Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #27)

Thanks for that, George. I guess I've got the good stuff.

I never understood why people seemed to hate Tom Deacon at rmcr. I never really hung out there that much, but he seemed to have interesting enough things to say, but that Tepper just gave him such **** all the time. I don't hate Tepper, but what a pain he was on the topic of TD.

Back to Arrau's Beethoven, are the individual CDs I currently see on Amazon from the last, digital cycle?

 

Do you have a link?

I doubt that the stuff from the digital cycle was released separately.

 

Wow, you have good ears. I put on the headphones (not very good ones, mind you) and listened to it on my computer. It's a lossless, accurately ripped file (as confirmed by AccurateRip, confidence level 10, so we can be very confident it is a perfect rip), and I heard some very faint clicking. Actually a bit louder at :33 than :23 perhaps. I don't think I would have noticed without having it addressed to me. Also it seems (can't say this too confidently) it is in the left channel only. It doesn't sound like fingernails to me. What could it be?

 

Great stuff! Nice evening listening.

 

Here are some from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Pia...r_1_17?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1312363389&sr=1-17

http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Piano-Sonatas-3-8/dp/B00000E3IC/ref=pd_sim_m_1

http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Pia...r_1_28?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1312363490&sr=1-28

As I look at them again, I notice they all say "Digital Classics" in the red bar at the top, so I guess they're not part of the 1998 box set under discussion.

 

Yeah, the Digital set was issued piecemeal as it was recorded. I recall hearing a late, digital recording of the Diabelli Variations, was rather good and better than what I heard from the sonata remakes. I recall that the analog Philips recordings of the "Late" sonatas appeared on a Philips Duo package and the big three named sonatas appeared on a budget Philips reissue as well.

 

Correct. I own the latter release and have seen the former one around.

 

Spinning this for the first time and as with all of his recordings it is first rate. MAH must be considered in the running for one of the best pianists alive today.

 

I ordered these today. I thought I didn't like this music twenty years ago, and sold the Kempff box set after inheriting it as part of a large collection. Then I found Paul Lewis and Andras Schiff in 2005, and I've come to appreciate the greatness of this music. I can listen to it for hours, even days, on end now. I listened to the Brendel on Spotify on Sunday and Monday and really loved it.

Bronth, the Brendel box set is from the same series as the Brendel Schubert. It cost just under $35. 12 CDs.

 

Dare I ask how much you paid for the Kempff? It was reissued (in better sound) in a budget box a few years back and is still very cheap, under $26 new: http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Com...J3QS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312387018&sr=8-1

 

I have this Kempff box...

 

That's the one with the preferred mastering that was released in the budget box.

BTW, you guys heard Khatia Buniatishvili yet?



Here's an interesting interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK18Ur1rJZ4

Watch her play here at Verbier for the next 6 days: http://www.classical-music.com/verbier2011

She's got a CD out (she discusses it in the above interview.) Has anyone heard it?



amazon link

 

Not familiar with her work. I am interested to read some reviews.

 

I am listening to that Verbier recital right now. The Liszt Sonata in b minor is playing and the room is shaking.

 

$25, "very good" on eBay.

I read somewhere (here?) that the s.q. on many of the cheaper DG box sets was worse because they tried to create some kind of multi-channel effect in which, if you don't have 5.1, the sound sucks. The Sinopoli Mahler below is the one I'm mainly talking about, but I was under the impression that anything with this cover design had the faux m-c processing.

Of course, the Kempff set you've shown me does not have this cover design. I guess I'm a little leery about anything new. Oh, well, if I dislike the vintage version, I'll resell it and buy the newer one.

Thanks, George.

Too many versions.

 

Yeah, it's that Eloquence series that has that futzed-up sound. And to make matters more confusing, not all of the stuff in that series suffers the same sound issues that you mention.

No problem, Jay.

 

Jay, I indeed may consider the Brendel LvB for future purchase (some European Marketplace sellers have it for cheap too). Brendel was the man who hooked me with his Choral Fantasy (I discovered LvB through this piece, among several others), so I have very fond memories regarding his Beethoven.

 

With your help, guys, I decided to stay away from those AMSI box sets, despite their low prices. So, I ended up bying the standard 2CD set with Sinopoli's M8 & M10 ($8 new shipped) and decided that I actually hardly need complete sets when I can find separate creme-de-la-creme discs with better sound for cheap too.

 

I used to have the Kempff stereo CD box. It sounded like a fairly "straight" transfer of the originals. Where the mono set has beautiful imaging in addition to beautiful everything else, the original sounds like it was mixed by Stockhausen. The image is curiously disembodied, some of the left-hand action images right and vice-versa. My understanding is that there is a later re-mix in one of the boxes from DG's complete Beethoven series, mid-2000's. That remix is supposed to sound much more natural than the original LPs and CDs.

I'd say that there's a lot that's really worthwhile in the second set, but overall I like the sound of the mono LPs so much, I really don't need the later remakes. I still have a few on Tulip labeled LPs.

 

I was staring at this CD cover a couple months ago... and couldn't decide for whatever's sake I want to buy it.

 

You mean the stereo one, right?

Yes, and it was the one included in the current budget issue of the stereo set.

I think each set has it's strengths and never really saw the reason why most people prefer the mono set, to be honest.

 

It's got a DVD....

 

Isn't that a great M8? I think it's my favorite non-Bernstein version.