Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #52)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by George P, Dec 7, 2013.

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  1. vanhooserd

    vanhooserd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    My mother regards my record collecting as "hoarding" & seldom misses a chance to tell me ( 61 years of age) her opinion. Fortunately, my wife is completely supportive even as records & CDs fill our house.
     
    Robin L and 5-String like this.
  2. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    Lucky you. My wife has asked me the question what she should do about all my CD's, LP's and tapes (cassettes and open-reels), not to mention the many audio equipments (after I have passed) ...
     
  3. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    My girlfriend will surely enjoy my CDs when I am gone. I sleep with one eye open. :D
     
  4. Mr Bass

    Mr Bass Chevelle Ma Belle

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic
    o_O

    I trust that her comment was simply a big hint that she wants you to hide them somewhere Now rather than meaning she is waiting around expectantly for your demise.:shake:
     
  5. Mr Bass

    Mr Bass Chevelle Ma Belle

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic
    Now Listening To

    Bruckner: Symphony 6. Horst Stein, VPO. UK London ffrr.

    brucknerstein.jpg
     
    kevinsinnott likes this.
  6. vanhooserd

    vanhooserd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    That's something we have started to think about.
     
  7. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    My wife and I live in a four bedroom house with 2 dachshunds and every bedroom has a stereo system (one of them is actually my study) along with the living room. There are still many audio equipments in storage. Yeah, I have been a hoarder of audio equipments as well - many vintage and a few more modern ones such as my internet tuner. :hide:
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2013
  8. Mr Bass

    Mr Bass Chevelle Ma Belle

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic
    I don't see what is strange about a stereo in every bedroom or every room for that matter (unless you are cramming mega speakers in all of them). :cool:

    As for the hoarding of audio equipment that is a little more unusual. I would sell off or donate anything I wasn't going to use but I am not a collector or hoarder at all so it's easy for me to say. If they are stored out of the way I wouldn't see what the issue is. You know she is going to sell or throw it all out when you can't physically defend it anymore. I just itemized all my stuff as an attachment to the will just so the estate has a single document with all of the info. I also tried to indicate approximate commercial value so they don't get robbed if they try to sell it.
     
  9. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    [​IMG]

    Just realized I don't have a complete set of these works. I have always loved this violinist, so the choice was a no-brainer for me, especially considering how highly this set comes recommended!
     
  10. jimsumner

    jimsumner Senior Member

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC, USA
    You made a great choice. My desert island choice for these works. Not that I don't own others. :)
     
    George P likes this.
  11. RiRiIII

    RiRiIII Forum Resident

    Location:
    Athens, Greece
    Grear choice. However, my top choice is:

    [​IMG]
     
  12. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
  13. drh

    drh Talking Machine

    There are a couple of extras outside the accepted five; their authenticity is open to question. One is K. 268 (new K. 365b). The other, K. 271a (also sometimes given as K. 271i) is actually quite attractive, if not necessarily at the "top drawer Mozart" level.
     
  14. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    Thanks, David!
     
  15. RiRiIII

    RiRiIII Forum Resident

    Location:
    Athens, Greece
    You are still awake? :confused:
     
  16. RiRiIII

    RiRiIII Forum Resident

    Location:
    Athens, Greece
    A rarity is reissued:

    [​IMG]
     
  17. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    I know, right? Can't sleep.... :sigh: watching Dr. Katz.
     
  18. RiRiIII

    RiRiIII Forum Resident

    Location:
    Athens, Greece
    "Sony Classical will release Le nozze di Figaro first in February 2014. Così fan tutte will follow in autumn 2014 and the cycle will be completed with Don Giovanni in the autumn of 2015.

    Le nozze di Figaro will be available internationally on February 17, 2014:

    on CD in a limited edition deluxe book;
    on high-resolution Blu-ray (AUDIO) http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/det...-Mozart-Die-Hochzeit-des-Figaro/hnum/3887994;
    on vinyl LP;
    and
    in all popular digital formats including Mastered for iTunes.


    http://theatre.perm.ru/en/about/news/news/show/1022
    Sony Classical announces a major new Mozart opera project with Teodor Currentzis and musicAeterna

    CONDUCTOR TEODOR CURRENTZIS, WITH HIS ORCHESTRA & CHOIR ”MUSICAETERNA”, IS MAKING A NO-COMPROMISE STUDIO RECORDING CYCLE OF MOZART’S THREE DA PONTE OPERAS

    LIVING IN A UNIQUE ARTISTIC COMMUNITY ESTABLISHED ON THE EDGE OF URAL, THESE MUSICIANS WORK AND RECORD UNDER IDEAL CONDITIONS

    CURRENTZIS’ STATED GOAL WITH THIS PROJECT IS ”TO SHOW WHAT CAN BE ACHIEVED IF YOU AVOID THE FACTORY APPROACH OF THE CLASSICAL MUSIC MAINSTREAM”

    THE RECORDINGS REPRESENT AN UNPRECEDENTED COMMITMENT BY THE ARTISTS IN TERMS OF PREPARATION, SESSION & POSTPRODUCTION TIME, QUEST FOR BEST POSSIBLE SOUND

    THE RECORDINGS EMBODY A RADICAL NEW APPROACH TO ORCHESTRAL VIRTUOSITY AS WELL AS TO SCORE FIDELITY, VOCAL STYLE AND PERFORMANCE PRACTICE

    SONY CLASSICAL TO LAUNCH THE SERIES WITH ”LE NOZZE DI FIGARO” IN FEBRUARY 2014; ”COSÌ FAN TUTTE” TO FOLLOW IN AUTUMN OF 2014 AND ”DON GIOVANNI” TO COMPLETE THE CYCLE IN AUTUMN OF 2015

    IN ADDITION TO THE CD AND ALL DIGITAL FORMATS, THE OPERAS WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE AS HIGH RESOLUTION BLU-RAY AUDIO AND ON VINYL

    Fourteen hundred kilometres east ofMoscow, in the Russian city ofPerm, the charismatic and provocative conductor Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna, the orchestra and choir he created, are recording Mozart’s Da Ponte operas. These no-compromise studio recordings are the fruit of a unique way of living and working which Currentzis has established in this remote, formerly closed city which was dedicated to arms manufacturing in Soviet times.

    In 2011, when invited to the post of Artistic Director at Perm’s opera house, Currentzis negotiated unheard-of conditions: unlimited rehearsal time; the freedom to schedule performances depending on the quality reached in rehearsals; the necessary resources to explore with his musicians anything deemed necessary for a fuller understanding of the repertoire, from Baroque dance steps to 20th-century poetry and avant-garde cinema.

    The orchestra and choir emphatically embrace a non-establishment attitude, constantly putting themselves in question and striving for perfection. As important as their musical prowess (many members are laureates of international competitions) is their willingness to undergo exceptional rigours to reach the shared artistic goals. Figaro was recorded in sessions of up to fourteen hours over eleven straight days and nights. It is an accepted part of these musicians’ daily routine to spend a whole night of work and discussion about its progress at the opera house if necessary – or to devote a full rehearsal to shaping one single chord to perfection. Currentzis has tried to create an environment for those who search for what he calls ”a real life in music.” Since the founding of MusicAeterna, Currentzis and the ensemble have been awarded 4 Golden Masks –Russia’s top performing arts award.

    Born in Athensin 1972, Teodor Currentzis moved to St. Petersburgin 1994 to study conducting with legendary teacher Ilya Musin, who has, among others, also trained Valery Gergiev and Semyon Bychkov. While music director of the Novosibirskopera from 2004, Currentzis founded MusicAeterna. After making headlines with various productions, including the controversial so-called ”Chechnya Aida” directed by Dmitry Tcherniakov, Currentzis soon gained recognition beyond the Russian scene. One of Germany’s leading newspapers, the Süddeutsche Zeitung, recently described Currentzis as ”a hugely talented individual who has proven a sensation on the international stage... Everything about him exudes power and intensity.” Peter Culshaw, writing in the London Telegraph, said: ”Currentzis could be one of those rare artists capable of shifting the ground of his chosen art, and pulling off something extraordinary – perhaps even miraculous.”

    Currentzis’ approach to the Mozart scores is based on the conviction that it is virtually impossible today to hear them performed precisely and in full. His stated intention is to undo what he considers the effects of 20th-century operatic tradition focused on simplification and vocal volume at all cost. For Currentzis, these recordings represent the culmination of a decade-long research project dedicated to the discrepancies between the composer’s will and what our ears have become used to. About his Figaro, he says:

    ”The radicality of this recording is its precision. It is through strictest discipline that you unlock the perfume, bring the composer’s text into real life, create all these colours that are impossible on the stage. This is why we spent such a significant amount of time in the studio – because we were pushing to reach our limits, to jump above our limit and reach a new understanding of this music. That is the privilege of a no-compromise studio recording. There are so many recordings which convey the general spirit of Mozart’s music. The only point in making a new one is to give the audience a chance to hear and learn about all the magic which this score holds. I made this recording because I wanted to show what can be achieved if you avoid the factory approach of the classical-music mainstream. My credo is that every performance you give has to be like a pregnancy. You have to dream and you have to wait until the time comes when you see the miracle happening. If you’re not like that in music, you lose the central idea of music. Music is not a profession and it’s not about reproduction. It’s a mission.”

    Currentzis’ rigorous approach extends to all stages of the recording set-up as well as to the post-production sequence. The editing and mixing of Figaro inParis was a process of several weeks in which every single decision was made and its execution supervised by the conductor. Currentzis, a diehard devotee of high-end audio equipment, took particular care in the shaping of the overall soundscape for these recordings.

    While period instruments are being used in this cycle, no dogmatic ”authentic performance” claim is made. Currentzis chooses the orchestra’s instruments depending on repertoire. For the Da Ponte cycle, historic instruments were chosen because, as Currentzis explains:

    ”They give me the vibrancy, the speed, the taut, tight, crisp sound which fully delivers the thrill of this music. I use them because they sound better. If I thought this music sounded better on electric guitars, I would perform it on electric guitars.”

    The soloists’ vocal technique is also markedly different to modern operatic interpretation, with a focus on intimacy and clarity, a use of vibrato remarkably restrictive even by today’s ”period practice” standards as well as an approach to melodic ornamentation derived from historical sources which cannot be heard in other performances of these works.

    A LONG-TERM EXCLUSIVE CONTRACT WITH SONY CLASSICAL

    In 2012 Sony Classical signed an exclusive long-term agreement with Currentzis under which all of his recordings will be made with MusicAeterna. The first two opera recordings, already finished, were Mozart’s Figaro and Così. Don Giovanni will be recorded in October 2014.

    The lead soloists appearing in Le nozze di Figaro are Andrei Bondarenko as Count Almaviva, Simone Kermes as Countess Almaviva, Christian Van Horn as Figaro and Fanie Antonelou as Susanna. The Così fan tutte lead soloists are Simone Kermes as Fiordiligi, Malena Ernman as Dorabella, Christopher Maltman as Guglielmo, Kenneth Tarver as Ferrando, Konstantin Wolff as Don Alfonso, and Anna Kasyan as Despina.

    Sony Classical will release Le nozze di Figaro first in February 2014. Così fan tutte will follow in autumn 2014 and the cycle will be completed with Don Giovanni in the autumn of 2015.

    Le nozze di Figaro will be available internationally on February 17, 2014:

    on CD in a limited edition deluxe book;
    on high-resolution Blu-ray;
    on vinyl LP; and
    in all popular digital formats including Mastered for iTunes."
     
    bluemooze and 5-String like this.
  19. Graphyfotoz

    Graphyfotoz Forum Classaholic

    Location:
    South-Central NY
    Whats Her email?
    I'll send Her my address I just want the CD's! :D
     
    John S likes this.
  20. Graphyfotoz

    Graphyfotoz Forum Classaholic

    Location:
    South-Central NY
    I must say I agree with you there.
    There was a lotta hype and awards thrown to it.......
    I thought it might be worthy of the awards but I was not that impressed either.

    My fav so far is Pinnock version on Archiv

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2013
  21. vanhooserd

    vanhooserd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    004.JPG
    17th Century Choral Music. I especially enjoyed the Christmas Mass, which is a more intimate work for soloists, choir, organ
    & strings. recorded 1967 (Mass) & 1977 (Te Deum). Odd to think that EMI is no more.
     
  22. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    Yesterday I listened to Mahler's Symphony No. 2 conducted by Oscar Fried from the new boxed set Music of Gustav Mahler: Issued 78s 1903-1940

    [​IMG]

    The sound is remarkably good. Love the performance too. Not surprisingly, the instrument balance is off at times since it's an acoustic recording. It would have been an interesting recording session to see.
     
  23. drh

    drh Talking Machine

    You bet it would be off--for acoustic orchestral recording, the maximum size of an orchestra was maybe a dozen players or so, and given the limitations of the recording mechanism all manner of substitutions (like tubas for double basses and woodwind doublings of strings) were necessary. Never mind the Stroh instruments! That anyone even attempted such a challenge--much less pulled it off successfully--is a real jaw dropper.
     
  24. drh

    drh Talking Machine

    Took a quick listen to that Calig disc a night or so back, or more properly to the op. 8 serenade, and my hopes proved true: nicely performed and recorded. Shame the label seems to have disappeared.
     
  25. drh

    drh Talking Machine

    Actually, hadn't been home all that long--penultimate rehearsal of Hansel and Gretel for my daughter, who plays a goblin and is in the chorus of a college production an hour away (thanks to her voice teacher, also a professor there, as my just 9-yr-old daughter is still a fair ways away from college). Her first foray onto the operatic stage.
     
    bluemooze, RiRiIII and Robin L like this.
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