Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #6)

Many of us now post our classical stuff over at Good Music Guide.

 

I confess to defecting, although I'm happy to keep playing over here too as long as I can post pics and there's somebody to talk to

Does anybody know if CDs on the "Profil - Edition Günter Hänssler" label are likely to be NR'd? Eg: http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=6948014&style=classical

 

Picked up today used,$2.99:Mozart:Symphonies Nos.34,35,36 (Hans Graf,Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra)

 

I have that new Abbado Mozart disc on DG with the Orchestra Mozart. It includes Symphonies Nos. 29, 33, 35, 38 & 41. I like it, and it received a good review in The Gramophone. I am liking more of his recent recordings too.

I also just received the Abbado, Verdi Overtures and Preludes from DG with the Berlin Philharmonic. The sound is very good and it has some vivid playing. It is an ArkivCD. [heh] As someone said, I don't know what all the hissing and moaning was all about concerning ArkivCDs. They are labeled as such on the CD back cover. You don't have to buy them if you don't want them. The only drawback from my viewpoint is that the printing on the booklets could use some further improvement (only on the very finest print).
I can see a collector's viewpoint if you are only collecting original pressings. But I am not one of those. I want to hear performances and good sound. And the sound on these CDRs has been uniformly excellent on the works I have tried over the last two years.

 

Hi Simon, I have two from the Bosch/Aachen Symphony Bruckner cycle on Coviello Classics. I love both the performance and the SQ, especially the latter. I don't know if the Aachen SO always records in a huge church, but they did for these two symphonies, lending the sound a wonderful sense of space and scale. I actually prefer the other disc (Symphony No. 5 - this is my favourite Bruckner symphony): http://www.amazon.com/Bruckner-Symphony-No-Hybrid-SACD/dp/B000PSJCCY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1233717043&sr=1-3. Interestingly, one set contains a second disc with a 5.1 DTS version, while the other is a SACD-Hybrid.

 

Hi all!

I was wondering if some helpful and knowledgeable members could help me find a CD of Rachmaninov Piano Concerto N°2 with Barry Douglas and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas.

I believe it is on RCA Red Seal but had no luck finding it, so I posted a WTB thread on the Classifieds -> http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=173685

Also, what do you think of this interpretation, the recording and the sonics? If there different editions, could you point me to the best sound-wise? I seem to recall there is a SACD version of this?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Sergei-Rachmaninoff-Piano-Concerto-Preludes/dp/B000003FH8

Haven't heard that one, for after hearing Richter/Wislocki on DG, I had found my Rach 2.

If you are interested in the Rach 3, I wrote many reviews over here that you might want to read:

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,10857.0.html

 

Cool! thanks!

 

I wish the other guys didn't abandon us here. I checked out the GMG website but the boards are a little too specific...I didn't know where to go. Anyway, I'm still waiting for my last order for the 2 sets above. I have been listening to/studying the Goldberg Variations by Gould in '81 and also the Well Tempered Klavier. The more I listen to Bach the more I like him. It just takes a while to get past the typically clinical presentations and all.

 

I suggest:

What are you listening to and Your Purchases Today

These topics get frequent posts.

 

Thanks for the info and the assessment. I may need to put that Mozart set on one of my various burners (back to middle) for eventual purchase, or at least for a closer listen. Of course, I need another set of assorted Mozart syms. the way I need another hole in the head....

 

Good day for modern music, today's finds:

Electro Acoustic Music: Classics CD (Neuma) ... with the following:
- Edgard Varese: Poeme Electronique
- Milton Babbitt: Philomel/Phonemena
- Roger Reynolds: Transfigured Wind IV
- Iannis Xenakis: Mycenae-Alpha

The Contemporary Harpsichord CD (NM Classics) ... with the following:
- Klaas de Vries: Murder in the Dark
- Willem Jeths: Mythos
- Larus Halldor Grimsson: Sambudar-Sundurthykkja
- Theo Bruins: Sincope
- Roderik de Man: Momentum
- Ton Buynel: Le jardin

Strauss: Four Last Songs, Wagner: Wesendonck Lieder, Tristan & Isolde Prelude/Liebestod CD (Deutsch Grammaphon; Giuseppe Sinopoli, Staatskapelle Dresden, Cheryl Studer, soprano)

 

That's one of my favorite versions of Four Last Songs. Studer was a real talent. Don't know what happened to her. The other stuff looks interesting, too.

Drh, Abbado hand-picked the orchestra he conducted on the Mozart symphonies 2CD. I forget the ensemble name, but it's a good set, IMO.

Now playing:

• Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 - Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin), Andre Previn (piano), Lynn Harrell (cello).
  DG 2009, new release, I didn't know Andre Previn was married to Anne-Sophie Mutter as recently as a few years ago -- what a score.

 

I didn't know Andre Previn played piano.

 

I played my "Le Mozart Noir" CD tonight, the one the CBC made with the Tafelmusik Orchestra. It features the music of Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (four works, about 50 minutes), and also includes works by Jean-Marie Leclair (one piece, 7 minutes), and Francois-Joseph Gassec (one piece, 16 minutes). Excellent from end to end!

 

Andre Previn

He was a prolific jazz pianist in the 50's before he moved on to the classical world, recorded some very popular albums for Contemporary. Check out My Fair Lady, SH mastered it for DCC Jazz.

 

I'm really impressed with this disc - both the performances and the engineering. There are a few people over at the GMG forums who think very highly of Sinopoli's work with the Staatskapelle Dresden - and I'm definitely motivated to check out more after hearing this release.

 

Indeed he does. He has a nice recording of the Rachmaninoff 2 piano works with Ashkenazy on Decca.

 

Looks like I get to see Ashkenazy too...I'm going to this: http://www.mso.com.au/cpa/htm/htm_event_list.asp?page_id=77&event_date=2009/3/13, which is the weekend after I see the MSO play Mahler 2

Does anybody know anything about Janine Jansen, violinist?

 

Yes, she is amazing. Saw her last year around this time play the Tchaikovsky violin concerto. Amazing! What is she playing?
Has it cooled off down there?

 

Great! Have a look at the link in my previous post for the programme. I'm looking forward to it even more now!!

It is much cooler this week, thank heavens...another scorcher up around 110 forecast for Saturday though.

 

110? Crikey.

The Saint-Saens is seldom performed anymore, so consider yourself fortunate. I don't care for the Strauss piece that much other than the famous opening two minutes (and I'm a Strauss fan). That opening work looks interesting, some of that composer's new CD's on Ondine have received good reviews. Enjoy! But really savor that Jansen, she'll knock yr socks off.

 

During last week's heatwave the max temp on the three days varied from 110 to about 114. It was so hot that large numbers of possums were forced from their daytime roosts to seek cooler conditions and water, and suffered burnt feet simply from walking around on the ground...

I have ordered Perlman/Barenboim/1983 on DG to familiarise myself with the Saint-Saens before the concert. The only Strauss I have is the Living Stereo SACD with Also sprach Zarathustra and Ein Heldenleben, and apart from the aforementioned famous two minutes, I prefer Ein Heldenleben.

 

Been out of circulation for a while, but here I am checking in. Recently had a real find, something I've been wanting for a long time: the experimental Bell Labs stereo and wide-range recordings of Stokowski and the Philadelphia Or from the '30s. As you can see, this is a sealed copy, and I nabbed it for the princely sum of 80 cents!