I have owned the following Jochum Haydn Symphonies box on DG for over thirty years ... BTW, is Philharmonia Hungarica still around?
Hmmm.....I have never thought of looking at the matrix codes on CDs. A whole new world of geekdom is opened up...
Guillaume Dufay: Missa Sine Nomine/Anon: Missa Fuit Homo Missus. Capella Cordina, Planchart. Lyrichord. The Missa Sine Nomine is now known as the Missa Resveilles Vous.
Very laudable back history and I applaud her great fortitude of not only surviving the Death Camps but going on to make a career and then teaching the harpsichord. My post was prompted by the lit cigarette in the artiste's hand , not something you see much these days . My Mother died a horrible death from lung cancer directly attributed to smoking and earlier this year my First Wife died from emphysema ,again directly attributed to smoking and according to our children it was not a good passing. I just hate modern promotional photographs showing someone smoking I am well aware that it is a very addictive habit and is very difficult to give up but you would think that modern record companies would be just a little more careful in their use of promotional material . I went through my record collection earlier and find that I have two recordings by Zuzana Ruzicková and thankfully neither one pictures her having a fag!
Listening to CD 4 from "Youri Egorov - The Master Pianist" on EMI. Schumann - Kreisleriana / Novellettes Nos. 1 & 8 / Papillions
For those of you who are crazy about viola da gamba as an instrument like I am, I wanted to let you know about two 2-CD sets which arrived at my place today as a result of the huge sale on Naxos CDs over at jpc.de recently (thanks to the person who let us know). I found a set called The Berlin Gamba Book and then another one called The Manchester Gamba Book. Both sets were performed by Dietmar Berger. It's going to be a while before I am able to listen to the both of them. I just wanted to give people a head's up just in case if they were looking for a few things extra of this marvelous instrument.
OK, so that would justify your use of the "fag" word. A picture of someone holding a cigarette. Got it. But my reporting you yesterday to the moderators of these excellent forums really had to do with your use of the "old hag" expression. What exactly prompted that? The experts on this thread will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the record company chose to use a photograph of the artist dating from the period when she recorded those Bach keyboard works, so between mid-Sixties to mid-Seventies. That's not at all "modern," and they surely knew it wasn't. It's a vintage photo. I'm glad it exists. And what would have happened if one or both of these albums had shown Zuzana with a "fag"? What would you have done? Dispose of these albums immediately? __________________ So many questions about a glib remark... Right, @harvard75 ? __________________ Now playing, in my Top 5 favourite French operas: Gounod, Faust, this version with Domingo, Freni, and George Pretre.
Jens used to manage the classical section at Tower Records in DC (as he alludes to) - used to be fun to swing by there and schmooze with him. Glad to see he's widened his platform.
Music from three eras: 1815, 1947 & 1978. Recorded 5/81, RCA Studio A, NYC, using two omni-directional Schoeps MK-2 microphones fed through two Valley People pre-amps to an Ampex ATR-100 two-track tape machine running Ampex 456 quarter-inch tape as 30 i.p.s. Producer: Max Wilcox. Engineers: Max Wilcox & Ray Hall. Mastering: Jack Adelman.
Among my dozen of viola da gamba recordings, most of them are by JS Bach. The rest are by CPE Bach and Vivaldi, etc.
Essentially the New York Philharmonic under another name. Released in June, 1959. Producer: Bert Whyte. Engineer: Aaron Nathanson. I have this in stereo on a 1996 Everest/Omega CD. Recorded on 35mm film running on a modified Westrex recorder.
I actually have three pressings of this set: That 6-eye (original 1958-mono), a 2-eye ('60s-stereo), and a brown label ('70s-stereo). The original release consisted of 3 volumes with 2 LPs in each. They also included a nice booklet. Later releases consisted of 2 volumes with 3 LPs in each, no booklet, and a different cover art: My preferred set is the '60s 2-eye repress. The '70s brown label may have a touch more "top end" (high frequencies), but the bass is a bit rolled-off and the overall sound is nowhere near as full as the '60s 2-eye. My 6-eye is mono, which puts it at a disadvantage because--in this case--Columbia's stereo recording adds immensely to the presentation, providing the "air" and sense of acoustic space that a good stereo recording should. The 6-eye also sounds a bit congested when both orchestra and organ are playing flat-out. That last issue could be just my copy--which I picked up used (mainly to get the booklet) and the previous owner's gear may have mistracked and caused some wear distortion. I can't make an absolute judgment from 60-year-old used vinyl; I can only tell you how this particular copy sounds. A mint stereo 6-eye set may best them all, I just don't know. Before I leave this subject, let me add that this 1958 Columbia recording is not my top pick for these concertos. And if you're looking for great sonics, it is far from anything remotely "audiophile." That said, I still play it on occasion to hear that "authentic Handel organ"-- I really like it. My top (LP) pick for these works remains the Harnoncourt performances on Telefunken. Released in 1975, I bought my copy in 1977.
I love that recording... Stunning performance and excellent sonics. No Bach enthusiast should be without it! And this recommendation coming from a Gould fan...
Another mono 35mm LP from Everest, released Jan., 1960. Recorded in Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London. Producer/Engineer: Bert Whyte. Another I have in stereo, this one on a 1997 Everest/Omega CD.
For those interested, I believe the entire Everest Catalog is now on HDTracks. This issue, for instance: Chavez: Sinfonia India, Sinfonia de Antigona & Sinfonia Romantica | HDtracks - The World's Greatest-Sounding Music Downloads
Excellent recording and I have owned it for many years. For someone who is not considered a Bach specialist like Gould or Tureck, Martha really hit it out of the park ...
Out of town today on the train, listening to Samson François playing Ravel under André Cluytens (1959), FLAC from the EMI Great Recordings of the Century CD.
Spotify Premium. More Larsson. I have Symphony #1 on hybrid SACD. I going to get the rest as this is enjoyable 20th Century Nordic music. It’s been a long time coming, but CPO have now released the final instalment in their cycle of Lars-Erik Larsson’s orchestral music, with Andrew Manze and the Helsingborg Symphony. The first volume, which I reviewed in 2014, was such a revelation that I simply had to make it a Recording of the Year. The follow-up, reviewed in 2015, wasn’t quite so momentous, but then subsequent encounters are seldom as striking as those initial ones. The Helsingborg band have also recorded these symphonies for BIS: Nos. 1 and 2 with Hans-Peter Frank (BIS-426), and No. 3 with Sten Frykberg (BIS-96). As for the couplings on this new CPO release, I’ve not managed to find rival versions of the Three Orchestral Piecesor Musica permutatio; however, I did locate the Adagio for String Orchestra, on ‘Swedish Orchestral Favourites Vol. 2’. Indeed, John France insisted that potpourri belongs on ‘every listener’s shelf’. That said, it’s BIS who’ve long championed this composer’s cause, with fourteen recordings of his music in their catalogue. Listening to Larsson’s three symphonies it’s hard to believe he was plagued by self doubt; he withdrew No. 2 after its first performance, and it was left to fellow Swede Sten Frykberg (1910-1983) to make the first complete recording in 1973. No. 3, premiered in 1946 by Tor Mann and the Stockholm Philharmonic, was also withdrawn, the last movement recast as the Concert Overture No. 3. (The finale of Larsson’s Second Symphony was reissued as a standalone piece, called Ostinato.) We owe Frykberg a great deal, for he and the Stockholm PO taped a complete Third for radio in 1975. Since then, the work has gained some traction, although Frykberg’s and Manze’s recordings are the only ones in the catalogue at present. The latter’s fresh, open-hearted way with the first two symphonies is very much in evidence in the third, the opening bars of which sound uncannily like the start of Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’. It’s a fleeting association, though, for Larsson then launches into music of compelling vigour and clarity, its firm sense of purpose underpinned by superbly muscular timps. There’s no escaping that expansive Nordic style, with nods to Carl Nielsen in particular, but Larsson’s voice remains a very distinctive one. The Helsingborg players, atmospherically recorded, are in splendid form; also, Manze imbues Larsson’s lively opener with a HIPPish transparency and athleticism that’s both apt and uplifting. Goodness, this is a promising start, not least because it reminds me of the vitality I so admired in Manze’s first – and best – volume. After that Allegro con brio comes a trenchantly lyrical Adagio non troppo, whose dark sonorities and eloquent strings go surprisingly well together. As expected, Manze ensures the sometimes skittish Prestissimo – Trio is nicely articulated. That, coupled with a lightness of touch from both the podium and the control room, gives the music an attractive shape and buoyancy. Some of the animated brass writing in the Andante maestoso is remarkably Nielsen-like, although, as before, there’s more than enough creativity in Larsson’s pen to write an immensely likeable – even mischievous – finale. The BIS/Frykberg Third was recorded in 1978, at a concert in honour of the composer’s 70th birthday. Same orchestra and hall, very different results. It’s a bigger and closer sound, and the performance itself doesn’t seem as compact or characterful as Manze’s. What I really miss, though, is the sheer zest, the incorrigible bounce and brio, that the latter brings to this assured and inventive score. I’d say Frykberg’s weighty, ‘full fat’ approach now feels rather old fashioned; that said, this analogue-era recording is still worth hearing. Ditto the delightful coupling, Förklädd Gud (God in Disguise). Manze’s fillers date from much later in Larsson’s life. The Three Orchestral Pieces – Adagio/Presto/Adagio – has its roots in twelve-tone technique, yet its internal rigour is leavened by a lightness and lyricism that’s most appealing. Indeed, the conductor’s emphasis on mobility and telling detail really pays off here. The central movement is pleasingly Puckish – cue some very some deft musicianship – while the finale has a darker, more doleful cast. Throughout, the orchestra play with a lovely blend of finesse and feeling. What a splendid work this is! Not only that, I just can’t imagine a more illuminating performance of it than this. In his exemplary liner-notes – a detailed biography as well as an analysis of the pieces played – Christoph Schlüren points out that Manze deliberately programmed the Adagio for String Orchestra next, as it segues perfectly with the quiet, string-led sign-off to Op. 49. And while I’m deeply impressed with this orchestra in general, I was bowled over by its refined string section in particular. I daresay the conductor has a lot to do with that, although the ‘near-through’ nature of this recording – even in its vanilla 16-bit form – brings its own magic to the mix. Kudos to the glorious timps and brass as well, especially in the witty and extrovert Musica permutatio. This is yet another fine series that’s opened my ears to a composer whose music deserves to be more widely heard. And while I’m grateful to BIS, Frank and Frykberg for their early efforts on Larsson’s behalf, Manze has taken this repertoire to the next level. I realise this particular project is now complete – oddly, the final volume languished in CPO’s vaults for seven years – but I can only hope there’s more to come from this talented team. On the subject of wish lists, how about offering high-res downloads in future? That would be most welcome. Manze and the Helsingborg Symphony set new standards in this music; a first-class recording, too. Dan Morgan Lars-Erik Larsson Symphony No.3; 3 Orchestral Pieces - CPO 7776732 [DM] Classical Music Reviews: November 2018 - MusicWeb-International
BBC Music has combined with Primephonic for a 4 months free preview, 24 bit streaming. Enjoy 4 months free on Primephonic The promo code is 24bit. USA/Europe only. I just signed up and will see how it is.
I visited the City of Helsingborg in Sweden in the fall of 1993. I also have the following trio of Brahms Symphonies by Manze with the Helsingborg Symphony ...
