Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #21)

The SQ is outstanding, but the price is not for the weak hearted.
It's a double SACD set and goes for around $100 in the US, I still have to find a special deal on these discs anywhere.

It contains: TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONIES NOS. 4-6, on 2SACDs

 

IMHO comparisons to the best would include the Richter, as well as:
Kapell/Steinberg (1950) (my favorite)
Richter/Wislocki (1959)
Janis/Dorati (1960)
Cliburn/Reiner (1962)
as well as those considered to be the modern Russian standard-bearers:
Berezovsky/Liss (2005)
Lugansky/Oramo (2005)

All of these recordings, save Richter's, were made by artists fairly young at the time, though I think none so young as Ms. Wang is now! By the way, I just looked her up on Wikipedia, and it appears her birthday is this week. Scott, have you decided yet what you will be doing for it?

 

Then it's well worth finding a way to get there, at least a couple of times a year. When I said 1000's of Cds, I forgot to mention that they have 1000's of $1.99 to $4.99 Classical CDs (I have found a number of rare CDs in these bins) and somewhat less regular priced ($6.99 or so) classical CDs as well.

They play good music too. I discovered Procol Harum there a few years back. They were playing the first album when I was in there and I asked the guy what it was. They have since became one of my favorite bands.

Here's a link to a video tour of PREX: Part One and Part 2

 

This is a classic ...

 

I plan to hear this soon. Just waiting for the time to be right. I agree about the Janis/Dorati and the coupled Rach 3 is one of the very best of that work IMO.

 

I have the twofer on DG but regular pressing ...

 

I don't have the original, if I find it somewhere I might pick it up to do a little comparison.

 

These special pressing SACD's are inherently picey. The question is whether the SQ you hear is about the next best thing other than being at the recording session ...

 

Now playing this CD, which arrived early last week for a first listen ...

 

... it's at least what I keep telling myself. The packaging is as well very nicely done.

My wife popped into the music room while I was playing it and listened for a while, she usually doesn't do that often and even commented on the fantastic sound. I will take it as a license to buy more of them.

 

For these Esoteric pressing SACD's, I wonder if people are expected to play them on the Esoteric brand SACD players to reap the full benefits?

 

I'm pretty sure that's what Esoteric would want you to do.

 

1, 2, 3, 4 . . . Nobody Loves Koussevitzky . . .

You know—If I had the sheckels, I'd buy that. Awesome performances. My Record-club Italian DGG pressings are not all that sonically, with spots of overload pressed into the vinyl. A good high-rez digital remaster of the tape ought to do the music more justice than a mangy record-club copy found in a used LP bin.

Even if they were only available in low-grade aircheck quality sound, these performances would still be the best.

 

Tchaikovsky's last three by Mravinsky: another "you're going to LOVE this" that underwhelmed me (CD version). I liked Bernstein's on DG instead.

 

I have Bernstein's Tchaikovsky 5th on DG with the NYPO and also the much older Sony set he recorded with the NYPO during the golden era of NYPO when he was still its conductor ...

I still am not sure if the Mravinsky's set is really better than the Karajan's set ...

 

Now playing this SACD on my big rig for a first listen ...

 

Now playing....

Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 20 K466
Piano Concerto No. 12 K414
Rudolf Serkin, piano
London Symphony Orchestra
Claudio Abbado
1982

The profound No. 20 -- best of all Mozart's PCs imo -- coupled with the extrordinary No. 12.
(Serkin's humming, grunting and heavy breathing is tolerable, certainly not as annoying as Gould.)

 

Exceptionally subtle rendition!

 

gratia plena

I interviewed Peter Philips for my radio show on KPFA. I asked him an odd question and he gave me a very clear answer.

"The Burning Times" were on my mind back in the early ninties. There was an outpouring of fantastic polyphonic choral settings simultaneous with the Inquisition and its attendant atrocities. I had the opportunity to talk with a number of choral directors about their feelings towards the religious elements of the music of these Masses, motets and polyphonic odes to Mary. Mr Philips told me that his efforts were entirely musical, that his concern was focused on finding original manuscripts of the music, creating performing editions and overseeing the music's first modrern performance and audio recording. The other elements didn't concern him in the least. As far as he was concerned, it was all about the music and keeping alive a musical tradition that otherwise would be lost.

I've wondered how a performer could get through the slow movement of Beethoven's Fifteenth Quartet without breaking down emotionally. Playing a little music with others has demonstrated to me that keeping up with the bar lines and the changes takes up a lot of the headspace that might have been more attendant to feelings and emotions. I love those Tallis Scholars recordings, must have heard them all, one time or another. But even more, I'm impressed at how the Tallis Scholars have opened up so much great music for others to perform. Somewhere, in the midst of all that, is something one might call grace.

 

You know, a young music student could write a term paper discussing the various cadenzas written and recorded for the Mozart PC 20.

 

Now playing this SACD, another recent arrival from across the pond for a first listen ...

 

I saw nice chamber music concert there several years ago. Nice smallish venue. I sat in the second row.

 

That's it.

 

Now playing...

Radu Lupu
Complete Decca Solo Recordings
Lupu, piano

CD4 - Brahms II
Two Rhapsodies, op.79
Three Intermezzos, op.117
Six Piano Pieces, op.118
Four Piano Pieces, op.119

I'll get through this box someday.....

 

Seems like between the Janis/Dorati. Cliburn/Reiner,Ashkenazi/Previn and the Richter I should be reasonably well covered and well versed on how well the material can be played. Nothing wrong with setting the bar as high as possible to judge the Yuja Wang/ Claudio Abado effort given my impression of her perfomance of this piece live.

Same thing Yuja will be doing. Working