Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #40)

Continued from here

Welcome!

This thread (and the 39 that have preceded it) is for all things that relate to Classical Music. Feel free to post what you're listening to, recordings you recommend, recent classical purchases, classical concerts, discuss classical works, classical composers, classical performers, etc.

Beginners are especially welcome. Feel free to post any questions that you may have about classical music and/or classical recordings. This includes requests for recommendations for recordings of particular works/composers, etc. We have lots of friendly, respectful and knowledgeable members who will be glad to help you out.

And as always, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all of the regulars (you know who you are) that continue to make this thread an enjoyable, civilized and informative experience! You guys are still the best!

 

I am just reposting my last post from the previous thread


The Ashkenazy LP was recorded in Feb 1982/Oct 1983, and it has concertos No 25 and 26 'coronation'.
The Previn LP was recorded in April 1984 in Sofiensaal Wien, with the Wiener Philharmoniker. It contains concertos no17 and no 24.
Since these are digital recordings there is no doubt that they must be available on cd, maybe with different work configurations and/or covers.

 

40! Not bad.

 

I will repeat my question from the previous thread:

I have a set of Mozart's complete piano concertos by Ashkenazy/Philharmonia Orch. (10 discs), but I have listened to very little from it, since I don't know where to start. I'm not much of a Mozart fan anyway, but I would like to give these a try.

What are considered his "best" piano concertos? Which ones do you guys like?

I'll be offline for a while now, but will read any recommendations later and listen to some of them.

 

My favorites are 24, 17, 21, 23, 25, I guess in that order although it's hard to choose.

 

Thanks.

 

To me, it's not just that EMI continues to recycle through their most popular recordings with each new remaster series, it's that their mastering philosophy is such that having a SACD of Richter playing Dvorak and Schumann seems a bit pointless. If they continue to master using excessive noise reduction, then having those extra bits that SACDs afford won't help the piano to sound any less muffled. It's the mastering that matters most, right?

That explains your avatar.

Wow, this is very good news! (that sounds like Tom Deacon's writing style, am I correct?)

When you say alternate recording, which one is that? The complete Rachmaninoff on RCA has two performances, one from 1924 and one from 1929. The Biddulph and the Naxos each have performances from 1929, so I suspect the complete Rachmaninoff doesn't have the alternates, after all?

Yes, a SACD of a poor mastering is still a poor mastering.

I agree.

This is on youtube as well (I have not seen it yet, but thanks for the reminder, Sean):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzQO9G_zSz0 - part one

http://youtu.be/RP-1A5zw7KA - part two

I adore his Rachmaninoff preludes (original mastering) and his Scriabin two-fer of the solo works.

I'd say about nos 18-27 are the "best" ones. Number 20 being the best of all. If you are not a big Mozart fan, you may like 20, especially played by someone like Serkin/Szell. It's has a more Beethovian vibe to it than any of the others.

 

Speaking of Mozart concertos, spinning another recent find from the Princeton Record Exchange. There's nothing like Mozart in the morning:

 

IMO the best place to start is with No. 9 in E-flat major, K.271, "Jeunehomme" (though Wikipedia's article claims the more appropriate appellation is "Jenamy"). It represents a burst into maturity and remains one of Mozart's greatest concertos.

Nos. 20-27 are probably the most frequently programmed in concerts. But many of the other earlier concertos are really worthwhile for the listener and not just of historical interest. Pollini has made two recent concerto recordings which include nos. 12 and 17 and those discs are really outstanding.

 

I have a very nice LP where Landowska plays Mozart Sonatas 4 and 9, nicely recorded in glorious mono in her Lakeville, Connecticut home in 1956.

 

Nice! My CD uses performances of Nos 12 and 17 from January 1938, also a pre-war recording of the D Minor Fantasy. Boy do I love that piece!

 

Yes. Naxos and RCA have the original takes while the Biddulph one has the alternates. I refer to the 1929 recording.

Acc. to the inkpot list posted above:

"Piano Concerto Nos. 2* and 3.

SERGEI RACHMANINOV* piano
The Philadelphia Orchestra* conducted by Leopold Stokowski* Vladimir Horowitz piano London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Albert Coates

BIDDULPH LHW 036
[65:10] full-price. Piano Concerto No. 2 [31:13] recorded 1929. (This release: September 1997.) MONO.

For any serious collector of Sergei Rachmaninov's performances, as well as those interested on an artist's second thoughts about a piece of music, this disc is extremely valuable. Mark Obert-Thorn, who supervised the sound restoration for this disc as well as the Naxos Historical set of Rachmaninov playing his concertos , explains in his notes that it was standard practice at RCA Victor to record each 78 RPM side of a recording two or three times, with one take approved for issue and a second placed on indefinite hold. However, during World War II, Victor replaced the worn-out approved takes of many of their more popular recordings with alternate takes.

With Rachmaninov's performance of the Second Concerto, Victor replaced nine of the 10 sides. Only the original opening of the adagio was retained because no other take of that side had survived. Sometime between these substitutions and the first LP issue in 1952, the original artist's file session sheet was replaced with one that implied that the substitute takes were the ones chosen for mastering. RCA did not reissue the original takes until 1988 in its 10-CD issue of "The Complete Rachmaninov" (even though the booklet for that set erroneously lists them as alternate takes).

The alternate and original takes are similar in general approach. However, numerous details arise that accrue to a substantially different performance - not really better than the approved takes, but with altered weights and measures - more impetuous in some spots and looser in others. Playing this disc and the Naxos side by side, I was amazed how the changes added up. Since Rachmaninov re-recorded very little of his music, this disc becomes a doubly-fascinating document, as well as a rare glimpse into the composer's mind"

Also Thorn himself from the rmcr:

"It was the LP version of the 2nd Concerto that was taken from alternate takes. I made a transfer from the alternates that were substituted c.1943 in the 78 rpm album M/DM-58 for Biddulph LHW 036. I also transferred the originally-issued takes for Naxos 8.110601.

Mark Obert-Thorn"

 

Thanks!

I am going to keep an eye out for that Biddulph CD, then.

 

Just ordered it from amazon.uk marketplace...

 

Which seller? I may order one too!

 

www.amazon.co.uk/shops/worldcollectabilia

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000001ZFQ/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

The Amazon.com offers are more expensive.

http://www.amazon.com/Piano-Concert...TF8&qid=1346510608&sr=8-1&keywords=B000001ZFQ

 

This Delius work is great, hadn't heard it before! Benno was way more extroverted playing live, so this CD is a treat!

 

That *other* man K

from the previous thread:

He not only recorded Hovhanness, he commissioned at least the whales piece. A good bit more besides, I think, from a variety of important composers of the day. Kostelanetz, I gather, was actually quite a serious and accomplished musician--but he also had a good grasp of where the money was. Not the first to fit that description; the same could be said of John McCormack. I agree that the overwhelming bulk of what Kostelanetz recorded, or at least what turns up regularly, was absolute dreck. A collector buddy of mine and I used to laugh ruefully about how every box of 78 albums at every flea market or garage sale or estate sale would without fail always contain a copy of "Kostelanetz Conducts Johann Strauss Waltzes" or "Kostelanetz Conducts Victor Herbert Favorites" or both--and that those sets were always in great shape, whereas the interesting ones would always have a broken record.... The corrollary: If an album was labeled "The Complete Zonophone Recordings of Enrico Caruso," count on it, somebody would have replaced all the records with "Kostelanetz Conducts Victor Herbert Favorites." If the album was labeled "Kostelanetz Conducts Victor Herbert Favorites," however, it always contained precisely that.

 

Thanks, I have noticed that some sellers don't remove their stuff from the list right away when I buy from them, so I didn't want to to buy a copy that later turned out to be yours.

Just checked the cheapest copy and it would be $30 shipped to the USA. How much was yours?

I already have the other work on the CD in fine transfer (Andante) and two masterings of the original recording, so I am going to add this to my wishlist and wait to find in the bins someday. Or until Naxos reissues it.

 

Again from the earlier thread:

I've mentioned this before, but I'll repeat: While I'm generally not Periaha's greatest fan, I will make an exception for him as a Bach pianist; I've really liked what I've heard (all on radio). For whatever reason, Bach seems to bring out the best in him--to the point that I've finally almost forgiven him for what he and Radu Lupu did to the Schubert Fantasy.

 

My seller is worldcollectabilia.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aag/main...etplaceID=A1F83G8C2ARO7P&seller=AJXVS2O2LU268

I think he already removed it from his offerings.

I have the Horowitz/Coates 3rd cto in the Appian set of Horowitz EMI recs and the Naxos release. It is also in the recent SONY/BMG box.

Good luck in the bins

 

Yes and many of them are the same sellers!! Such greed.

What did your copy cost you?

I find Biddulphs all the time for $5.99 to about $10 in the bins.

 

Items: £14.95
Postage & Packing: £1.82
------
Order Total: £16.77


Delivery estimate: 8 Sep 2012 - 18 Sep 2012
1 "Rachmaninov - Piano Concertos Nos 2 and 3"
London Symphony Orchestra; Audio CD; £14.95
In stock
Sold by: worldcollectabilia

 

Thanks, I was not aware that he had commissioned works from Hovhannes, very useful information!

 

Yet more catch-up from the previous thread:

Have a happy one!

I agree: I've yet to dispose of a record that I didn't end up regretting it. Even the 78 of Iranian pop love songs....

I don't have the discs in front of me, but I think the Gilels tracks date to 1957. You might want to check that NHK series out; in trying to track that date down for you second-hand on the Web, I spotted this, for example, that seems likely to be of interest:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Piano-Conce...=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1346513142&sr=1-1