Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #48)

I have never liked orchestral music in mono, though I am perfectly fine with piano music in mono ...

 

Gotta say I am with you.

 

I don't know that work actually, but I have five of his CDs and think I still have a home VHS recording somewhere of the 2004 Royal Opera performance of The Tempest. Amazingly gifted composer, a one in a billion talent that is really refreshing to see in this day and age (BTW, I wonder how often, if at all, heated debates crop up on classical music forums which like here you'd expect to be fairly boomer dominated, about how much "today's music sucks"? ). He went to the same secondary school as me and my brother, but despite being born in early 1971 he finished sixth form in 1988 (he was precociously gifted in other subjects as well as music, so he'd probably done the entrance exam for older pupils at the suggestion of the teachers at his previous school, or been moved up a year after being offered a place) so I never met him when I was there. However, I did see a concert of him when he was 16 and he performed the notably challenging Prokofiev 1st Piano Concerto, and as someone who'd just started learning the piano I could already tell he was something special. But most of us assumed he'd become famous as a touring concert pianist; none of us had any inkling that he'd blossom gloriously just a few years later into being one of the world's most renowned and in demand living composers.

 

That is why I am still undecided about the lego block set of Furtwangler's recordings ... LOL

 

I wouldn't put Schoenberg, Ligeti or Shostakovich into the over the top avant garde category. Perhaps my definition of that category will have to come out over extended discussion!

I have that Maxwell Davies CD and a few other from the same series. A really fine collection. Thanks for reminding me of it.
This one below from the same series you should definitely have a listen to.

It's always difficult to know which composers are known or not.

Anyway Robert Saxton should get greater coverage.

 

I can tell you from working within the industry that it's always difficult to get people to enjoy new (classical) music. People will go to concerts of canonical repertoire and lap it up and the donors will keep paying to see the same pieces over and over. Although there are definitely some people who are open to new music yet discriminating enough at the same time to know what's just rubbish.

Definitely pick up a copy of Tevot. Or even better, see it performed live. Many people I've spoken with consider it a modern classic which should find a permanent place in the regular performance repertoire and justifiably so.

 

The Hungarian soprano Maria Zadori can give Emma Kirkby some serious competition IMO. For those of you who are into choral music, Emma Kirkby is the best soprano of her generation IMO. She recorded many wonderful English choral works with Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music ...

 

For those enamored of Ades (with whom I am entirely unfamiliar, I confess), this month's issue of the BBC Music Magazine has an interview with him, which as yet I've not had time to read. The included CD has a Proms performance of Holst's Planets under Boult from the '70s that, on casual listening, continues the line of more modern recordings that strike my ear as less realistic than the 1945 set on HMV 78s. It also struck me as lacking the earlier account's intensity until about midway through, when it picked up a good bit of steam, but that may have been a function of the recording quality. (Or, in the case of Mars, the Bringer of War, it may be a function of the earlier recording's having been played by musicians who were living through the Hell of World War II England live and in person.) Auditioned over headphones, so not entirely fair; think of these as initial impressions only.

 

Are you a musician? That could explain it!

I wouldn't call The Cure unsophisticated compared to the others you've mentioned. I think it's clear that there is high degree of timbral sophistication in a lot of his(RS's)/their music.

I read somewhere that Robert Smith used to listen to Mahler symphonies while drinking copious amounts of red wine for his compositional inspiration.

 

Post about it. I love a lot of modern music. Hate some of it too.

This week I received a 10 Hat(Now) CDs that I ordered when Jazz Loft had a sale, $4.49 each. I haven't listened to any of them yet, but here are the composers: Cornelius Cardew, Dieter Ammann, George Crumb, Guillermo Gregorio, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, Liza Lim, Morton Feldman, Pierre Boulez, Noriko Hisada, and a disc with multiple composers, Stefan, Wolpe, John Carisi, Eddie Souter, and Christian Wolff.

This week, I also received a 3 disc set of Lutoslawski orchestral works conducted by the composer on Brilliant and the 5 disc box, Dutilleux: Orchestral, Piano & Chamber Masterworks from EMI France.

So far, I've listened to one disc of the Lutoslawski and loved it. I especially liked the Preludes and Fugue for 13 solo strings. I found it as engaging, if not more, that most works from earlier periods.

I don't understand why EMI lisenced the Lutoslawski to Brilliant Classics. The same set is in print on EMI and sells for a little more money. I always thought Brilliant Classics licensed out of print or at least music that isn't widely available.

 

Was that from the PortugalSom disc (A Princesa dos Sapatos de Ferro; Passeios De Estio; two vln. stas.)? That's the sole recording I've found of his music aside from a couple of songs that I have on a 78, which were what got me interested in him in the first place.

[Edit] By the way, I'm delighted that somebody else--at least, somebody else outside Portugal--is enjoying this composer. From the little I've heard, he seems to have something rewarding to say.

 

George, jog my memory, please: was that the old Columbia series with the Phil.-Sym. of NY?

 

Oops, I see you have been posting about it. The hazards of replying to a post when there's still 3 pages of unread posts.

Two weeks ago, I saw an NSO concert of Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin, Dutilleux Tout un monde lointain, and Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 2. I was surprised when a number of people left before the Vaughan Williams. Apparently a number of people were there to see the Dutilleux and left right after that.

 

Can anybody tell me if this is worth the punt? I tempted, but it is a pricey set

 

picked this up locally for $ 2.25.fine performances in 1950-55 mono.

 

As I mentioned in a previous thread, classical music as a whole accounts for about 3% of music sales. I don't think it has a larger share of concert dollars. The only reason it hasn't disappeared in the US is that it is heavily subsidized. That 3% is mostly Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms and Mahler. The orchestras have lost their recording contracts. What percentage even 20th C composers as mellifluous as Ravel or VWilliams have is down in the noise level. So when you are bemoaning the lack of post 1950 classical music at concerts you are talking about something which I would guess is 0.1 % of music sales.

As for Saxton I have heard his Yardstick to the Stars which I found agreeable but not something that I would listen to on a repeat basis. It's odd that I can listen again and again to the relatively few Edgard Varese compositions or some by Messiaen but not be similarly moved by most of the post 1950 works including estimable composers Dutilleux, Boulez, Maw, Birtwistle (except Punch and Judy) etc etc. I've often wondered why and the only thing I can put my finger on is a lack of rhythmic interest (and related issues of phrase structure) at least as I perceive it. The Revelation and Fall by Maxwell Davies is one of the few that I can listen to repetitively. I'd love to find others, but have had little luck.

 

There is a large commentary at Amazon for this set. DSD is not going to work miracles with poorly recorded mono recordings. The consensus was that it sounded slightly better than previous issues but not transformative. If this is one of your very favorite recordings it might make sense. Otherwise ...

 

No, the New York Philharmonic.

 

Now enjoying this wonderful CD. My old copy had become bronzed, so I picked up a nice cheap copy from amazon.

 

I believe Robin has that set, I haven't picked it up, as I am content enough with his pre-war recordings of Debussy from this set:
http://www.amazon.com/Great-Pianist...1-3&keywords=gieseking+great+pianists+debussy

I have most of the performances from that set in earlier incarnations, though. I have yet to "get" why his name has become synonymous with Debussy. I much prefer Arrau and Michelangeli's Debussy. Their sound is a lot better too.

I have a similar issue with Rubinstein and Chopin. While I enjoy Rubinstein's Chopin (the early mono recordings), there are so many other pianists I prefer in Chopin - Cortot, Rosenthal, Moravec, Wasowski, Tipo and Gekic.

 

Fantastic CD and the box it belongs to was one of my first Richter mass purchases. Then came the Praga one...

 

That Praga one should be reissued.

 

I've only recently bacome aware of Ades. I posted on EMI's Ades Collection in CCR #45:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/classical-music-corner-thread-45.309969/page-31#post-8653346

And on the second CD of the set in CCR #46:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/classical-music-corner-thread-46.313445/page-22#post-8804790

I will return to that set soon. I'm sure I will experience new aural rewards not noticed the first time around.

 

A lot of it is coming out as SACD from Praga.

 

My latest arrival....listened to it as I sipped a latte...then the child woke up, and after that my wife...:thumbsdn: