Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #43)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by George P, Nov 28, 2012.

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  1. vanhooserd

    vanhooserd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    the punning cover is a bit of a surprise.
     
  2. dale 88

    dale 88 Errand Boy for Rhythm

    Location:
    west of sun valley
    Congratulations. Discs I would like to hear.

    I recently collected a few different Christian Zacharias discs, including the Mozart sonatas and some interesting Schumann.
     
  3. dale 88

    dale 88 Errand Boy for Rhythm

    Location:
    west of sun valley
    Except for some sample tracks, I hadn't acquired any Yevgeny Sudbin piano discs yet. But I have just ordered his well-reviewed Chopin disc of Fantaisie, Nocturnes, Mazurkas, Ballades on BIS. Will report on the listening.
     
  4. spideyjack

    spideyjack Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Indianapolis
    Thanks I always have a hard time dating Classical LPs, I assumed this was recorded long before 1973 when this was particular copy issued but my google skills are sometimes lacking.
     
  5. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    [​IMG]

    Now enjoying one of my best finds of the year, as it nears it's close. Krips conducts Mozart, Decca.
     
  6. Tangledupinblue

    Tangledupinblue Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    It's hard to imagine anyone who doesn't like Messiaen, even those who otherwise aren't into modern music, as although his music employs a high degree of dissonance at least in the objective theoretical sense (lots of minor seconds and ninths, major sevenths and clusters), the way he voices and/or orchestrates these dissonances are so sensuous, rich and appealing to the ear that you hardly notice them. His music is quite easy to assimilate once you realize there are essentially five components to it which he recycles over and over again, but with endlessly unfailing imagination and invention; its modes of limited transposition, imitations of bird song, use of complex ancient Greek and Hindu rhythms, its religious sentiment both in the long-breathed melodies and often majestic chords, and finally a more tonal and traditionalist, unashamedly Romantic element that has its roots in Chopin through Liszt and Wagner to the great impressionists of Debussy and Ravel.

    My first and unforgettable introduction to the world of Messiaen was through his Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus in 1988, with this pianist (whose name unfortunately I've no record of 24 years on) performing this monumental work at London's Wigmore Hall, with this just-turned 12 year old recent modern music convert following the music with the score, which is so complex that the pianist had to play the entire work with the sheet music. It remains my favourite piano work of the 20th century, if not of all time, and favourite Messiaen piece, although I've got a real soft spot for the earlier works, culminating in the beautiful and evocative Quatuor pour la fin du temps, the best introduction to any Messiaen newcomer whilst already succinctly summing up all the key facets of the mature Messiaen style. I sometimes prefer that work when I want something gentler and not so grandiose and ambitious, for similar reasons why we can't always listen to the symphonies of Beethoven and Mahler, unquestionably great though those are. After Vingt Regards, the magnificent and electrifying Turangalîla-Symphonie comes a close second.
     
  7. SBurke

    SBurke Nostalgia Junkie

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    I'm pretty sure I sold a CD to Haruki Murakami last week through Amazon. It's possible it was someone else with the same name, but the address made sense as did the title (a jazz/vocal record; and we know that he, the writer, is a big jazz fan). What are you reading right now? 1Q84?
     
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  8. Tangledupinblue

    Tangledupinblue Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Not sure how I missed that, got it for my Dad's 60th in 2000, it's a great disc. Had never heard Taras Bulba before - it's a great score, full of drama and passion (my favourite bits are the ethereal churchy organ pleas for calm near the beginning) and my favourite work on the CD.
     
  9. vanhooserd

    vanhooserd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    i use this website:www.charm.rhul.ac.uk & under Discography you will find an Advanced Search which is helpful.under Resources there is a Decca dicography that his more detailed information about their recordings.
     
  10. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Now Playing—Brahms Second Symphony, Bruno Walter, NYPO:

    [​IMG]
     
  11. WorldB3

    WorldB3 Forum Resident

    Location:
    On the continent.
    I like it, think I need a orchestration closer to Ravel so I am thinking of picking up Dutroit and the Motreal Orchestra next.
     
  12. WorldB3

    WorldB3 Forum Resident

    Location:
    On the continent.
    Regarding Messian does anybody have any thoughts on Aimard performing his preludes as a entry point?

    [​IMG]
     
  13. Tangledupinblue

    Tangledupinblue Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
  14. drh

    drh Talking Machine

    Er, :o :hide: :sigh:

    My first encounter with Messiaen was also Vingt regards, but I remember the pianist very well: Christopher Taylor, at the 1990 William Kapell competition, which he won. For the life of me I couldn't hear why; didn't hear everything he played, but what I did hear struck me as cold, hard, unlovely, and uninteresting, "modern" in the worst sense of the word, and the Messaien was pretty much pure torture for this "Prokofiev-is-about-as-far-as-I-usually-go" kind of guy. For some reason, since then I've felt no desire to revisit the experience.
     
  15. drh

    drh Talking Machine

    Zacharias and Tharaud are both new to me; I've sampled a bit of each, and I'm looking forward to making closer acquaintance. Unfortunately, while trying to audition Z. in the 23d cto., I was constantly interrupted and so couldn't form much of an impression. I had better luck when I played the Couperin disc from the Tharaud set, however; I'll confess I think the Baricades Mysterieuses didn't really work on the piano, but some of the other selections seemed more successful, and there was no disputing that he plays with great beauty of tone. I'm still inclined to think Couperin, in contrast to Bach or Scarlatti, does not translate all that well to the piano, but I'll need to give this disc closer attention on repeat playings to make a fair judgment. I also played the first few tracks of the Gieseking, and, my word, the man had fleet fingers! My wife was instantly taken with the performance of the first P&F (although she had cavils about the recorded sound, not something on which she usually remarks); she said that it was good for once to hear it played fast enough to let the harmonic structure do what it was designed to do. Or words to that effect.
     
  16. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California

    First time for me was the Peter Serkin recording of Vingt Regards. However, hearing the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Kent Nagano rehearsing Éclairs sur l'au-delà was my 'conversion experience'. For me, it's the ecstatic birdsong that calls me.
     
  17. john greenwood

    john greenwood Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    I got off to a slow start with Messiaen. As a clarinetist, I naturally began with the "Quartet for the End of Time," and I didn't care for it. I was persuaded to give it several more listenings, and I realized that what I didn't care for was the first of the eight movements. The rest of it was deeply moving. Now, I have come to grips with the first movement (still don't love it) and think the rest of the piece is wonderful. I'm looking forward to hearing it in concert (for the second time) next April.

    I have the sheet music for the Quartet, but I have not even tried to play it. One of these days . . .
     
  18. John DeAngelis

    John DeAngelis Senior Member

    Location:
    New York, NY
    Fitz.jpg
    I'm reflecting on the past year by listening to some early keyboard music from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book performed by Joseph Payne on organ and harpsichord. I've had the 3-LP Vox Box in stereo for decades and recently sampled it while in the process of downsizing my vinyl collection, which served as the impetus to purchase the 2-CD VoxBox. Both sound great.

    Happy New Year to all you serious music lovers!
     
  19. Tangledupinblue

    Tangledupinblue Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Sorry, that was a dangerous assumption to make! By "anyone" I really meant people who enjoy 20th century classical music, but aren't big fans of much after, say, 1950 and/or anything not written in a tonal idiom (I'm sort of in that camp, although I'd extend the 1950 to more like 1976, the year Britten died) - but that may not universally be the case among them either.
     
  20. wolfram

    wolfram Slave to the rhythm

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    I'm reading "1Q84" right now (two thirds through Book 3 by now) and it made me listen to the "Sinfonietta" as well. I had never heard of it before or of Janáček. I like how music always plays such a central role in Murakami's books.
     
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  21. john greenwood

    john greenwood Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Try the quartets, maybe while reading Tolstoi's Kreutzer Sonata. I've always liked the fact that Janacek was inspired by a short story which in turn was inspired by Beethoven.
     
  22. Bronth

    Bronth Active Member

    Location:
    Riga, Latvia
    Congratulations and best wishes from 2013 (it's 2:30 A.M. here in Riga)!
     
  23. coopmv

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

    Location:
    CT, USA
    Now playing CD2 from the following set for a first listen ...
    [​IMG]
     
  24. coopmv

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

    Location:
    CT, USA
    Now playing CD7 from the following set for a first listen ...
    [​IMG]
     
  25. goldwax

    goldwax Rega | Cambridge | Denafrips | Luxman | Dynaudio

    Location:
    US of A
    Yep.

    The Janacek find has inspired me to reread his stuff (I've read all his novels published in English, including early ones published in Japan in English and now way OOP, many times already) with the intention of making a list of all the music he's referenced. Such a list probably exists already on the Internet, though. I did buy The Popular Duke Ellington as well as a Jackie Gleason album because of him. But it would be nice to have a complete collection of Murakami favorites. He published at least one book about some of his favorite jazz recordings, but it's never been translated into English. Another thing worth googling.
     
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