Very few guitarists attempt Haydn transcriptions, mainly because they are incredibly difficult, but nothing seems difficult for Galbraith!
NP: Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 5 in G major, Op. 55 Ashkenazy LSO Previn I haven’t spent much time with the last two PCs from Prokofiev, I needed to rectify this tonight. This is quite a good concerto --- there is some haunting music within it.
This was recommended on Primephonic, lovely collection of Baroque court music from Brussels in the time of Albert and Isabella. La Caccia Ensemble are on point. Bellissimo Splendore - Early 17th Century Music At the Court of Brussels by La Caccia & Patrick Denecker Bellissimo Splendore: Early 17th Century Music At the Court of Brussels – Primephonic
One last listen for the night: Walton As You Like It Suite London Philharmonic Carl Davis From this set -
Breaking my symphonic hiatus with some Haydn: Joseph Haydn - Symphonies 82 ("L'Ours"), 83 ("La Poule") & 84 - Kuijken/OAE Turned Radio 3 on in the car this morning and they played the opening movement of 83 at the end of the Breakfast show, and it sounded so weedy and small, with a really mechanical ersatz feel. Turned out to be the Weil/Tafelmusik version - I'd previously had a similar reaction to his Haydn 88-92 set, so it was nice to know my ears are reliable! Anyway, it put me in the mood to hear it done properly, so here we are.
NP: Shostakovich String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73 Two Pieces for String Octet, Op. 11 Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57 Sviatoslav Richter, piano Borodin Quartet
NP: Martinů Concerto No. 2 in D Major for 2 Violins, H. 329 Sarah & Deborah Nemtanu, violins Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille Lawrence Foster
Sorry for taking so long to answer, but I didn't forget about you. In general, I would say they are a hit. However, the actual point I need to make here is that the question does not really apply when it comes to Philips, Decca and DG... Bear with me. Throughout the CD era, Philips, DG and Decca (already part of the same label group in the early 1980s) had various remaster series going on, like the aforementioned Philips Duo and Solo, DG's Originals and Dokumente, Decca's Ovation and Legends. And so on. What I did notice when going through many of these series, listening, comparing and making notes: none of these series have an actual characteristic sound of their own. So you can't really say that one series was better than another series, unless you go by packaging or some other factor. There is no consistency in terms of sound within one series. Take DG's Originals series for instance, which started in 1995 and later included Philips recordings as well. It claimed to use “Original-Image Bit-Processing”. What that mastering process actually means is not the scope of this post, and in most cases it was nothing more than a buzzword, but it sufices to say that it was not used exclusively for the Originals series. It was actually something invented earlier on (1993) for the Karajan Gold series, and was the de facto standard for all reissues until at least the early 2000s, including DG's 2CD Series, all boxset remasters, the 1997 Beethoven Complete edition, and so on... Or take Decca Legends, for instance. Started in 1999, and claimed to be remastered in 24-bit/96kHz... Well, the thing is, all of Decca's remasters from that era were remastered in 24-bit. It was just a general thing they would do, and not exclusive to this series. The point I'm making is that, at least when it comes to these three labels, namely Philips, DG and Decca, the CD series don't mean much when it comes to remastering quality — it all depends on the era a CD came out. And CDs from a particular era are remastered to the same standard, regardless of series. Hope that made sense.
That makes perfect sense...thank you! I've been looking for CD pressings from around that time when picking titles. Having an image posted here with the CD has been a major help when I've been browsing Discogs or Ebay.
Now listening to parts of Ruth Laredo's complete Nonesuch set of Scriabin's Piano Sonatas on Spotify.
I think I might have mentioned that I recorded one of her recitals for broadcast on NPR ages ago, and she was easily the rudest famous musician I have ever met. (She rudely made demands, climaxing with "If I so such as see a microphone or a cable, I'm walking out"--yikes!) Interestingly, a few weeks ago I was looking through letters I've received from musicians whom I recorded (Most were thank you notes for providing a copy), and lo and behold, I found from her in which she apologized profusely for her behavior that night and thanked me for a copy of the recital! I have since quit spitting her name on the rare occasions that I've used it!
Interesting anecdote. Being an exceptionally gifted musician doesn’t exclude one from being a horrible human being. Thankfully, there are some that have transcended this and are wonderful people.
NP: Shostakovich The Bolt, Op. 27 Royal Stockholm PO Rozhdestvensky I should also revisit other stage works and operas like The Golden Age, Lady Macbeth, The Nose and The Gamblers.
Everyone else I met through my recording work, including Yo Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Bella Davidovich, Kronos Quartet, Juilliard Quartet, Melos Quartet, Jean Pierre Rampal, Josh Bell (age 14!), Abby Simon, Alexei Sultanov, Alexander Peskinov, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Aton Kuerti, and Davitt Moroney, to name but a few were all very friendly and gracious. For example, I recorded Perlman over a three day series of concerts with the Sacramento Symphony. After the final one on Sunday, I asked him which one he would prefer we broadcast. He thought for a few seconds and asked, "Which one did you prefer?" I replied, "I thought the Friday one was the most electrifying." "Then go with that one" was his reply! (The Tchaikovsky Concerto)
I bought this mint LP set in a used record store in Pacific Grove on a trip to Monterey this weekend. First up: K.387. Typically wonderful playing and sound with nearly silent surfaces.
NP: Dvořák In Nature’s Realm, Op. 91 Carnival, Op. 92 Othello, Op. 93 LSO Kertész From this outstanding remastered set that is now OOP and quite expensive: One of the joys of Dvořák is simply putting away all of your troubles, fears, etc. and enjoying the infectious enthusiasm he had for life, which even in his more somber moments, there’s still light that penetrates the darkness. A composer that never grows fatiguing and that has continuously exceeded my expectations, which are difficult to win from time to time.