Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #16)

Thanx

Last I looked I was quickly creeping up on 250 now.
When I first came to the forum I had about 180.
Place has been a bad influence on my wallet but good for my buying confidence!
SERIOUSLY.....I have been turned onto Music I otherwise never woulda known about...so it's all good!

 

Hope the flooding has stopped wherever you live. Outside it is a nice and sunny early afternoonatm where I live and as a nice way to start the day's listening proceder I enjoy a little bit of this and a little bit of that all in very good -no cut that- outstanding sound.
The mellow tones of the violin and that piano I hear atm. are simply wonderful, just like the free bubbling piano trillers following right now.
Not sure what it is but I love it.check ah,
Evgenie Koroliev - Franz Schubert Moments Musiceaux Op. 94 D 780, Nr. 3
Before that
Camille Saint-Saens - Swan from carival of The animals (played so tenderly by the Polish Chamber Philharmonic Ochestra.)

TACET BEST OF 2005

 

Life is all good once again.....showers next few days but not the torrent we had.


TACET? Interesting don't believe I have seen that name before!
Is that like a pooling of many different works on a CD or Set?

 

With torrents, who needs CDs?

 

Nobody--not one bit!

 

To continue, with apologies, off topic for a bit longer, here's a word of advice to those of you (like me) in the US who live in houses dating back to the middle of the last century on into maybe the '80s or so: check your breaker box. If it was made by a company called Federal Pacific, consider replacing it; some years back, when we had an addition put on, the electricians told us that Federal Pacific boxes are considered non-code items and by their design pose a fire hazard. Others since have confirmed that information. Ours was a Federal Pacific, and replacing it was an early "unexpected expense" in the project (one of many to follow, and many of those having to do with wiring--which, at the end of the project, after thousands of dollars in upcharges, *still* wasn't right feeding my audio gear's appointed place ).

Not, incidentally, suggesting that Graphyfotoz had a Federal Pacific box....

 

Pun intended?

 

Glad to know that you are ok.

And please note that you don’t have to be purchasing classical music to participate in this thread.

 

Everyone here on the hill had a FP at one time.
My box WAS replaced in 1988 with a Square D but the cable on the outside of the house didn't hold up.

 

Oh boy!

 

Thanks for the opera replies. I'm surprised there aren't any well established favorites for the great Verdi and Puccini operas. Or Mozart of course. Do we have any hardcore audiophiles who hang out in the classical thread?

Appreciate the help!

 

I have a few Verdi Operas and I consider myself an audiophile, but when it comes to classical music, performance comes first, then sound quality.

 

Somone mentioned the Living Stereo opera releases. I have them and enjoy them. The sound is quite good, but different from Telarc.

Nevertheless the price is right if you can find them:

There are 4:

La Boheme
Madame Butterfly
Turandot
La Traviata (apparently very hard to find)

Also, Steve among others has raved about the Leontyne Price "Blue" Album.

 

I'm of the same mindset on this with George.
This is a great example for me.....and I'm not keen on Opera.
Performance is great but sound is not the best.
BUT for 1950 your hard pressed to find any better....can't make stereo where it never was!

 

Thanks guys.

Hi George, I do appreciate your viewpoint on the performance versus sound quality. Unfortunately, I will not listen to classical music or opera unless the sound quality is roughly equal to or better than Telarc. Ideally, I'd like the finest performance to have been released on a CD with the best sound quality, but I will compromise first on the performance. Performance, interpretation, etc will likely be heavily debated and I won't be able to get much out of that discussion. I can hear a difference in sound quality without question. Perhaps in time I'll learn more about performance.

 

For sound quality on Mozart, try Rene Jacobs. (I only have the Figaro.)

 

When I began listening to classical, I placed sound above performance. Over time, I have slowly become more and more interested in not only hearing the best performances available, but in hearing all the different performance styles over the history of recorded music, especially with regards to piano. At this point I can listen to stuff recorded as far back as 100 years ago and enjoy the performance.

It's nice to get the best of both worlds when it is possible, but it doesn't happen often, unfortunately. Though the "very best" performances are often heavily debated, even fought over on some sites, there is usually at least a few consensus favorites, even in Opera. I often consult with a few different guidebooks and choose the one(s) that get recommended by both. It has been a reliable way to find great performances, but for sound most guidebooks won't be much help. However, Classics Today is a great site that rates every recording they review on sound and performance. They use a 10 point system and if you stick with the ones that get a score of ten for sound, you should get stuff that sounds great.

 

Funny I was checking that before I recommended Jacobs across the board. I think all of his Mozart operas get 10 for sound quality.

 

Hopefully their idea of a 10 is the same as jh901's.

 

OK. Which record label released his Figaro? And if you know the catalog and the first CD pressing, then that would be terrific! I have no problem tracking down Japan market first pressings, etc if warranted.

 

I'm afraid, then you will miss at least 80% of goosebumps available on our very musical but not that hi-rez-friendly planet. Also I'm afraid that neither Beethoven nor Mahler didn't know what "Telarc" means. Moreover, Telarc is dead, while Beethoven and Mahler... not that much.

 

I fully agree with this. In fact, I would estimate higher than 80%, more like above 90%.

I recall my Music History professor in college cringing when I told him that I couldn't tolerate the historical sound of Cortot's recordings. At that time, I couldn't. But I slowly worked my way back in recorded history, first the 80s and 90s then the 60s and 70s, then the 50s. Taking the next step backward was hard, but I am very glad I did it. I would have missed out on my many of my current favorite pianists.

 

They are all fairly recent recordings on Harmonia Mundi. Figaro (and I think several others) are dual layer SACDs - there may be single layer redbook versions as well.