Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #41)

That is one of my favorite Pathetiques. I probably have around a dozen or so. My favorite probably is Jansons......depending on what day it is.

 

Update my stupidity!

Ok I had a few mislabeled in my database as to what company label they were.
So I have few more Living Stereo CD's than previously mentioned.

 

I have to agree about Norrington . I picked his Beethoven Cycle up dirt cheap some years ago , but I have not raced back to listen to it, since. The Hanoncourt and Zinman sets are indeed wonderful. Also is Kurt Masur's. At the moment I have to listen to my newly acquired Hebert Blomstedt set with the Dresden forces.

 

The Dvorak/ Walton Cello Concertos disc is excellent.
As for chasing these Living Stereo in SACDs... I was previously spoilt. When so many of them were released on CD, I picked them most of them for $3.99 a disc. Just how far , SACD can further stretch and improve material from these recordings from the late 50 's and early 60's....well, I have my own doubts! And in the last 50 years intervening there has been a lot of other great performances of the same works, served up with much more advanced sound..I accept though these Living Stereo discs represent - an era.

 

Masur with the Gewandhausorchester was my first set and I love it very much. Their 9th is probably my favourite piece of recorded music ever. My mother had the LP and it was the first CD that I bought.

The Blomstedt cycle is pretty good as well.

 

It's not just the SACD format. The discs were remastered, and the consensus (here and elsewhere) is that the remastering is an improvement.

 

Haven't heard either of those sets, but I have Blomstedt's Sibelius (which is well reviewed, but has yet to click with me. I love Ashkenazy's Sibelius.)

For Beethoven, Wand's set is my favorite. Karajan's '63 DG set, Szell's SONY set and Barenboim's Teldec are all excellent too.

 

I was lucky to get the Masur cycle on SACD for a very good price and the Blomstedt was part of the Brilliant box.

 

Now enjoying this Japan Mercury Living Presence CD. First spin.

 

Now enjoying CD 16 - Stravinsky - (first spin)

 

Great recording of the Von Weber Meta.

 

Now enjoying CD 17 - Strauss, Milhaud, etc. - (first spin)

 

I should add that the Milhaud piece I mentioned above is a two piano work that Meyer plays with the composer. The work is called Scaramouche, is a lot of fun and was recorded in 1938. Nice, open transfers.

 

The marathon of "CDs in my collection that I haven't heard yet" continues...with this delightful 2CD set. I always loved this Great Pianist series and usually buy them whenever I see them used for a good price.

 

Hi all,

Re: Janos Starker - Bach cello suites

The following quote is regarding Janos' RCA Victor recording of Bach's cello suites. Do you agree that they are superior or are the much talked about Mercury recordings better? If you could purchase any of his recordings of these suites what would you choose and why?

"This is Janos Starker's fifth recording of Bach's cello suites. His third set, for Mercury (423 756-2), is even more perfectly played. But the musical maturity, the subtlety of inflection and expression, in this set is truly incomparable."

Thank-you,

cat9

 

Maybe I'm nUtZ?
When I play a Hybrid SACD Living Stereo in my standard player they sound more crisp and clean to me.
So am I truly hearing remastering or am I hunting for something I THINK is there?

 

Geezzzz you guys got me in a nostalgic mood.
I gotta get more of these Everest CD's.....I only own these 2.
Which I think I'll spin this early AM before I hit the sack.

 

I play back my SACDs in a dirt-cheap Sony DVD/SACD/CD player with an expensive AC cable I added on. I guess the 'Bybee Filter' that's part of the AC cord lifts the sound quality. In any case, the remastering from the best sources is what makes the RCA 'Living Stereo' SACD series great, so it's not strange that you are hearing improvements in SQ in this particular series. I played parts of the famous 'Mussorgsky' program, with 'Pictures at an Exhibition', yesterday. Really vivid, layered imaging and fantastic brass sound. It's difficult to find recordings that sound better, regardless of vintage.

 

Thank you guys for your input regarding the Living Stereo SACD series. I may add a couple more titles to my wish list now (namely the one with Bolero and Stoki's Rhapsodies). Still undecided on the Piatigorsky concerto coupling though. Is he constantly out-of-tune there?

Also, IIRC, the Copeland/Grofe disc was a recommended listen, am I right?

 

Was that LP on the old East German Eterna label? That was my introduction to Masur's cycle: the 9th sym. on Eterna. For some unaccountable reason a copy turned up in a local used record shop back when I lived in Atlanta (early 1980s). I actually bought it intending to give it to my brother, but when I played it to make sure it didn't have any hidden flaws, I quickly decided that it was something I wanted to keep for myself, and he got a cassette copy. Later I managed to gather several of the other syms. also on Eterna LPs (mostly from a guy here in the DC area who had lived in Germany for a while--military posting, I think--and had accumulated a big pile of Eternas, most of which I bought), and 3-4 years ago I lucked out on the SACD reissue for pretty much dirt cheap. Within the past few months I got the overtures set at a good price to complete the set.

I agree about the Masur set's fine qualities; it remains my standard recommendation for a "basic library" cycle of the Beethoven syms. in reasonably modern sound. Masur has a way of staying out of the way while letting Beethoven's voice speak with full impact. I need to explore the Blomstedt cycle, though; I have it in the big Beethoven box but haven't gotten to it yet, as most of my listening at home of late has been to my 78s, and the Beethoven box is too big to lug to work. Yeah, I know, there are these things called iPods, but I still haven't found the crank on one to wind it up!

 

One point in favor of the SACDs is that, thanks to their multichannel capabilities, they give you access to the original 3-track format in which many of these recordings were taped. In fact, that was what lured me onto the SACD bandwagon in the first place, as this 78 collector's interest in surround sound is understandably somewhat limited. (That said, surround can be pretty amazing in certain literature, particularly those Renaissance and Baroque works that make antiphonal use of choirs, instrumental or not, scattered around various corners of a performing venue. The Berlioz Requiem, of course, although neither Renaissance nor Baroque also falls into that category.)

 

I think it's worth it to give this one a try while the prices are still low. I did not notice that he was "out-of-tune" but I'm no expert.

 

I like the classical music very much..

 

Now enjoying some modern piano music. These works were written from 1990 to 2007.

 

Yes, it is not only that he is out of tune, but also his playing is uninspiring and boring. The off key playing might not bother you, but I am a musician and I have perfect pitch, it just drives me crazy.

Otherwise, there some good moments but overall this is not very enjoyable.

But you can listen to the whole thing here and make up your own mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X-mPicEizE&feature=youtube_gdata_player