Slowly making my way through this: This one is special to me as I’ve spent time in Bergen and actually visited Grieg’s house. Despite him being one of my favourite composers, I’ve been listening to the same bargain Naxos disc of the Peer Gynt Suites for the last 20 years. It is quite refreshing to hear a new performance, as well as to finally hear the entire Peer Gynt incidental music (along with tons of other stuff I have yet to hear).
George, Do you like Paul Badura-Skoda? I have seen you mentioning him a while back. I bought the following box a few months ago but it is still in its shrinkwrap ...
Now playing CD6 Brahms Symphony No. 1 Tragic Overture Academic Festival Overture (aka Animal House Overture) from the following box for a first listen ...
I spent two days in Bergen in the early 90's and I might have visited Grieg's house as well. It is a very charming city ...
He’s recorded a lot and is still releasing new recordings on Arcana AFAIK. There are a couple recordings of his that I really like. - Mozart two-piano and piano-four-hands music with Jorg Demus on a Philips twofer - Beethoven piano concertos with Hermann Scherchen on Westminster - Beethoven piano sonatas “sur l’instruments d’epoque” on Astree. Unfortunately these are like hens’ teeth and I’d like to get my hands on some!
I’ve recently discovered Shostakovich by picking up a few random recordings. But because I really like the symphonies that I’ve heard, I’ve decided to build a more well-thought out collection. And my starting point for such a collection is the Haitink performances. I’ve ordered a few individual discs from Discogs which should start showing up in the mail next week. I really want to get some of the classic Russian performances eventually.
I treasure my Mravinsky and Rozhdestvensky recordings of some of the individual Shostakovich symphonies. And the Kondrashin set is superb!
On the way to work today I listened to this CD. Similar to how I felt after listening to Haydn sonatas this weekend, it left me with a wonderful sense of calm. I haven't been listening to much Classical at all lately and really noticed the positive effect it had on me. Anyone else go on a non-classical listening spree and when you came back to it had that calm, sense of "ahhh" response? At any rate, I need to get back to listening to more classical music.
I know what you mean. However I have had the opposite happen to me too. After listening to nothing but classical music for days I will put on one of my favorite rock albums like something by Van Halen or The Who and am overcome with joy. It's like seeing an old friend!
I've been relistening to this discs Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto 1, IMHO I still like it more than the 1943 performance in the big Original Jacket box. According to Immortal Performances Naxos used their transfer and filtered the high frequencies and it certainly sounds like it though Mark Obert-Thorn makes no mention of this in the liner notes. Has anyone heard Immortal Performances transfer? I'm absolutely stunned by their transfers of the 1939 Beethoven cycle (big upgrade from the Naxos CDs; very little surface noise on the Immortal transfers yet still sounding vivid and dynamic in the high frequencies) so if this was an upgrade I wouldn't mind springing for it.
I've actually been listening to nothing but classical these last few years. I've gone back to some favorite jazz albums here and there but it doesn't leave me with the same amazement of even good classical performances. I think going forward I need to cut down on my classical listening since I used to be much more balanced in my listening of other genres going between classical, jazz, rock, delta blues, etc never had this effect.
I have many Naxos Historical recordings but not this particular one. Who reconstructed/remastered this CD? Ward Marston or Mark Obert-Thorn?
I listen mostly classics, but not only that. It happens to me that I love other types of music, but with classics, especially medieval and baroque, not only I like it, but makes me happy, changes my mood. About a couple of months back I took my daughter to a pop concert, it was not bad, but very loud and when we were in the car, driving home and Telemann was playing I felt like a caress in my ears, a deep relief...
Thanks to all who responded to the "response to listening to Classical Music" question. As a follow up question, which Classical works do you find particularly soothing? They don't have to be soothing throughout, just that the overall effect afterwards is soothing.
From the post you quoted: "According to Immortal Performances Naxos used their transfer and filtered the high frequencies and it certainly sounds like it though Mark Obert-Thorn makes no mention of this in the liner notes." Immortal Performances is the label founded by Richard Caniell, who previously did the transfers and masterings for Naxos' 1939 Toscanini series, which were manipulated by Naxos afterwards, much to Caniell's annoyance.
I find the music of Bach to be extremely soothing. In particular the Harpsichord and Violin Concertos, Brandenburg Concertos, and the Cello Suites played by Pierre Fournier.
Mark Obert-Thorn, but he makes no mention of using someone else's transfers. Instead the last paragraph of his notes says he had near mint post-war 78s for the Tchaikovsky piano concerto. I don't have the CD in front of me now so I can't write the exact wording. I also couldn't find a contact email for him, but maybe he is still active on rec.classical?
