulini, CSO (P)1977
10. Chailly, RSO Berlin (P)1988

 

There was a cheating factor involved in my purchase and a funny one: the seller was kinda dishonest, because he listed the set as "Like new" but didn't mention that the box had a split on the back (virtually invisible) and there was one misplaced CD (i.e. I got a duplicate and didn't get one CD at all; it was a common problem with some of the bigger BC boxes). The first problem was easily repairable, the second - too, I contacted BC customer service immediately and got the correct CD in 2 weeks for free. So, it was me, who won in the end, despite the cheating on the seller's part.

 

The set features some excellent soloists like Ruth Holton who has sung with John Eliot Gardiner in a few of the Bach Cantatas ...

 

Haven't listened to that one yet, but I'll fix it one day. My choice was mostly between the LSO/Gergiev and the Atlanta/Levi, and the latter won at the time due to a bit more polished playing, although the Gergiev has a bit more "bite".

Currently I sentenced myself to very exhaustive diet - owning only 1 recording of each Mahler's work. But it's not forever, since he's become one of my Top 5 composers and the one who definitely demands as many different interpretive angles as possible.