This shows that it can be a problem with recommending and for giving too much attention to recommendations ! I find Perahia's Bach wonderful, whereas Gould's Bach sounds too relentless, and is headache-inducing to me. Yes, I know that is sacrilege here !
Very strongly . While I even have the Glenn Gould Original Jacket box, I have never considered him having the last words on Bach keyboard works ... Perahia's Bach box is quite good. I had to wait a long time before I was able to grab one as it was OOP for a while.
Is this from the following box? I bought the box a few years ago but have only given it one listen ...
I'd say it's a fair summation. It can feel rather relentless. Which is why I prefer keyboard works from other eras with more lyricism. Although Bach has that too, there's a lot of mathematical typewriter complexity too.
Yes, it is. That's the problem with massive box sets...I tend to do the same thing! It deserves a second listen, though.
Oh I understand how you could feel that way about Gould, no one's opinion is sacred To tell you why I don't like Perahia is it sounds 1 dimensional because there is always a roundedness to his JS Bach. The keyboard music has many areas that suit that style, many of the slower minor key pieces for instance. For me the best pianists play in a variety depending on what the music asks for. I have no single favorite JS Bach pianist, the keyboard works are too varied for any one person to put down exceptional recordings of all of them. I am not someone that likes everything that Gould recorded It's pick and chose for me. The 1981 Goldberg is one I really like, his approach isn't as hard driven in this compared to the 1955. WTC has a huge amount of variety in it and some play it consistently hard driven, some are always too gentle, some treat it like an exercise, some play it like romantic music. It's why I have only heard at most 5 or 6 really exceptional recordings and dozens of mediocre and poor ones.
While S Richter was one of a kind pianist, perhaps the best in the last century, he excelled in Beethoven, Brahms and Schubert but he is not my Chopin pianist for sure.
Why not? I know he can be a little hard-driven, but I like that approach for some Chopin, such as the Etudes and Scherzos.
On to the same spot today, so blessed to made it to another day into my short life! Ain’t life short? :} So as yesterday, celebrating today with: Impex Records – IMP6004, Columbia Masterworks – MS 6043
I just don't get the same emotion when I listen to Richter's Chopin as I do with the pianists I mentioned earlier ... BTW, S Richter is generally not my go-to pianist for JS Bach keyboard works either.
So it turns out that I have three of these box sets. Actually, one box is missing an LP. The task before me is to assemble a box with the best copies of each LP in the set. So far my only determination is that these are excellent recordings.
Probably the only Originals volume I might buy at this point would be Mravinsky’s stereo version of the Tchaikovsky Symphonies Nos. 4-6, even though I already own (and love) the previous CD release from the ‘80s. It would depend on whether the remastering is noticeably better than on the older release. Does anybody here own both versions and have an opinion on the sound quality of both? The Originals version: Original CD version:
Enjoying over lunch- Seven Last Words of Christ, Op. 51 (composed by Haydn for string quartet), played by Quatuor Mosaiques. A magnificent piece, one Haydn's best, it is interesting how the first violin seems to be the highlight for most of the piece with the rest of the quartet as sort of an accompaniment with the bass adding to the dirge atmosphere. I'm not really religious but even I can appreciate how poignant this piece is. After hearing Mosaiques and Festetics in these quartets I have no desire to hear non-HIP performances, these two groups are that good.
I received this wonderful LP today from Discogs. The sound is so realistic--has an almost tangible presence. The Melos Quartett play both works magnificently. (Absolutely non-HIP and I love it! )
Most of my recordings by Quartetto Italiano are on CD. I have a few Philips LP singles but no box ...
Here in the composers homeland, Richter is rather poo-pooed when it comes to Chopin. However, I must say that this is absolutely magnificent :
Yes, I have both. This too - K2HD mastering The originals remastering is certainly clearer than the first set, but, I don't know, the music seems to lose a bit of its darkness and mystique. The slight muddiness of the first set seems to enhance the performance !!! Maybe it's just me ! The K2HD remaster is good but overpriced for what it is.
