Classical Corner Classical Music Corner

Sibelius in the winter . . .

 

Now enjoying some Rachmaninoff from the above CD. These are strong performances in Great Sound.

 

What do you think of this recording George? I have it as well and after 2 or 3 listens decided I don't really care for it. I find the sound quality poor and the performance nothing great either. My current favorite Mahler 1, which I listened to twice today, is Boult and the London Philharmonic on Everest from 1958.

 

I wanted to add that I also have Walters Mahler Symphony No.2 with the New York Philharmonic from 1958. It is my favorite version of Mahler's Second Symphony. I find it to have much better sound than the first and an excellent interpretation. My copy is a 2015 Japanese reissue on a single CD of about 80 minutes and it has excellent mastering. I think it is still available on Amazon.

 

It rubbed me the wrong way the other day, but I suspect it was the timing.

 

Enjoying some more Rachmaninoff. I love the pianists energy, but I always felt he was lacking in the tone department. Whether it was the fault of the recording or the pianists fault, I cannot say.

 

Haha I understand! That's why I gave it a few listens before putting it away into storage!

 

I am a big fan of Walter's, so I plan to keep the disc on hand.

 

I am a fan as well although I only own a few other recordings by him. His Beethoven's Sixth Symphony is a desert island disc for me. I also have a recording of Schubert Symphonies by him that is excellent. The mono Mahler 1 is the only Walter recording that I don't care for of what I've heard.

 

I went to considerable expense to buy a copy of the Walter/PSONY Mahler 1 as a Japanese import at DC's late, lamented Serenade Records back in the relatively early days of CD, when only the later, stereo CBS SO recording had been released in that format in the United States. I've always been fond of the mono account, much more than of the stereo; I guess a lot depends on one's tolerance for pre-stereo recorded sound.

I know I've mentioned this before, but maybe not since some participants in the present discussion joined the CMC, so: the LP issue of this recording, with the same cover art, is well worth owning even if you don't have a turntable, as its liner notes are unusually good. The record is hardly a rarity; accordingly, a copy shouldn't be hard or expensive to get. I can't speak to the notes in the Heritage reissue, which I've not seen, or in my early Nippon CBS reissue, in which they are printed only in Japanese.

 

On another topic, what’s people’s opinions of the RCA Munch/BSO Symphonie Fantastique?

I first fell for this piece live back in high school, and then the first thrift store/estate sale recording I picked up of it was a mono lp of this recording.

It’s still my favorite interpretation today, and while the mono lp doesn’t compare to the SACD version I picked up later, it still is a shockingly powerful, great sounding mix (if only the condition of said lp was better haha. You get what you pay for with 50¢ records!)

 

I have a few of Santiago's Rach recordings. I like them all.

 

I like it but it is the only recording of this piece I have heard. I also have the RCA SACD.

 

Stephen Varcoe
Schubert: Complete Songs, v.2
Hyperion, 1993
Graham Johnson, piano

 

I’m not a fan either. I find it to sound a bit too cold and uninvolvingly played, though many swear by it. I also don’t like that the horns, so important for this work, don’t really sound that lush. In Kubelik’s studio recording, my favourite for this work, they are absolutely delicious.

Plus, I have it on vinyl, and there it bugs me that the side change is halfway through the third movement. Why?

 

Disc 1
The Maryla Jonas Story: Her Complete Piano Recordings Remastered
Sony, 2017
4 CDs

Disc 1 recordings are from 1946...
It also includes the recordings from this LP:

 

Has anyone listened to the Profil box set of Dinu Lipatti? Are the remasters used any better than on the ICON set? Would this be a good choice now for someone who has none of his recordings?

It has 12 CDs so it seems to have quite a bit of his work.

https://smile.amazon.com/Dinu-Lipat...e=UTF8&qid=1517610513&sr=1-2&keywords=Lipatti

 

Karel Sejna
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Smetana; Dvorak
Supraphon, 1995

A fine conductor - here in some Smetana and Dvorak, from 1955, 1957 and 1958.

1 - (13:12) Smetana: Richard III. Symphonic Poem, Op. 11
2 - (14:55) Smetana: Wallenstein's Camp. Symphonic Poem, Op. 14
3 - (15:57) Smetana: Hakon Jarl. Symphonic Poem, Op. 16
4 - (13:22) Dvorak: In Nature's Realm, Concert Overture, Op. 91
5 - (12:26) Dvorak: Scherzo Capriccioso, Op. 66

 

That is a great disc. Really highlights the similarities in their music as well.

 

Gil Shaham
Russian National Orchestra
Mikhail Pletnev

Glazunov: Violin Concerto
Kabalevsky: Violin Concerto

DG, 1998
Shaham is excellent.

 

I love his Beethoven violin sonatas with Argerich!

Now enjoying:

 

I agree Shaham is excellent and after seeing your post I just ordered this disc. I have his recording of the Sibelius and Tchaikovsky Concertos and it is also very good.

 

I've been sojourning with a lot of acoustic records lately. Tonight, an oddity: a Fonotipia (US pressing by Columbia) of two arias from Thomas's Mignon sung by Emmy Destinn; one side, with orchestra, plays at about 73 RPM; the other, with piano, plays at 82 RPM. The selections--the Prayer from Act III and the Styrienne from Act II--were not too often recorded, at least compared to the "big hits" from the show, "Connais Tu Le Pays?" and the Polonaise, "Je Suis Titania." Both sung in German. Quite a lovely record, actually; I wish it were in better shape.