Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #18)

OMG this for $8.00!!! WHERE??

 

i recently got this box from Berkshire & was enjoying the Ciccolini/Baudo
piano concertos tonight.price was $14.95 for the 5-cd set.

 

i have the Tacchino recordings on Vox & thought they were good.recently
got a 4-cd Brillant Classics box with 2 discs of his EMI Poulenc solo pieces
& really enjoyed those.got in the same order from Berkshire an EMI box
with the Ciccolini/Baudo SS concertos-listening to them now.

 

My quarterly CARE package from elusivedisc just arived:



Musicians:
Kyung Wha Chung, violin
Phillip Moll, piano


Selections:
Kreisler
1. La Gitana
2. Liebesleid
Poldini / Kreisler
3. Dancing Doll (Poupée Valsante)
Wieniawski
4. Scherzo - Tarantelle, Op. 16 - Ed. Zino Francescatti
Elgar
5. Salut d'amour, Op. 12
6. La Capricieuse, Op. 17
Tchaikovsky/Press
7. Valse sentimentale, Op. 51, No. 6 - Arr. Press
Kreisler
8. Praeludium and Allegro
Novacek
9. Perpetuum mobile - Ed. Gingold
Debussy/Heifetz
10. Beau Soir
Chopin
11. Nocturne No. 20 in C sharp minor, Op. posth. - Trans. Nathan Milstein
Wieniawski/Kreisler
12. Caprice in A minor - Arr. Fritz Kreisler
Gossec
13. Gavotte - Arr. Meyer
Kreisler
14. Liebesfreud
Chaminade/Kreisler
15. Serenade Espagnole
Saint-Saens/Ysaye
16. Caprice, Op. 52, No. 6
Brahms/Joachim
17. Hungarian Dance No. 1

 

Still need to compare it to my German first pressing.

 

I just received this 2-CD by Vladimir Ashkenazy, performing Barcarolle, Berceuse, Piano Sonata No. 1, Allegor de Concert, several Rondos and Variations by Chopin. Released on the Decca label with catalog number 421 035-2, it contains recordings between 1977 and 1985, partly ADD and partly DDD.

This 2-CD set was released in 1987 and I have a WG pressing.

I just put in on a little while ago, and it sounds really nice so far. I have not much experience with Chopin, and I don't know if Vladimir Ashkenazy is considered a "good" Chopin interpreter and/or if these specific performances are highly regarded.

 

How is this disc?

Kyung Wha Chung’s Mendelssohn Violin Concerto w/ Dutoit, MSO is off-the-charts the best versions I’ve ever heard.

 

His etudes are superb, but the rest of his Chopin (IMO) is not at the same level, varying from good to very good. It's consistent and enjoyable without beng particularly special (except for the Etudes.)

 

Sounds great but I don't have the original disc to compare it to.

 

Half Price Books. I had one of their 50% off coupons. Even at full price it's a good deal.

 

Listening right now to Dutoit myself. Kyung Wha Chung appears on the disc performing Saint-Saens' Rondo Capriccioso and Havanaise. Other tracks:

Danse Macabre
Phaeton
Le Rouet d'Omphale
La Jeunesse d'Hercule
Marche Heroique

A worthy disc. London 425 021-2

 

I ordered this one up as well based on a glowing review from another site. I have tried to get the vinyl for a while now but without luck.

 

Hmmmm... I like the Hough Rach cycle very much. Not my fave but great IMHO nonetheless.

 

Just personal taste of course but I do not like Ashkenazy's Chopin much.

 

Yes, it was critically acclaimed for sure. I know that I am in the minority on this one.

 

I don't know about that..there are lots of folk that do not like it. My classical music friends included. I know it was lauded by some critics.

 

I remember at the time that I read a lot of reviews of that set. The samples I had heard told me that this set was not for me, but I could not find a bad review of it. Then I think I found it on sale and decided to buy it anyway. I keep it on the shelf, as I have found that stuff that is this loved by many has sometimes grown on me.

 

Hip, hip, Hough Rach.

 

Hough Rachmaninov PC's

I like it only because I found the 2SACD version in the bargain bin for $0.99. How does that happen??

 

Now playing this CD from my Tchaikovsky's collection. This CD is OOP and a new one is available on Amazon US for just under $100 ...

 

For $2 I picked up the complete Tchaikovsky symphonies on vinyl. For an additional $2 I was able to get the same but on London with Zubin Mehta conducting!

 

Well? Inquiring minds want to know!

Must agree with our ursine friend. I know Ashkenazy has many admirers, but there's something hard and offputting about his tone, at least in the recordings commonly played these days, that I can almost always spot a mile away, and I just can't get around it. I think that his early recordings may be better in that regard; I have the etudes on--Hall of Fame, is it? Monitor? One of those early LP labels that tried to camp out on Melodyia masters, anyhow--but haven't played them in years and years.

Gee, and ungrateful me wouldn't give just under .01 for it...

But speaking, however obliquely, of bargain discs, I got a note from ArkivMusic.com announcing a sale on all Brilliant Classics issues in stock. Probably worth checking out, although in at least one spot check that I did the ArkivMusic "sale" price for a big box was about double the price on Amazon, so be careful. There are more than 700 entries in the ArkivMusic catalogue, although, alas, the one that I've been mulling over isn't one of them. One disc that did catch my eye was a couple of Schubert sonatas played by a pianist named Wurtz. Not a familiar name to me; anybody have any insights?

 

Christmas season coming up....probably be lotsa deals around.

**Hopefully our Fellow Music Addicts here will keep us informed?**

 

Some moments of great beauty and individuality, but not among my favorites for these works. I didn't really notice any decline in Hofmann's playing.

 

Thanks for the update! Have you ever heard Noel M.e.w.t.o.n-Wood's (not really separated by periods; for some bizarre reason, the forum's bad language filter insists on rendering the first part of his name in asterisks) recording of the 4th cto., originally released on a 10" Concert Hall Society LP? It later appeared on Audio Fidelity in fake stereo. I don't know if "favorite" is the right word, but I do like the performance. The Utrecht SO--not, perhaps, the last word in tonal opulence, but decent enough as such groups go--is conducted by the indefatigable Walter Goehr. I don't know about its availability on CD, although the same soloist's cycle of the three Tchaikowsky concerti, also issued originally on Concert Hall, was at least briefly available on some little label or other. Too bad such an accomplished artist came to such a sad and early end.