Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #7)

I have a good number of DVD's by Karajan, Bernstein and (Karl) Richter on DG. They offer excellent diversion from audio-only listening to provide that extra visual dimension ...

 

I also don't buy this completely. In case of Bach (his set is even more HIP'ish) - maybe, but both LvB and Mozart require at least some palette of approaches. This set is on its lighter/airier side and, IMO, it works quite well.

 

IMO, if you get too religious about HIP recordings, you will be missing out on many excellent so called non-HIP recordings. But nobody really knows for sure if a given recording is really as HIP as the conductor claimed it to be.

 

I only had 17 of the 55 so it ended up to still be a great deal for me and the box is very well done.

 

I'm not really into music DVDs but the DG set is tempting.

 

Exactly. Moreover, my old guess is that many HIPpies who play mostly modern instruments ("What?! You guys can't even afford the real things?!" - "Noway, you fools and enemies of all aesthetics! We do it because these modern instruments are reliable, but our wisdom is truly ancient!") in their small ensembles cost less than, say, New York Philhamonic - small labels want to eat too. Add to this equation some semi-religious aspect (and add some fresh cadenzas to Beethoven who even can't push in one's face for this) and - voila! - you get quite marketable thingy.

 

Now playing CD13

 

Now playing CD11 from this set ...

 

An interesting if very lengthy disquisition regarding one aspect of the HIP equation--the amount of vibrato appropriate in Classical and Romantic era music--appears here http://www.classicstoday.com/features/ClassicsToday-Vibrato-part1.pdf (part I), here http://www.classicstoday.com/features/ClassicsToday-Vibrato-part2.pdf (part II), and here http://www.classicstoday.com/features/vibratothree.asp (Part III). The author is David Hurwitz, by no means my favorite critic but here, at least, certainly pointed and plausible (but then, as I've noted elsewhere in this thread, to my ears "period practice" trappings make progressively less sense as we march onward from the baroque). That said, I reserve judgment until I've read the case for the other side other than in Hurwitz's own summation.

If you don't want to wade through part I in its entirety (I'll confess that I skimmed it), the first segment of part III summarizes the salient points in about a third the length. Part II was the segment that I found most interesting, as it focuses on historic recordings.

 

Tell me you don't love that set!! I dare you!!!

 

The set is great with some first-rate virtuoso violin and harpsichord performance.

 

Now playing CD3 from this set

 

Now playing CD11 from this set - Piano Sonatas by Gilels, Fiorentino and Oldenburg

 

Now playing CD5 - Slavonic opera arias from works by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Smetana, Dvorak and Janacek ...

 

Now finally playing CD1 from this set, which arrived a few weeks ago ...

 

Now playing CD2 from this set ...

 

Now playing CD1 from this set from my Chopin collection ...

 

Biddulph

Now playing:

 

Hey Eddie! Where are you finding all these Biddulph CDs?

 

Just bought this.
Shaken to the core.

The packaging is at least 25% of the joy, of course

http://www.amazon.com/J-S-Bach-Suit...M2Q0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1263817596&sr=8-1

 

Great disc.

 

Brahms chamber music may be my favorite "body of work." He only published 24 pieces - he wrote many more - and I like them all. Although, as a clarinet student I do have a few favorites.

I have the Rubinstein/Guarneri recording of piano quartets 1 and 3 and the Pentatone SACD release of the Beaux Arts Trio set.

 

I've always enjoyed Arrau's Chopin. Back in the 80's, Philips issued a one disc selection of Arrau's Chopin on its Silverline label. There was something about the combination of the pieces selected, performance and sequencing that really grabbed me. I have probably listened to it more often than any other Chopin disc in my collection.

 

Until 6 months ago, most of my Arrau's recordings were on LP. I am still looking for other Arrau's CD sets to add to my collection. Philips has done a great job remastering his older analog recordings.