Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #34)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by George P, Feb 8, 2012.

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  1. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    Such a shame he had to lose it to arthritis. :shake:
     
  2. Collector Man

    Collector Man Well-Known Member

    Gee The mere mention of those recordings brings back childhood memories of what one found, looking amongst the collected vinyl stack of musical eclectics . One has to add to such a pile,: things like Victor Borge, Anna Russell, Dudley Moore & Pete (?), The Goons, and The Swingle Singers, and then maybe ( shock-horror ) a couple of 'really deep' classical records like.... highlights from Tchaikovsky's Nurcracker or Swan Lake.:D
    Since you are much more familiar with the 'Hoffnung Festivals' than I, can I ask a question? Didn't that 'Festival': record at one stage, some hilarious piece where its dubious musical score also called for a noisy 'interfering ' vacuum clearer. To be switched on - but then later terminated by being shot with a shot gun? Or on some other recorded occasion :they let go inflated balloons to deflate and screech?
     
  3. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    & Leonora Overture #4

    I'm . . . I'm afraid I have . . .

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asYwFnm6X7I

    The Hoffnung Interplanetary Music Festivals had some wonderful moments. Dennis Brain playing Mozart of a length of garden hose seems to be everybody's favorite.
     
  4. WorldB3

    WorldB3 Forum Resident

    Location:
    On the continent.
    WP: Love this. My classical % is going up to 20% :)
    [​IMG]

    Speaking of Debussy I hope to see good remasters of the DG Debussy releases by Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli.
     
  5. john greenwood

    john greenwood Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    The Portsmouth Sinfonia's performance of the Zarathustra intro may be the funniest recording of all time. It's certainly the most painful.

    They also wreak havoc on the overture to Tommy.
     
  6. john greenwood

    john greenwood Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    That's Dudley Moore and Peter Cook, half of the group that created "Beyond the Fringe." The other two were Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennett. I've staged a number of their sketches for parties and the like. The best (for example, their Shakespeare parody, the coal miner, Moore's rhapsodic version of the Colonel Bogey theme) rank among the best of all time.

    I also used to stage readings of the Goon Show.

    I don't remember much of the Hoffnung material. But, you remind me - I need to hear Anna Russell's version of the Ring again.
     
  7. Professor, Regarding Hoffnung Music Festival Concerts:

    I purchased the 1956 concert many years ago. I found the the other two
    issues, together at a local thrift store two years ago.

    They are very funny, and full of musical surprises.

    They will make the most serious music lover, smile and LOL.

    Cheers, Long Play Fan
     
  8. Comparing the "Original" Hoffnung Music Festivals recorded in Royal Festival Hall is very hard to do.

    These were one of a kind live concerts, full of turns and surprises.

    Just listen to all three concerts.

    They are wonderful to experience.

    I first heard the 1958 concert on LP at the SD Library.

    I had no idea that one day I would have all three LPs of this series in my record collection.

    Having Sir Malcom Arnold conduct live his "A Grand Grand Festival Overture, Op 57 (1956) is a super treat for sure.

    It is so loud, funny, and fancy! Hoover must have laughed too.

    Listening to these live concerts recorded in Royal Festival Hall, puts you into a special mood.

    It makes you feel like you are seated, front row center, enjoying the concert with fellow audience members.

    You are laughing, they are laughing. Let your hair down!

    Cheers, Long Playing Fan
     
  9. RiRiIII

    RiRiIII Forum Resident

    Location:
    Athens, Greece
    Back home listening to Martha. Still under her spell:

    [​IMG]

    ...and backstage:

    [​IMG]
     
  10. WorldB3

    WorldB3 Forum Resident

    Location:
    On the continent.
    ^ sounded like a great time, thanks for sharing the reviews and photos.
     
  11. Professor Vanhooser: Time to laugh and let your hair down!

    More Sir Malcolm Arnold

    Malcolm Arnold Overtures

    BBC Philharmonic

    Rumon Gamba

    Chandos CHAN 10293 (BBC Radio 3) (24-bit Recording)

    Recording Producer: Ralph Couzens
    Sound Engineer: Stephen Rinker
    Editor: Jonathan Cooper
    Recording Venu: Studio 7, New Broadcasting House, Manchester; 20-22 January 2004
    CD Release: 2005

    Front Cover: "Vacuum Quartet in A Flat (The Hoover)" drawing by Gerard Hoffnung (1925-1959)

    Review: Outstanding performance and recording by all the above!
     

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  12. drh

    drh Talking Machine

    And now we're in the home stretch--about seven hours to go. A discussion is underway there about how to proceed with the next thread; feel free to join in even if you don't want to participate in the current one. :wave:

    http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?p=7505132
     
  13. yasujiro

    yasujiro Senior Member

    Location:
    tokyo
    Sir Malcolm was certainly a great composer.
    His RR recording of his overtures should not be missed.

    http://goo.gl/9sYmX
     
  14. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    This arrived tonight:

    [​IMG]

    A 4 CD set of the complete recordings of Vladimir de Pachmann on the Marston label.

    More info here.
     
  15. OE3

    OE3 Senior Member

    Gotta get that!! :thumbsup:
     
  16. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    So far disc one has some magical moments, amongst ones that are not so special.

    I wonder if I can get rid of my two arbiter CDs by the pianist now? I prefer the slightly more rolled off top end in Ward's transfers.
     
  17. Tangledupinblue

    Tangledupinblue Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Looks fascinating. What's the sound quality like for the stuff recorded pre-1920s?
     
  18. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    I listened to the earliest stuff tonight, 1908-1912. Some surface noise, but not excessive. Sounded damn good considering that this stuff is over a 100 years old.
     
  19. OE3

    OE3 Senior Member

    Bozo de Pachmann

    I have those CD's, and the old Pearl LP, too.

    Gramophone review by the always salty (and incisive) Lionel Salter, January 1971 edition:
     

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  20. Graphyfotoz

    Graphyfotoz Forum Classaholic

    Location:
    South-Central NY
    I was wondering also how the quality is.
    Till you mentioned Vladimir de Pachmann I had never heard of Him. :shrug:

    Looks very tempting......

    Found this on Spotify and giving a listen.
    I'm not liking the quality much.....pretty hissy...Marston must be better!

    [​IMG]
     
  21. Graphyfotoz

    Graphyfotoz Forum Classaholic

    Location:
    South-Central NY
    I believe these to be modern recordings but it sounds quite nice!!

    [​IMG]
     
  22. ShallowMemory

    ShallowMemory Classical Princess

    Location:
    GB
    Sibelius: Lemminkainen Legends op.22, The Bard and 1 other I can't remember performed by the Scottish National Orchestra cond. Sir Alexander Gibson.
    Recorded in 1978 on Chandros' Collect series it remains an outstanding version.
     
  23. Outstanding Artist, Performance and LP Recording !

    The Artistry of Diane Bish

    Side One:

    Trumpet Tune and Air (04:28) Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

    Magnificat I "My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord" (03:35) Marcel Durpre (1886-1971)

    Symphony No.5, Op. 42, No. 5 (09:58) Charles Marie Widor (1844-1937)

    Side Two:

    Carillon De Westminster (06:32) Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

    Three Noels (02:17) Jean F. Dandrieu (1682-1738) & Claude Louis Daquin (1694-1772)

    Rigaudon (03:17) Andre Campra (1660-1744)

    "Thou Art The Rock" (from the Byzantine Sketches) (04:05) Henry Mulet (1878-1967)

    Suncoast Concert Productions & Joy Productions SC J 771
    Clearwater, Florida,USA

    Review: Outstanding "Audiophile Reference" LP recording! with "extreme wide dynamic range, from the softest ppp to the most tremendous fff.

    Purchased at local thrift store for only $1.00. Top notch condition, very quiet groove, zero distortion, brilliant powerful, and warm sound.
    The recording Engineers did a magnificent job. Took the dust off my Mirage M1 main speakers! Hope you can read the accompanying text. Notice the "signature" on the album.
     

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  24. vanhooserd

    vanhooserd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    EMI Angel SD-37896,released in 1982.recorded in Abbey Road Studio No.1,
    11/12/81.producer:John Fraser.engineer:Neville Boyling.pleasant music making
    with Menuhin as both violinist & conductor (or "director" as he's listed on the
    back cover.) Menuhin was 65 at the time of this recording & Jin Li only 12.
    Menuhin first recorded at Abbey Road not long after it opened in 1931,at
    age 15.
     

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  25. drh

    drh Talking Machine

    By a mistaken keystroke I just somehow managed to obliterate a long disquisition on the perils of these so-called "reproducing piano" recordings :realmad:, but suffice it to say that they must be approached with great caution. Unless (or, perhaps, "even when") all the stars are in perfect alignment, these things generally do not give a reliable picture of how the artist actually performed. In a nutshell, old records have their problems (limited recording technology, surface noise), but for the most part the flaws are fairly self-evident and, to the extent corrections are possible, can be addressed in a straightforward way. The flaws with reproducing piano playback, on the other hand, are generally hidden, meaning that the things give misleading results with no immediately discernible hint that they are doing so. Probably the greatest issue: a record played back at the wrong speed yields the wrong pitch; a piano roll played back at the wrong speed leaves pitch unaffected and simply sounds like faster or slower tempo choice. Getting the speed of a roll right is no simple matter; the adjustments must be made with skills and equipment that are no longer commonly available, and the mechanisms did NOT incorporate a capstan drive like that of a tape deck, meaning the surface speed of the roll was not constant but depended at any given moment on the amount that was left on the feed roll vs. the amount that had spooled onto the takeup roll. So in short: when you see a record claiming that rolls can lead you to the Promised Land of The Golden Age Pianists in Glorious, Modern High Fidelity Sound, beware!
     
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