Classical Corner Classical Music Corner

recent listening:
Grigory Ginzburg
His early recordings, volume 1; Liszt, Beethoven, Balakirev.
APR, 2008

 

Now enjoying another great recommendation from this thread. Absolutely gorgeous!

 

Listening to Clifford Curzon play Beethoven Fifteen Variations, Op.35 (Eroica Theme and Fugue) and the Schubert Moments Musicaux, Op.94.
Recorded by Decca in The Maltings concert hall, Snape, February 4-6, 1971 (Schubert), and April 14-17, 1971 (Beethoven). LP released by Decca/London 1971.

 

Looks like another item for my "wish list"... I like both Collard and Previn.
Do you have all five concertos in one box, or are these individual CDs?

 

Three individual CDs.

 

Enjoying some more chamber Poulenc this morning.

Even the infamous Hurwitz loves this CD: Poulenc Complete Chamber Music, Vol. 3 - Classics Today

 

My Eliane Rodrigues CDs arrived Friday, and yesterday I played part of the Bach/Beethoven one. All the transcriptions are by the pianist herself. Unfortunately, after two preludes and fugues, as I just was starting the Beethoven 5th Sym. transcription, I got a phone call, and that was the end of my CD listening time for the day. That said, I can offer a tentative impression on brief exposure: this pianist's work as a transcriber is not for purists. If your idea of what Bach should be on the piano is the Angela Hewitt school of dry, sober, literal, uninflected presentation, stay away. If you are a lover of such hyphenated composers as Bach-Liszt or Bach-Tausig, however, and performance approach that is more free than strict, you may find much to enjoy here. For myself, I'm not quite sure what to make of her yet--at least on the basis of what I've heard so far, she's definitely not "in the mainstream" as we think of it today!

 

I should add, the works on the disc are as follows:

Bach: Prelude and Fugue in G, BWV 541
Bach: Fantasia and Fugue in g, BWV 542
Beethoven: Symphony no. 5 in c, op. 67
Bach: Prelude and Fugue in a, BWV 543
Bach: Toccata and Fugue in d, BWV 565

She plays a Fazioli F308 concert grand; the recording was made Oct. 16-17, 2019 at Studio 1 of the Music Center of the Omroep in Hilversum, The Netherlands.

The disc is Navona nv6285

Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of the Beethoven-Liszt 5th sym. transcription for comparison.

 

This is what you need...

 

Now enjoying the final two concertos from the above series. As with the other two discs, great playing and lively dynamics in the recording.

 

Martina Filjak, piano
Light & Darkness; works by Franz Liszt.
Profil, 2019

I found I liked this approach to Liszt. I have enjoyed her CDs and hearing her live, ever since she won the Gold Medal at the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 2009.

 

I also own this disc and like it, but I prefer the early 70s set of Saint-Saens piano concertos on EMI by Aldo Ciccolini. Have you compared the two?

 

As long as we're on the Saint-Saens cti., what do the assembled masses think about no. 3? For me, it's the problem child of the set--I've just never warmed to it. As with Beethoven, I think no. 4 is the pinnacle (must be a charmed number). No. 1 is lively, tuneful listening; no. 2, notwithstanding that old jibe about its starting like Bach and ending like Offenbach, a rousing good showpiece for the pianist (probably why it was so popular with performers once upon a time); and no. 5 is a delight with its colorful exoticism. But no. 3? It just doesn't do anything for me, and I never return to it unless it crops up on the radio when I'm driving.

Incidentally, I, too, have the Ciccolini set as my "complete edition." I like it, but I like other accounts of some numbers--esp. nos. 2 and 4--better. I have a special warm spot in my heart for Brailowsky/Munch in the latter.

 

I would rank them about the same, but putting number 2 in first place followed by 4, 1, 5, and 3.
I have Ciccolini's complete cycle, too, along with those Tachino and Entremont. It's usually the Entremont that I reach for first.

I'm curious about Brailowsky as I like his Chopin a lot.

 

The Violin Sonatas from this recording:

 

Like Wes, I like them all pretty much equally.

 

I enjoyed many of the samples of discovered 19th century music from the this 10 disc box.
The French Romantic Experience.
Bru Zane, 2019

 

Now enjoying this CD.

 

On the turntable, Scriabin performed by Ruth Laredo on a Baldwin SD-10 concert grand:
-Désir, Op.57, No.1
-Caress dansé, Op.57, No.2
-Etude in C-sharp minor, Op.2, No.1
-Sonata no.1 in F-minor, Op.6
-Sonata No.2 (Sonata-Fantasy), Op.19
-Sonata No.8 in A, Op.66

Connoissuer Society LP / US press / 1971

 

Wonderful singing. A beautiful album. Streaming on Qobuz.

 

The Uruguayan composer Federico García Vigil has passed away:

A los 79 años murió el maestro Federico García Vigil

 

Dipping my feet back into Rubbra’s symphonies starting with the 5th: